Everyone loves candle magic. Fire has been a focal point of spiritual reverence probably since early humanoids first discovered it. The nuns of Kildare tended an "eternal flame" for centuries dedicated to their St Briget, formerly the Celtic goddess Breo Sighed or Brighed. Ancient Kemetic (Egyptian) magicians used magical oil lamps and even to this very day candlelight vigils are held in memory and reverence for the dead.
The fascination is deeply rooted in the most primal parts of our minds. Fire, after all, is the only one of the basic "four elements" that does not naturally exist on its own in nature. It can come from the sky by way of lightning, or from beneath the earth by way of lava, or it can be made by man, the product of invention. Only in space do fires burn naturally in the form of stars, the very stars which birthed us for we are all, in fact, stardust. Fire, therefore, represents our spiritual center and eternal source. It is equally a sign of our accomplishments and evolution as it is the symbol of our own inevitable return to our divine origins. Fire is the unformed spirit. It is pure energy in the form of light and heat. control of flame is control of ourselves, it represents mastery over the elements and nature. Any way you look at it fire is in many ways the very essence of magic. So it is no wonder that candle burning is one of the most commonly practiced forms of magic, used even by those who claim not to believe in or practice such things.
For those of us that do embrace the occult, I present here some guidelines for gaining the most from the practice. Some of this was covered in my book "Backwoods Shamanism" and other parts will be presented with more detail in an upcoming installment in the folk magic series delving deeper into my familial traditions drawn from the ancestral ways of the Melungeons and other Maroons. I hope you find this blog informative and that it enriches your spiritual practice, or perhaps even opens up or adds a new dimension to what you currently do. Please keep in mind, however, that all of the following is only suggestion rather than hard-and-fast rules to the game. There are many traditions out there and all have their own unique variations. We all draw upon these traditions, consciously or not, often resultant of our own genetic knowledge. I do believe that power and the spirits which govern our spiritual work are inherited to an extent and that the way we work is ultimately dependent on our relationship to and awareness of the spirits nearest to us.
With no further ado, I present considerations for successful candleworking.
Days of the Week
The days of the week are the first thing many consider, mainly because it is convenient and easy to remember for most people. The Days of the week are named after Roman or Nordic Gods and correlate to the classical "seven planets" based on the old planetary hours. The first hour of sunlight of any given day is the hour of the planet for which that day is named and proceeding each hour thereafter in Chaldean order sequence; Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. So, the first hour of daylight on Monday is the hour of the Moon, the hour after that is Saturn with Jupiter following and so on. This is HELIOCENTRIC magic, based upon and drawing from the powers of the sun, namely those of projective life-force and vital yang-style energy. Therefore, it is these aspects of spiritual work which are most influenced by the days of the week and planetary hours, what some might call "masculine" energies such as business, legal, and assertive/aggressive influence .
Sunday- Day of the Sun, who rules Leo, the fixed fire sign. Working geared toward affluence and personal attention or gain are empowered on this day. It is also a good time to start anything that will run for the long term. In general, it is a time for opening up and inviting in as well as for revelations, whether of a spiritual/personal variety OR revealing your enemies and their intentions.
Monday- Day of the Moon, who rules Cancer, the cardinal earth sign. As the sun projects, the moon reflects and so Monday is the ideal time for personal reflection and creative thinking. Working a mandala/medicine wheel can be particularly rewarding at this time. The moon rules the subconscious and so all things regarding dreams and psychic awareness are empowered on this day as well. It is a particularly good time to inflict confusion or instill fear in one's enemies or to influence minds and dreams in general.
Tuesday- Day of Mars, who rules Aries and Scorpio, cardinal fire and fixed water respectively. It is an ideal day for road-opening and block-busting work. Magical warfare is also empowered on this day and it is a good time to put up spiritual defenses as well. It is an acceptable day for legal works, along with Thursday. It is also a potent day for casting the evil eye.
Wednesday- Day of Mercury, who rules Gemini and Virgo, mutable signs of air and earth respectively. This is the day for communications and for business. It is the best day to stop rumors, or to start them. An ill word spoken on a Wednesday is a spell in itself regardless of intention. As Tuesday is the day for the eye, Wednesday is the day for the mouth. It is also a good day for drawing and seeking new clients and for making deals.
Thursday- Day of Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius and Pisces, both mutable signs of fire and water respectively. Jupiter is the ruler of luck, influence and abundance and Thursday is the ideal day for blessings on the home and family. It is also an ideal day for dominance and controlling work, with Tuesday as secondary. Thursday's energy is a little more gentle and Tuesday's more aggressive. Jupiter is god of thunder, so he commands attention without necessarily needing to strike anything or anyone down.
Friday- Day of Venus, who rules Taurus and Libra, fixed earth and cardinal air respectively. People focus a bit much on Venus as goddess of "love and sex" in my opinion. Yes, Friday is the day for love, seduction, sensuality and attraction work. However Friday is named for the Norse Goddess Freya or Frigga and Venus could be seen as the merging of the Greek goddesses Aphrodite and Athena in one. As such it is as much a day for victory over adversity as it is a day for fertility and sex magic. It should also be noted that NO NEW WORK is to be started on Friday, spiritual or mundane. In hoodoo traditions it is considered "bad luck" because anything started on a Friday will either fall flat out the gate or never be finished. So, we may use Friday for sustaining love or winning a long fought battle, but would reserve finding new love or taking on new challenges for Sunday or Tuesday.
Saturday- Day of Saturn, ruler of Capricorn and Aquarius, cardinal earth and fixed air respectively. Saturn is the god of time and the harvest but where Sunday is for sowing and Thursday is for growing Saturday is the time of reaping. It is the day of confinement and inevitability. It is the day for restitution and karmic recoil. The day of final justice, of sacrifice and of plodding efforts. Saturday is ideal for punishing those who have truly done wrong, but may require personal sacrifice as well in matters of shared guilt. Saturn is impartial, cold and logical. It is the time for destruction of evil influences and imprisonment of those which do not quite warrant outright execution. His power is swift, final and unwavering.
Lunar Phase
The first and most obvious of lunar concerns is the lunar phase. Many people only take note of the lunar phase int heir workings and do not bother with days of the week or planetary hours, regarding the moon as Queen and Chieftan of all magic. Others will consider the zodialogical sign which the moon is transiting to be of greater magical significance as it is in my family. We garden, hunt and gather by moon sign, so it is still relatively convenient and natural to us to do so. Workers from other paths like to consider solar and lunar influences together, particularly Wiccans who's fundamental religious principle is to revere dualism in Divinity.
Waxing- growth, be it of crops or magical influence. Anything that you wish to increase over time, such as money blessings on your household or the pain of an enemy, you work during a waxing moon. The minimum time for infusing oils or waters should be the full course of a waxing moon, new to full.
Waning- diminishing Anything you wish to decrease over time, be it an unrequited love or the ill effects of the evil eye, work these during the waning moon. Waning moons are best for harvesting and culling or dealing with underground plant parts whereas waxing moons are better for above ground crops.
New- first steps. That is to say, the first step out, or in, the beginning or the end, the journey or the return. new moons are ideal for swift justice/retribution as well as for beginning a new phase of growth and healing. It is also the best time to start herbal infusions, the strongest being those which are also finished on this moon, macerating a full lunar month.
Full- height/completion. The full solar influence reflected in the moon makes it the ideal time for revelation and thanks giving. It is the best moon in which to honor the spirits or ancestors, make wishes or petitions or to complete a long-term prayer vigil. Full moons represent the apex or culmination of spiritual powers, ideal for a tour de force or coup de grace but for the longest lasting results, it is best to carry work over into the waning moon and finalize at the new moon. Nonetheless, full moons are the preferred time for any and all workings according to many.
Zodiac Sign
Both sun and moon traverse the signs of the zodiac and some consider this the chief influence upon magical workings because all of the cosmic forces are distilled into a single symbolic form. Each sign is ruled by a planet, has an elemental energy and a mode in which those energies are exerted. It is on these principle energies that the attributes of all of the signs and their influences on our personalities and our works, both magical and mundane, are based.
In general;
CARDINAL signs are for beginnings, they set the tone for their season and element.
FIXED signs are for sustaining energies of their season and element
MUTABLE signs are for transition and transformation of the power of their season/element into the next phase
FIRE signs are leaders with choleric temperaments. Influential, assertive, impulsive, enterprising.
EARTH signs are providers with melancholic temperaments. Domestic, diligent, ambitious but pragmatic.
AIR signs are innovators with sanguine temperaments. Sociable, intellectual, witty, trend setters.
WATER signs are creators with phlegmatic temperaments. Private, emotional, intuitive, artists.
Aries- to take charge. Spring, fire, cardinal. Domination, initiation, general beginnings, healing or inflicting emotional pain
Taurus- to grow. Spring, earth, fixed. Love, fertility, acquisition, fidelity, trapping of sexual nature, scrying and other kinds of visionary work
Gemini- to expand. Spring, air, mutable.Public relations, knowledge and intellect, all matters relating to eloquence, confusion and gossip
Cancer- to reflect. Summer, water, cardinal. Psychic and emotional work, introspection and meditation
Leo- to stand in limelight. Summer, fire, fixed. Influence, leadership attraction, prosperity, performing arts.
Virgo- to order. Summer, earth, mutable. Education, healing, finding the hidden. Especially powerful for dreams.
Libra- to balance. Fall, air, cardinal. Legal matters, peace making, manifestation thru creative visualization
Scorpio- to control. Fall, water, fixed. All maters relating to sexuality sensuality, seduction, secrets and violence. A good time for revenge and manipulation
Sagittarius- to experience. Fall, fire, mutable. Travel, wish making, affluence, crafting jujus talismans, sigils or gris-gris
Capricorn- to manifest. Winter, earth, cardinal. Business, discipline, grounding., domination, subjugation and even killing
Aquarius- to merge. Winter, air, fixed. Higher/ collective consciousness, transition, far-reaching goals, healing, group work, anything on a massive scale
Pisces- to know. Winter, water, mutable. Divination, inner travel, psychic awareness, stark loneliness and dread of mortality.
Colors
Everyone loves to talk candle colors. I addressed my disdain for this in my book, "Backwoods Shamanism" yet I reluctantly included information on it anyway and so I will do the same here. I must first point out that candles and lamps have been used in magical workings for far longer than coloring agents have been used in candles so candle color is probably the LEAST significant of considerations, but I suppose it cannot hurt. I must also point out that color itself is nothing but the reflection of a portion of the light spectrum and it may be argued that it is what goes INTO the spiritual work that is more significant than what is bounced back at your own eyeballs, which is why adding herbs to hand made candles or dressing them with oils is perhaps preferred by some old-time workers, but enough of that. Just know that color is more a matter of personal feelings than actual magical significance. Feel free to adjust the following to your own liking, unless it is a candle meant for a particular spirit, in which case ALWAYS consider what color the SPIRIT prefers over your own preferences.
Red- love, lust, block-busting/road opening, aggressive protection
White- cut&clear, general blessings, warding
Black- banishing, destruction, absorption, crossing
Yellow- wealth, luck, healing, sickness
Other suggestions include green for money or fertility, grey or brown for legal work, pink for romance and love drawing (as opposed to targeted love) and blue for peace, serenity and blessings of the home.
Oils
There are any number of condition oils that can be used for dressing candles for spiritual work. There are also any number of botanicals you could use to infuse the candle itself by adding to melted wax. You could also infuse your own oils by adding botanicals to a carrier such as olive, grapeseed, or sweet almond oil and allowing to sit for a month, or speed it up by gently heating and cooling for a number of hours. If you apply heat, note that it is important not to cook the herbs, so pay close attention to the oil and remove heat immediately if it starts to bubble. Making your own means you can formulate oils for your own specific needs while purchasing condition formulas from a reputable source means getting exactly what you need without the guess work. There are oils for every planet, sign, and element as well. It would be impossible to go over every possibility. As such, I will include a brief list of possible essences correlating to planetary powers since they apply to both the days of the week and the signs of the zodiac, thus seem most pertinent to the subject as covered in this blog.
Sun- Frankincense, Saffron, Cinnamon
Moon- Jasmine, Waterlily/Lotus, Magnolia
Mars- Tobacco, Patchouli, Cedar
Mercury- Rosemary, Thyme, Lemongrass
Jupiter-Nutmeg, Clove, Monarda
Venus- Rose, Elderflower, Styrax (sweet gum)
Saturn- Myrrh, Cypress, Vetiver
Anointing
Dressing candles is how you infuse them with power. The oil acts as a carrier not only of botanical essences but also of your own energy. It is like a medium or conductor which transmits personal power into the object anointed with it, in this case, your candle. The manner in which this is done sets the polarity or movement of that energy.
With wick pointed TOWARD you and dressing from wick to base, moving outward, you are sending the energy to a destination
With wick pointed AWAY from you and dressing from wick to base, moving inward, you are drawing energy toward yourself.
Dressing from the MIDDLE outward toward the ends is for REVERSAL or STATIONARY energies. Hold the candle VERTICAL with wick end DOWN for reversal and HORIZONTAL for stationary. One might have the wick end pointing to the RIGHT for a house blessing and LEFT for a cleansing.
Working
Candles come in many forms, some lasting mere minutes, others lasting for days. Some people are uncomfortable leaving a candle burning unattended. For these, we recommend snuffing the candle before you leave with a bell shaped snuffer. Blowing out a candle is considered bad luck for magical workings. Indeed the act of blowing out birthday candles is meant to represent the blowing away of the past year to welcome in the new. Since candle working is a matter of cumulative energy, blowing them out essentially means you start over from scratch each time you re-light. Personally, I prefer to take precautions with candle placement and simply let them burn all the way down on their own and this has always worked best for me. Using drawn sigils, whether with ink on paper or chalk/magical powders on the surface where you burn your candles is another way if empowering your work. Of course most just say a few words, pray the psalms or simply spend an allotted amount of time focusing their intent into the flame. Whatever your method, there is always an active aspect to candle burning and this is it. Simply lighting a candle and walking away is not sufficient for most magical/spiritual workings.
Disposal
Again, you will see variations. Some who burn jar candles with images of spirits or saints on them prefer to recycle the jar or fill it with herbs and curios as an altar piece to said spirit or saint. I have also been told that wrapping the jar in a paper bag and carefully breaking the glass then burying at a graveyard or crossroads is the best way to "release" the energy of your workings. When burning free-standing taper or votive candles, particularly on jars for sweetening/souring work, some will closely observe the wax from all angles looking for images or clues as to how the work went. The general rules apply to candle remains as to anything else;
To keep something- bury it in the back yard
To project something or set a guard- bury it in your front yard
To have it fade or let the ancestors work on it- bury in a cemetery
To send it on its way- throw in running water
To scatter and disperse- bury at a crossroads.
never attempt to recycle ritual remains like wax, herbs, powders etc. By all means, keep offering platforms like bowls, trays, cups and candle holders but anything considered perishable or consumable must be promptly and respectfully disposed of.
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