Fohat and Phinias

Fire has always been perceived as a phenomenon of dual nature, uniting within itself both the material manifestation of the principle and the expression of primordial creative Power.

Terrestrial fire appears as a reflection of that divine, creative energy that sets in motion the birth of reality, awakens life, and inspires transformation. Thus, it is both an element whose burning can be measured and seen, and the expression of a fundamental energy capable of initiating cycles of destruction and renewal — uniting the material and the spiritual.

At the same time, fire, in its dual nature, joins creation and destruction, the manifested principle and the primordial creative Power. It can be the soft light of a candle, the warmth without which there is no life, and the all-devouring flame that ends Aeons and gives birth to new worlds. Thus, the principle of fire, in its broadest sense, encompasses both matter and spirit, manifesting as photons, plasma, the energy of light, and self-awareness.

One may say that elemental fire is a grounded, “condensed,” and “tamed” manifestation of the primordial; and if material fire burns, then spiritual fire transfigures. Yet elemental fire can also serve as a gate to the primordial if it is used with awareness— through rituals, alchemy, contemplation, and the like.

However, the Primordial Fire is, on the one hand, a source of life, and on the other, a force that concludes the existence of forms — burning worlds at the end of times, when it manifests as Kalagni (the Fire of Time), the Fiery Gehenna, the Incinerating Light. In it there is no “limited” combustion such as that of elemental flame; rather, an endless pulsation unfolds: in one “phase” it creates (light, life, worlds), and in another it destroys (dissolves forms, folding the universe back into itself).

Fire is the only principle that does not merely alter substance, but carries it into a new state. For this reason, fire has always been closely linked with rebirth, Initiation, and spiritual transformation.

Thus, fire manifests in three distinct “hypostases,” or on three different levels:

• The Fire of Creation (the Primordial Fire) is the original energy of the cosmos. It initiates processes, gives rise to all that exists, and engenders light, order, and form.
• The Fire of Destruction (Kalagni, Infernal Fire) purifies, brings forms to completion, and folds reality back.
• The Fire of Continuance (Elemental Fire, sustaining combustion and life) supports existence, warms, and purifies matter, yet does not transform it definitively.

These three forms correspond to the three fundamental processes of the cosmos: creation, destruction, and the maintenance of existence.

The Fire of Creation (the Primordial Fire) is the originary Light, the “fire of the Logos,” the fire of birth and awakening. Its first manifestation is the “Fiery River” (Dinur), from which the very principle of life is born. It is the Celestial fire (Shamayim, the Throne-fire, the sacred flame) that creates new forms, structures energy, and gives rise to worlds.

The Fire of Destruction (Infernal Fire, Kalagni) is the all-consuming fire of the end of times, which erases all that exists, returning it to a “pre-form” state, and leads to purification before rebirth. It is the Power that effaces forms.

The Fire of Continuance (Elemental Fire) is limited to manifested reality; it is not transcendent. It sustains life: it gives warmth, heats, nourishes, yet is not itself the fundamental force. However, it can pass either into the Fire of Creation (if used in sacral processes) or into the Fire of Destruction (if it becomes part of annihilation).

One may say that the Fire of Creation and the Fire of Destruction are two sides of a single process, while the Fire of Continuance is its expression in the physical world.

Such a triadic principle expresses the cyclical nature of the cosmos: in every campfire flame there is a particle of the Primordial Fire; in every destructive conflagration, an element of the purifying Fire of Fate; and in the gentle warmth of the hearth, the force of the Fire of Continuance. Thus, fire as a principle moves the Universe itself, ceaselessly renewing it. It is a state of matter, spirit, and mind in which active transformation is revealed.

Moreover, when Fire becomes a flow, it acquires a conscious force capable of shaping reality. To create, it must unite with the energy of motion, fluidity, and a space for realization (the maternal flow). Thus arises the energy of the Maternal Current, the living force of Shekhinah or Shakti, which gives form to the Fire of Will.

Thus, one may say that fire is a particular mode of the existence of mind, a special frequency of being. The higher this frequency, the subtler and more meaningful the energy of fire; the lower it is, the more chaotic and destructive its action. When fire joins with mind, it becomes wisdom; when it joins with ungoverned drives, it becomes destruction. If fire is too intense, it devours; if too weak, it vanishes. But when it flows in its proper channel, it creates.

Unlike other primordial elements, fire burns only when a process is present; it requires desire and motion. Therefore, it is the very embodiment of the active principle of the cosmos — the archetype of the Act of Being itself.

Fire is pure energy in motion, always changing itself and transforming whatever it touches. In this sense, it is a transitional process that joins Matter and Spirit. One may say that the evolution of the Universe is precisely this “fire” that burns, maintaining the balance between chaos and order. It purifies, changes, and perfects matter, expressing the principle of the transformation of all things in the universe.

One may also draw a parallel between the hypostases of fire and three classes of beings—Angels, Demons, and Salamanders (Fire Elementals). In this sense, angels express the Fire of Creation, Demons the Fire of Destruction, and salamanders the Fire of Continuance.

In this view, angels are “pure Fire of Creation”: a manifestation of the “Primordial Light,” the primordial impulse of life, and the affirmation of the cosmos. Demons, accordingly, are that aspect of fire which annihilates — though within this destruction are hidden purification and preparation for a new cycle. Salamanders, meanwhile, are fire elementals that govern flame within the bounds of the material world. They nourish the vital force of fire, yet do not pass into the domains of its destructive or creative Power. Thus, angels and Demons are two poles of fire, while salamanders are its balancing, material form.

In the potential space of Interspace, at the stage of becoming, fire manifests as one of the four Cities—Phinias. This city embodies neither the pure Primordial Fire (the Fire of Creation) nor the Incinerating Fire (the Fire of Destruction), but the Fire of Continuance: sustaining existence and processes in the world. Nevertheless, it remains intimately connected with both the Creative and the Destructive Fire.

Phinias arose as the first of the elemental cities, the initial “inflow” of creative forces into Interspace. If one arranges the Cities according to the sequence in which the primordial elements manifest, the series is as follows:

1. Phinias (Fire) — a source of creative Power;
2. Gorias (Air) — knowledge, the dissemination of ideas;
3. Murias (Water) — a transitional state, a link with the depths;
4. Phalias (Earth) — stable form, materialization.

This is analogous to the alchemical process of the Great Work, where:

1. Fire (Phinias) initiates transformation,
2. Air (Gorias) disseminates and structures,
3. Water (Murias) dissolves and purifies,
4. Earth (Phalias) fixes the result.

Phinias is the place where fire is formed — fire that sustains life yet does not annihilate. It relates to the Fire of Creation as a smith’s fire relates to the firstborn spark: it renders this Power useful and governable. If the Fire of Creation is the spark of the world’s birth, then Phinias is already a steady burning — the “working fire” of civilization. The Fire of Creation is pure energy, whereas the Fire of Phinias is a stabilized force directed toward creation.

At the same time, although Phinias is the city of continuance, it also bears within itself an aspect of destruction — not in its chaotic form, but as a governed power: “fire in the hands of the smith.” In this regard, Phinias can be considered a primary source from which the other elements arise.

In other words, Phinias is a balance between chaotic Creation and destructive Incineration. It is “rational fire,” granting Power without slipping out of control. One may say that Phinias is the “Athanor,” the “Alchemical Furnace,” where the untamed forces of Fire are transformed and made useful.

Phinias may be regarded as the first manifestation of the primordial fiery energy of Dinur (Hebrew: דִּינוּר, “Fire of judgment”) — a flow of divine light that is the source of the birth of angels, the medium through which souls are purified, and the current from which the Elemental cities and their corresponding elements sequentially arise.

We have already discussed that Dinur, in the Kabbalistic tradition, is described as a “Fiery River,” representing a flow of primordial creative energy. From this infinite source, various aspects of being are formed.

Phinias is a manifestation — or concentration — of this primordial energy within Interspace.

The arising of Phinias from Dinur may be represented as follows. First comes a concentration of energy: the Primordial Fire of Dinur gathers and focuses at a particular point. Next, the structure of the City is formed: the concentrated energy assumes a definite pattern, creating an “island of stability” within the fluctuating environment of the Interworld. Then, within this formed structure, entities of fiery nature appear — Fire gods, salamanders, and other spirits and beings of the fiery principle. As a result, Phinias begins to fulfill the role of a source and regulator of fiery energy, influencing the processes of creation and transformation in the other elements and laying the prerequisites for the material foundation of manifested worlds.

We have said that the other elemental cities are associated with fundamental interactions (Phalias — the strong, Gorias — the weak, Murias — the gravitational), while Phinias generates electromagnetic forces and photons. It is precisely these particles that serve as carriers of the universal Power binding macrocosm and microcosm. Accordingly, one may say that Phinias is the point at which Dinur first takes shape as a concrete law of the cosmos: electromagnetic interaction. In other words, Phinias is the space where fire first acquires “form,” becoming something determinate rather than mere energy without structure.

Since Phinias forms electromagnetic forces, it must be related both to Creation and to Destruction. On the one hand, photons are pure energy bearing light and heat, and light itself is a symbol of illumination, the Logos, and creative Power. It is also evident that electromagnetic forces largely constitute the basis of life and the structure of matter. Yet on the other hand, high-energy photons (γ-rays) destroy matter at the subatomic level, and extreme electromagnetic interactions can lead to the destruction of substance and its conversion into pure energy. Accordingly, Phinias is the point where pure Fire differentiates into creative and destructive force, embodying itself as an electromagnetic field.

Thus, fire is a key to understanding the processes of creation, destruction, and the maintenance of the world. And while the principle of fire is the very dynamics of existence — expressed in the constant movement of energy and information — Phinias is the manifestation of Fohat, the Primordial Fire in the world of elements: its first stable form, the space in which chaotic primeval Fire acquires form and becomes the law that governs physical reality.