Candle Magick
For many 1000's of years, mankind has used candles
in making Magick...even the art of making the candle itself,
can be a form of magick...mixing herb with spell
to make a living, burning, charm
The following are some simple Magicks and correlation's
using this ancient form, and a few thoughts on the subject as a whole
I use a three branch candelabra on my altar space
at this point in time...for mind, body and soul....
I used to have one that had seven and before that four...each with their own meanings
and representations... more on the numerology etc.
behind such things, at a later date.... :) At least as far as my
limited understanding of such matters will allow for.
I start almost every ritual
with a small candle magick...useing this rack of candles
It sets the tone, as it were, in my mind
Each candle is "named" as it's lit...For example:
to light...lite the right hand candle...to love...lite the left hand candle
to Harmony...lite the center candle
This has the effect of focusing the mind...
as I move from one to the other.
The first two are almost always the same...
at least for me...the last being the focus
or reason for the rite
Then on to the four corners....each "named" again,
as they are lit for the meanings of each section...
before the guardians are summoned
To Earth...green is thy blessings on this rite
To Air...soft is the breath of the Gods
To Fire...blessed be the purifying fire
To Water...cool is the drink of heaven
The words vary but the intent is the same...the candles flame
is a prayer of rejoicing and a petition for connection with
the Gods...the first of many, in any rite...by the time you get all the candles lit...
you should be in the right frame of mind
There are many books on the color of candles
one should use for this and that... and I will recount
some of them here ... as color influences vibrations and the Feng Shui
of the environment and therefore ... influences you
But I must point out, our forebears,
who where much much better at such magicks,
than most of us will ever be, didn't have a rainbow of colors to pick from
and they did just fine thank you :)
In fact, the tradition is, for the Witch to make her own candles,
at least for some things, imbibed with spell and color and herb
for different intents, as many still do, myself included :)
which I will cover in brief, further down the page
However, if you not that handy and or, that adventurous
store bought is just fine, if treated properly
You see, candles are not just a source of light in this case
but a source of magick and prayer for your rites
For example: a long burning, tall candle, called a sevenday
is commonplace in many religions. Letting a candle burn
continuously as an act of faith, is not limited to Pagan Magick
There are many faiths who keep a perpetual flame
going on their altar space...
This is a form of Candle Magick
Preparing
Store Bought Candles
There
are about as many ways to do this, as there are people,
but
I will see if I can outline some basics
The
simplest form is water that has been blessed
and
the candles dipped into it and or the water sprinkled on them
Blessing
water can be a simple prayer over the water
...with
a tiny dash of salt to purify it... then,
with
reverence and the will, you dip all the candles in this water
that
you wish to bless
To
a very elaborate rite with full power charging of the water
by
every means you have... it's a question of what is needed
for
what you intend
Anointing
This
is another way that is very simple, which is to take essential oils
and
rub the outside of the candle in a meditative state.. Again the force of
the Will is what matters here
This
is often called "dressing " the candle
My
favorite is the thrice around and down, where you circle your energy
from
top to bottom over and over...generaly with a chanted mantra
Another
is to run your fingers from the middle to the top
and
then middle to the bottom..times seven by tradition...
If
the candle is in a container..a few drops rubbed about on top
three
times around...while envisioning your intent
works
farily well too
There
are lots of esoteric reasons for this, but mainly because
all
things have an energy field and candles are no exception..
Part
of what you are trying to do is change these fields
to
work as you want them to work, to your personal vibration.
As
well as to remove any stray vibrations they picked up from elsewhere.
It
stands to reason, a candle you have handled and blessed
and
meditated over will have much more meaning for you
and
be " charged " with your personal vibrations
when
it comes time to use it...and the Will is everything in Magick
For
example: For a healing rite you could take...a green candle
blessed
with oil of clove or lavender or pine..and call upon any number of Goddesses
such
as Gaia, Diana or Isis... focusing your will
on
the candle to aid you in your intent
which
is to send healing energy, all the while focusing on your intent
which
is to heal, making the candle an extension of your Will
A
short study on the attributes of any of the faces of the divine,
will
tell you which oils/colors... are traditional for which Gods/Goddess...
See
below for a chart
But
we are not bound by tradition alone... recall that someone, way back when,
created
what we call " traditional " now... by their own mediations and intuition
if
they could figure them out...so can you
In
other words, if all you have is white, use them. One time I did a peace
rite
using pink and white swirled birthday cake candles !
Because
they were all I had to hand at the time...And it worked just fine
Had
to make it quick though ,they don't burn very long :)
Work
with what works...build your intuition
as
to what is suitable... if the heart be true, there is no
"
wrong " way to do it ...so it becomes a real part
of
the rites you hold...from start to finish
However,
to give you a starting point for your studies on
the
matter ... here are a few correlation's of color and herbs/oils
to
the God/Goddess and type of rite...some of which I'm sure you know
and
some I bet you never heard of.
It
will give you good reason to go hunting :)
Gleaned
from too many sources, over too much time to recall :)
Blessings
on them all
And there are, of course, many many more than these