In October 2024, a group of the First Men known to some as “The Solar Bastards” spent two days in a desert wasteland just outside of Joshua Tree, CA to run some shooting drills and perform the Order of Fire’s sacred Fire Ritual.
Spring Equinox 2024
This past March, a group of about 15 members of the Order of Fire met on a Thursday in Phoenix, Arizona, for our annual Spring Equinox event. Several members flew in from different parts of the U.S., some drove in, and a few were local to the greater Phoenix area. Most of the afternoon and evening were spent touching base, waiting for guys to arrive, while Jack and Dustin recorded a podcast with CB Robertson on the topic of ritual.
Friday morning, with energy drinks in hand, we hit a local gym for a workout. It was a gym geared towards serious lifters who create content and one of the coolest gyms I’ve been to. It was a great way to start the weekend.
We moved on to Jack’s BJJ gym, where we met his professor, who was going to guide us through some basics. Some of the guys are regular practitioners of BJJ, while others have limited or no experience. It was the perfect opportunity to try something new and challenging, learn from the expert guys, or simply watch them roll through rounds.
Friday night everybody got together for dinner at a local restaurant. When the Bvlls get together there is always great conversation. Topics like myth, philosophy, art, martial arts, firearms and tactical skills. It gets interesting when you’ve got a bunch of guys from different backgrounds and skill sets around a table. When it comes to politics there is an understanding that we are all basically on the same page so it rarely comes up. It’s an excellent vibe.
Saturday we convened at 7am for the drive out to the Superstition Mountains area where we would hike to our chosen spot and set up camp for our Fire Ritual. The Superstition Mountains are one of the most strikingly beautiful places in the United States. A surprisingly green desert space full of tall and majestic saguaro cacti. And then there is Superstition Mountain itself, towering in the near distance like a great god.
The hike was a little over two hours and the weather was perfect. Full sunlight and just hot enough. We split up into small groups that would change as the hike went on, talking life and Solar Idealism, or just taking in the scene. Once at the spot we took a break and then each man went to find a place to set up his tent or, as a few chose to do, simply lay out a sleeping pad. There were a lot of rocks, desert grasses, prickly pears, and many other native plants that made this an interesting challenge.
After we claimed our space and refueled, we gathered to attend a workshop led by one of our members, Vic, a fitness and self-defense instructor. He gave us hands-on instruction in techniques to deflect a knife attack in various scenarios both armed and unarmed. We paired up for practice and it was a blast.
it was time to start preparing for ritual. The Fire ritual takes place at the golden hour and we needed to make good use of the time. We foraged the area for large pieces of dried wood suitable to make a torch for each Bvll and then gathered kindling. We made our torches and then it was time to build the fire altar. Jack was leading the ritual and after he demarcated a space, we gathered rocks and created the perimeter. We then took some time to prepare ourselves mentally.
Ritual began at the golden hour. The performance combines words and actions and with torches lit we affirm our purpose and light the fire. We give this fire a name and it becomes the sacred fire. At the completion of ritual, we do what we call the Holy Round. It is like a toast with each guy taking some time to speak. We raise our cups and drink. One of our members brews Sumerian beer based on an ancient recipe and he brings it on the hike for the ritual. It has become a Holy Round tradition.
The Fire is kept burning all night with the kindling, each man taking an hour for fire watch to keep it going. It rained heavily overnight yet the guys were able to keep the fire going. In the morning we performed a solemn ritual for the dousing of the fire, symbolically taking it with us.
We packed up and made the hike back. A few guys were traveling back home that afternoon and some of us were staying on with flights out the next morning. We had a solid time closing out the equinox weekend with few drinks and some good food.
Stay Solar
— recorded by Ed Hamann of the First Men
Winter Solstice with The First Men in Georgia
In December 2023, Jack Donovan traveled to Georgia (USA) to perform a fire ritual recognizing Winter Solstice and celebrating the concept of Sol Invictus — The Unconquerable Sun. This was the first ritual employing firearms — clearing the perimeter with sidearms and offering a salute with rifles in honor of The Unconquerable Sun.
The First Men in Ireland
In late October, Jack Donovan joined some European members of The Order of Fire’s First Men to visit the megalithic passage tombs at the ancient Brú na Bóinne ritual complex — a UNESCO World Heritage site in Ireland.
Many of these monuments are over 5,000 years old and contain evidence of use by several different cultures over the millennia since. The site at Knowth was more beautiful and less “reinterpreted” in its design, but we were able to enter the tomb at Newgrange, where light from the rising sun flows all the way to the end of the passage on winter solstice. Visiting this prehistoric ritual site with a solar orientation was the perfect overture to our afternoon hike out into the Irish backcountry, past crumbling estates, moss-covered rock walls, foaming Guinness-colored creeks, and fields of deer and livestock.
After setting up camp, The Order performed a brief fire ritual in the Irish weather and conducted our Holy Round.
Our visit to the monuments was a reminder that nothing is permanent, and meaning can be lost, but it is up to men of every generation to bring Order to Chaos and shine a light that — even for a moment, drives darkness to a distance.
Stay Solar ऋत
Fall Equinox 2023 – Nevada
The Order of Fire Autumn Equinox event of 2023 was our first large-scale event and provided an opportunity for members from around the U.S. to meet in person for the first time, as well as a chance for guys who already know each other to meet again. The event took place in Las Vegas, with members driving and flying in from places such as California, Washington state, various places on the East Coast, and the greater Southwest, to name a few.
We started by visiting the famous Dragon’s Lair gym to work out. Then, in the early evening, we all got together for dinner and to walk the old strip. It’s a wild scene and a lot of fun.
The following morning, we packed up supplies and drove out to the chosen place for our fire ritual and other scheduled events. The designated site was in the desert on BLM land and a little over an hour outside of Vegas. The spot was perfect. Big desert sky with rock formations of different sizes and color shades, many adorned with petroglyphs left by men in some distant past.
We set up camp, put up tents, and then joined C.B. Robertson for a walking philosophical lecture on the topic of Solar Phenomenology. It was thought-provoking and a highlight of the event.
This lecture eventually became the essay “Descending Odin’s Throne,” published in PH2t3R 01.
After lunch, we gathered for a unique rock-throwing workshop with self-defense and fitness instructor, Vic Verdier. The focus was on mobility and reflexes. We split up into groups of two and three and threw large rocks back and forth in different ways and from different angles. It was a hardcore way to play catch. It seemed simple at the outset, but it was challenging, humbling, and fun.
By now the golden hour was approaching and it was time to prepare for ritual. We made our torches and built the fire altar and as the Sun descended in the sky, we performed our fire ritual. This was followed by the Holy Round- a toast where each man speaks his mind – imbibing the Sumerian beer made by our member, Mark.
After ritual we grilled meats and had drinks along with excellent conversation. The desert night sky with full view of the Milky Way was awe-inspiring.
First thing the next morning we attended another workshop with Vic, this time focusing on expanding awareness and peripheral vision. We packed and cleaned things up then a podcast on the topic of goodness was recorded featuring discussion between Jack, C.B. Robertson and one of our Florida guys, Dustin.
We then drove to the Valley of Fire, an otherworldly landscape of red rocks reaching to sky. It’s a place I had always wanted to visit and achieving that in the company of fellow members of the Order of Fire was a peak experience. Here, I gave a walking lecture on Rig Veda with an introduction to its primary gods and themes and diving into its aspect of masculine imagination, creativity, and aspiration.
Once back in Vegas we met up on the strip for an indulgent dinner at one of those great steakhouses and then spent evening walking, talking, taking in the sights, and simply enjoy the vibe.
– Event record written by Ed Hamann.