Candles

Ahh! The element of fire is one that we hold to be sacred. It represents the energy needed for a spell and the energy needed for life and change. One of the items that we use for this representation is the candle. As in the popular movie Practical Magic, have you ever tried to light a candle by blowing it lit? That was a clever idea for film. Candles come in a large variety of forms. The wax may be paraffin, bee’s wax or soy. Paraffin was the most common and the most inexpensive, but now soy wax is more commonplace. Soy candles burn very cleanly, and some people swear by them. Bee’s wax is the softest and is easy to work with but is expensive. Candles come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They may be tea lights, chime candles, votives, tapers, pillars, sand candles and wax sculptures which are often not to be burned. They may be cylindrical, prisms, spheres, cubes and so on. They come in a variety of colors and many are scented. For those of you who are allergic to scent, there are many available that are unscented. Some of you may not be allowed to use fire where you live or burn candles. For you battery operated candles are the way to go. The electric energy used to power those candles is still an energy that can be equated to the element of fire. Battery operated candles come in tea lights, votives, tapers and pillars and can be found in many stores over the holidays of Samhain and Yule and all the time on Amazon. I sometimes use them when safety is a concern. They are great for marking the boundaries of a circle. My cat has been known to knock them around, so that safety is a plus. The nice thing about them is that you do not have to have vigilance over them for safety concerns. When I’m shopping for battery operated candles, I pay about 20 dollars on Amazon for the most realistic looking ones. They also have timers which shut them off after 6 hours of burning. They come in white, but I have seen them in a few other colors. A few of the pillar candles available can change color with the touch of a remote.

With such a variety of candles, how do you choose? It depends on the purpose for your candle. Are you using them in the Quarters or only in the Quarter of fire? How about using them to burn on a fire festival? Or is its use for a spell? Will it be used for divination? How about using them for a ritual bath? I use pillar candles to mark the Quarters, but I use tea lights or chime candles for spells when I want the candle to burn all the way down in a relatively short amount of time. It is important when choosing candles to read about the burn time. Candles sold as spell candles are nice and can come in many colors but are expensive. Menorah candles are small, white and unscented and are good candidates for spell work. The nice thing about white is that it reflects all colors except black. Therefore white candles can be used for most spell work. For the Quarters it is good to get colors that represent each Quarter which can vary among traditions. For fire festivals choose colors that are associated with each festival and think about burn time. If using candles for divination, white will work in most cases. You can also choose the color that corresponds with the context of the divination.

So, you have your candles. What do you do next? The first thing to do is to bless the candles. For spell work especially use a fresh unburnt candle. Think about the precise purpose of your candle. Prepare your candle. Trim the wick to 1/4 inch with a pair of scissors or a wick trimmer. Some practitioners carve symbols into their candles. Use sigils that work for you. I have done this and it is very careful work. The next step is to dress the candle. Grape seed oil is the oil of choice because it does not have a scent. But you can put a couple of drops of essential oil into the grape seed oil. Rub the oil from the center of the candle up. Then start at the center and rub the oil to the base. Or in some traditions the opposite is done working from the ends of the candle to the center. I get it! You want to roll that candle in dried herbs and incorporate it into the spell. But the dried herbs can act as another wick and pose a fire danger. So make a crystal or herb grid around the candle holder. I have heard of people rolling candles in glitter. Although they look cool, do not do this. This increases the fire risk, and as a micro plastic glitter poses an environmental hazard. For divination burn the candle and pour the hot wax into cold water. The wax will harden quickly and you read the shapes that are formed.

Candle making can be very rewarding but it is also a lot of work. Also safety comes first. Take precautions so you will not start a fire during the candle making process. Do not let wax go down the drain. Wax in the drain can clog it big time. Except for candles made out sheets of bee’s wax, candle making is messy, and newspaper is a must. You can put intention into the candles you make much like you can with cooking. The simplest candles to make are out of sheets of bee’s wax. Essentially you roll a sheet of bee’s wax around a wick. For candles made of paraffin or soy you will need a lot of supplies. For dipped taper candles you will need wax, wicks, a double boiler dedicated to candle making, spatula also dedicated to candle making, newspaper and if desired candle coloring and scent. For jar candles you will also need a clean jar that is heat resistant, wick sustainers and a wick centering device. For molded candles you will need all of the above except for the jar. Also needed is a mold. Many molds can be found on Amazon and Etsy some of which are expensive. A simple mold that you can use is a waxed cardboard container for frozen juice concentrate. I do not recommend the plastic containers. Note that if you use a cardboard container, you will tear it off the candle once the wax has completely cooled and hardened. That makes it a single use mold. You will get a spiral of sorts winding around your candle from the container, so be ready to go with it in your design. It makes a nice pillar candle. For sand candles, you dig a hole in the sand, position the wick(s) and maybe a piece of drift wood. You might incorporate some sea shells. You may decide to invest the time and materials into candle making, and I hope you will find it fulfilling.

In the excitement of lighting the candle, do not forget about fire safety. There is nothing that will destroy the magick like starting a fire and having to use a fire extinguisher or calling the fire department! Use a candle holder appropriate for that candle and put it on a fire proof surface. Do not burn a candle near curtains. Plan on attending the candle as long as it is burning. It is okay to snuff the candle with a snuffer or your moist fingers and relight it when you are ready. It is suggested that you do not blow it out.

Remember that a candle is a tool with which to set your intentions. Beyond safety measures there is no one right way to prepare and use this tool.

Enjoy discovering more about the use of candles in Wicca!

On the date of this post the moon is a waning crescent. Think about what you want out of your life.

I will post next Wednesday.

Auburn Greene


Suggested Investigation:

Abadie, Marie-Jeanne. The Everything Candlemaking Book: Create Homemade Candles in Housewarming Colors, Interesting Shapes and Appealing Scents. Everything, 2002. This book is available on Kindle Unlimited.

Cunningham, Scott. Earth Power: Techniques of Natural Magic. Llewellyn, 1983.

Moone, Aurora. “How to Safely Dress a Candle for Magic, Spells & Rituals (Full Guide).” Plentifulearth, August 20, 2022, plentifulearth.com/candle-dressing-manifestation-guide/.

Wigington, Patti. “An Introduction to Candle Magic.” Learn Religions, April 5, 2023, learnreligions.com/introduction-to-candle-magic-2561684.