The name "fire of heaven," by which the midsummer fire
is sometimes popularly known, clearly implies a consciousness of a
connexion between the earthly and the heavenly flame.
Again, the manner in which the fire appears to have been originally
kindled on these occasions has been alleged in support of the view
that it was intended to be a mock-sun. As some scholars have
perceived, it is highly probable that at the periodic festivals in
former times fire was universally obtained by the friction of two
pieces of wood. It is still so procured in some places both at the
Easter and the Midsummer festivals, and it is expressly said to have
been formerly so procured at the Beltane celebration both in
Scotland and Wales. But what makes it nearly certain that this was
once the invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic
festivals is the analogy of the needfire, which has almost always
been produced by the friction of wood, and sometimes by the
revolution of a wheel. It is a plausible conjecture that the wheel
employed for this purpose represents the sun, and if the fires at
the regularly recurring celebrations were formerly produced in the
same way, it might be regarded as a confirmation of the view that
they were originally sun-charms.
Pages:
1774
1775
1776
1777
1778
1779
1780
1781
1782
1783
1784
1785
1786
1787
1788
1789
1790
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798