“Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes.”

– Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

The Phoenix symbol acknowledges the sometimes dramatic and violent nature of growth, as it “bursts” into flames and falls into ashes. And then there is rebirth. It is a powerful image that reminds us of the cycle of life, how nothing is ever stagnant and how the only thing we can count on is change.

We strive for success, and encounter failure

We open ourselves to love and become heart-broken.

We make plans to go in one direction and the plans are foiled and blocked and so we must find another direction or plan.

We strive for connection and experience loss.

Flame

What does it mean to burst into flame?

The Phoenix shows us the dramatic and sometimes violent nature of growth, as it bursts into flames. What is the meaning of this fire? A fire is hot, painful, and can seem unbearable if we are in it too long. And yet the transmutation that occurs in fire, like the way it can melt steel so that the once hard metal is now liquid, demonstrates the transformative process of fire.

The fire brings pain. And process.

So if you are in a state of pain, this fire, ask yourself what this may be offering to you. Rilke advises here wisely:

“So you must not be frightened … if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloud-shadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any agitation, any pain, any melancholy, since you really do not know what these states are working upon you?” – Rilke

Ashes

One we’ve burned from the fire, we are left with ashes. We’ve experienced a type of death as all that was before has been burned. In the aftermath of this tumultuous time, the ash phase can be long and draining as one feels exhausted by the metaphorical death, which can be quite painful. Something inside has died and there can seem as if there is emptiness, and perhaps no apparent way forward. Sometimes we remain in the ashes, holding out hope for something new, even if we can’t see it just yet. Is there something beyond the ashes, beyond the ruin after the scorch of the painful fire?

When I am going through challenges times, I have to remind myself that “the only way out is through.” Because what choice do we have? Sometimes we linger in the ashes a long time, wondering about the meaning of it all, and if the emptiness will take us somewhere new.

This place of ashes can be a still place, a quiet place, and also a lonely and desolate place.

Right. This is hard. While the actual bursting into flames can be overwhelming and painful and scary, being in the ashes can leave us with an inability to get up.

The Phoenix reminds us that there is a way forward, there is a way up, even when we are feeling down. The Phoenix calls to us to believe, to know that even as we lie burnt in the ashes, we can rise up once again to face our lives, and try again. There exists a new birth, a new life waiting for us. 

Rise

As we begin to take one small step, then another, we start the rise. The Phoenix reminds us in rebirth of the precious fragility and uncertainty of a baby bird, learning how to move its body, with small steps and the fledgling efforts to fly. And in this rebirth, we can begin to rise. It may not be a straight ascent and may actually have many twists and turns, but it is indeed a way forward, a rising up into a new way of being.

“I feel again the everlasting going and coming, the eternal return, the growing and mating and dying and growing again. And I know that human beings are part of this eternal going and returning, part of its sadness as well as its song.”

– Rollo May, Love and Will

The idea of consciousness, being truly alive and aware, and yes, working through our pain, our “stuff,” is that we must go through burning into flames (our wounding), into the darkness of ashes (the introspection) and allow the rebirth to come in its time (the integration). The Phoenix represents through a beautiful metaphor the human process of healing from pain, which does involve often entering into pain and darkness before the light comes.

I end, coming full circle as the cycle of life the Phoenix models, with the words of wise Dumbledore:

“Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers and they make highly faithful pets.”

– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Like Dumbledore, I choose the Phoenix as my faithful pet, the beautiful bird who can carry the weight of pain, use the healing power of tears, and who looks up in hope, rising in grace and truth.

Disclaimer: The blog on this site is for information only. It is not therapy. This blog is only for informational and educational purposes and should not be considered therapy or any form of treatment. It is meant to be helpful and provide other perspectives. We are not able to respond to specific questions or comments about personal situations, appropriate diagnosis or treatment, or otherwise provide any clinical opinions. If you think you need immediate assistance, call your local emergency number or your local crisis line listed on your government’s mental health services pages.