ThriftWitch: Candle Magic Part 1

I was thinking about writing a ThriftWitch post on how to use up left over candles - one thing we Pagans all seem to get through a lot of is candles - when I realised that I haven't written anything about Candle Magic. What was I thinking! Candle Magic can be the very epitome of thrifty magic.

In its simplest form - and I'm all in favour of simplicity! - Candle Magic is about focusing your magical intention into a candle and then letting it burn down to release the spell.

Because you can use any candle, this doesn't have to be an expensive exercise. Of course if you want to buy expensive, hand-poured, bespoke-perfumed, fancy soy or beeswax candles you can - but a tealight will work just as well. 

My usual method of working candle magic is to take a simple white candle and carve or write/draw with a felt tip pen a symbolic representation of what I am working towards on it. A pillar candle works best for this, simply because there is more surface area available to mark. But you can also use a slim tapered candle or even a tealight if you are able to condense your intention into a simple symbol. Bindrunes (overlaying several runes into a single symbol, like a monogram) or sigils work well in this respect. 

Once I have marked my candle with my symbol/word(s) etc., I take a few moments to ground and centre myself and then focus on the intention behind the spell. So if I was doing a healing spell for a friend, I would concentrate on visualising her healthy and happy, laughing in sunlight, and repeat something like, 'Jenny is well, her body strong and healthy'. Keep it simple and remember to concentrate on drawing the outcome you want rather than banishing what you don't want (e.g. 'Jenny is healthy' rather than 'Jenny doesn't have cancer'). 

When you feel the intention strong and clear in your mind and heart, project the energy of it into the candle. I like to do this by imagining it concentrated into my breath and then forcefully blowing it with a strong exhalation into the candle as it is held in my hands.

Finally I light the candle and let it burn down, releasing the energy of the spell as it does. I don't necessarily burn it all in one go, often burning it for an hour or so over successive evenings until it is burned away - all the better if you can tie it into the energy of a waxing moon (for growing/increasing/drawing things to you) or a waning moon (for dissolving/lessening/banishing things). I don't recommend leaving candles to burn down unattended for safety reasons, so allowing them to burn down over the course of several days is a good idea in my book. If you want a really speedy spell use a smaller candle that will burn down quickly. The ultimate quick candle spell would use a birthday cake candle which will burn in minutes. 

The candle pictured at the top of this post is from a Coronavirus Healing Spell my local Pagan group undertook when we were unable to meet in person due to the lockdown. We each carved the healing sigil originated by Laura Tempest Zakroff (or a healing symbol of our choice) into a candle. Then at a pre-arranged time we lit our candles and attuned to the energy of the group. We visualised
* the spread of the virus lessening
* the virulence of the infection fading
* protection for the vulnerable
* good health for all etc.

As the candles burned down, we imagined the power of the sigil being released out into the world. It was a great way to feel connected to each other and hopefully the effect of the spell was amplified by the number of people participating.

Of course there are all kinds of ways to elaborate on the basic Candle Magic spell template. White is pretty much your all-purpose Candle Magic go-to colour, but the correspondences for coloured candles include the following:

• White: Purification, protection, beginnings
• Red: Courage, passion, life-force, strength 
• Orange: Energy, confidence, creativity
• Yellow: Inspiration, communication, happiness
• Green: Prosperity, healing, luck, the environment
• Blue: Intuition, dreamwork, calm
• Purple: Spirituality, leadership, good fortune
• Gold: Abundance, sun/God
• Silver: Psychic power, moon/Goddess
• Pink: Love, compassion
• Brown: Grounding, endurance 
• Black: Binding, banishing, endings 

You can also 'dress' the candles with oils and herbs to amplify your intent. To dress the candle you can either anoint it with ready-made magical oils or make your own essential oil blend (suggestions below). To do this I usually lie the candle on a work surface with the wick facing away from me (you may like to put down something like newspaper first to protect the surface from the oil). Then I pour a little of the oil on my hands and stroke it along the length of the candle, turning it to make sure the whole thing is covered. If I'm working to draw something to me, I apply the oil from the wick down the length of the candle, towards me. If I'm working to banish something, I apply the oil from the base towards the wick, away from me. To dress the candle with herbs, roll it in dried herbs (they stick better if you apply a little plain vegetable oil first). 

Suggested essential oils:

• Cleansing: Lavender, spearmint, peppermint, frankincense, lemongrass, pine
• Healing: Eucalyptus, thyme, lavender, rosemary
• Protection: Frankincense, clove, myrrh
• Happiness: Bergamot, orange, lemon, rose geranium
• Love: Rose, jasmine, ylang ylang, sandalwood

Suggested herbs:

• Cleansing:  Lavender, hyssop, sage, mint, sea salt 
• Healing: Blackberry leaves, meadowsweet, self-heal, betony, yarrow
• Protection: Rowan, nettles, blackthorn leaves 
• Happiness: Daisy, St Johns wort, sunflower 
• Love: Rose petals, primrose, periwinkle, thyme

You can of course use scented candles, and your choice of scent can reinforce the intention of the spell. The obvious example of this would be using a rose scented candle for a love spell, or a lavender scented candle for a cleansing spell.

Of course, all these correspondences are just suggestions. You know best which colours/scents/herbs mean these things to your subconscious so as always, go with what is meaningful for you. 

Well, to quote Bubba in 'Forrest Gump', "That - that's about it". 

Except it isn't! Tomorrow I will bring you ThriftWitch: Candle Magic Part 2, in which I will be looking at what to do with left over candles, in the spirit of "ThriftWitch: Getting the Most Out of Your Pumpkin This Samhain". Waste not want not!