Candle Magick

To make your own candles, please see the previous post. This particular post will teach you how to use candles, but it is up to you as to whether you wish to make your own (which creates stronger magick) or simply use a store bought candle.

I highly recommend one of my earliest learning sources:  Lucky Mojo's Candle Magick article. But I feel that there is much more to add to what you can learn there.

CHOOSING & ENHANCING YOUR CANDLE(S)

If you choose to use a store bought candle, it's recommended that you "cleanse" it from any taint passed on to it in the making or selling of the candle. After all, other people have handled that candle and may have had other intents for it. It's up to you to make that candle yours and dedicate it properly.  So if you are planning on using a purchased candle, pass it through sage smoke or burn some sandalwood or rose incense and pass it through that as you pray over it and dedicate it to your purpose.

Now that you know how to make your own candle, consider adding to it.  For a great list of magickal herbs and their uses, go to Teen Witch Herbs. Some examples include:

Love (PINK or RED): Add ground up rose petals, basil, and / or cardamom
Healing or Peace (BLUE): Add dried camomile
Money (GREEN): Add rue and / or rosemary, and anise never hurts (it's an enhancer)
Ending a Curse or Jinx or reversing bad luck (BLACK): Add hot pepper, sea salt, and a pinch of graveyard dirt (to "bury" the curse)

Sometimes adding additional ingredients makes the candle burn poorly. Here's an example of one of mine that went wrong today. I had added hot pepper seeds, smoked sea salt, and graveyard dirt and it caused the candle to burn too rapidly:

DRESSING THE CANDLE(S)

Therefore, if you wish to skip adding something to the candle, consider annointing it, instead. You can purchase various oils from Wiccan shops, or you can make your own by combine the herbs you wish with a little oil and spreading the mixture on your candle.  Pray over the candle as you do this, and as you pray, be positive! Don't dwell on the negative: Be grateful and expect that your prayers will be answered.

If your candle is a jar candle, add a few drops of oil to the top of the wax as you pray over your candle.

MARKING THE CANDLE(S)

For most spells, take a knife or sharp pair of scissors and write what you desire on the candles. Add your name to it if it's a positive spell (such as a request for love, money, etc.)  If it's a spell to counteract negativity and you are using a black candle, I recommend that you write the name(s) of your enemies backwards on the candle, if you can. If you don't know the name(s) of your enemies, just write the word "ENEMY" or "ENEMIES". You could also write "BAD LUCK" or "JINX" if you're trying to end a run of bad luck.

If you're using a jar candle, write on the outside with a permanent marker. I also print my own paper labels and glue them to the jar - I've seen warnings that this can be flammable, but I've never had a problem with it in any way.  You can also enhance them by gluing pictures or illustrations to the outside of the jar to remind you of what you're praying for.

You can choose to write in your own language, or you can mark your candle with runes.  For a wonderful list of runes, go to Serena's Guide to Runes.

PRAYING OVER YOUR CANDLE(S)

I believe in always lighting a white candle along with the others. It signals purity, and is a great reminder to thank God for what blessings he's already sent your way. It also reminds you to get your heart right before you move forward.

Start by praying over the white candle, then move to the next one(s). Pray for what each one signifies. Some people are content to pray once and leave the candles burning for the next 3 or more hours, periodically returning to them to pray more.  I prefer to start out by praying 7 times over each candle (which is relatively common) and then refreshing my prayers as time goes by.

SNUFFING THE CANDLE(S)

It is commonly believed that you should always snuff out a candle rather than blow it out. Snuffing it out will allow the spell to continue, but blowing it out signifies the end. Of course I don't believe this is a hard-and-fast rule and if you accidentally blow it out, just light it once more and pray over it again!  God understands - He is all-wise and all-powerful and hardly rigid, or he wouldn't have made and loved US!


DISPOSING OF THE CANDLE(S)

When your candle has reached the end of it's life, you can simply dispose of it in the garbage. I've sometimes heard it recommended that you bury it, but I find that to be completely impractical and most Wiccans agree with me, from what I can discover. With the amount of candles that I burn, my backyard would look as if it had a colony of prairie dogs!

A WORD ABOUT RECYCLING

Although recycling is good for many things, you cannot recycle a spell candle into a new one. Start fresh: You don't want former karma or associations to travel with you.

WARNING

Of course only idiots need to be told to never leave a burning candle unattended, but as I'm sure an idiot might meander by this blog, let me emphasize this!

Candle Making at Home

Today, let me try to communicate some of the satisfaction that comes from making your own candles. Perhaps I'll make a convert out of you!

Even if you aren't inclined to believe in candle magick, you can create a little 'magick' of your own in your kitchen. And if you'd rather make 'tarts' for melting in a burner, it's even easier (just pour the hot wax into little pans that have been sprayed with vegetable oil; no wick involved).

Making candles in your kitchen fills your entire home with the aroma of candles twice; the first time as you craft them, the second as you burn and enjoy them. I also get enjoyment from working with warm wax. It reminds me of the time that I was a 'candy striper' in a local hospital, and how fun it was to plunge your hands into warm wax (it's used as an arthritis treatment). Note: I am not recommending you plunge your hands into the hot wax! The only effect you'll get from that is 3rd degree burns!

LET'S GET STARTED!

(My friend who's an attorney tells me to state a standard disclaimer: I am not responsible for any injuries or other misfortunes that may come to you if you choose to use my directions to make candles. I'm just an amateur, so feel free to browse other sites for further information)

Let's begin with the standard wax candle (I don't work with gel, it doesn't interest me in the least). You'll want to get together a bunch of wax. Now, if it's just for the pure pleasure of candle making, it doesn't matter if you recycle used bits of wax. If you're using the candles for magickal purposes, you can't recycle any used candles; although you can use candles that were never burnt.

Where do you get this wax? You can go to your local craft store and buy paraffin by the slab. Or, you can buy the more expensive beeswax or bayberry wax online (if you want to know the cheapest sources for these, let me know and I'll post it). Most candles are paraffin, and there's nothing wrong with starting with paraffin since it's the easiest wax to work with for beginners.

You can also go to your local thrift stores and find baskets full of discarded candles that no one thought about re-crafting. If you buy these, wipe them down and break the candles up and sort them by color. It makes it easier for you later on. I keep them in ziploc sandwich baggies so I can easily grab what I want when I want it.

You can also find slightly abused but wonderfully scented candles in close-out sections. They're great for recycling as well.

In my case, I use all the waxes above.

So, let's start you out making a chunk candle. These are actually the easiest ones to make, in my opinion. First you need to go shopping. Buy a metal pitcher (or use an old metal coffee pot with a pour spout). You can get those pitchers at your local craft stores for about $20.

You'll also need a candle mold which you can get at the craft store or buy on ebay (they have some great ones at fantastic prices there). You can use a homemade mold as well. Take a can or a carboard juice box that's rinsed well. Use a nail to put a hole in the middle of the bottom. Voila! You have a mold!

Incidentally, most candlemaking sources tell you that you need a thermometer. Well, I have one I've never used, so don't bother. After all, candles were made without them for hundreds of years. You'll also need:

• Scent, if you wish (you can buy this at the craft store or online)
• Wicks (you can buy them at the craft store or online)
• Unscented / unflavored cooking spray or the more expensive Candle Release Silicone Spray
• Mold Sealer (which is a type of grey putty)
• A larger pot that the wax kettle can rest in
• A large spoon, scissors, a strong knife, and a long pencil

Chop up enough colored wax to fill your mold, or buy the pre-chopped colored wax (shown in the picture) from your local craft store or online. You can use one color, or many.

In the picture shown above, the candle actually went through six pours. You'll actually only pour one color over the chunks, so your candle will look more like this:

Take wax of a contrasting color and place it in your pot. Put the pot into another, larger pot and fill that larger pot with water. The wax kettle will rest inside that pot of water. Turn your burner to a low-medium to medium setting and keep an eye on this while it heats up. (Don't let any kids or pets get too close to this, of course).

While your wax is melting, prepare your mold. Cut a piece of wick that is 4" longer than your mold. Thread it through the hole in your mold, leaving 2" outside the hole. Use your mold sealer to seal the hole so that no wax will be able to seep through (if a little wax does get through, it's no big deal). On the open side of the mold, take the pencil and rest it on the top of the mold, and tie the wick around it, so that the wick is centered on the mold and is secured. Spray your non-stick coating on the inside of the mold (you'll regret it if you don't do this). I recommend placing your mold on a dinner plate, in case there's any leakage. It's much easier to clean that way.

Take the chunks and heap them up inside the mold, around the wick. Get as many as you can in there but don't fill them to the top of the mold. Leave about 1/4" to 1/2" from the top.

If you wish to add scent, then stir it in when your wax is completely melted; just before you pour it. (Hint: Wipe the spoon down immediatly after, while it's still hot. It makes it so much easier to clean later)

Pour the wax (carefully) into the mold, over the chunks and leave about a 1/4 C of wax in reserve. Try to cover the chunks completely. Let the candle cool for at least a couple hours. Your candle may form a depression as it cools. If it does, heat up the leftover wax again and pour it into the depression. You may have to do that more than once. When the candle is complete, pour any leftover wax into a plate to cool. You can then break it up and store it easily. Wipe out your wax kettle with paper towels while it's still hot and the wax is liquid (be careful). Again, it's much easier to clean that way.

Once the candle is fully cooled and is finished, pick the mold sealer from the wick and untie the wick from the pencil. Your candle should slide out easily. The top of the candle was once the bottom (where the sealer was). If the bottom is uneaven, you can heat up a plate in the microwave and slide it around on the plate until it's nice and flat.

OK, you've read about it. Now try it!

A Little About Candle Magick

There is something mystical about candles. We have always practiced primitive candle magick from the time that we were children and blew out our first candles on our birthday cake and made a wish.

A BIT OF HISTORY

The earliest candles were actually oil lamps made of pottery, with a reed or a piece of twine used as a wick. The oil was usually animal oil of some sort. Later they used hardened fat (have you ever drained the fat from bacon and watched it harden?). Still later (in the 1700s and 1800s) the poor mixed fat with a small amount of wax to create (foul-smelling) candles. The wealthy, who could afford beeswax or bayberry candles, had candles that were smokeless and pleasant to smell. Just as we give our workers benefits if we wish to keep them, the better households also offered benefits to their servants. For instance, all servants got one day out a week. Many also were allowed to take any left-over candle stubs for their own use.

CANDLE MAGICK

Candle magick has been observed for thousands of years. For instance, historians say that the Catholic church initially began the tradition of burning candles for the dead, or for favors, because many of their parishioners came from pagan backgrounds and used candles for the same reasons. The Catholic church was notorious for compromise in order to strengthen their numbers (my apologies to my Catholic friends; this is not a slam on Catholicism by any means).

Practioners of Hoodoo, Voodoo, Wicca, Satanism, New Age, and other faiths use candles ritualistically. (Note: I'm not necessarily endorsing any of these faiths, I'm just reciting facts). The Jews also use candles in traditional ceremonies (the Menorah, for instance) but they don't use them in a magickal context (i.e. to create or get something). Instead, they use them for symbolism.

In the 1800s, many slaves brought certain traditions and beliefs to America with them. This involved the belief that certain colors were effective when asking the spirits or God(s) for certain favors. Black was used either for evil or to repel evil, white for purity or as a substitute for any other color, orange for money or strength of purpose, green for success, money, or nature (such as success in growing crops), brown to win court cases or improve a pet's health, red was used for evil or to create passion or to work healing, pink for romance, blue for fidelity and health, yellow for happiness or attraction, and purple for domination. Figural candles also enhanced the spell. Some figural candles used are (and were) of cats, people, genitalia, celestial signs, and more. Each one serves a symbolic purpose and not always in the way someone would guess.

MAKE YOUR OWN

Why make your own? Because you can and it increases the power when you put the sacrifice of time and energy into what you burn. And it's so very easy to do, as you will see in following posts.

Why?

I formerly had a political / human interest blog which received awards and accolades and was followed by many. I stopped blogging after many years because my heart simply wasn't in it any more - suddenly politics and other discord seemed to be the endless regurgitation of the misery that humans have inflicted on themselves since time began.

I am not given to the unhealthy practice of too much introspection, but I did some soul searching and have finally decided to write about what is dearest to my heart, and what I have been secretly practicing for over 6 years.

CHRISTIAN WICCANS

Christian Wiccans exist, but we're most definitely in the minority. We are the misfits, unaccepted in the Christian community and misunderstood among fellow Wiccans because the deity we choose is the Judeo-Christian deity.

We believe in the Bible to varying degrees. In my case I believe that most, but not all, of the Bible is factual. I do think that the witchcraft which is spoken of in the Bible is Satanic witchcraft (black witchcraft) and that there is room for Wiccans who are in tune with God and his teachings.

WHY WICCAN? DOES IS WORK?

In the history of mankind, we know if something works even if we can't explain why. At one time natives chewed the bark of a tree to relieve pain and fever before a scientist came along, identified the compound, and created "aspirin" for the masses.

The Catholic Church incorporated paganism into their worship at a very early stage of the church's development, in order to appeal to the pagans who would not have embraced Christianity otherwise. This included ritualistic behaviors (such as the rosary),  lighting candles for the dead, the deification of Mary (which replaced the need for pagan goddesses) and more.

The Protestants rightly identified this and chose to go back to the core of Christianity, but the problem is that the Protestants "threw the baby out with the bathwater".  Therefore Protestants are leery of anything which smacks of any other religions incorporated into their religious practices.

However, there are some practices that, when combined with prayer and worship, are highly effective.

SACRIFICES

For instance, let's not forget that the God of the Bible enjoyed sacrifices. Yes, Jesus Christ replaced the need for animal sacrifices, but God also enjoyed fruit and vegetable sacrifices:

"Take some of the first fruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name." (Deuteronomy 26:2)

"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats..." (Exodus 22:29)

 We see the practice of offering God first fruits as early as Genesis 4, in which Cain gets into trouble because God likes Abel's sacrifice better. Although some think it was because Cain offered first fruits and Abel sacrificed an animal this can't be so, since we know that first fruits were acceptable (Deut. 26:2). Therefore, many scholars believe that God found fault in the offering because Cain didn't give it in the proper spirit, as Abel did.

INCENSE

God also likes the scent of incense and there are numerous Biblical passages on that topic. In Exodus 30, God gives specific directions that indicate incense is to be burned for Him exclusively.

CANDLES

Here's where I believe the Catholic Church got it right - candles are a wonderful way to direct prayers and remind you to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), just as fasting is another way to remind us to stay in prayer.

And if you combine candles with certain herbs, fragrances, and other items, you combine the benefits of candle burning with incense and sacrifice.

RITUALS / PRACTICES

Why would God respond to rituals and practices? Why would something that some people see as a "spell" create a response from an almighty God who is Master of the Universe?

Let me be clear:  We are puny, pitiful creatures and we cannot direct God. He is not a gumball machine - put in a prayer or spell and get what you want.

However, He has always enjoyed rituals and has required them of his followers in the past.

As Kevin Wilson states, "Protestantism began as a protest against the Roman Catholic church, and as a result many things associated with the Catholic church, including ritual, have often been viewed in a negative light... But considering that ritual is such a central part of the Old Testament — especially the Torah — we cannot ignore it if we are going to understand the Old Testament in all its fullness."

I'm not suggesting a return to the Old Testament. As a Christian, I believe that we have escaped The Law (God's demands of the Israelites). But I do believe that He seems to respond to, and enjoy, rituals.  For example, in the New Testament Jesus told his followers to continue to practice what we now call "The Lord's Supper" on a regular basis.

And even Protestant churches follow ritual.  On any given Sunday, someone will mount the podium, get your attention, lead you in hymns, you'll hear the choir sing (or squawk) out a number or two, announcements will be made, prayer said, and the sermon preached. It's formulaic!

Therefore, the Christian Wiccan shouldn't dismiss the possibility of rituals or practices in worship as long as it is in accord with their conscience.