fire

fire

Returning to the Fire

September 1, 2015

I am a writer, a seeker and a finder of magic.

My writing is about seeking truth through story.

What do I mean by that? I mean that no matter how many times you tell someone the cold hard facts, if they have no emotional connection to what you are saying there will be no impact.

We used to learn by listening to stories told by people who had our best interest at heart. In the modern, western world the media has replaced those trusted parents, friends, grandparents and elders.

The screen has replaced the fire as the centre of our lives.

And what story is modern media telling us? Sometimes the message is good, but largely the undercurrent is one of fear. Grounded, centered, happy people don’t spend money. The stories told by our screens today keep us stuck in the mud of comparison, of not-good-enough and of want.

But just telling the old stories isn’t enough. What relevance is a story from hundreds of years ago to a woman trapped in a cycle of binge eating? How can reading the tales of ancestors long dead give someone the answers they are looking for when they lose their job? The answer is that the truth at the center of those old stories is universal and timeless. All we need is to have them spun differently so that they feel relevant today.

My work in the world is to bring women back to the fire: back to the sacred truthful centre of their lives. My mission is to inspire you to find that sacred flame within yourself.

Robert Fulghum wrote:

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.

…and I believe that a good story has the power to change this world.

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Clearing the Hearth

September 19, 2014

When a hearth is choked with ash and buried memories, it is difficult to sustain fire. We sweep the hearth with our acceptance and understanding of what has been passed on to us from our ancestors. We do this for ourselves, our family, and for the future. – Anne Scott, Serving Fire

Last weekend Mark and I decided it was time to do a little bit of radical cleaning. I’ve done enough reading about energy to know that the home is a reflection of what is going on inside. So apparently my insides were quite dusty, cluttered, and even a little bit mouldy.

hearthmeghangenge Not. Good.

So we gave the day over to the kind of cleaning that first creates complete and utter chaos, and I was in charge of the bedroom.

When we first moved into this house it had no heating (that we were allowed to use) apart from the fireplace in the living room. Without proper heating, we soon discovered that any heat that we did manage to get into the house promptly went straight up each of the other three chimneys. So a quick trip to a housewares store equipped us with a dozen pillows which we promptly stuffed up the chimneys. In an attempt to further stop the cold air that also came down the chimneys, we put things in front of the fireplaces – in the case of the one in the bedroom (pictured), it was an unused bulletin board.

And so it went for a hundred years. Or that is what it felt like. Eventually we got central heating. Then we got insulation in our ceiling. Then, finally, a lining for our roof. But the barriers remained firmly in place. Walls: up. We had all but forgotten that there were fireplaces there.

Which brings us to last week. As Mark came in to help me clean, he picked up the bulletin board and said, “Do we really need this anymore?” And I laughed out loud because there it was: the hearth in my bedroom – always there, but completely unnoticed – uncovered not three weeks after I began working with Hestia. Uncovered not two weeks after I had talked late into the night with a dear friend about the importance of the hearth and the heart. Uncovered not one week after I began a new novel all about all of it: the hearth, the heart, fire, and magic.

Sometimes you have to shake your head in wonder at yourself, the universe and everything.

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Inviting Hestia

August 7, 2014

” …hearthkeeping is a means through which a woman puts her self and her house in order.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen, Goddesses in Every Woman

fire meghan genge When I wrote two weeks ago about going into the flames, I was fully committed to following the fire wherever it led me.

I should have known better.

Just before I began my research into the connection between women and fire, three different things happened. The first thing was a conversation between my husband and I as I stood in the kitchen, barely containing my rage. Why was I so angry? Because I was cooking.

I hate cooking. I hate doing the dishes. I even hate helping someone else in the kitchen. I have written about this before, but believe me when I say that this is real. When I have to do anything in the kitchen I seethe with resentment. I have been known to burst into frustrated tears over getting breakfast on the plate. Me in the kitchen is not a pretty thing.

So there I was, standing in the kitchen, up to my eyes in gluten free béchamel sauce and stuck-together gluten free lasagne noodles, on the verge of hysterical tears, and my long-suffering husband says, “You know you are going to have to deal with this at some point right?”

Very helpful.

The second thing happened the next morning when I got on the scale and found that even after almost 2 months doing the exercise program Insanity, I hadn’t lost a pound. Not one. (And yes, I realize that lasagne wasn’t the best choice on a diet – but still!)

The third thing happened only a few hours later. I opened the first book in my research pile and met Hestia.

Hestia: the first-born Olympian. Goddess of the hearth. Hestia was rarely personified. Her symbol and her presence was the hearth fire. Hestia is domesticity, home-keeping and hearth-tending. In her book, Goddesses in Every Woman, Jean Shinoda Bolen says, “In order for a house to become a home, Hestia’s presence was required.”

I am about as far removed from Hestia as it is possible to be. If I was to choose an archetype to symbolise me, she would not be the obvious choice. But as I sat there, following my heart to the fire, I knew that I had to start somewhere I hadn’t expected. I knew I had to start with me.

If I want to lose weight, I have to take responsibility for my own nourishment. If I want to find a home, I have to create one. If I want to build a fire, I have to light the match.

Before I can gather women around a fire, I have to take responsibility for my own hearth.

Welcome, Hestia. I’m ready.

Older Posts

Returning to the Fire

I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.

Clearing the Hearth

When a hearth is choked with ash and buried memories, it is difficult to sustain fire. We sweep the hearth with our acceptance and understanding of what has been passed on to us from our ancestors. We do this for ourselves, our family, and for the future. – Anne Scott, Serving Fire

Inviting Hestia

” …hearthkeeping is a means through which a woman puts her self and her house in order.” – Jean Shinoda Bolen, Goddesses in Every Woman

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