needfire

This explanation of the 'needfire' throws light also on the Roman custom of re-kindling annually the sacred fire in the Temple of Vesta.

Man or Matter Ernst Lehrs

The spiritual significance of these fires cannot be expressed better than by the meaning of the very term 'needfire'.

Man or Matter Ernst Lehrs

At times of public calamities and distress, the practice of kindling needfire was resorted to.

The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales James Grant

But what makes it nearly certain that this was once the invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic festivals is the analogy of the needfire, which has almost always been produced by the friction of wood, and sometimes by the revolution of a wheel.

Chapter 63. The Interpretation of the Fire-Festivals. § 2. The Solar Theory of the Fire-festivals 1922

But what makes it nearly certain that this was once the invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic festivals is the analogy of the needfire, which has almost always been produced by the friction of wood, and sometimes by the revolution of a wheel.

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion 1922

But what makes it nearly certain that this was once the invariable mode of kindling the fire at these periodic festivals is the analogy of the needfire, which has almost always been produced by the friction of wood, and sometimes by the revolution of a wheel.

The Golden Bough James George Frazer 1897

The needfire, as described by Sir E.B. Tylor, had the character of a purificatory rite, but it may be doubted whether this was its original form, any more than in the case of the Suovetaurilia or Pola ceremonies.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume I (of IV) Robert Vane Russell 1894

The rite may be compared to the needfire as practised in Russia when all the horses of the village were driven between two fires, or through fire, and their bridles thrown into the fire and burnt.

The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India—Volume I (of IV) Robert Vane Russell 1894

First, the remnants of a very primitive savage faith, represented by the sanctity of animals and plants, by Totemism, by the needfire, and by the use of amulets, charms, and spells.

Early Britain Anglo-Saxon Britain Grant Allen 1873

Once a year the needfire was so lighted, and all the hearths of the village were rekindled from the blaze thus obtained.

Early Britain Anglo-Saxon Britain Grant Allen 1873