Our Mythos - The Money Flame

The Making of The Money Flame

The Money Flame collage was created by Rev Jonathan as a ritual act between the 23rd of January and the 23rd of July, 2016. This six-month process saw the creation of a collage made from the last complete set of paper banknotes (series E and F) issued by the Bank of England. Just ten weeks after the artwork was unveiled on September 13th, 2016, the Bank of England released its first polymer banknote (Series G), marking the end of an era for paper currency.

The Money Flame consists of £230 in sterling, specifically two series F £50 notes (AK20 8585066, AK20 8585067), three series F £20 notes (JK46 954624, JK46 954625, JK46 954626), four series E £10 notes (LJ09 378862, LJ09 378863, LJ09 378864, LJ09378865), and six series E £5 notes (LE63 342615, LE63 342496, LE63 342497, LE63 342498, LE63 342499, LE63 342500). Scraps of unused notes remain affixed to the back of the board. The board itself measures 42 cm by 42 cm, while the flame motif has a diameter of 23 cm.

The notes were obtained directly from the Bank of England public counter. Any member of the public can use the Bank of England’s public counter. But you can only exchange cash for cash. You cannot, for example, withdraw cash against your debit card. Instead, you must visit the nearest ATM, withdraw your money, and then exchange those banknotes at the Bank’s public counter. Without the cash, you’ll not even be let in. There is something archaic about this. The Bank must honour the promise on its notes ‘to pay the bearer,’ and that in turn requires this ritualised exchange of like-for-like—reminding us that money needs at least the illusion of a material grounding to maintain its value.

The Money Flame motif (the flame symbol, itself) did not have ritualistic or magical birth. See Our Story - The Money Flame for more details. However, the banknote collage of The Money Flame motif was very much a magical action.

“Beauty cannot enter art unless the mind in the work is anchored beyond itself so that in some way the finished work reflects the sacred and the doing of the work, ritual."
James Hillman The Practice of Beauty

The creation of the collage is chronicled in the epilogue of The Money Burner’s Manual. Its origin story weaves through the death of Lemmy Kilmister, a youthful fixation on Sally James, Cosmic Trigger, a forgotten Greek god, and a pauper’s graveyard inhabited for centuries by Southwark’s sex workers. The whole process had been brewing in Rev Jonathan’s mind for years. But for someone on the average wage, the gap between merely thinking of cutting up £230 and actually doing so is significant

But in January 2016, the creation of the Money Flame collage became inevitable. Daisy Campbell revived the idea of the Book of Horkus, a magical action that is still ongoing, today (Sept 24). And open to all those of serious intent. Signatories pledge to complete a task within six months, after which they present the completed work or its evidence, and new pledges are made. If a single task remains incomplete, the book—a beautiful and precious artefact in itself—is ceremonially burned.

The first pledges were made outside the gates of Crossbones Graveyard in Southwark, witnessed by John Crow and attendees of the Vigil for the Goose and the Outcast Dead. The Money Flame collage was duly signed into the Book of Horkus, and the completed work was later presented at the second pledging at Festival 23, held in Grenoside Woods near Sheffield.

The Money Flame collage is now often displayed at Church of Burn events.