How to Do a Fire Reading

Fire Readings are a fun technique for building and opening intuition. Don't think of this as just a parlor trick; the more that you open your intuition, the stronger sense of direction and guidance you'll have in your life.

Creating your fire reading.
Remember to focus on your question!

Really, these should be called Smoke Readings because while fire is involved, it's the smoke patterns that you're reading.

What you need to do a Fire Reading:

• Index cards
• A candle or tea light, and something to light it
• A bowl of water to put out accidental fires
• A partner, ideally
• Your question(s)

Steps:

1. Light the candle.
2. Call in your personal guides to assist you. Also call in Archangel Michael to clear your field and keep away any spirits that aren't your guides.
3. Pick up an index card and hold it against your heart. Decide what your question is and meditate on it for 30 seconds while you imagine that you're infusing the question and its answer into the index card.
4. Hold it blank side down (i.e., lined side facing the ceiling) over the candle flame.While you continue to focus silently on your question, wave the card over the flame in random patterns, holding the card at the right height so that the smoke makes smudge marks on the paper but the paper doesn't burn. (If a card accidentally catches fire, quickly dunk it in the bowl of water.) Don't look at the underside of the card while you're doing this.
5. Continue waving until you have a gut sense that the process is done.
6. Hand the card to your partner for the reading, or if you're doing this alone, turn the card over so that you can see the pattern. If working with a partner, I recommend a blind reading: Don't tell your partner what your question was as you hand him the card.
7. The reading is done by using the pattern created by the smoke as a jumping-off point for receiving intuitive guidance. Sometimes the smoke actually draws a picture that answers your question; other times the message is given abstractly through the overall feeling of the artwork or individual elements within it. And sometimes it's simply a focal point--literally something to stare at while you let your mind go and let guidance in. Honor whatever thoughts, feelings, and images come to you as you study the card. Use deep breaths to help you relax and get into the flow. The more that you approach this with a sense of Playfulness, Discovery, and Allowing, the easier that intuition will flow. 
8. If you are the partner doing the reading, you might ask at several points during the reading whether what you're saying resonates with the questioner, or you might prefer to say everything that comes through and verify at the end. You can also ask if the questioner has any follow-up questions about what you've said.
9. If you want to ask another question, repeat the process with a new index card.
10. When you're done, thank your partner, Archangel Michael, and your guides, and blow out the candle.

The first time I tried Fire Readings, my card waving produced the image to the right.

My first, randomly-created, fire
reading image. What do you see?

When I handed it to my friend Larry, he looked at it and said, "I don't know what your question is, but obviously the answer is Joy." Do you see what he saw?

If you try a fire reading, let me know how it goes. I'd love to read your comments here.

En-joy!
~Chris



Looking to bring more intuition into your life? Sonia Choquette has been one of my best teachers for that. Her book Trust Your Vibes is fantastic: