With great change comes great opportunity, so the saying goes, and Obsidian will uphold that notion at Samhuinn Fire Festival. They welcome the new season as the Winter’s King’s fierce and loyal warriors, emerging with a thirst for new things and resolve to move the wheel forward. 

Obsidian is formed when volcanic rock cools down, containing molten lava’s explosive energy inside crystallised fire. This Winter fire embodies the volcano’s capacity both for destruction and for renewal. Just as its expulsions bury the landscape, so new life is later able to grow from its soil. A clean slate has been wiped, and nature’s cycles continue. 

Winter’s warriors this year are partly inspired by Kali, the Hindu goddess of change and destruction. She is the Dark Mother, but also an unmaker. She causes things to disintegrate, to reform, tears things up to help us see what from our past must be shed. Hers is a wild energy but a necessary one. At Samhuinn, saying goodbye to Summer can be painful, but, in time, new fertile fields will come forth. 

Obsidian face the future with determination, daring its bounty to step forward and challenge them. They bear the knowledge that the past can hold you back, and that stepping into the unknown might just release your full potential. 

Tickets for Samhuinn Fire Festival are available to buy online from Citizen Ticket. Join the Facebook event here.

Featured image by Phil Edwards for Beltane Fire Society. All rights reserved.