Where there's smoke...

I was walking around the city today like I usually do on a Wednesday evening before French lessons. And I have to say, it's a time I love. Just roaming around the city by myself for an hour or so, soaking in the sights, turning the page or two of a couple of books in Algoritam, my favourite book store in Zagreb, having a cup of coffee at my favourite cafe, the Kras chocolate cafe, sitting in Zrinjevac, Zagreb's central park, reading a chapter or two of a book that I'm currently reading. It's one of those rare times during the week when I'm alone with only me, myself and I for company.

While I was walking around tonight I stumbled upon a group of street performers dressed in sailor suits, juggling skittles of fire. Now, they weren't the only street performers in the vicinity (seems there's some sort of street fest or whatnot going on) but the crowd around them was the biggest. And I wondered why. Surely it wasn't the sailor suits that had drawn them (although, I have to admit, it was what had drawn me. I mean, come on, which girl can resist three good looking guys dressed in sailor suits a la Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in "On the town"???). Nah, it wasn't the sailor suits. It was the fire.

And that got me thinking: what is it with man's fascination with fire? I mean, first of all, think of all the proverbs that involve fire: the title of this post for a start, "where there's smoke, there's fire" or "fire is a good servant but a bad master" or "fight fire with fire" or my favourite "love is a friendship on fire". Then there are all the songs written about fire: the rock classic "Smoke on the water" by Deep Purple or "Fire Woman" by The Cult or my absolute favourite fire song of all time by one of my favourite bands ever "Light my fire" by The Doors. And that's just to name a few! And then all those stories and legends about fire. Who could forget LOTR and the ever flaming Mount Doom? Or the fire breathing dragons of lore? Or the phoenix rising out of the ashes? Or the ultimate fire, il falò delle vanità or the bonfire of the vanities that took place in Florence in the 15th Century where any objects deemed "sinful" were put on a huge bonfire and burnt to a cinder?

Her's what I found on the net regarding the symbolism of fire:

If there ever was a dichotomous element it would be Fire. Fire, the bringer of destruction, the symbolism of chaos and war. Fire burns everything, bringing nothing but ruin. And yet, Prometheus risked the wrath of the Titans to bring fire to man. Fire banishes the darkness. Fire cleanses and purifies. Lastly, sometimes Love is spoken of as an eternal flame. Fire.

Fire can be shown as an agent of destruction. Everyone can imagine the scene where the heroine looks down and the town is awash in flames. Fire is also usually used for strong emotional feelings (such as love, hate, desire, and determination). Fire can also be used to express determination or a strong desire as well.

Characters and things that are shown to have a 'fire-esq' quality to them usually have a red-colored theme to them. Red because flames and coals have a red coloration to them. They are also more likely to be violent (in this case violent meaning extreme and chaotic) in their response and more likely to rush into a situation without completely thinking the consequences through. For example, Hino Rei / Sailor Mars (from Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) is Fire personified, but she is hardly evil, nor does she have evil intents. She is strong-willed, hot-tempered, and incredibly determined and independent, that's all.

Yeah, dichotomous, good way to describe fire. I remember when I was a kid and my dad used to burn the rubbish in the backyard (hey, this was the era before environmental awareness!) and I couldn't get away from the fire, it completely mesmerised me. Watching those dancing flames, I felt as if nothing else existed. It was just me and the fire. The fire melted everything away. But I always remembered not to get tooooo close...

Another thing I remember as a kid was learning that man's two greatest inventions were the wheel and fire. I'm not so sure about that. Not the part that they were the greatest inventions, but that they were invented by man. I mean, how can something as powerful as fire have been invented by man? That's a load of bull, another "logical" explanation for an inexplicable feat of nature. Fire wasn't invented by man, it was invented by the Big Boss, by Mother Nature. It's interesting to note that you need three elements to make fire: oxygen, heat and fuel. Leave one of these out and you've got nothing. Three is a pretty powerful number when you think about it. Plato split the soul into three parts. Freud said the psyche was divided into three. Christians learn of the Holy Trinity and that Jesus rose from the dead after the third day. You've got three levels of schooling. In music, you've got the triad, the basis of all chords. There are three types of galaxies. The list goes on...

Hmmm, fire...there's more to it than meets the eye...I'll leave you with a man that lilghts my fire...