FR I E Given its infinite connotations and definitions, how would one even begin to cover all of the dimensions of fire, Enchantress’ first editorial theme? How can it even be quantified (a flicker, a spark, a blaze, a smolder?), much less defined in literal terms? A chemical reaction resulting in primarily carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen? The burning feeling you get in the back of your throat after too many shots of tequila? That stuff cavemen figured out? One-quarter of the zodiac signs opposite Earth, Wind and Water?
IN THIS ISSUE
Four little letters, one big word. From the thirteenth-century Middle English “fier,” both noun and verb, never has one four-letter F-word had so many connotations. (Even the other F-word you’re thinking of.) What else stands as a metaphor for both creation and destruction, death and life anew alike?
Further adding fuel to the fire (pun completely intended), the word has no shortage of symbolism: Mythology gave us Prometheus, who stole fire from the Greek Gods, Agni, the Sanskrit deity who rode a chariot of flaming horses and Hui Lu, the Chinese magician who, according to legend, kept one hundred birds of fire in a gourd. Literature runs the gamut from Fahrenheit 451 to Lord of the Flies to The Hunger Games. And of course, music presents fire imagery everywhere you listen from Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the…” to Alicia Keys’ “Girl on…” to The Doors’ “Light My…”
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/’fi( )r/
1. a (1) : the phenomenon of combustion manifested in light, flame, and heat (2) : one of the four elements of the alchemists. b (1) : burning passion : ardor (2) : liveliness of imagination : inspiration 2. a : fuel in a state of combustion (as on a hearth) b British : a small gas or electric space heater 3. a : a destructive burning (as of a building). b (1) : death or torture by fire (2) : severe trial or ordeal 4. brilliancy, luminosity <the fire of a gem> 5. a : the firing of weapons (as firearms, artillery, or missiles). b : intense verbal attack or criticism. c : a rapidly delivered series (as of remarks).
Perhaps above all else, fire represents passion. A collective fire, after all, is what created every great nation, movement and creative work. It’s what drives the oppressed to rise up against injustice, the daring to create the unheard of and the emboldened to dare to change the world. Fire unites us as powerfully is it can destroy. Never has one little image covered so much ground.
From the women firefighters who now make up .04% of the FDNY (read about our cover women in “The Women of New York’s Bravest”) to Tinder’s iconic logo (see “An Illustrated History of My Best and Worst Tinder Dates”) to actually breathing fire (“How to Fight Fear with Fire”) we’ve tackled our inaugural issue’s editorial theme from every angle and invite you to take the journey with us.
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