candle Archives

An Introduction to Candle Magic

February 10, 2019Spells

Candle magic is one of the simplest forms of spell casting. Considered sympathetic magic, it’s a method which doesn’t require a lot of fancy ritual or expensive ceremonial artifacts. In other words, anyone with a candle can cast a spell. After all, remember when you were a child and you made a wish before you blew out the candles on your birthday cake?

In this article, Patti Wiginton, explains, as birthday candles, here is the same theory, only now instead of just hoping, you’re declaring your intent (and by now you’ve probably stopped hoping for a pony). If you think about it, the birthday-candle ritual is based on three key magical principles:

Decide on a goal
Visualize the end result
Focus your intent, or will, to manifest that result

What Sort of Candle Should I Use?

Most practitioners of magical systems will tell you that, much like a few other aspects of life, size really isn’t important. In fact, really big candles may be counterproductive. Look at it this way–a candle that takes three days to burn down can be highly distracting to someone working a spell that instructs you to wait until the candle burns out on its own. Typically, a short taper candle or a votive candle will work the best. In some cases, a spell might call for a specific type of candle, such as a seven-day candle or a figure candle, which may represent a particular person.

One of the most popular candles, believe it or not, is in fact the little menorah candles which are sold by the box in the kosher section of the grocery store. They’re about 4″ long, white, unscented, and thin. Because of this, they’re perfect for spell work.

You should always use a brand new candle for spell work–in other words, use virgin materials. Don’t use the candles that you burned at the dinner table or in the bathroom yesterday for spell work. In some magical traditions, once a candle is burned it picks up vibrations from things around it. If a used candle is already tainted by vibrations, some people believe it will lead to a negative or ineffective magical outcome.

When it comes to colors, you may wish to have a variety on hand for different magical purposes. Typically, Color correspondences for candle magic are as follows:

Red: Courage and health, sexual love, and lust.
Pink: Friendship and sweet love.
Orange: Attraction and encouragement.
Gold: Financial gain, business endeavors, and solar connections.
Yellow: Persuasion and protection.
Green: Financial gain, abundance, and fertility.
Light Blue: Health, patience, and understanding.
Dark Blue: Depression and vulnerability.
Purple: Ambition and power.
Brown: Earth-related or animal-related workings.
Black: Negativity and banishment.
White: Purity and truth*.
Silver: Reflection, intuition, and lunar connections.

* Note that in many Pagan traditions, it is acceptable to use a white candle in place of any other color.

Using Your Candle in Ritual

After you’ve selected a candle, you’ll want to oil it or dress it before burning. This is a method by which you’ll establish a psychic link between you and the candle itself. In other words, you’re charging the candle with your own energy and personal vibrations, and projecting your intent into the wax before you burn it. To dress a candle, you’ll need a natural oil; many practitioners like to use grapeseed because it has no smell. Another option is to use special candle magic oils from one of the metaphysical supply stores.

Begin at the top of the candle, and rub the oil downward to the middle. Then, begin at the base of the candle and rub the oil up towards the middle, ending where the first coating of oil left off. In some traditions, the anointing is done just the opposite way; start in the middle and work your way towards the two ends.

If your working calls for herbs to be used as well, roll the oiled candle in the powdered herbs until it is coated all the way around.

Brujo Negro of BrujoNegroBrujeria says,

“Is a candle magical in and of itself? No, it is the flame of the candle which is what we are making the magic; the candle and its wax are the fuel for the fire. In essence the candle is a vehicle for the creation of the magic contained in the flame, it is a tool if you will and yes it is a magical tool so you should treat your candles as magical tools. You should give your chosen candle a basic cleansing, before dedicating it to the use of a magical spell.”

The most basic form of candle magic uses a piece of colored paper that matches the intent of your candle. Decide what your goal is, and write it on the piece of paper. Just for an example, let’s say we’re going to do a money working. Write down your intent, something like I will become financially prosperous. In some traditions, you would write your intent in a magical alphabet, such as Theban or Enochian. Because this is a money-oriented working, we would select either a gold or green piece of paper, and a candle of the same color.

As you write down your goal, visualize yourself achieving that goal. Think about the different ways in which your goal might manifest. Could you be getting a raise at work? Perhaps someone who owed you money will arrive out of the blue to repay their debt. Maybe you’ll find out you overpaid that cable bill from last year, and you will get a surprise refund check!

Once you’ve written down your goal, fold the paper, concentrating on your intent the whole time. Some people like to say a small incantation as they do this. If you’re one of those people, this is a good place to do it. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. You can use something as simple as:

Extra money come my way,
I could use a little cash today.
Extra money come to me,
As I will, so it shall be.

Place one corned of the folded paper into the candle’s flame and allow it to catch fire. Hold the paper as long as possible (without burning your fingers) and then place it in a fire-safe bowl or cauldron to burn the rest of the way on its own. Allow the candle to burn out completely. When the candle has burned out completely, dispose of it, rather than saving it to use again for another working. Usually there’s not much left of a candle except a stub of wax, and you can either bury it outdoors or dispose of it in whatever manner you choose.

Candle Magic for Divination

In some magical traditions, candles are used for divinatory purposes. The two most commonly used methods of candle divination are by reading the wax, and reading the manner in which the candle actually burns. To read the wax, the typical practice is to drop the liquefied wax into a bowl of cold water. The wax will harden almost immediately, and form shapes. Use these shapes to get the answers to your questions, much as you would if you were reading tea leaves.

To divine by the way the candle burns is a bit more complex, and Cat Yronwoode of LuckyMojo has a great essay on ceromancy in Hoodoo candle magic.

5 Steps To Write Your Own Spell

January 19, 2019Spells

I have noticed a lot of interest on spells. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using other peoples’ spells — and in fact there is an entire industry devoted to publishing books full of them — there are times when you may wish to use your own. I loved this 5 steps guide from Patti Wigington because if you can’t find what you’re looking for in a book, or you might just feel a need to use original material you have the option to write your own.

Whatever your reasons, it’s not as hard as you may think to write your own spells if you follow this very simple formula.

1. Figure out the goal/purpose/intent of the working.

What is it you wish to accomplish? Are you looking for prosperity? Hoping to get a better job? Trying to bring love into your life? What is the specific aim of the spell? Whatever it may be, make sure you’re clear on what it is you want — “I will get that promotion at work!”

2. Determine what material components you’ll need to achieve your goal.

Will the working require herbs, candles, incenses, or stones? Try to think outside the box when you’re composing a spell — and remember that magic relies heavily on symbolism. There’s nothing wrong with using unusual ingredients in a working — Hot Wheels cars, chess pieces, bits of hardware, sunglasses and even old DVDs are all fair game.

3. Decide if timing is important.

In some traditions, moon phase is crucial, while in others it’s not significant. Generally, positive magic, or workings that draw things to you, is performed during the waxing moon. Negative or destructive magic is done during the waning phase. It may be that you feel a certain day of the week is best for the working, or even a certain hour of the day. Don’t feel obligated to drown yourself in the details, though. If you’re a person who feels confident doing magic on the fly without worrying about timing, then go for it.

4. Figure out your wording.

What words or incantation — if any — will be verbalized during the working? Are you going to chant something formal and powerful, calling upon gods for assistance? Will you simply mutter a poetic couplet under your breath? Or is it the sort of working where you can simply ponder the Universe in silence? Remember, there is power in words, so select them carefully.

5. Make it happen.

Put all of the above together into a workable form, and then, in the immortal words of the Nike commercial, Just Do It.

Llewellyn author Susan Pesznecker says of crafting a spell on your own, “When you build a spell yourself, from the ground up, you infuse it with your deliberateness, your preferences, your wishes, your thoughts, and your energies. This spell won’t simply be something you read from someone else’s pages—it will carry your own signature and resonate through your very core. It will be much more powerful and complete than any ready-made charm could ever be, making you an integral part of the magick from start to finish.

Tips:

Despite the above five-step method being a very bare-bones and simple way of looking at spell construction, it does work effectively. You may wish to keep a magical journal or make notes in your Book of Shadows during the spell construction phase, and then keep track of results as they begin to manifest.

If a working hasn’t begun to manifest within a few weeks — some traditions say within 28 days, a lunar month — you may want to stop and revisit the working. Figure out what variables may need to be changed.

The Universe has a quirky sense of humor, so make sure anything you cast a spell for is worded correctly. In other words, be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it!

Remember that magic is a tool and a skill set, but some common sense should prevail as well. You can cast all day to get yourself a job, but your chances of success are greatly reduced if you haven’t pounded the pavement and sent out copies of your resume!

Last but not least important… Remember to practice, practice and practice.

9 Ways to Cleanse Negativity

January 13, 2019Spells

Negativity is a pain in the neck and every-time you try to accomplish something, negativity might block you. That’s why I decided today to share this short but insightful article published by The Alchemist. Original source: magicalrecipesonline.com

You must be wondering, there should be a way to cleanse negativity. Of course there is. 9 to be exact (if not more). Here we are going to present you easy ways to banish and cleanse negativity.

Is negativity around?

The First question you have to answer is “does negativity surround me?”. Well to answer this we have to go one step back. Here you can find 10 Signs (and symptoms) when negativity is around. Have you answered yes in more than 5 (out of ten) questions? Then, it is time to make a change and try and see how your magic can help you rectify the issue.

And here is how to get rid of Negative Energy and Cleanse Negativity:

1. Setting the intention to get rid of all this negativity is step one. The stronger your will, the stronger your magic.
2. Forgiveness. Simple acts of letting go and forgiving our selves and others have extremely healing properties. All we need to recognise is that everybody tries the best they know how and let things go.
3. Using the power of water for its cleansing properties. Best solution is to prepare a hot bath, use some salt (or Epsom salts) and add essential oils of herbs with cleansing and healing properties such as eucalyptus, achillea, sage, myrrh and peppermint. Please remember to dilute and do not apply directly on your skin. Dive in and soak your body. Feel the cleansing properties of water removing all the debris from your body and aura and take deep breaths to allow the aroma of the oils replenish you.
4. Ask assistance from your Deities, the Universe and any higher forces that you work with. The first step is to recognise that you need help, put your pride aside and ask for it. When you ask they will listen.
5. Carry crystals which ground negativity and have protective properties such as onyx, obsidian, black tourmaline or tiger’s eye. Remember to cleanse them every so often as they all have storing capacities.
6. Time for a good house cleansing.
7. Cast a purification and cleansing spell.
8. Cast a protection spell.
9. Use the upcoming ritual of the chalice and the athame

Always remember to take baby steps and keep going, asking for help is not a sign of weakness and whatever the situation you are stronger than you think and you can always surpass your expectations.

Witchcraft: Beginner’s Guide to Candle Magic

November 27, 2018Spells

This article by Mackenzie Sage Wright gives an excellent description of candle magick. Original Source: Exemplore.com

Candle Magic

Candle magic harnesses the power of fire to bring change. Fire is the Element of transformation. Think for a moment how fire transforms things: it melts wax. It renders many organic materials (leaves, wood, flesh and bone) to ash. It softens hard metals to make them malleable for forging. It can heat substances, turning them from liquid to gas (water to steam, for example). If you mix ingredients together and put them into the fire, it can transform your batter into cake, your dough into bread. It brings light to the darkness and warmth to the cold.

Since human beings discovered fire, they were in awe of its power. They sought to harness that power, mostly to use its power of transformation. We continue this ancient tradition when we practice candle magic.

If you’d like to learn candle magic, this guide will take you through it step-by-step. Remember: the moment you begin planning a spell, you are in the process of casting it. Always keep your good intentions and a positive attitude, because you’re pouring your energy into the goal.

Step 1: Determine Your Magical Goal

As with all magical workings, it’s very important to put thought into your goal. Some tips to keep in mind when setting a magical goal:

Be specific (no ‘wishing’ or ‘make things better’ type goals)
Be realistic (don’t venture into the realm of fantasy here)
Consider the ethics of your actions (always act ethically and don’t interfere with free will)
Use positive language (avoid words like ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’, ‘won’t’ and ‘not’)
Break bigger goals down into a series of smaller goals

Try to write your goal in a single sentence, such as ‘I need to earn extra money to pay the electric bill’ or ‘I want to be protected from harm when I travel’.

Step 2: Design Your Spell

Use your goal to help guide you in designing your candle magic spell. Let’s say I’m doing a money spell for the electric bill. I’m going to do the most basic candle magic spell: I’m going to visualize my goal and light the candle to release the energy.

I’ve decided to keep components simple and to a minimum: a taper candle in a holder, some oils to dress the candle, maybe a few herbs and spices to lend some power

Finally, I want a chant to help raise energy. I can use one of the many chants found online, or I can custom-design one. The only important thing about the chant is that it has meaning to me. I also personally like to use rhymes, because they’re easy to remember and to get into a rhythm.

If you use magical timing, you could check a lunar calendar to decide the best moon sign or planetary hour for your spell.

Here’s a Chant I Might Use:

This is a chant from my Book of Shadows that I wrote when I was out of college, trying to get my finances in order, my career off the ground and pay off student loans:

Money, money, come to me

I seize the opportunity

With this spell the tables turn

What I need is what I earn

Increase paychecks I will see,

This is my will so mote it be!

Step 3: Collect Your Components

Choose components aligned with your goal. For our money spell, we already designed the spell to use one candle, a holder, and some oils, herbs and spices to lend power. We want to find a candle in the color to correspond with our goal. We also want to use oils, herbs and spices that correspond to the goal.

Looking in my magical cabinet, I might find:

A green virgin candle – candles should always be virgin, or never used, in candle magic. As for the color choice, use your instincts or see the *quick color correspondence guide below.
A gold candle holder – gold also represents wealth (it’s not real gold, it’s just gold-colored, but it’ll do)
Patchouli oil – an oil associated with prosperity
Ground cinnamon – a spice associated with wealth
Dragon’s blood – a resin that lends spells power
Ground ginger – a spice used to speed up results

How do I know correspondences? Part of learning Witchcraft is learning to choose correspondences appropriate to your goal. There are lots of correspondence charts in books and on the internet which can come in handy. A quick Google search will yield and abundance of them. The most important thing to remember, though, is that the correspondences have to have meaning to you.

A good thing to ask yourself when choosing correspondences is, “What things do I associate with my goal?” Green reminds me of money and wealth; if gold or brown or red remind you of money and wealth, you could use those colors. If I didn’t have essential oil, I might just use corn oil— corn reminds me of cash crops and prosperity. You might use olive oil– it’s expensive, so you might see it as a luxury item.

I use ginger because I have had success with it speeding up results of spells. Let’s say you hate Chinese food because it makes you sick, and the smell of ginger reminds you of that. Then ginger would not be a good correspondence for you, because you associate it with being sick.

*Quick Color Correspondence Guide

Red	assertiveness, courage, creativity, energy, passionate love, sex
Orange	ambition, concentration, eloquence, legal issues, intellectual pursuits, success
Yellow	attractiveness, clarity, happiness, intelligence, persuasiveness, travel
Green	growth, fertility, harmony, health, prosperity, wealth
Blue	dream work, healing, intuition, loyalty, peace, spirituality
Purple	connecting to the higher self, communing with higher beings, meditation, psychic abilities and development
Pink	beauty, compassion, femininity, partnerships, romantic/innocent love
White	all-purpose (can be a substitute for any other color), cleansing, purification, truth, reflecting energy
Black	absorbing energy, banishing, breaking things (bad habits, hexes, etc.) discovering hidden wisdom, protection, self-defense
Grey	invisibility (not literal), loneliness, neutralizing energies and spells, wisdom
Brown	abundance, family, friends, gardening, grounding, pets, stability

No list is written in stone. What’s most important is what colors represent to you. This is just a general guide– feel free to tweak it, expand on it, or toss it if it doesn’t resonate with you.

Candle Magic: Dressing the Candle

This is one of the most important parts of doing candle magic. You have to establish a psychic link between the candle, you and your goal. The process for doing this is known as ‘dressing the candle’.

Dressing the candle requires the candle and some oil (whatever you’ve chosen based on your goal). You have to pour the oil on your hands and rub it on the candle. There are a lot of different opinions on the ‘proper way’ to rub the oil on the candle. Here are some variations:

Rub the candle with oil from top to bottom
Rub the candle with oil from bottom to top
Rub from top to bottom to draw things to you; rub from bottom to tip to send things away
Start at the center of the candle and with oil from center to top, then from center to bottom.
Start at the ends of the candle. Rub oil on from the top end to the center, then from the bottom end to the center.

So which one is right? I think this is one of those things in which various methods work and you need to choose the one that works best for you.

The more important thing is your mental state as you rub the candle. As you rub the oil onto the candle, you should be strongly visualizing your intent and mentally ‘pouring’ that energy into the candle. You can use your chant at this point if you feel it will help and feel the energy building. Your hands may actually begin feeling tingly or the candle may begin to feel like it’s pulsing with energy—this is good, it’s working.

Do this for a couple of minutes, maybe 50 to 100 strokes, until you feel the candle is sufficiently charged. You can dress your candle well ahead of time if you like, or you can do it just before casting the spell. It’s up to you.

I Demonstrate Dressing a Candle On My Youtube Channel:

Candle Magic: Adding Power – Optional

We talked about using herbs and spices to help lend power to the spell, but how do we do that? It’s pretty easy, really. After you choose herbs and spices that correspond with your goal, hold them in your hand and charge them with your intent. Roll the dressed candle in them, or sprinkle them over or around the candle.

Another way to add power is to scratch names, numbers or symbols in the wax of the candle. You can use a pin or your ritual knife to scratch things into the wax. For our money spell, I’ll scratch my name (to further connect myself to the candle) and I’ll add the ancient rune FEHU into the wax– FEHU is a rune that symbolizes prosperity.

If runes are meaningless to you, you might choose a different symbol, such as a dollar sign or money bag. Of course, you could always just write ‘money’ on it. That’ll work, too.

Candle Magic: Casting the Spell

When the time has come to cast your spell, sit before your candle and follow these steps.

Meditate as long as necessary to relax yourself. Take a few deep breaths, release tension and let go of intrusive thoughts and worries. If you want, you can imagine these thoughts are helium-filled balloons, and visualize yourself letting go of them.
Begin to visualize your goal, as if your mission has already been accomplished.
Try to feel the feelings you would feel if your goal were accomplished—you probably would be happy, relaxed, relieved. Imagine what you’d look like, what your life would be, if your goal were accomplished.
When you have a clear visualization in mind, repeat your chant as often as you feel is necessary to raise energy. When you feel yourself bursting with your goal in mind, light the candle.
Imagine the candle’s aura—the light aura right outside of the flame – is growing, getting bigger and bigger, filling the whole area. Imagine it growing out, expanding into the universe to bring you your goal. You may continue chanting if you desire.
Spend some more time visualizing yourself having your goal. Hold the visualization as long as possible.

A Guided Meditation for Manifestation may Help

Candle Magic: Wrapping it Up

Allow the candle to burn out on its own. Make sure it’s in a safe place when you do this. It might go out before it’s finished, or it might completely melt away into nothing. It’s okay either way—don’t re-light it.

Bury the remnants and know that it’s done.

More on Candle Magic

This is only one candle magic method. There are other methods as well. Some people like to write or draw a picture of their goal on paper and place it under the candle. Some people like to write down their desire and burn the paper, lighting it from the candle flame. Some people put a pin in the candle and, instead of letting it burn down to nothing, they extinguish it when it gets down to the pin.

Other more complex candle spells may include performing the chants and visualizations for multiple days in a row. You would extinguish the candle each night and re-light it the next day when you continue with the spell.

Still other candle magic methods involve using multiple candles—one to represent the caster, one to represent the target, and one or more candles to represent goals or situations.

That’s part of the beauty of candle magic: it’s flexible so you can really design your spell to suit your needs, but you can keep it fairly simple with a minimum of supplies. Keep practicing and you may be surprised at how helpful this skill can be.