The third group
of elementals is the salamanders, or spirits of fire, who live in that attenuated,
spiritual ether which is the invisible fire element of Nature. Without them
material fire cannot exist; a match cannot be struck nor will flint and steel
give off their spark without the assistance of a salamander, who immediately
appears (so the mediæval mystics believed), evoked by friction. Man is
unable to communicate successfully with the salamanders, owing to the fiery
element in which they dwell, for everything is resolved to ashes that comes
into their presence. By specially prepared compounds of herbs and perfumes the
philosophers of the ancient world manufactured many kinds of incense. When incense
was burned, the vapors which arose were especially suitable as a medium for
the expression of these elementals, who, by borrowing the ethereal effluvium
from the incense smoke, were able to make their presence felt.
The salamanders
are as varied in their grouping and arrangement as either the undines or the
gnomes. There are many families of them, differing in appearance, size, and
dignity. Sometimes the salamanders were visible as small balls of light. Paracelsus
says: "Salamanders have been seen in the shapes of fiery balls, or tongues
of fire, running over the fields or peering in houses." (Philosophia Occulta,
translated by Franz Hartmann.)
Mediæval
investigators of the Nature spirits were of the opinion that the most common
form of salamander was lizard-like in shape, a foot or more in length, and visible
as a glowing Urodela, twisting and crawling in the midst of the fire. Another
group was described as huge flaming giants in flowing robes, protected with
sheets of fiery armor. Certain mediæval authorities, among them the Abbé
de Villars, held that Zarathustra (Zoroaster) was the son of Vesta (believed
to have been the wife of Noah) and the great salamander Oromasis. Hence, from
that time onward, undying fires have been maintained upon the Persian altars
in honor of Zarathustra's flaming father.
One most important
subdivision of the salamanders was the Acthnici. These creatures appeared only
as indistinct globes. They were supposed to float over water at night and occasionally
to appear as forks of flame on the masts and rigging of ships (St. Elmo's fire).
The salamanders were the strongest and most powerful of the elementals, and
had as their ruler a magnificent flaming spirit called Djin, terrible and awe-inspiring
in appearance. The salamanders were dangerous and the sages were warned to keep
away from them, as the benefits derived from studying them were often not commensurate
with the price paid. As the ancients associated heat with the South, this corner
of creation was assigned to the salamanders as their drone, and they exerted
special influence over all beings of fiery or tempestuous temperament. In both
animals and men, the salamanders work through the emotional nature by means
of the body heat, the liver, and the blood stream. Without their assistance
there would be no warmth.
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