The Foundation of the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in the Swiss Alps

Every aspect of the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Switzerland was consciously structured to revive and awaken an ancient Fire Ceremony. To unite the ancestral wisdom of Fire Practice that is common across the world. It was shaped in accordance with the ancient teachings of the wisdom keepers of the sacred fire ceremony who have accompanied and guided us in this journey. Their teachings, complimented with a vast body of research on the practice are more than just about a ‘fire ritual’, they are a way of being, a way of life, a framework for understanding our relationship with transformation, sacrifice, and the divine fire that burns within and around us.

Below is a thorough explanation to help you understand how the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Switzerland was structured and why we made certain choices for its balanced & harmonious unfolding. 

We are grateful to have been part of the manifestation, from this ceremony, of the Universal Fire Mandala. 

Intention

The first spark of any ceremony is the intention. It is the clear and precise outline of what kind of experience is being sought: where, how, when, and for whom the ceremony is supposed to take place. Setting a clear and consciously directed ceremonial intention is the main premise for a harmonious and balanced unfolding of a ceremony. It lays the foundation on which all ceremonial work is built on – acting as the framework in which the ceremony may unfold. It is the guideline for the practitioners, the spirits, and energies towards the work they may be called in for.

On the personal level, Intentions are purposeful, conscious directions that guide our actions and focus our energy. In the context of ancestral ceremonies, setting intentions involves identifying specific goals or desires you wish to explore or achieve during the experience. Intentions act as a compass, directing the insights and transformative power of ceremony. By setting clear, heartfelt intentions, we create a framework for our journey that can help focus our minds, engage our emotions, and open our spirit to the teachings and healing potential of the ceremonial unfolding. 

Be it for the ceremonial or the personal direction – the importance of taking the time to set conscious and clearly directed intentions can not be overemphasized.

The intention of the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Switzerland initially was to learn about the forms of ceremonial fire in Europe and world wide; To remember the ancestral European roots of how sacred fire was incorporated into spiritual practice and life at large, and how it has accompanied and helped us to connect with spirit, ourselves, & all of creation.

Why We Chose to Practice A Fire Ceremony: The Wisdom Fire Revealed Truth Across Civilizations

From the earliest moments when human hands first captured the spark of fire, our ancestors did not merely see it as a source of warmth or light—they perceived it as a living mirror, a reflective surface that connected the visible world to the invisible, the temporal to the eternal. In the flickering dance of flames, they found more than a physical phenomenon; they discovered a portal to divine wisdom, a lens for self-discovery, and a reflection of the cosmic order itself. Across the ancient world, from the banks of the Indus to the temples of Thebes, from the mist-shrouded forests of Europe, to the ceremonial plazas of Mesoamerica, fire was revered as a mirror that revealed hidden truths, purified the soul, and bridged the gap between human and divine.

This understanding of fire as a mirror was not just poetic—it was a practical spiritual technology, a method of introspection and revelation that shaped rituals, cosmologies, and individual practices for millennia. The flames did not simply burn; they spoke, reflected, and transformed. They mirrored the state of the soul, revealed the patterns of fate, and illuminated the path to enlightenment. To gaze into fire was to look into a mirror that did not merely show one’s face, but revealed the depths of being.

Fire as a Mirror of the Divine:
When the Divine Speaks Through the Flames

For countless civilizations, fire was not just a tool, it was a messenger between realms, a physical manifestation of the divine that could reflect the will of spirit, the order of the cosmos, and the hidden workings of creation itself. The flames were not random—they carried meaning, and those who knew how to read them could hear the voices of deities, ancestors, and cosmic forces.

The Fire of Wisdom is Our Wise Elder & Teacher

There are people who step into a fire ceremony and emerge acting differently. They speak differently. They walk differently. They feel special. As if drawing close to the fire had placed them above others. But fire does not create personas. The fire reveals. And sooner or later, it also reveals who uses the path to gaze at themselves, and who works with it to transform themselves.

Sitting near the embers doesn’t make anyone humble. Or profound. Or wise. That shows later on. In how you speak. In how you treat people. In how you stand by your word during the ceremony and when the ceremony is over.

For the Lakota, fire is Wanáǧi Tȟáŋka, the Great Spirit’s breath, a living force that does not bow to human ego. The sacred pipe’s smoke carries prayers to the heavens, but the fire itself requires honesty— no amount of ceremony can hide a heart unready to change.

The Maya speak of the Holocan, the sacred fire that purifies the world, burning away corruption and falsehood. But the fire does not ask for your name, or your lineage, only your willingness to let go of what no longer serves the people or the land.

In the traditions of the First Nations, the fire is not a spectacle. It is a mirror. It shows you the weight you carry— the grief, the anger, the unhealthy egoic ways, the stories you cling to— and asks, “Will you leave them here, or take them back into the world?”

The fire does not judge. It only reveals what is true.

And what remains after the flames have done their work is the truth of who you are without the masks you wear.

Sacred Fire is the Light of Wisdom

In the Buddhist canon, fire (tejas) is one of the great elements, a symbol of transformation and purification. The Buddha himself was said to have been born from a sacred fire, a sign that enlightenment is not given— it is uncovered through letting go. The Zen master Dōgen wrote: 

“To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.”

The fire in meditation is not the flame you see, but the burning away of illusion— the stories of “I,” “me,” et la “mine.” A ceremony, a retreat, a thousand prostrations— these are fingers pointing at the moon. The moon is your own mind, and the fire is the heat of awareness that melts the ice of ignorance.

The Tibetan Buddhists speak of chö, the practice of cutting through attachment. In the fire offering (jinsek), practitioners burn representations of their suffering, not to feed their pride in “having overcome,” but to remind themselves: “This too must pass. What am I still holding onto?”

The fire does not care for your title. It only asks: “What will you surrender today?”

The fire does not lie. It only shows what is. And what remains after the flames have done their work, is the truth. There are those who use the fire to feed their image. And there are those who allow the fire to consume what they no longer need to be. True liberation requires the release of all that holds you back from seeing the true nature of all.

Why We Lit the Unifying Ancestral New Fire During Summer Solstice

For example: At the Great Pyramids of Egypt, on summer solstice, the sun crowns the head of the Sphinx. When the sun’s first light breaks through, on the day of the summer solstice, it hits the monument of Stonehenge directly in the centre, lighting up each pillar. On Easter Island, fifteen of the giant stone statues, called Moai, face the summer solstice sunset. A giant serpent mound in Ohio, in the United States, faces the summer solstice sunset. Two of the thirty caves at Ajanta in India capture the sunlight on the solstices. When this happens the sacred Buddha statues they contain are illuminated.

Symbols used at these ancient sites represent spiritual processes around cosmic events which indicate ancient practice of ceremonial celebrations on the solstices and equinoxes. Moreover, the knowledge encoded in these ancient sites tells us that what happens above is related to our world below, and most importantly, to ourselves. They show a link between the human and the divine, the personal and the cosmic, the inner and the outer world.

The Summer Solstice is thus the symbolic continual journey we travel from darkness to light. A reminder that there is hope in the world, that the light within can spread to the far reaches of the world and inspire others. It is a call to work on our limited internal dynamics and cultivate the light within.

Thus, a fire lit during the Summer Solstice invites us to turn inward, to celebrate the light of wisdom within ourselves and others, and to reflect upon the potential for our consciousness to awaken.

Because summer solstice symbolizes enlightenment and awakening, a fire lit on this day is a call to honor the wholeness of Being and the spiritual source from which consciousness originated.

Why We Lit the Fire in the Swiss Alps 

They lend communities a sense of identity and unity, anchoring social boundaries and serving as protective guardians. Shamans, priests, and seekers frequently draw power, knowledge, and inspiration from mountains—treating them as places of revelation, initiation, and spiritual renewal.

Stories throughout time recount journeys to particular peaks, rituals that “dress” or anchor mountains, and the naming of summits after deities or cosmological features that continuously recreate a mountain’s cultural significance.

These narratives help communities explain natural phenomena, define territorial and social order, and transmit collective memory. In this way, mountains become living repositories of meaning—sites that offer belonging, guidance, and responses to life’s challenges.

Ultimately, mountains are both physical and symbolic landscapes: they shape practical realities (water sources, boundaries, resources) while also hosting rich spiritual worlds.

Lighting the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in the Swiss Alps is a practice that highlights humanity’s enduring need to root existence within a larger cosmology, making the ceremonial mountain an anchor for our shared beliefs, identity, and search for transcendence.

Why We Incorporated Ancient Ashes from Around the World to Light the Fire

As we get ready to light the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Europe with ancient ceremonial ashes from around the world, let us embrace the sacred ceremonies recorded in these ashes; let us welcome the keepers of those stories and the wisdom they share. Let us pause and consider that our small flame, lit on this night, is an echo of humanity’s eternal flame, which is carried in the ashes it lights upon; a tiny cousin holding its own small memory in its glowing heart.

Working with ancient sacred ashes, from different traditions from around the world, to light the Unifying Ancestral New Fire is an act of remembrance; A coming together of the ancestral memories of humanity; An attempt to establish a continuation of the ancient way to commune with the divine, to grow, and unite in our shared humanity of compassion, wisdom, and love, which is contained in the memories and essence of those ashes and which will be carried forward through the unified ashes of our fire.

– Crizalia

Why 3 Smoke Offerings Were Made

Ancestral traditions teach that wisdom does not simply descend upon those who merely sit before a sacred fire. Rather, there exists a sacred protocol of preparation—a dedicated period of purification and inner alignment that harmonizes the practitioner with the ceremony’s purpose.

In most ancestral traditions, this preparation unfolds over days of prayer, fasting, cleansing, and purification before the sacred fire is lit. These preliminary rites often include smaller ceremonies or offerings made in advance of the main event. Only when the spirits have accepted and blessed these preliminary acts does the main ceremony commence—a sacred unfolding granted through divine permission.

This is why, during the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Switzerland, Venerable Khenpo Tsultrim Tenzin Rinpoche, Venerable Khenzur Nyima Wangyal Rinpoche, Venerable Lovon Lama Shagdarsuren Bayanjargal, and Venerable Amarzul Purevdorjor recited mantras, performed prayer practice, fasted, and meditated at specific moments of the day. This was done in preparation to perform three smoke offering ceremonies: to clear the way for the harmonious and balanced unfolding of our gathering, to call in the Fire Spirit (deity) & make proper offerings for an auspicious unfolding of our ceremony, and to maintain reciprocity between all present and the local guardian spirits of all lineages. The smoke offerings were done in the morning, and continued for three days until the lighting of the main fire ceremony. The Mexican wisdom keepers, Crizalia, & Jonas also made various offerings and rituals daily to the local spirits and ancestors.

Why We Performed Purification Rituals

Water rituals were performed daily, at specific times, for purification and balance of fire and water by Crizalia, the Water lineage holders of Central and Southern America, & our water aspirants (Felix & Tamara). Equally, the Sahumadoras, fire women of Mexico, rigorously smudge our ceremonial spaces and everyone present throughout each day of our gathering and through all rituals and ceremonies performed. This ensured the purity and balance of our time together. Additionally, the Mongolian and Siberian shamans occasionally burned fermented dung to generate cleansing smoke during our gathering.

To calm the minds & moods of practitioners, Gazom Lhamo, Maria Juana, Gabriela, Leobardo, Chimgee, Ilin, & Amir performed occasional songs & chants during rest times.

Why We Called in the Energies of the Seven Directions: Apertura de Rumbos 

With this act, the space around us is no longer ordinary; it becomes a living mandala where the energies of existence itself are invited. To ‘open the directions’ in a sacred fire ceremony is to consecrate the space, to invite the forces of creation to witness and participate in the work we are about to do.

It  refers to the opening of the door and communion between the physical and the spiritual worlds.

Why We Practiced Silent Meditation During the All Night Fire Ceremony 

Simply put, it’s because ancient Civilizations meditated in Silence Around the Sacred Fire in Ceremony.

Though separated by oceans and centuries apart, the fire-centered wisdom teachings of ancient cultures followed remarkably similar structures. At their core was the circle—a shape that has symbolized unity, eternity, and the cosmos since the dawn of humanity. Practitioners sat in a ring around the fire, their faces illuminated by its glow, creating an environment where every face could be seen rising from the active silence and the wisdom that it communicated about those present. 

Across the ancient world, fire was far more than a mere source of warmth—it was a living presence, a sacred bridge between the earthly and the divine, a force of purification and revelation. From the mist-shrouded groves of Celtic Europe to the temples of Egypt, to the Vedic fire altars of India to the communal hearths of Native American tribes, humanity gathered around flames not just to survive the night, but to connect with something greater than themselves. 

The practice of meditating in silence around a sacred fire was a universal phenomenon, a shared language of the soul that transcended cultural boundaries. In the quiet crackle of burning wood and the steady dance of embers, ancient peoples found a mirror of the cosmos, a purifier of the spirit, and a gateway to wisdom beyond ordinary perception.

One of the most profound purposes of fire meditation was spiritual connection and divine communication. Fire was not merely an element to be controlled—it was a living entity, a messenger between the human realm and the Great Mystery, Deities, Spirits, and Energies. In the Vedic tradition of ancient India, the sacred fire Agni was revered as the “mouth of the gods,” the divine carrier of prayers and offerings. When sages and seekers sat in silent meditation before the flames, they were not just warming themselves—they were attuning to higher consciousness, opening a channel through which the will of the deities could be perceived. Similarly, in the fire temples of Zoroastrian Persia, the eternal flames were tended in reverent silence because they are believed to reflect the uncreated light of Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of wisdom. The Greek hearth cults, too, understood fire as a sacred intermediary; the hearth of the home, tended by the Vestal Virgins in Rome, was the spiritual center of the city, where the flame of Vesta—goddess of the hearth—burned as a perpetual connection to the divine. In each of these traditions, silence was not emptiness, it was a vessel for presence, a way to strip away the noise of the world and listen to the whispers of the sacred.

Meditative Fire Practice Helps the Union of Spirit & Mind

The multisensory & transformative nature of fire makes it an effective vessel for wisdom. Unlike a static mirror or a book, fire is alive—it moves, it speaks in crackles and hisses, it responds to the wind, the wood, the water, the elements in general. This dynamism makes it uniquely suited for active learning and spiritual exploration.

Psychologically, the flickering flames induced a trance-like state, a phenomenon well-documented in modern neuroscience. The irregular, rhythmic patterns of firelight engage the brain’s default mode network, the same system active during meditation and deep introspection. This makes practitioners more receptive to teachings, more open to revelation, and more capable of remembering what was shared. The heat and light also create a sense of safety and intimacy, breaking down social barriers and allowing even strangers to speak as equals.

Spiritually, fire was a symbol of transformation. It consumed yet did not destroy; it gave warmth yet could scorch; it illuminated yet cast shadows. In this paradox lies its power as a teacher. Around the fire, old ways could be burned away, making room for new understanding. This made it the perfect setting for initiation rituals, where seekers underwent symbolic death and rebirth, emerging with new names and new responsibilities.

Across cultures and millennia, meditation with fire was not merely a spiritual exercise—it was a holistic practice that united the mind, the body, and the spirit in a single, luminous flame. This union was not accidental; it was cultivated through intention, ritual, and deep attunement to the fire’s living presence. The wisdom that arose from these practices was not abstract philosophy but embodied truth—a lived understanding of existence that transcended the boundaries of the self. 

Why We Practice: to Remember & Connect Back to the Fire Within

The most profound teaching of traditions around the world is that you are not separate from the fire. The same energy that burns in the flames burns in you—the fire of life, of transformation, of spirit, of creation. The ancient peoples did not see fire as something “out there” to be worshipped. They saw it as a manifestation of the divine fire within themselves.

The next time you sit before a flame, whether it is a candle on your altar or a sacred fire under the stars, remember:

• The fire is alive
• It sees you
• It responds to your intention
• It teaches you what you need to learn
• And you, too, are fire

The flames are speaking, are you ready to listen?

The Ceremony is Not the Problem

There are people who spend years seeking out ceremonies— new songs, new altars, new teachers— as if the next ritual would finally be the one that changes them. But the depth of transformation does not depend on the ceremony. It depends on how much you are willing to leave behind.

The Native elders say: “The fire does not care if you are a chief or a child. It only burns what is false.”

The Buddha taught: “Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

The light of the wisdom fire can show you the truth. It can open a door. It can remind you of who you are. But it cannot let go, on your behalf, of what you are still clinging to. It cannot abandon your excuses. It cannot give up your fears. It cannot walk the path for you.

And perhaps that is why some people go through a single ceremony and their lives are changed profoundly. While others go through a hundred… and keep returning to the same place. Not because the ceremony did not do its work. But because they are not yet willing to let go of what has already run its course.

Every transformation has a price.
And almost always, that price is an old version of ourselves.

Difference is Never the Ceremony

The sacred fire points out contradictions, exposes self-deceptions, and speaks the uncomfortable truth. It is the mirror that reveals the unsettling aspects and irritations of our ego. It reflects what is out of alignment and acts as the flame that burns away the limiting certainties we tend to carry. It is the ancient, wise light that compels us to look at something we might have preferred to keep avoiding or ignoring.

And when this happens, the truth catches up with us, and human beings react in very strange ways, revealing their true selves without masks. Our actions speak to who we really are, going far beyond the words we tell.

The sacred fire reveals the problems caused by ignorance and the inability to interpret its revelations. For when we turn something profound into a persona, we risk losing sight of its function, its message, and its revelations.

When this happens, people’s internal conflicts appear. Trying to draw attention to themselves. Believing that their perspectives are what matter most. 

The ceremony was never about appearing different or forcing difference onto others. Rather, it was about seeing, revealing, understanding, integrating, and transforming our differences through learning from each other and collaborating with each other. It was about expanding our perspectives, going beyond ourselves and lineages, and merging with the light of the wisdom fire. 

Remember, The Universal Fire Mandala is the mirror of who we truly are in action—beyond the masks of words. The truth of what needs work so that true unity can be achieved.

Lessons We are Invited to Incorporate to Cultivate True Unity

Through the many ceremonies that we were privileged to be part of, to witness, and to learn from in our journey to the Universal Fire Mandala, we observed common core lessons that are an essential practice, in one way or another, across the globe, for the proper unfolding of any ceremonial intention. These include: Reverence, Humility, Reciprocity, Transformation, Respect, Unity, & Gratitude.  

During the Unifying Ancestral New Fire in Switzerland, we witnessed the monastics, the Mexican wisdom keepers, & the entire Akhamani team display exemplary behaviors that embodied these essential aspects of basic humanity and through that, the transformative power of the sacred fire ceremony.

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