One of the earliest forms of candle magick was Full Moon celebrations in honor of Aset (Isis) in which ancient Egyptians would place lit candles on miniature boats and float them on the Nile. Often colored paper would be rigged around the candle so that the Nile River surface was aglow with the silvery light of the Full Moon combined with the many different colors from the candles, creating a fantastic light show in honor of the Goddess Aset (Isis). Candle Magic has been around for many, many years, being traced as far back as the Palaeolithic era. It is a very powerful form of sympathetic magic.
It is unfortunate that so many powerful acts of magick which have occurred throughout history have been of the negative variety. In ancient Egyptian times (c. 1200 B.C.E.), Egyptian treasury official worked harmful Magick against the Pharaoh Rameses III using a wax image of him. Francis, Earl Bothwell, did the same thing through the agencies of the Berwick coven of Witches, hoping to get rid of King James VI of Scotland and take over the throne. In the seventeenth-century France, Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II and mother of succeeding kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henri III, was rumored to have used substantial Magick to bring her sons to the throne and keep them there.
Positive Magick was used by Witches to turn back invasions of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588, and Adolf Hitler’s military in more recent times. A number of individuals were famous (or infamous) in the history of Magick during the last several centuries. Theophrastus Paracelsus, magician-alchemist and giant of the Renaissance, was prominent in earth sixteenth-century Europe, as was Henry Cornelius Agrippa, a disciple of Paracelsus. Jacob Bohme, who tried to show how good and evil come from the heart of reality, Robert Fludd, and Joseph Balsamo (known as Count Cagliostro) were all major European Magicians. MacGrego Mathers, Arthur Edward Waite, and the poet W. B. Yeats led Magickal thinking in the late nineteenth century. They were later joined by Aleister Crowley and Israel Regardie.
Candles have been used as sources of light for thousands of years. The ways in which these candles have been made has differed greatly over time. There has also been a wide variety of different ways in which candles have been fuelled and also a wide variety of different uses for candles. The humble candle has become a multi-use item with thousands of benefits that go well beyond the initial use – to produce light.
The candle’s other primary function has been to provide heat and many versions of candles have been developed to maximize the heat output. Candles have been around for a long time and in this time they have been used in religious ceremonies and also for timekeeping as well as for decoration, for air freshening and also for adorning a birthday cake.
The products used to create candles are different all over the world and throughout time candles have been made out of different substances. Candles that were made in the early parts of the 19th century were made from beef fat rendering known as tallow. The modern candles are more commonly made from wax. There are many different types of wax including gel, soy and beeswax but the most predominant type of wax is paraffin.
Candles are typically made with a wick that is lit. This wick is covered in wax which melts and vaporizes. This vaporized wax provides fuel to the fire and keeps the flame burning. This encourages the candle to burn slowly and last for a long time. The process is also beneficial as it is self-sustaining and does not require the person to monitor the candle or relight it.
As the flame warms the wax into vapor it works slowly down the candle and slowly uses up the wax. This is an efficient method that makes candles last longer. The science behind the burning of a candle helps us understand the processes that go on when a candle burns. In the area of the candle that burns blue a reaction is taking place in which the hydrogen is being separated from the wax and is burning. This process results in water vapor. The yellowy section of the flame occurs as a result of the oxidization process that sees carbon dioxide being created from the carbon.
The position of the wick as these processes take place is very important to the time in which the wax is fuelled. One way to slow the rate at which the wax is used up is to reduce the length of the wick. The shorter the length of the wick that is exposed the longer the candle will last. Many people often decide to cut their candle wicks short manually with scissors to lengthen the life span of their candles. There are even special instruments called wick trimmers that are designed to make this task easier.
There is evidence of candles that were in use in Roman times. At this period of time many candles were made from the animal fat residues and the long pith found in a rush. Beeswax was used as a fuel by the Egyptians and many of their candles date back over 3000 years. By the 18th century it was much more common for the fuel to be extracted from the oil taken from sperm whales.
There are many factors that play into the art of candle magic. As we know any type of magic that is performed will return to you three fold, whether it is positive or negative. Always keep the Wiccan Rede “An harm to none do what thou wilt” in mind when considering your work. Always keep in mind that magic effect’s the entire world around you. Be very careful what you ask for, for it may well come true. The wording in any type of magic must not be taken lightly, be very careful, concise, and precise, make sure you have covered all possible bases.
Keep in mind that some candle magic has to be repeated over a period of days. Therefore, you will want to place them in an area that will not be disturbed. Do not choose a place where there is a tv, radio noise or disturbances of any kind. Keep in mind to not put candles near curtains and such, as you would not want to burn your house down. Candle magic should always be performed in a low traffic area. That is why a bedroom is really nice for such work.
Unfortunately, there are no guarantees with Magick. We can do everything correctly—use the right incense, the correct time of the month, perfectly colored candles---and still nothing! Why is that?
One point of view is that the gods (God/Goddess/All-That-Is, depending upon your personal beliefs) are watching over us and have certain things planned. For example, a deserted wife may do all in her power to bring about the return of her husband (actually a no-no—as it interferes with free will) but to no avail. The reason is that the Gods know he’s a no-good deadbeat and she’s far better off without him! Not only that, but they have a wonderful, idea mate for her waiting in the wings, if she will only be patient until the time is right. Actually the time that it takes for Magick to work can have a bearing on our belief as to whether or not it worked at all. Sometimes the results are a long time in coming. There are many of us—myself included—who have found just such a scenario, but only recognized it in retrospect. At the time we think “why me?” or “why not me?” or perhaps “why isn’t this working?” or “what have I done wrong?” It’s only many weeks, months, or even years later that we can look back and say, “Oh! So that’s why it didn’t work!” By limiting your goal, such as naming an individual to notice you, you are limiting your chances for success. It’s something of a contradiction, but you need to be very general in what you aim for, and yet very specific.
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 cake? 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 Wicca 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 -- a candle that takes too long 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 works 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 -- perfect for spell work.
You should always use a brand new candle for spell work -- in other words, 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 -- in other words, a used candle is already tainted by vibrations, and so 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. I will go into the different colors and their correspondences in a later lesson.
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 grapeseed because it has no smell. Another option is to use special candle magic oils from one of the Wiccan supply stores. And there are some practitioners, like myself, who will just use Olive Oil. I will also go into ‘Dressing’ in another lesson as well. 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. Using herbs also gives your spell an extra POW!
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 spell. 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.
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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 corner 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.
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