Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

For Puck's Sake

Home
Pagan
Preparing Candles For Magick

Preparing Candles For Magick

Last updated on: January 31, 2019 at 8:23 am by Mat Auryn

Preparing Candles For Magick 2019-01-31T08:23:18+00:00 Mat Auryn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Image Credit: Vadim Vasenin | Standard License

Lirio: You know how to use candles?
Sarah: Yeah, you light the wick.
Lirio: More than that.
– The Craft (1996)

As humorous and far-fetched as this scene may sound, when working in occult shops this is a commonly asked question but with roles reversed. “How exactly do you work with candles?” There are countless methods and ways to work with candles, but I wanted to share my process while omitting tradition-specific ideas, just boiling it down to the main mechanics that I use which I feel can be adopted and worked into any tradition or eclectic style of witchery. There is no universal right or wrong way to work with candles and I strongly encourage experimenting to find out what works best for you. Hopefully this will help those who are new to working with candles or those who want to try out new methods. Magick is an “art” as much as it is a “science”. Make the art of the working personal to your own spiritual practices.

I begin by placing my candle on a peyton (a ritual pentacle on the altar). I always cleanse my candles before working with them. I’ve noticed that a lot of witches don’t do this. But think of all the hands that have picked up and put down any candle while it’s in a shop. Think of all the places that it’s been since it’s creation to your own home. Along the way it’s bound to have picked up some energy that you may not want in your actual spell. When working magick of any sort, I try to look at it like I’m performing surgery, and as such want to ensure that I’m working in a sterile environment.

I begin by cleansing it with smoke. For this I’m using palo santo. I charge the palo santo and ask it for assistance with cleansing, then I light it and run the candle through the smoke. Next I take some Florida Water that I’ve made. My favorite formula for Florida Water that I’ve come across comes from Judika Illes’ Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells. I wash my hands in the Florida Water and then I begin cleansing the candle counter-clockwise on the top with the Florida Water (to cleanse) and coat the whole candle with it. Due to the essential oils and alcohol, if you’re using real Florida Water it will blister the candle slightly. I don’t believe the commercial artificial Florida Water you can purchase does this if I remember correctly.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:40pm PDT

I then charge the candle with witch’s fire by tracing a pentagram in blue-white flame above it and then filling my hands with that flame and holding my hands around it. The pentagram may vary depending on what your desire for the working is and I use a non-traditional method of combining the directions of invoking and banishing pentagrams with circling it either clockwise or counterclockwise, as I’ve found that alters the energy of the pentagram as well. Once again I suggest experimenting and recording your results to find which methods work for you. After this I allow the blue-white witch fire to completely consume the candle before moving on to the next step.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:45pm PDT

I then take a candle/clay sculpting tool and drill three small holes into the top. Some people use screwdrivers for this. Whatever you use, it’s best to ensure that this tool is set aside specifically for this purpose and not used for mundane purposes. The reasoning for three holes are different from practitioner to practitioner that I’ve asked. For associations I’ve heard include:

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
The Three Fates
The Mother, Maiden, and Crone
The Three Faces of Hekate
The Three Souls Acting In Unison

Whatever your logic is behind the drilling of the three holes, ensure that you’re contemplating their association while drilling the holes. While drilling each hole, I imagine a beam of light coming from the heavens and focusing on each hole, sort of like a laser.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:48pm PDT

Next I will take an herbal blend that I’ve already prepared and using the wax carving tool will begin to stuff it into the holes that I’ve just drilled. Sometimes it will be harder than others, depending on what ingredients you’re using and how finely its chopped up. You want to remove any excess not in the holes as much as possible. You don’t want the candle itself to catch on fire, just the wick.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:50pm PDT

I will then take a conditioning oil and coat the candle with it. You can make your own conditioning/conjure oils or purchase them. This one I’m using is from the Mystic Dream. Since my goal is to bring something to me with this candle, I coat from the tips inward. If I were to be repelling, banishing, or cleansing I would work from the center out to the tips of the candle.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:53pm PDT

Finally, I place my hands to form a triangle of manifestation above the candle, uniting the three aspects I’ve incorporated with the candle’s holes and looking through the triangle space between my hands in an act of mentally uniting the three aspects to work as one. I then use the triangle to blur the energies of the holes that I’ve created, I think of it like stirring the ingredients of a cake to make it into a single batter. I then fill my hands with witch fire once more, this time being the color associated with the working that I’m doing. I have the witch fire burn through the candle with the focus of making the candle and all its separate parts into a singular energetic tool. It’s no longer a candle with different oils, herbs, etc. It’s now a candle for the working.

A post shared by Mat Auryn (@matauryn) on Mar 27, 2018 at 9:55pm PDT

Connect With Me

Website | Tarot Readings | Patreon | Mailing List

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr

Previous Post

March 31, 2018

Review: Traditional Wicca

Next Post

April 1, 2018 I'm Not Your Marionettist

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Book Reviews Deck Reviews Interviews Musings Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 August 2021 March 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the name of the disciple who doubted Jesus' resurrection?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Thomas Peter John James