Atarkana

ATARKANA - Fire Festival - 5th November

Atarkana is a time to celebrate fire, the external fire and the internal spiritual fire.

On Atarkana we interact with fire, we light sticks, we gather round bonfires, and we set off fireworks.

It is time to celebrate the freedom of the spirit, untramelled by external structures and pressures. Perhaps we wear masks, so our everyday identity is hidden, and we feel free to express ourselves.


THE STORY OF ATARKANA

Once upon a time the world was ruled by an evil tyrant called Azidak and his clan. Azidak was filled with a lust for power and wanted all to obey him and be his slaves. All the story-tellers in the world were ordered by Azidak to tell untrue stories and the people were in confusion. Azidak set every person at odds with his neighbour so that they could not combine and come against him. Azidak sent spies everywhere so that he could see the first stirrings of a rebellion and crush it before it started. Azidak had little feeling for others and took many people and tortured or killed them.

One day the men of Azidak took the children of Kavey the Blacksmith and killed them as a sacrifice to his god. Many others before had suffered in the same way but none knew what they could do about it. Kavey though was a proud man and vowed he would avenge his loss. He took his blacksmith's apron and decorated it as the flag of the great king Jamshyd of ancient times. He raised the flag on a pole and went about the world gathering men to fight against the clan of Azidak.

After a time Kavey found the good prince Freydon who was of the lineage of Jamshyd and who had gone into hiding after Azidak had killed his father. He asked Freydon to be the leader of the rebellion as no one else would have the trust of all the people. Freydon hesitated as he knew the cunning of Azidak and wondered if he had the wisdom to defeat him. Then Kavey said he would seek out Albomagus the white wizard and ask him to give advice.

Soon a great army came together under Kavey, Freydon and Albomagus. They made sacrifice to Mithras and set upon Azidak and all his clan. Many died in the struggle but Azidak was defeated and taken prisoner. He was chained up on the highest mountain where all could see him that he might never rule from the shadows again.

The day of victory was the 5th of November and the people rejoiced. They determined to build a great tower of fire to mark the coming of the new light into the world of darkness. They piled up logs into the biggest heap that had ever been seen. Kavey took a blazing stick from his blacksmith fire and set it upon the tower of wood. Slowly at first but then with increasing strength the fire took hold and blazed out upon the world.