Candle Magick

Candle Magick

Candle Magick is considered one of the simplest forms of Magick. It employs very little ritual and ceremonial artifacts. Basically, anyone with a candle can cast a spell. Do you remember when you were a child and you made a wish before you blew out the candles on your birthday cake? Same theory, only now instead of just hoping, you're declaring your intent.

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

As humans, we think the ability to control something as volatile as fire is fascinating, yet frightening at the same time. Fire can be subtle and comforting while at the same time it can be painful and destructive. Fire is a double edge sword. Fire demands respect and caution. You must respect it and keep your wits about you at all times. Never leave a candle unattended, remember to remain alert and use caution when working with the element of fire. It can get out of hand, even when the proper precautions are in place.

Candle Magick is one of the earliest forms of Magick out there. Yes, the types and ingredients of candles have changed, but fire remains the same. Fire remains a powerful tool in all areas of Magick.

Candles:

Three types of candle are commonly used in candle magic – an altar candle (most Magick makers and Wiccan’s use two altar candles), astral candles and offertory candles.

Altar candles, sometimes called invocational candles are placed on the left and right sides of the altar. They are always the first to be lit in any magic making ritual.

The astral candle is usually positioned between the two altar candles and represents the person for whose benefit the spell is being cast, whether it be the spell caster themselves or a third party. These candles must only be burned after the altar candles have been lit. It is important that the color corresponds to the color of the zodiac sign of the person or persons towards whom the spell is directed. Others who offer their magic to no particular deity prefer to use colors that correspond to the days of the week, as follows:

Sunday - Gold or yellow
Monday - Silver, grey or white
Tuesday - Red
Wednesday - Purple
Thursday - Blue
Friday - Green
Saturday - Black or purple

Zodiac colors do vary, the ones above are taken from Practical Candle Burning Rituals by Raymond Buckland which is the system most often used by experienced spell casters, one of whom advises that practitioners in the art of candle magic should not be too rigid in this. He recommends that the heart should rule the head and that magic makers should follow their instincts and choose an astral candle based on their
own favorite colors. Or that they select a color that corresponds to their mood at the time when preparing for the magic to be made.

Astral candles should never be of a color that inspires strong negative emotions within the spell maker as this can influence the outcome of the magic that’s afoot. Some of those who practice candle magic strengthen the astrological connection by inscribing the candles they use with the appropriate astrological sign.

The offertory candle is also known as the purpose candle. It is normally placed in front of the astral candle and is the last to be lit during the ritual. It is burned to represent the purpose for which the spell is being
cast. It is essential that the color corresponds exactly to the type of magic being made: a pink candle would be used to draw love, a red one to kindle the fires of passion, a green one for financial or fertility spells
and so on. Many practitioners of candle magic prefer to work with their own handcrafted candles but candles bought in shops can be just as effective, and when it comes to offertory candles there are many different sorts to choose from.

Glass-enclosed novena candles are popular. Once lit, they should be allowed to burn themselves out. Tradition holds that if a novena candle is extinguished, then the spell is doomed to failure. Tradition also holds that a spell cast using a novena candle will yield results within the week.

Seven-knob candles consist of a vertical row of seven round knobs of wax strung together by a single wick. According to tradition, one knob of the candle is burned each day for seven consecutive days. These candles are sometimes called wish candles because as each section is burning, the spell maker concentrates upon the wish that he or she hopes will be granted. Again, it is inadvisable to extinguish one of the knobs
until it has burned away. Double-action candles are sometimes known as reversing candles, because they are mainly used to reverse the effects of ill-natured spells cast in the magic maker’s direction. Such candles are usually white, red and green, coated with black from the middle down. Those who use double-action candles believe that as the melting colored wax runs down the candle and covers the black half, the black magic that was made is neutralized.

Triple-action candles are tri-colored, and are popular in some countries, particularly in Latin America, banishing evil and restoring harmony to homes that have been hit by hostility and arguments.

There are several other sorts of candles used, but as their purpose is by and large to cast spells of a dark or at least darkish nature, we will not discuss them here.

I personally use 4” x 1/2” candles, with solid color all the way through. Using anything bigger will be counterproductive. Especially when working a spell that instructs you to wait until the candle burns down on its own. You should always use a new candle for spell work, in other words, virgin materials. In some traditions, once a candle is burned it picks up vibrations from things around it, so a used candle is already tainted by vibrations, and so will lead to a negative or ineffective outcome.

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

White: A balance of all colors; Spiritual enlightenment, cleansing, clairvoyance, healing, truth seeking; Rituals involving lunar energy' May be substituted for any color candle.

Yellow: Activity, 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.

Gold: 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.

Orange: Creativity, ability to speak one's mind, ambition, career matters and the Law, self-confidence. Solar color and also stands for Leo.

Pink: Promotes romance, friendship; standard color for rituals to draw affections; a color of femininity, honor, service, brings friendly, lively conversation to the dinner table.

Red: Health, passion, love, fertility, strength, courage, will power; increases magnetism in rituals; draws Aries and Scorpio energy.

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

Purple: 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.

Magenta: 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.

Brown: Earthly, balanced color; for rituals of materiel increase; eliminates indecisiveness; improves powers of concentration, study, telepathy; increases financial success; locates objects that have been lost.

Indigo: Color of inertia; stops situations or people; use in rituals that require a deep meditational state; or in rituals that demand Saturn energy.

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

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

Blue: Primary spiritual color; for rituals to obtain wisdom, harmony, inner light, or peace; confers truth and guidance.

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

Dark Green: Color of ambition, greed, and jealousy; counteracts these influences in a ritual.

Green: Promotes prosperity, fertility, success; stimulates rituals for good luck, money, harmony, and rejuvenation.

Grey: Neutral color useful when pondering complex issues during meditation; in magic, this color often sparks confusion; it also negates or neutralizes a negative influence.

Black: 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.

Colors associated with the Zodiac:

Aries: Red, white, pink

Aquarius: Light blue, dark blue, green

Capricorn: Red, black, dark brown

Cancer: White, green, brown

Gemini: Yellow, silver, green, red, blue

Leo: Gold, orange, red, green

Libra: Royal blue, light brown, black

Pisces: Aquamarine, royal blue, white, green

Sagittarius: Dark blue, purple, gold, red

Scorpio: Black, red, brown

Taurus: Green, pink, red, yellow

Virgo: Grey, yellow, gold, black

Essential Oils and dressing (anointing) the candles.

You'll need oil to anoint the candle. This is called "dressing" the candle and it's a very crucial part of every candle spell: you're "addressing" it so its message is delivered accurately.

Usually drops of the chosen essential oil are mixed with a base oil – olive, almond and apricot are all popular. The reason why pure essential oil is not used to bless a candle with its powers (apart from the expense) is that they are so potent that if they come into direct contact with the skin, they can cause allergic reactions. The only exception to this is lavender, which is so gentle that it can be safely rubbed directly onto the
skin.

Before you burn a candle for a ritual or spell, you should charge the candle. Charging a candle means preparing your candle to make it more powerful. There are four ways to cleanse a candle:

Hold the candle over incense or sage smoke.
Leave it outside overnight in the moonlight.
Bury the candle in sea salt and leave overnight or one full day.
Rub alcohol on it, starting at the bottom, working your way to the top. If you are working with a candle in glass, then rub alcohol on the exposed areas and glass.

No matter what cleansing method you choose, it is very important to always focus on your goal while cleansing. Pray and ask for blessings and cleansing of the candle.
Place a few drops of anointing oil on the palm of your hand and rub both hands together.

Inviting Stroke: When your aim is to call something to you and bring it into your life, apply the oil first around the top of the candle (in a clockwise motion, looking down at the wick), the bottom (again, clockwise, with the candle upside down), and then center (that is, around the candle's "waist", clockwise as you hold the candle upright). Then rub more oil from the top in toward the candle's center and from the bottom up to the candle's center. As you do this, hold a clear mental image of drawing good things to you, pulling them in toward your own heart-center.

Banishing Stroke: When your intention is to move stuff out of your life, reverse this process: apply oil in a counter-clockwise motion to top, bottom, and center, then rub out and away from the candle's center, keeping a clear picture of things departing as you do so.

Whichever direction you choose to anoint your candle, make sure you focus on your goal and visualize it while you are dressing your candle. For example, if your goal is to draw in more money, visualize yourself gaining prosperity as you rub the candle.
List of Essential Oils:

Anise Oil: Will help to increase clairvoyance, purification and protection. Great for purification rituals
Benzoin Oil: Mainly used in purification rituals and prosperity spells, you can also add benzoin to any oil blend as it also acts like a preservative.
Camphor Oil: Divination, prophetic dreams, psychic awareness, etc it is great to use in rituals to banish ill health.
Cinnamon Oil: Is used for astral projection, prosperity, riches and lust potions and is used in moon rituals.
Civit Oil: Is a musk oil which can be used to attract love and in rituals to return a lost lover.
Clary Sage Oil: Is great to be used for protection, cleansing from negativity, banishing rituals and to remove bad spirits.
Clove Oil: Used in banishing rituals, also will enhance wisdom, ward of negative thoughts, and also for inspiration.
Dragon’s Blood Oil: Used mainly in love attraction potions, exorcism and protection rituals.
Eucalyptus Oil: Great for purifying, healing etc and is great to be used as an anointing oil and for purification rituals.
Frankincense Oil: Use for spirituality, exorcism, purification, and in luck and protection rites.
Geranium Oil: Used for things such as to break hexes and is a lifter of burdened spirits.
Ginger Oil: Used in Success spells, or to ensure the success of love and prosperity spells.
Jasmine Oil: Used in love and money spells, helps with dreaming, hold attraction.
Lavender Oil: Is widely used in cleansing rituals, healing and love.
Lemongrass Oil: Provides a person with psychic mental clarity
Lime Oil: Used to increase energy, fidelity and loyalty, also used to keep a relationship faithful.
Lotus Oil: Assists with elevating physical awareness, protection, great for anointing and is very cleansing.
Orange Oil: Will help to attract men, peace, personal power, luck.
Patchouli Oil: Assists in mastering skills, growth, love and physical attraction
Peppermint Oil: Gives energy, mental stimulant, enhances vitality, great for anointing.
Pine Oil: Grounding, strengthening cleansing for rituals and sacred spaces.
Rue Oil: Used as an antidote for madness, protection from hexes, jinxes, blocks powerful psychic attacks.
Sandalwood Oil: Assists in spirituality, self healing, healing rituals to banish illness and to ward from disease.
Vanilla Oil: Lust, mental powers, sexual prowess, personal power rituals.
Ylang-Ylang Oil: Use to bring peace, and for love and sex spells, wear on the body, blend with sweet oils.

Fragrances Ruled By The Moon - Balm, Coconut, Eucalyptus, Gardenia, Jasmine, Lily, Lotus, Myrrh, Poppy, Sandalwood, Water Lily, Wintergreen

Fragrances Ruled By Mars - All Spice, Carnation, Dragon's Blood, Ginger, High John the Conqueror, Honeysuckle, Hot Peppers, Peppermint, Pine, Snapdragon

Fragrances Ruled By Mercury - Azalea, Bayberry, Clover, Fern, Lavender, Lemon Grass, Lily of the Valley, Mandrake, Mint, Hemp, Tobacco

Fragrances Ruled By Jupiter - Anise, Datura, Lime, Magnolia, Maple, Meadowsweet, Nutmeg, Oak, Sage, Sandalwood

Fragrances Ruled By Venus - African Violet, Cherry, Lilac, Primrose, Spearmint, Strawberry, Thyme, Vanilla

Fragrances Ruled By Saturn - Black Orchid, Hyacinth, Iris, Morning Glory, Opium Poppy, Pansy, Patchouli, Peyote, Solomon's Seal, Water Violets

Fragrances Ruled By The Sun - Cedar, Cloves, Chrysanthemum, Cinnamon, Frankincense, Juniper, Marigold, Rosemary, Rowan, Rue

Blessings..

The Witches Sage

Books:

Practical Candleburning Rituals: Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose (Llewellyn's Practical Magick… by Raymond Buckland

Wiccapedia: A Modern-Day White Witch's Guide (The Modern-Day Witch) by Shawn Robbins

Simple Candle Magick: Easy, Powerful Candle Spells for Beginners to Wicca and Witchcraft (Simple… by Cassandra Larsen

Candle Magic for Beginners: The Simplest Magic You Can Do (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) by Richard Webster

The Big Little Book of Magick: A Wiccan's Guide to Altars, Candles, Pendulums, and Healing Spells by D.J. Conway