Candles

Each of the four elements – Air, Fire, Water and Earth – is represented by a single candle colour – yellow, red, blue and green. A coloured candle representing each of the elements can be placed at the four main compass points around the circle to mark the quarters – East, South, West and North. You can place the elemental candles either on the edge of the circle in sturdy floor-standing holders, or on small tables or plinths at the compass points.

Though each element is represented by a single candle, you can use a second to increase a particular element in its own quadrant of the circle or use the elemental colour in all four quadrants. So, for example, if you were carrying out a Fire spell, you could use four red (or gold or orange) candles and begin the ritual facing South. Some practitioners invoke Fire to conquer floods and Water to conquer drought but I believe that each element can most effectively counter excesses of itself.

Light elemental candles after the altar candles, after you have cast the circles but before lighting any wish or astrological candle. Begin in the North, with a green candle.

You can also use coloured candles as a focus for wishes in a particular area of experience represented by the colour. So you might write a wish for a better memory on yellow paper and burn it in a yellow candle, the colour of Mercury. You could then collect the ash in a heatproof ceramic pot or metal bowl beneath the candle and scatter it to the four winds. For banishing an injustice, you might write about the event on dark blue paper, burn it in the blue candle of Jupiter and bury the ashes. Around the home, different coloured candles can be burned for different purposes. Scented candles can also amplify the colour energies.

## About

These are lit to honour spirits, request favours, communicate with them, repay favours, and fulfil vows. Candles may be burned plain and unembellished with no added ritual, but many magical traditions encourage personalizing candles so that the message they deliver is more potent and specific.

### Basic instructions for crafting magical and spiritual candles

1. Choose an appropriate candle. Focus on goals/desires throughout the entire process
2. Address the spirit while holding the candle in your hands. Explain the purpose of this candle: Is it simply to honour the spirit, a gift with no strings attached? Is it part of a request process, repayment, or fulfilment of a vow? Whatever it is, just state its purpose in simple, clear language.
3. The candle may now be burned or further embellished. (In magical parlance, this is called *dressing the candle*.) Let your desires and creativity be your guide. Any or all of the following steps may be taken to dress the candle before burning:
	* Carve words or symbols into the candle. These words or symbols might identify you, the spirit, or someone on whose behalf you are requesting favours. Prayers, psalms, or sacred images (runes, sigils vèvès) may be incorporated.
	* Add fragrance: rub the candle with oils. Some spirits have favoured fragrances. Specific formula oils indicating special needs also exist: oils to draw money, love, or healing. Some manufacturers, both large-scale and artisanal, create special blends intended to invoke and honour specific spirits.
	* Oil will make the candle sticky: it can now be rolled in herbs or glitter as desired.

*Any* type of candle may be used when working with spirits; however certain types of candles are manufactured especially for spiritual use. Spiritual merchants offer glass-sheathed candles featuring images of popular spirits printed onto the glass. (Prayers and petitions may also be printed on to the glass.) These candles are frequently designed to burn for seven or nine days and are variously called 7-day candles, novena or *semana* candles (*semana* is Spanish for *week*), devotional, or prayer candles. (Smaller, faster-burning variations may also be purchased or crafted.)

The most readily available commercial candles are dedicated to popular Roman Catholic saints, folk saints, and African-Diaspora spirits because considerable consumer demand exists. If you venerate spirits of other traditions, don't despair. It is also possible to purchase candles sold in blank glass sheaths. These may be burned as is, accompanied only by prayer and petition, but with just a little creativity and glass paint, you can handcraft candles for any spirit you like. No artistic ability is needed; the simplest designs are nothing more than the spirit's name. Photographs or photocopies of appropriate images may also be glued to the outside of glass sheaths, collage-style.

## Red

Red is for Fire and the South, noon and summer. Place your red candle in the six o’clock position. Fire represents light, the Sun, lightning, fertility, power, joy, ambition, inspiration and achievement and also destruction of what is now no longer needed.

Red, the colour of Mars, the planet and god of war, represents action, power, determination, physical energy and health, courage and determination, sexual passion and potency, survival and change, for careers where danger is involved and the armed forces. It is used as a focus for rituals calling on the power of the gods.

Like Air, Fire represents the yang, male god in the form of the Sun deities. Fire rituals are good when you need power or you have an important issue that needs energy. They are effective against drought, global warming, all pollution caused by burning fuels or chemicals, forest fires and the ‘slash and burn’ policy in rainforests. Surround your Fire candle with golden sunflowers or chrysanthemums, tiny mirrors that reflect the light and clear crystal quartz, which is called in the Orient ‘the essence of the dragon’.

Red is the colour of sex, love, power and vitality. A red candle draws these qualities to you, and aids you in any spellwork that requires strong, fiery energy. A red candle is often used in conjunction with black—burn the black candle first to banish negativity, then the red candle to draw in fresh energy. (So-called “dual action” or “reversible” candles combine red and black into one candle.)

For sexual love, courage, strength, survival, lust, immediate action, Health, passion, love, fertility, strength, courage, will power; increases magnetism in rituals; draws Aries and Scorpio energy, One hour.

## Blue

Blue is for Water and the West, dusk and autumn. A blue candle is placed in the nine o’clock position. Water represents love, relationships, sympathy, intuition, reconciliation, harmony, healing and the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, natural cyclical evolutions from one stage to another as opposed to changes made consciously under the auspices of Air. It is also potent for fighting floods, cleansing seas, lakes and rivers of pollution, in campaigns to provide fresh water in arid places, in all initiatives towards world health and the care of whales, dolphins, seals and endangered sea creatures.

Like Earth, Water represents the yin, female goddess in the form of the Moon Goddesses. Surround your Water candles with silver objects, sea shells and pieces of coral or, for the lunar goddesses, mother of pearl and moonstones that grow brighter as the Moon waxes.

Blue is the colour of the Father God and other Sky deities in their external roles as wise judges and rulers and so can be used for this aspect of the god and as a protective colour. In magick, blue can expand the boundaries of possibility and bring success, confidence and power mingled with altruism, nobility and idealism. Blue is also used for prosperity rituals where this involves advancement or for maximising opportunities, for promotion and expansion of business.

Blue is the colour of long-distance travel and house moves, legal matters and dealing with officialdom. It is also for careers involving justice and leadership. Above all, blue brings calm and the ability to solve problems in the midst of crisis. Blue candles are best used on Thursday.

Blue helps you call upon the peace and patience of the element of Water. Blue carries a gentle, but powerful energy. Choose a blue candle for spells involving emotional healing, truth and justice. A very spiritual colour, blue can help awaken and heal the psychic mind.

Creativity, tranquillity, peace, perception spiritual, healing, memory, primary spiritual colour; for rituals to obtain wisdom, harmony, inner light, or peace; confers truth and guidance, Three hours.

### Royal Blue

Promotes laughter and joviality; colour or loyalty; use to attract Jupiter energy, or whenever an influence needs to be increased.

### Light Blue

The calming, cleansing energy of light blue is used for spells of healing, and also to dispel anger. Light blue invokes the soothing qualities of the element of Water without its deeper, more dangerous properties. The colour of unclouded daylight, light blue is also good for truth-seeking.

Spiritual colour; helpful in devotional or inspirational meditations; brings peace and tranquillity to the home; radiates Aquarius energy; employ where a situation must be synthesized.

## Green

Green is for Earth and the North, midnight and winter. A green candle is placed at what would be the 12 o’clock position on a clock, aligned with magnetic or a symbolic North.

Green is the colour of Venus, goddess of love, and so is good for all love and relationship matters, especially partnerships and romance; it is also potent for rites involving the natural world, herbs, gardening and tree magick, for healing the planet and especially the forests and the land. Green is for peace and harmony, especially within the self. When green candles are used in rituals for wealth, they tend to encourage a gradual increase in profits or resources. As the faerie colour, green is also potent for spells for good luck and increasing magical abilities. Green candles are best used on Friday.

Earth is the element of order, both in nature and institutions such as the law, politics, finance, health and education. It also represents yin, the female, nurturing goddess aspect, Mother Earth, the home and family, as well as money and security, and is a good element to invoke when you have matters of property or money that need attention. It is also a focus for all rituals against famine, deforestation and land pollution and devastation through unwise industrialisation or building, and for caring for animals and their natural habitats. Surround your green Earth candle with grains, berries, fruits, coins or pot pourri. Brown candles may also be used as Earth candles.

Traditionally the colour of money magick, green symbolizes growth in every sense. A green candle attracts abundance and earthly well-being. Use for prosperity, health, and workings involving Nature. Green is also a popular choice for luck-drawing spells.

Love, fertility, money, luck, health, personal goals, represents health and healing, money changes and renewal, fertility, success; stimulates rituals for good luck, harmony, and rejuvenation, Four hours.

### Light Green

Light Green is used to invoke the lighter qualities of the Earth element—good luck, prosperity, and celebration. Light green is a good choice for Faery workings and rites of Springtime.

### Emerald Green

Important component in Venusian rituals; attracts love, social delights, and fertility.

### Dark Green

Colour of ambition, greed, and jealousy; counteracts these influences in a ritual.

## Yellow

Yellow is for Air and the East, dawn and spring. A yellow candle is placed at the three o’clock position. Air represents life itself, logic, the mind, communication, health, new beginnings, travel, learning, yang and the male god in the form of Sky deities. It is a good element to invoke if you are seeking change or when communication is proving difficult with either an individual or an organisation, and to clear stagnation of thoughts.

It is also a focus for spells against air pollution, technological devastation and storms, and for the protection of birds, butterflies and insects. Surround your Air candles with feathers, thistledown, tiny helium balloons, model planes and ceramic or wooden birds. Burn a yellow candle for success in school or the arts, or to enhance communication in a relationship. Yellow also increases focus and intuition. Yellow is a great choice for business spells, especially when you need fresh ideas and inspiration.

Yellow is the colour associated with Mercury, the winged messenger of the Roman gods. Through his skill and dexterity, he came to rule over commerce and medicine and also became patron of tricksters and thieves. Yellow candles therefore encourage clear communication and activity of all kinds, improving memory, concentration and learning, and are good for overcoming mental stagnation and blocks in ideas or assimilation of facts.

Use them in rituals when you wish to gain another person’s confidence and approval or to win someone round in business or intellectual matters; to sharpen logic; for succeeding in examinations and tests; also for good luck, for short journeys or to initiate a house move within the same area. Yellow is also a healing colour, especially for conditions needing surgery or concerning the mind. Yellow is good for careers in business, medicine, technology, communication or the media and also for job changes. Yellow candles are best used on a Wednesday.

Activity, communication, selling oneself, persuasion, attraction well being, concentration, creativity, unity; brings power of concentration and imagination to a ritual; use in rituals where you wish to gain another’s confidence or persuade someone, or in rituals that require solar energy, Three hours.

## Pink

Pink is the color of emotional well-being, sensuality, and matters of the heart. Choose a pink candle when you wish to grow in compassion and self-love, or attract the love of others. Forgiveness and reconciliation spells also call for gentle pink.

Pink is the colour of Venus in her gentler aspects, for family relationships, affection, friendship matters, children and for the growth of new love and trust, especially after betrayal or a setback. Pink rituals are excellent for restoring self-esteem and healing wounded emotions, for letting go of past hurts involving family or childhood, for quiet sleep and for the mending of quarrels. Pink candles are best burned on Friday.

For love of the heart, love, friendship, open the heart, calm the emotions, promotes romance, friendship; standard colour for rituals to draw affections; a colour of femininity, honour, service, brings friendly, lively conversation to the dinner table, One hour.

## Orange

The vibrant hue of orange evokes ambition and creativity. Orange candles are well-suited for career workings, or any other time you need to assert your strength and individuality.

Orange is the colour of the Sun, of fertility – both physical and mental – and of creativity with words. Growth, self-esteem, confidence and abundance of all kinds are related to orange, as are independence and asserting your identity if it is under threat or being eroded by the demands or unfair criticism of others. Orange also relates to careers involving people and the arts.

Above all, orange is the colour of joy and also the successful integration of all aspects of the personality into a harmonious whole. Orange candles are best used on a Sunday.

Creativity, ability to speak one’s mind, ambition, career matters and the Law, attraction, action, selling, self-confidence. Solar colour and also stands for Leo bring, about desired results, Two hours.

## Turquoise

Turquoise is a greenish tint of blue. It is the color of the famous desert gem, or the Caribbean sea. Turquoise shares many of the calming, healing qualities of light blue. Turquoise also stimulates creativity and the spirit of exploration. Sea-blue candles are sometimes used to connect with Undines and water Fae.

Turquoise is the colour of Hathor, Egyptian goddess of wisdom, music and dance, whose magical mirror reflected back the true person of all who looked in it (scary stuff if you were just checking your hair).

Turquoise rituals are for integration of heart and mind, feelings and thoughts and the synthesis of wisdom and experience. Turquoise is used for successfully combining different aspects of life or two different career strands; for compassion and altruism; for increasing healing abilities; for maintaining impartiality when making difficult decisions and judgements; and for seeing other dimensions. It is the colour of artists, sculptors, dancers, writers and poets, and can bring inspiration and originality increasing artistic ability. Turquoise candles can be used effectively on Thursday or Friday.

## Indigo

Brow, third eye, psychic centre. Helps to see aura. Psychic awareness, wisdom, self-awareness, psychic abilities, Colour of inertia; stops situations or people; use in rituals that require a deep meditational state; or in rituals that demand Saturn energy, Two hours.

Indigo is for spiritual healing, for psychic awareness and knowledge of past lives and worlds; it is the colour of the seer.

## Violet/ Purple

The colour of mystery and magic, purple is associated with psychic matters. Use a purple candle for divination, astral travel, and to strengthen your connection with the unseen realms. Historically the colour of royalty, purple is also suitable for magick related to wishes, ambition, power and authority.

Purple is the colour of Jupiter in his role of wise teacher and keeper of hidden knowledge, and of Osiris, the Ancient Egyptian Father God and Lord of the Underworld, who died each year and was resurrected by his wife Isis. It represents unconscious wisdom and is used for all things of a psychic and spiritual nature and for divination. Purple provides a link with higher dimensions and can bring happiness for all who yearn for something beyond the material plane.

Purple candles aid meditation, work with past lives, scrying with candles and mirrors, and astral travel. They are good for psychic protection and preventing nightmares. Purple can also be used for all rituals where the facts are not clear, for clearing secrecy, for healing the spirit and for banishing what lies in the past, especially failure, and for remembering departed loved ones. Below, I have given subdivisions for different shades of purple, but in practice they are interchangeable.

Crown centre, royal colour, Deity, spiritual, power, ambition, tension, spiritual development, Power, success, idealism, psychic manifestations; ideals for rituals to secure ambitions, independence, financial rewards, or to make contact with the spiritual other world; increases Neptune energy, One hour.

## Magenta

Magenta, dark pink, and hot pink candles take the loving energy of pink and kick it up a notch! While pink candles draw compassion and tenderness, stronger pinks are all about the passion. Use a dark pink candle for spells of sexuality, sexual confidence, and flirtation. Dark pink candles are used to attract a lover (especially a female lover).

Magenta represents the path of service to others, especially for older women and men in the role of wise counsellor. It can help all in the caring professions and will help anyone transform experiences, both positive and negative, into wisdom that can be offered to guide others. Magenta candles are best used on Friday.

Combination of red and violet that oscillates on a high frequency; energizes rituals where immediate action and high levels of power or spiritual healing are required.

## Lavender

Lavender combines the innocence of white with the spirituality and passion of purple. Lavender candles are used for spells of love, intimacy and friendship, as well as wishes of all kinds.

Lavender is for dreams and connections with others, on a telepathic level, for awareness of Devas and other higher nature spirits and for herb wisdom.

## Black

A strong, banishing colour, black is associated with transition and rest. Burn a black candle to absorb negativity, break a bad habit, or mark the end of a phase in your life. Many protective spells include a black candle.

Another colour of Saturn and also the kings of the Underworld – the Roman Pluto, the bestower of the hidden wealth that lay within the Earth, and the Greek Hades, who abducted Persephone (Proserpine), thus causing winter.

Black is the colour not only of death, but also of regeneration. This belief goes back to Ancient Egypt when the annual flooding of the Nile carried with it black silt, which brought new life to the land each year. In magick, black is the colour of endings that carry within them seeds of new beginnings. It can be used for banishing negativity, for leaving behind old sorrows and redundant relationships; for acknowledging grief, for rituals of partings, for breaking hexes and for psychic protection. Some people do not like using black candles because of their associations with black magick. If you feel that these associations are too strong for you, substitute dark blue, dark purple or brown candles in rituals.

In a positive sense, black, like brown, is a colour of acceptance, whether of a restriction or of the frailties of self and others, and so it is a candle colour of forgiveness. Black candles are best used on Saturday.

Protection, return or release, power, opens up the deeper levels of the unconscious; use in rituals to induce a deep meditational state, or to banish evil or negativity as in un-crossing rituals; attracts Saturn energy, One hour.

## Brown

Brown is a strongly grounding, Earthy colour. It aids in emotional stability, balance, and building trust. Some Witches also use brown for manifestation magic and connecting with the realm of animals.

Brown is a colour of Saturn, the Roman form of Cronus, god of time. Deposed by his son Jupiter, he was sent to Italy where he taught the farmers, agriculture and engineering and there established a golden age of peace and plenty.

Brown is good for protection, for magick concerning animals and especially household pets, for locating lost objects, learning new skills, for the home, property, practical matters, security and having enough resources for one’s needs. It is also the colour of all who work with their hands. Brown is also the colour of Mother Earth and the Earth spirits and so is good for environmental matters and conservation, especially as an impetus for practical conservation projects. Brown is good for grounding rituals. Brown candles are best used on Saturday.

Stability, grounding, earth rites, create indecision, Earthly, balanced colour; for rituals of material increase; eliminates indecisiveness; improves powers of concentration, study, telepathy; increases financial success; locates objects that have been lost, Four hours.

## Burgundy

Half-way between the two colors, burgundy tempers the passion of red with the practicality of brown. Use burgundy for magick related to determination, strength, and personal power. Burgundy resonates with the blood, and helps in grounding and bringing your passions to fruition.

## White

The colour of purity and new beginnings. Use a white candle for rituals involving healing, new beginnings, and spiritual growth. White contains both solar and lunar energies and is often used for altar candles also appropriate for Lunar and Goddess workings. Church candles are usually white, thus white candles are associated with prayer, remembrance, devotion, spiritual enlightenment, cleansing, clairvoyance, and truth-seeking. White may be substituted for any other colour candle when that colour is not available.

In magic, white represents light, the life force and clear vision and so is helpful where a new beginning or a sudden burst of energy and enthusiasm is needed. White is a good colour for work involving rites of passage, especially for birth, marriage and welcoming new family members by marriage or adoption.

Use white also for protective magick, for replacing darkness with light, in meditation, for Goddess focused rituals, for increasing spiritual awareness and contact with spirit guides, angels and the higher self.

White candles can be used on any day of the week, though they are associated with Monday in the Goddess aspect and Sunday and the Sun for life force magick. No set time any work.

## Ivory

Similar in meaning to white, but with a tinge of earthy brown. Ivory is good for Full Moon workings, initiations, or any time you want an alternative to bright white. Because it corresponds to precious things like ivory, pearl, and cream, this colour is also used to attract luxury and abundance.

## Grey

Resting halfway between white and black, grey is the colour of neutrality and balance. A grey candle may be used in protective magick, when you wish to neutralize negative energy that may be directed at you. Also used to gain discernment and wisdom.

Grey is ruled by Saturn and by Mercury, some say, when he becomes invisible in the sky. Grey is used primarily for neutralising or erasing negative energies or feelings. It is the shade of compromise and adaptability, of lowering one’s profile in times of danger, and offers protection against both physical and psychic attack. It is a colour for keeping secrets and for smoothing down potential conflict and keeping one’s counsel when to do otherwise would be unwise. Grey candles are best used on Wednesday when Mercury cannot be seen and on Saturday.

Intuition, neutral colour useful when pondering complex issues during meditation; in magic, this colour often sparks confusion; it also negates or neutralizes a negative influence.

## Silver

Silver is associated with the Moon, psychic receptivity, dreaming, love, rest and healing. On a Wiccan altar, a silver candle is often used to represent the Goddess. Silver is the colour of the Moon and all lunar goddesses such as Diana, the Roman counterpart of Artemis, who, because of her strong association with the Moon in all its phases, was a goddess of fertility as well as love.

It is also used on some altars to represent the Goddess, with a gold candle for the Horned God. Silver is potent in all forms of divination, but especially for candle divination, for awakening clairvoyant powers, telepathic and psychometric abilities, astral projection, for rituals to invoke anima (female) power, for intuition and mysticism. It represents dreams, visions and a desire for fulfilment beyond the material world.

In times of stress and sorrow, silver candles can remove negativity, promote inner stability and bring to the fore your hidden potential. Silver candles are excellent for scrying, especially by the full moon, and for all magick involving the female life and for female fertility. Silver candles are best used on a Monday.

Removes negativity and encourages stability; helps develop psychic abilities; attracts the influence of the Mother Goddess.

## Gold

Gold corresponds with the Sun, wealth, confidence, willpower, generosity and optimism. A gold candle may be used to represent the God. A grey or white candle may be substituted for silver, but there is really no substitute for the eye-catching gleam of gold!

Gold is the colour of the Sun and is associated with the solar deities, for example, the Egyptian Ra. In Ancient Greece, Helios, the Sun God, was worshipped each dawn as he emerged in the East and drove his chariot of winged horses around the Sky before plunging into the ocean in the West at sunset.

Gold is potent for worldly achievement, wealth and recognition, for long life, ambitious schemes and money-making rituals that require an instant or substantial return. The colour of male potency and fertility, it represents animus (male) power, energy and change and all rituals with noble or altruistic purpose. Gold is best used on a Sunday

Prosperity, attraction, wealth, increase, fosters understanding and attracts the powers of cosmic influences; beneficial in rituals intended to bring about fast luck or money, or in rituals needing solar energy, One hour.

## The History of Candles

The history of candle burning is as old as humanity itself. It originates from fire worship. Early man was in awe of fire—it warmed him, protected him, and helped him cook his food. The flame of the hearth was guarded carefully, shielded against the ravages of wind and rain. Over time, fire came to represent strength, power, and the ability to see past the terrors of the night.

Symbolically, candlelight represents illumination, the energizing power of the sun, and the spark of life that resides within the human soul. As an agency of the fire element, candles are quick to respond to magickal incantations and creative visualization. The simple lighting of a candle creates an atmosphere of magick, and as the darkness gives way to the light, desires are brought into reality.
Candles can be used by themselves as a form of magick, or they may be incorporated as part of a spell. In either case, the candle itself becomes the point of focus. The colour of the candle and its shape and size all play important roles in the art of candle magick. The colour signifies intent, the design or shape represents the objective, and the size is equivalent to the amount of time needed to carry out the spell.

Colour is of primary importance in candle magick. There are 12 basic colours, which offer different sensory vibrations. Red is the most physically potent and powerful, and violet is the most passive and spiritually receptive. The primary colours of the light spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet) emit specific energies, which are symbolic of their intrinsic properties. These colours move energy outward and forward, as well as inward and backwards. In addition to the seven primary colours, there are five additional colours used in the art of candle magick. These are black, white, grey, pink, and brown. Black anchors and absorbs; white encourages and supports; grey is seldom used because it is considered to be void, without movement; pink attracts and entices, and brown stabilizes and sustains.

Burning times (that is, how long the candles should burn) are as essential to candle magick as colour is. Each colour of the spectrum has its own special wavelength or vibrational frequency. This vibrational frequency is the equivalent of motion and energy, which is the amount of time needed to activate a spell. Therefore, a candle that requires a burning time of four hours will take four times longer to work than a candle that requires only one hour to burn. However, the longer it takes a spell to work, and the more energy involved in its formulation, the more enduring its results.

## Working with Candles

The first step in candle magick is to choose a candle whose colour and shape represent your desire. Next, you will have to dress, or energize, the candle. This is done by anointing the entire candle with an appropriate oil. The oil is usually made from a plant or flower that also represents your desire. Place some of the oil on your fingertips. As you concentrate on your desire, rub the oil onto the candle, starting from the centre and rubbing upward. Then rub the oil from the centre downward. Be sure to cover the entire candle with the oil as you infuse it with your desire.

Whenever possible make your own candles. While the wax is in a liquid form, add a corresponding oil, herbs, or flower petals. For example, if you are doing a money spell you could add Heliotrope oil and mint leaves.

When dressing the candle, close your eyes, concentrate, and visualize what the candle represents. See in your mind’s eye the manifestation of your desire. Always keep in mind, and allow for, the burning time of the candle when scripting a spell or ritual.

When creating your own spells, always use the proper phase of the moon and planetary symbolism. This will align the spell with the natural flow of energy produced by the moon and corresponding planet, giving the spell more power.

## Candle Magic

A lot of witches burn candles just about every night. They burn a candle in honour of the Goddess. Just burning a candle, too, puts you in the right frame of mind. Some witches, even if they are burning a candle in honour of the Goddess, still dress the candle. Dressing the candle means applying the right kind of oil and/or writing out on your candle what you want. So, you need to know the right kind of candle and the right oil. Now you have to do a little homework for your candle magick to be successful. Research, research, research. There are planetary influences, there is whether the moon is waxing, full, or waning; there is the day of the week –certain days are better to do the kind of magick you are looking for. There is also Moon Void of course. When the Moon is void of course, do not do any magick. If you want to do a simple candle magick, the most important thing would be the phase of the moon and the void of course.. There is the oil or oils that you will need. Whenever you are searching for the right oil, you also need a catalyst which gives it that extra boost, like cinnamon. Catalyst herbs need to be in all spells. You need to use catalyst herb/oil along with your intended oil to send it off, to activate it. But just a pinch or drop or so of oil. These are a few

1. Dragons Blood -all spells should have this herb. Whatever you put in, you get out.

2. Allspice-is good for money.

3. Cinnamon -psychic work and love spell.

4. Cloves -love and psychic.

5. Galangal -this is a good one for prosperity.

6. Lilac -with flower power (feminine).

7. Lavender

8. Musk

9. Myrrh -another great oil which gives power to any oil.

10. Ginger

Now when purchasing your candle, most witches buy the small candles which can be found in New Age stores. When you are doing your spell, think positive that it will work. Never, ever think that your spell will not work.

When doing candle magick, leave opening for Gods to let them make decision. Also, set a time limit on the candle magick. Give it a certain amount of time for it to happen and if it does not, then do it again. Also remember, sometimes you just might not get your wish, and it might not be because you failed in your magick, but because it is not in the cards for you. Like you might ask to be rich but maybe this lifetime you are not meant to be rich. However, when your magick does work, do not forget to thank the Gods. Also, feel that feeling of how it feels when something great happens and put that same feeling in another candle magick that you do. When you are putting things together for magick, you are making magick work; you are energizing and enhancing magick. Ritual sweep is acquiring the ingredients you need for particular spell beforehand, thinking what you want, what will make it work. Spells do not last forever. If some time has passed, say a Full Moon or so then you must do it again.

To start with, write a paragraph of what you want. Then form into a few sentences, then a sentence, then a word. You have to visualize what you want. Do not narrow yourself on how you will get what you want, leave open for that. Most people go to a God for the energy source like Kuan Yin for love and compassion, etc. But know your energy source. If you do go to the Gods, make sure that you go to the God for that strength and character traits. You can charge your candle with a quartz crystal, or by using a laser wand crystal, or a magickal wand made out of a particular wood. You can place your candle on a paton or pentacle. You can write a petition on parchment paper of what you specifically want and also putting certain oils on the paper or wrap herbs in the parchment paper as well or do both. Then fold parchment paper up and place it under your candle and let candle burn down and then light parchment paper and watch it burn and while doing so, see what you want happening. Then take the ashes outside and toss them in the air to be taken to the Gods or bury them.

Although tools of the craft may at times help you can practice magick with nothing but a candle.

A candle is a self-contained magical system, for although it represents the Fire element, it also containing the other three basic elements of magick: Earth is represented by the unburned wax of the candle, Air is the smoke, Fire the flame and Water the melted wax. Thus is created Akasha, or Spirit.

For most spells, however, you should have one or two altar candles in white, cream or natural beeswax. A single central candle can be good for times of quiet meditation, but for more focused rituals you may prefer to light one candle to represent the Goddess on the right and another for the god polarity, on the left of the altar.

Any tools and elemental substances that you wish to use, such as salt – which represents Earth in the North -can be set at the four main compass points around them and any symbols set between and in front of them.

These will be the first candles lit in any ritual, either before or immediately after casting a circle. It is recommended to light them first, to mark a beginning and an empowerment to the magick and to avoid casting an empty circle, but there are no hard and fast rules.

There is debate over whether you should blow or pinch out candles that you do not wish to burn completely away. The act of blowing out a candle is itself a magical release of power, for, rather than holding the light in a snuffer, you can send it towards all who need it. This is an excellent way of releasing and directing power at the end of a rite.

If you buy candles with two or three wicks, a new one can be lit each day in a three-day ritual. Larger candles can have up to seven wicks and if you need a lot of power, you can light all the wicks during a single ritual. Candles vary considerably in their burning times – the better-quality ones may state the number of hours, but with practice if you always use the same type of candles, you will be able to assess how long they will last.

Then you can choose one to match the occasion – either one that will have burned through by the end of an evening in a dusk ritual or one that will last for up to 12 hours for an all-night vigil candle, for example on one of the solstices.

Practitioners of strict ceremonial magick say that you should never use a candle that has been lit for another ritual or purpose and should not use these afterwards for household illumination. However, since candles are so expensive and since you will only be performing positive magick, there is no reason why ritual candles should not be adapted for everyday use. Candles from harmony and healing spells may be used in quiet areas of the home, and candles for energy and success in work or study areas.

On the other hand, candles for banishing magick should be left to burn down and any remaining wax buried, or the unused candle be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. You can, if you wish, place your banishing candle on a metal tray etched with a symbol of what you wish to remove from your life and bury that.

## Preparation for Candle Magic

Remember the most important thing is what phase the moon is in. If it is waning, you want to work on something that you do not want anymore or some kind of psychic work. It is a great time for banishment of any kind. If it is waxing, then for new things to come into your life, etc. Or, suppose you are in need of money but the moon is waning, then you do a banishing spell of banishing poverty. You do not have to really wait for the moon—you just work with the moon. Most witches are particular with the moon. If the moon is full at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning, then sometime Saturday night, they will do their candle magick, because by 7:31 a.m. Sunday morning, the moon has started its waning process. Spells are too important to witches. If they want something bad enough, they will make time for their magick. Prepare for ritual. Decide what it is you want to work on which is called the ritual sweep we mentioned above. You can prepare sacred space or you can cast a circle.

Sometimes, when you are preparing your candle for the type of magick, music can play a major roll in your candle magick. Music reaches into the depth of your soul and you need that depth to put in that candle. You need your feelings to be poured into that candle. Ceremonial -make test of things. Choose space and set up like props appropriately and then prepare yourself: wearing special clothes, jewellery, wear something different to trigger your mind. You will have done your homework in the oils and incenses you will need. Choose colour of candle best for situation. Before this point you will have done your petition and then you put that petition onto the candle with a special knife/cutter –something you use only for magickal purposes. Then you will put on the oil that goes with the spell onto your candle and all of the time you are rubbing that candle with the oil, you are visualizing that it has happened, and that you got your wish. There are different ways in which books tell you to rub the oil in your candle. There really is no wrong way. Only what you feel is right. But concentration is very important. When dressing the candle, see your spell as already happening. Do not say “I WANT” but “I HAVE,” as if it happened already. If you want to run your prepared candle through the smoke of your incense burner, then do so as well.

Then you do a Rune of Consecration as follows:”Upon this candle words of fire, spell out the words of my desire. Take these words and give them wings, As they descend from thoughts to things. Bless these things and make them real.

## Cone of Power

Then you want to energize that candle. There are many ways to energize the candle –singing, chanting, dancing, meditation. Some witches use a special rattle that is sacred to them. They start up slowly and start chanting and rattling over the candle to wake up the spirits. Some have turtle rattles that are very magickal. Then you go faster, faster, still chanting, and then faster till you think you are going to burst with it all. You are loud with your chanting, you are holding nothing back. Then all of a sudden, drop your rattle and grab candle with both hands and send that energy into that candle. Feel it going into the candle. This is called the Cone of Power. Then light the candle. Some people prefer lighting their candle with the candle representing the Goddess. Also, if you have a feather or a feather with a crystal, whatever, with that feather you can send the energy up to the Gods. Birds are great messengers to the Gods. So imagine you are pushing, pushing that energy of your desires up with the feather until a bird comes to take your wish and watch that bird fly, fly away to the Gods. When done, you bind the candle spell with this Rune as follows:” I call Earth to bind this spell, Air, speed its travel well. Fire, give it spirit from above, Water, quench my spell with love.”

Now watch the flame of your spell candle, and in that flame, see yourself having what you wished for. Let your spell candle burn completely and evenly. Some believe that if your candle does not burn down all the way that you will not get what you wished for. After this is done, do not think of spell again. Do not dwell on it. And remember KEEP SILENT. Do not go around and discuss your spell. There will be forces out there that will start tearing it down either by friends who do not believe in magick, etc. If you cast a circle, then it is time for the Goddess to leave so say your farewells. Then dismiss the quarters. Draw back the energy of your circle. Now remember, the candle must burn down by the end of the waxing moon or waning moon, depending on the magickal time you did it in. Never blow out a magickal candle. If you cannot let it burn all night, put it out by snuffing, and when you have more time, simply say a prayer over the candle, visualize your having what you want, light the candle and you are on your way. But most of your serious witches’ always make time for their candles to burn. You can also put the burning candle in the middle of your tub (no curtains around it of course) or in the kitchen sink, free of any articles in the sink.

## Magic is a Power

A combination of need and will power is all that is necessary to do Magick. If you ask someone else to do your magic for you, it is unlikely that he or she will be able to produce the results that you could. The reason is that the Magician does not have the personal connection you have –the need for the Magick to succeed. You need the driving need for the Magick to work.

## Mental Preparation

One of the most important ingredients for working Magick is will power. It follows, then, that the most important preparation for Magick is mental preparation. You must train yourself to focus exclusively on the object of your desire –your reason for working the Magick. You will need this concentration even before the ritual itself, for you will need it when making the candles and everything else connected with the ritual.

## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes