Fire - destructive, redemptive, a symbol of transformation and purification. It is prevalent throughout the SW saga: Fire destroys Luke's home and family, setting in motion his journey to discovering the Force; it "destroys" Anakin Skywalker, resulting in his physical transformation into Darth Vader; and it is used ceremoniously in Jedi funerals.

In nature, fire is represented by specific climates and forces of nature. The natural environment that represents fire is the desert, which is associated with purification*. It's important that both Anakin and Luke lived in a desert, as Anakin is purified, or redeemed, by Luke. Another natural phenomena that represents fire is lightning*, which is used by the Sith as a display of their destructive dark side power.

Fire is often used to symbolize human emotions. In his book Psychoanalysis of Fire, Gaston Bachelard states about fire: "It can go back down into the substance and hide there, latent and pent-up, like hate and vengeance".* In the scenes at Mustafar, fire and lava conjure the image of Hell and are used to symbolize what Anakin is going through - he is rage and vengeance personified as he's consumed by flames and screams his hatred at Obi-Wan. "Characters that have a 'fire-esq' quality to them are likely to be violent (extreme and chaotic) in their response and more likely to rush into a situation without completely thinking the consequences through".** This describes Anakin perfectly. He is passionate, extreme and impulsive; the decisions he made leading up to his confrontations with Padme and Obi-Wan on Mustafar, along with the statements he made to them there, reflect those characteristics ("I can overthrow him"..."If you're not with me, you're against me").

Another emotional and symbolic use of fire is the Jedi ritual of cremation in their funeral ceremonies. According to Buddhism, which influenced GL when he created the spirituality of the Jedi, "the cremation ground is regarded as the breeding ground for the virtues of fearlessness and other heroic virtues. And in this way, for such reasons as this, the cremation ground comes to be regarded as a sort of spiritual centre...as a place for the development of heroic virtue, heroic emotions, heroic spiritual attitudes...The cremation ground...is a symbol of transformation...of one's whole being from the depths right up to heights, a symbol of the transformation of the whole system of consciousness".*** The Jedi could certainly be viewed as heroic and spiritual and as being able to attain multiple levels of consciousness. In addition, Vader's funeral pyre has its own symbolism: the return of Anakin to the Light, and the redemption of a father by his son.

We see a more jubilant use of fire in ROTJ. The rebels and the Ewoks dance around a bonfire, and fireworks explode throughout the galaxy to celebrate the rebels' victory over evil.

It's significant that fire is used symbolically and literally throughout SW, which is a saga about heroism, spirituality, passion, and transformation.

Stay cool.


*http://www.symbolism.org/writing/books/sp/7/page2.html
**http://www.three-musketeers.net/mike/elements.html
***http://88.208.205.175/texts/read?num=107&at=text