Fire Elementals - Salamanders

This post about Salamander fire elementals is one in a four-part series about the personification of the prime elements (fire, earth, air and water).

Some neat bits about elemental Salamanders:

• They rule the element of fire
• They hail from the direction South
• It's typically agreed they take on a lizard-like form
• They are fabled to have taught ancient man how to create and use fire
• The elemental concept of, and the term salamander was coined by Paracelsus, a highly respected physician of the 16th century.

The fire elementals Salamander is no real relation to the amphibious salamander. Although, amphibian salamanders do live in moist logs and villagers of days gone by observed throwing logs on a fire caused salamanders to scurry out from the logs. Ergo, some of our more naive ancestors figured fire as the birth-giver of the salamander (rather than running to save their sweet little skins) and here we find a lore-connection to our fire elemental salamander.

The lore continues to weave in and out of collective imagination as we learn elemental Salamanders were attributed for the presence of coronas or points of discharge. Commonly known as St. Elmo's Fire, salamanders were thought to produce electric fields of energy, and sometimes great glowing orbs of fire.

Other ancient accounts tell of fire elementals living in volcanos. Dormant volcano's indicate contented, slumbering salamanders. When erupting, the salamanders' wrath has been incurred, and their lava tongues come to lick up everything in their path.

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures cites the salamander to be a poisonous beast of mythology.

Far from poisonous, my minds eye sees elemental Salamanders as high-spirited, cantankerous beasties. Being a fire sign (Sagittarius), I can relate to that :-).

If we can imagine fire as having a personality, we can start to pick up clues about what Salamanders are really like. Here are a few symbolic attributes of fire that might help in the identification process:

• Wild
• Bold
• Sultry
• Feisty
• Lively
• Energizing
• Impetuous
• Passionate
• Consuming
• Enlightening
• Illuminating
• Commanding

In this light, the symbolic meaning of the salamander as a personification of the fire element takes on a new energetic tone.

If you've enjoyed this page on fire elementals, check out the other elemental clans:

• Gnomes: Earth Elementals
• Undines: Water Elementals
• Sylphs: Air Elementals

Looking for Something? Search This Site:

---