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Light Up Your Life With Candle Magic By Lady MoonDance

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© 2004, 2012 by Lady MoonDance All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning or recording, or by information storage or retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Published in the United States by MoonDance Publications, PO Box 14125, Durham, NC 27709-4125. 1st Kindle Edition – January 2012 Cover Photo by Brenda Clarke: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brenda-starr/3467770874/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/37753256@N08/

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Table of Contents

Introduction Selecting A Candle Charging, Decorating and Dressing Your Candle Candle Layouts Pinch, Snuff or Blow? When Your Work is Done Selected Resources for Further Reading

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Introduction Whether you know it or not, chances are that you have, at some point in your life, taken part in candle magic. When was the last time you made a wish and then blew out the candles on your birthday cake? This is candle magic in its simplest form. Likewise, in churches around the world, Catholic to Unitarian Universalist, people perform magic by lighting a candle to help heal a friend, ask for guidance or seek the resolution to a problem. The burning of candles during the winter holidays (Hanukkah, Yule/Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanza, and Imbolc/Candlemas), is an act of sympathetic magic meant to draw back the warmth and light of the sun, a practice which began in ancient Rome, where candles were exchanged as gifts at Saturnalia. Even in India, the beginning of Winter is marked by the celebration of Divali, another “Festival of Lights,” where lamps and candles placed around the home and set afloat on the Ganges River represent renewal and may carry wishes for the year ahead. From the beginning of time, we have universally recognized the power of a lit flame, whether it is providing life-giving warmth, illuminating scary stories shared around a campfire, or creating the perfect mood for a romantic dinner. Its glow in the darkness captures our gaze, and we are easily lost in its flicker. This is the power that we seek to harness in candle magic, where we use the candle itself as the focal point for our magical working. The only real difference between performing candle magic and just lighting a candle is one of intent. Your magic can be as simple or as complex as you wish, but everything that you do as you prepare and burn your candle is for the purpose of imbuing it your desired outcome. However, also remember that in candle magic, everything is optional except the candle (and in a pinch, you can even simply envision that), so feel free to take whatever works for you, and leave the rest behind.

Selecting A Candle There are many kinds of candles: pure beeswax – which is often rolled in sheets as well as formed – hand-dipped tapers, molded shapes, candles poured into jars or holders. Shaped candles include cats (often used for luck 5

or in working with pets), skulls (which may be used for healing), human figures (often employed for love and relationship workings), and pretty much anything else that you can imagine. Feel free to begin exploring these, but don’t fall prey to the belief that only a certain kind of candle will work for a particular purpose. In selecting the shape and size, it is often more important to think of how long you want it to burn. A small tea light will easily burn out in a few hours, and a votive in a night or two. Pillars last longer, but you may need to drain off wax or trim them in order to get them to burn down completely. Seven knob candles are specially designed so that one section can be burned each day for a week, and the tall, slim, glassenclosed candles, called devotional or novena candles, may last even longer. (Sometimes these are decorated with a paper or plastic design. It can be removed if necessary, but also consider the energy that may have already have been put into these, or any other candles, when selecting them.) Repeatedly burning a candle, and the act of caring for the candle during that time, can be useful for focusing on long-term goals, or anything that you wish to reinforce or send extra energy into. You may wish to select a specified number of hours or nights based on your purpose, or to simply allow it to burn until it goes out by itself. The most important consideration in candle magic is usually considered to be the color(s) of your candle(s). Your selected color contributes the vibrational energy of that hue to your magic, as well as conveying your intention to your subconscious as you work. Below are only a few of the many possible choices and some of their common meanings: Red – Fire, Love, Passion, Emotions, Courage, Sex, Strength, Power, Anger, Blood, Energy Pink – Honor, Love, Romance, Femininity, Friendship, Female Children Orange – Attraction, Encouragement, Stimulation, Fire, Courage, Autumn Yellow – Air, Thought, the Mind and Communication, Attraction, Charm, Confidence, Happiness, Joy, Summer Green – Earth, Fertility, Prosperity, Abundance, Growth, Luck, Healing, Spring Blue – Water, Success, Material/Earthly Destiny, Patience, Tranquility, 6

Healing, Clarity, Wisdom Light Blue – the Sky, Peace, Male Children Turquoise – Healing, Balance, Water Purple – Spirituality & Spiritual Destiny, Power, Peace, Royalty Brown – Earth, Groundedness, Stability, Work, Job Issues and “Mundane” Issues White – Yang Energy, Light, Purity, Unity, Healing, Spirit & Oneness Contains & Reflects all Colors, Can Be Used In Place of Any Other Color Black – Yin Energy, Darkness, The Void & Pure Potential, Banishing, Releasing, Protection & the Ending of Bad Luck or Hexes - Negates all Colors & Energy Gray – Neutrality, Stalemate, Loss, Neither one thing nor the other, hidden things, indecision Gold – The "Masculine" aspects of the Divine, the Sun, Prosperity & Abundance Silver – The Goddess or Lady, the Moon, Prosperity & Abundance Some candles made especially for magic are created with the bottom half dipped in an outer coating of black, so that the color will burn down and flow over the black. These are generally called reversing candles, as they are used to turn around bad luck or “negative magic” in regards to love (red), money (green) or any other purpose (white). Inversely, candles where the black runs down over the red are meant to cause the ending of a relationship and so should be used with extreme care. In my experience, it is often better to ask for something new and positive rather than to focus on the negative. The latter puts that negatively into your own working, and into your life, whether you intend it to do so or not. In selecting a candle, remember that it is a focal point for you – your conscious and subconscious energy – so choose the color or colors that work best for you. I often like to go shopping in my favorite mundane stores, 7

places like Target, Michael’s and Jo-Anne’s, looking for a candle that “speaks” to me. Likewise, I might chose to hand pour one, adding or leaving out color, fragrance or herbs, as feels right for the purpose at hand. Also, remember that a white candle (or sometimes a black one) can be used for any purpose. Try holding a plain colored candle in your hands and imagining what color the perfect candle would be: silver and purple swirls and spirals, the colors of the earth and the sky, green with red polka dots – let your imagination color it for you. Doing so is a wonderful way to begin putting your energy and intent into your candle. If you are selecting a candle to do magic for a specific person (preferably with their permission), you may want to do so based on their (western) astrological sign. Traditional correspondences, which actually come from the colors associated with the planet that rules each sign, include: Aries (Mars) – Red & More Red (all shades from pink to crimson) Taurus (Venus) – Pink, Mauve, Light Yellow & Pale Blue Gemini (Mercury) – Yellow, Green, Violet Cancer (The Moon) – Sea Green, Silver, White Leo (The Sun) – Yellow, Orange, Gold Virgo (Mercury) – Rust, Navy, Grey Libra (Venus) – Light Blue and Lavender Scorpio (Pluto/Mars) – Dark Reds (Crimson, Burgundy, Maroon) Sagittarius (Jupiter) – Purple, Dark Blue Capricorn (Saturn) – Dark Green, Brown, Dark Gray, Blue, Navy Aquarius (Uranus/Saturn) – Light Yellow, Indigo, Electric Blue Pisces (Neptune/Jupiter) – Pale or Sea Green, Turquoise, Indigo 8

If this color does not “feel” right for the person, remember to follow your instincts, and go with what does. What is their favorite color, or what colors do you associate with them? For example, a friend of mine is a Scorpio, but she loves to wear blues and turquoise, and one of her favorite hobbies is sailing, so I would likely choose watery colors for her. You can also simply hold the color candle that fits your purpose, and picture in your mind’s eye the person you are directing the energy toward, seeing them surrounded with the energy and imagining the final outcome. You should continue these visualizations while you are burning your candle, whether it is for you or for someone else. In doing this or any other magic, always follow your own personal code of magical ethics in as far as doing magic that affects others. Also, phrases like “for the highest good” and “I ask for this or something better” are good to keep in mind regarding your magical statements and intentions in any working.

Charging, Decorating and Dressing Your Candle The simplest way to charge your candle is to hold it in both hand and focus your intent into it, envisioning your desired outcome or speaking your intention. While you are doing so, you may also wish to “dress” it. Yes this sounds strange, but there are no actual clothes involved. “Dressing” is a traditional method for energizing your candle with your intentions. First, select an oil: choose one that contains essential oils or fragrances that fits your intention, or use a basic, unscented oil – even a virgin olive or corn oil from your kitchen will do. Traditionally, you hold the base of the candle in your left (or receptive) hand and the top on in right (or sending) hand. Placing your hands side-by-side in the middle, rub outward with each hand. You may also wish to rub the oil on the candle according to how you wish the energy to flow – up and out or down and into it; moving swiftly in long strokes, or round and round in slowly, circling spirals – while visualizing your purpose. For glass-enclosed candles, pour a few drops of oil into the candle and spread them across the top. Many other methods can be used to add additional energy to your candles: Carve words, runes, symbols or pictures into them with a toothpick or pen. Decorate the outside of glass-enclosed novenas with images from magazines 9

and catalogs. Using proper care to prevent fires, roll dressed candles in dried herbs or select ones with herbs and other items already inside. Place a few drops of essence oil into the top of your candle each day before lighting it, burn incense nearby or choose candles with scents that reflect your desires.

Candle Layouts Instead of using only one candle, you can arrange several candles on your altar to reflect your purpose. One traditional arrangement is to use two or more “guardian candles” at the back of your altar or around it (to represent The Lord and Lady, the Directions or other Divine Forces,) then place a candle closer to you, or in the middle, that represents the purpose or intent of your working. In front of that candle, you may wish to position a candle for the recipient, often called an “astral candle.” In this arrangement, the energy can seen to flow into the protected space, going through the intentional candle and gathering your purpose there, to bring what is desired to rest within the recipient, or astral, candle. You will find book after book with other layouts, but you may also wish to design your own by simply using the candles to visually represent your purpose: Want to draw something toward you? Select a candle for that purpose and one for yourself. Burn them for several nights, moving the candles closer together each time. When they are touching, let them burn down. If they blend together as they melt, so much the better. Want to repel something away? Do the opposite. Want to see yourself surrounded by good fortune? Select candles representing what you need (money, a new job, love, etc.) and place them around your astral candle. Want stability? Four Candles in a square can represent this, just as the legs of a chair or table do, whereas two candles might represent two people in a relationship and three, the Divine (the three faces of the God or Goddess). Add other symbols, herbs and items to your altar that you wish, decorating it to create and call to you your desires. Anything you can add which helps 10

you to better focus your energy and symbolize your intent is acceptable.

Pinch, Snuff or Blow? In most cases, it is considered best to let your candle burn completely down in order to complete the spell. However, you may wish to burn it for only a specified length of time, or a bit at a time, spread out over several night, weeks or months. There are many opinions about the best way to extinguish your flame. Instead of following only one “right way,” I prefer to look at where I want the energy of the flame to go at the moment: Do I want to seal it in (pinch or snuff it out) or to send it out to the universe (blow it out)? When pinching out the candle, lick your fingers first in order not to get burned. Doing so also mixes your own energy into the spell much more than impersonally using a candlesnuffer. A dramatic ending effect can be achieved by chapping your hands just above the flame. The generated puff of air extinguishes the candle, dispersing the energy of the flame in the process.

When Your Work is Done Each candle should only be used for the purpose for which it was charged, and any reminders should be buried, even if that just means sending them to the landfill with your garbage. If the spell was for cleansing or release, you may likewise choose to release the remains in a nearby body of flowing water, but be conscious of your impact on the environment in doing so. In creating candle magic, feel free to be as elaborate is you like, but, also remember, that sometimes all you really need is a single candle, and a little time spent burning it.

Selected Resources for Further Reading Practical Candleburning Rituals (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series) and Advanced Candle Magick: More Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose (Practical Magick Series), both by Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn. The first widely regarded book on candle magic, and it’s sequel. Wiccans may be surprised to find that some of the rituals in Buckland’s classic do not follow the Rede in regards to doing magic that affects or controls others. The second book goes beyond candle magic into details of ritual preparation, such as making a robe. 11

A Little Book of Candle Magic by D.J. Conway, Crossing Press. All the basic traditional info and a nice assortment of rituals in a small, inexpensive gift book. It also includes info on Asian and Native American color correspondences. Stars, Spells, Secrets, and Sorcery: A Do-It-Yourself Book of the Occult by Barbara Haislip, Little Brown & Co. Now out of print, this is the book that helped me find my own way so very long ago. The Candle Magick Workbook by Kala and Ketz Pajeon, Citadel Press. The workbook format goes beyond your usual candle magic book.

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Table des Matières Copyright Introduction Selecting A Candle Charging, Decorating and Dressing Your Candle Candle Layouts Pinch, Snuff or Blow? When Your Work is Done Selected Resources for Further Reading

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