The Fire and Water Ritual

Saint John’s night rituals and ancient traditions

Ritual / Performance freely taken from Saint John’s night ancient traditions: Saint John’s Fire and the Saint John’s Water

by Matteo Trivelli

Director, Performer, Screenplay Author, Copywriter

A nowadays representation of the summer solstice celebrations as a symbol of the alchemical transformation of the elements common to every life cycle.

Saint John’s night through history until today, for the reconnection of human consciousnesses to nature and to the essence of life.

Performed in 2022 and 2023 in the context of the Forum delle Acque (Waters Forum) and Festa delle Acque (Water Fest) di Piediluco. In collaboration with Hydra – Museo della Cascata delle Marmore and Pro Loco Piediluco.

Between 2021 and 2024, I collaborated with Hydra – Museo della Cascata delle Marmore to create the Forum delle Acque (Waters Forum), an international forum, which took place in Umbria (Italy), that has been inmediatly involved in UNESCO programs.

My work included project consulting and support for a wider strategy and creative communication.

Aside from Idea, Concept, Project Development, Production, Communications Consulting, my founding participation to this event led me to assume the “guru” role also literally, that resulted in this artistic Ritual / Performance The Fire and the Water of Saint John, written, directed and performed by me, that involved forum guests, local community, and general public.

The Fire of Saint John and the Water of Saint John are ancient traditions linked to the rituals of the summer solstice, common to all cultures in the world and celebrated in Umbria since its origins.

The solstice is the day of change in which an element transforms into its opposite: daylight stops growing and begins to decrease until the winter solstice, when it stops decreasing and start growing again… and so on.

In order to understand the changes in reality, the ancient wise humans asked themselves what are the simplest essential elements that are common to anything. The answer they found is that everything, in the space and time we live, is composed by a duality of essential elements, opposite and in harmonious interaction with each other, which define the existence and path of anything.

Light and Darkness, Positive and Negative, Masculine and Feminine, Proton and Electron… are examples of these elements, which therefore can also be used as symbols of transformation and purification.

For us they are: Fire and Water!