Ash Wednesday. A day of ashes, repentance, and remembering that we are dust. But for some of us, it’s also a day of fire. Either in Gaza or whatever pain and suffering we pass.
I don’t follow the church calendar in the traditional sense. Weekly rhythms? Sure. But feast days, fast days, and ashes on the forehead? That’s foreign territory. And yet, something about Ash Wednesday always makes me pause—not because I see it as sacred ritual, but because it’s a reckoning.
Ashes are what’s left after the fire has done its work. And fire? Fire is judgment, but it’s also clarity. It burns away what is false, exposes what remains, and makes way for something new. Feuer frei! Fire at will.
There’s a part of me that leans into the destruction today. Because there’s a lot that needs to burn—the illusions, the lies I tell myself, the weight of expectations that aren’t mine to carry.
Nietzsche had his Umwertung aller Werte—the revaluation of all values—but real creative destruction isn’t just about tearing things down; it’s about making room for something real.
So let the ashes come. Let the fire do its work. Let today be the day I set flame to everything that keeps me from the truth. If I am dust, then let me be the kind of dust that dances in the light of something greater.
And if I fast today? Well, I do that every day. Maybe it’s not about the fasting. Maybe it’s about what the hunger reveals.
Feuer frei!
Rammstein’s Feuer Frei! is a battle cry—pure fire, unfiltered aggression. But it’s not just about destruction for destruction’s sake. The phrase itself, “Feuer frei!,” is a military command: open fire! It’s about unleashing, about cutting loose, about a force that consumes everything in its path.
So what does it mean?
On the surface, the song is about violence, explosions, the thrill of combustion. But deeper down, it taps into something more raw—the human tendency to unleash what’s inside, for better or worse. Passion? Wrath? Liberation? It’s fire, and fire doesn’t ask questions.
For Ash Wednesday, it takes on another layer. If ashes are what’s left after fire has done its work, then Feuer Frei! isn’t just about destruction—it’s about purification.
What happens when everything false is burned away? What remains when the fire has consumed the dead weight?
Maybe that’s why Rammstein hits so deeply. It’s primal. It’s German. It doesn’t apologize. And sometimes, to get to the truth, you have to burn through the lies
English Translation - Fire at Will!
Dangerous is the one who knows pain
From the fire that burns the mind
A burst of sparks turns into a scream
Burns upon the soul, tears off the mask
Bang, bang
Fire at will!
Dangerous is the burned child
With fire that separates from life
A hot scream, fire at will!
Burns upon the soul, a bright scream
Bang, bang
Fire at will!
Bang, bang
Fire at will!
Bang, bang
Fire at will!
It’s raw, powerful, and unrelenting. The imagery of fire and destruction, of something being burned away to reveal what’s underneath, makes this song hit harder on a day like Ash Wednesday—where the ashes left behind force you to confront what’s been lost and what remains. Feuer Frei! isn’t just about destruction; it’s about what comes after.
🙏 Stop the Genocide of Palestinians,
may all of this be exposed in order to Tikkun Olam! ❤️🔥
