Candles have been used in the craft for centuries and to this day candle magick is one of the simplest forms of spellcasting, it doesn’t require a lot of fancy ritual or ceremonial tools so

it's perfect for beginners or for a quick spell when you don't have the time or space to do a whole ritual.  Us witch's LOVE a candle or two....or three.....or four. We tend to have a candle for every occasion and all sorts of sizes, shapes & colours too.

We use candles for practically every spell we perform in some way or another, whether it's part of the spell or just as a focal point in your space.

 Anyone with a candle can cast a spell. Think about birthday cakes, you always have candles on the cake which you then blow out and make a wish. That would have been your first candle magick spell as a child without anyone even knowing it. We still do it now and no-one even thinks of this as a spell, but that’s such a simple form of candle magick, yet many religions or even just people still have the conception that witchcraft is devil worship, dark and malevolent. Witches don’t believe in the devil and most of us don’t throw curses and hexes around like you're led to believe, but my friends, if another practitioner is throwing something negative towards another witch there could be a war of the witches let me tell you. However most curses and hexes don’t even come to fruition as witches tend to have a defensive in place just to be safe.

But back to the topic of candles….within witchcraft candles don’t even have to be special shape, size or colour, but these elements can add to your intention to give your spell some extra strength and power. With candle magick even the size doesn’t really matter unless you want one that burns for a particular amount of time for a particular spell. Really big candles may actually be counterproductive. For instance, a candle that takes three days to burn can be highly distracting to someone working a spell that depends on the candle burning all the way down for quick spells rather than long drawn out ones (which of course do have their purpose). Small birthday candles can also be used especially when out and about so if you want to make a travel altar, these are the candles that are amazing to have and they come in a variety of colours and shapes.

  Typically, a short taper candle or a tealight candle will work best. In some cases, a spell might call for a specific type of candle, such as a seven-day candle or a figure candle to represent a particular person - a form of sympathetic magic. But if you haven’t got a particular colour, size etc then a simple white unscented tealight will do.

One of my favourite candles to use is the ‘Pull-Out’ candle, these are great because you have a large surface to scribe onto the candle, dress with oils, glitter, herbs etc. they really do look good when you go to town on them and they are in a safe container which when the candle has finished burning you can reuse. The burn for a long time and you can make the candle spell last for as long as needed from several hours to days.

  An important thing to remember is you should always use a brand new candle for each spell you cast if it is part of the spell or ritual and not candles that you burned at, say, the dinner table or in the bathroom the day before. A candle picks up vibrations from the items around it once it starts to burn. If a used candle is already tainted by vibrations it will lead to a negative or ineffective magickal outcome. So always start fresh.

Now let’s talk about Elemental Energy within Candles as they are often only seen as the Fire Element but thinking about it as a symbolic object, the candle is a well-balanced representation of all the Elements.  The wick and the base of the candle represent the Earth Element, which is necessary to keep the flame both grounded and able to stay lit.  The wax, which transforms from a solid to a liquid and then to a gas, represents the shape-shifting characteristics of the Water Element.  The Air Element, in the form of oxygen, is necessary to keep the flame alive, and is often made visible in the smoke emanating from a burning wick.  The flame itself, of course, quite literally represents the Fire Element. Add the Element of Spirit, by charging the candle with your intention, and you have a magical tool that embodies the totality of the Universe in one small package.  So as a whole candles play a massive part in the craft when you actually think about it. All the elements rolled into one, literally multi purpose for any spellwork you want to perform.

- Colour within Candle Magick - Many witches like to use colour to symbolise their magickal intent during spellwork. Colour is especially utilised in candle magick. You can use colour correspondences to help choose the colors of your candles, altar decorations and more when planning a spell or ritual. Colours can also be used in home decor and clothing choices to bring their energies into your everyday life.

Red - Passion, courage, strength, intense emotions , love, physical energy, health, willpower. Pink - Affection, friendship, companionship, spiritual healing, romance, spiritual awakening, partnerships. Orange - Energy, attraction, vitality, stimulation, adaptability, encouragement, power, road opening. Yellow - Intellect, inspiration, imagination, knowledge, communication, confidence, divination, study. Green - Abundance, growth, wealth, renewal, balance, prosperity, employment, fertility, health, good luck. Blue - Peace, truth, wisdom, protection, patience, healing, psychic ability, harmony in the home, understanding. Purple - Spirituality, wisdom, devotion, peace, idealism, divination, enhancing nurturing qualities,  balancing sensitivity. White - All Purposes, Peace, innocence, illumination, purity, cleansing, clarity, establishing order, spiritual growth, understanding. Black - Dignity, force, stability, protection, banishing and releasing negative energies, transformation, enlightenment. Silver - Wisdom, psychic ability, intelligence, memory, spiritual development, psychic development, meditation, warding off negativity. Gold - Inner strength, self-realization, understanding, intuition, success, health, ambition, finances, good fortune, divination. Brown - Endurance, solidity, grounding, strength, balance, concentration, material gain, home, companion animals. Grey - Stability, contemplation, neutrality, reserve, complex decisions, binding negative influences, reaching compromise.

In addition to choosing the colour of your candle, you can enhance your spellwork in a number of ways. Dressing the candle with a magickally charged oil is a long-standing tradition, and it adds the benefit of magickal scent to the equation. Many practitioners like to follow this up by rolling the dressed candle in corresponding herbs to add even more magickal power.

If using tealight candles you can also add the oils and herbs on top of the candle or melt the candle wax on a hotplate then add the herbs and oils into the wax, then let it cool again ready for your spellwork.

Beeswax candles are one of my firm favourites and if you roll them yourself you can add the oils and herbs sparingly into the candle as you roll. This gives the candle an extra special touch. Or of course if you’re buying a pre-rolled one you can add the oil and herbs to the outside.  *Be Careful* When burning candles with flammable oils and herbs this can make the candle burn quickly and more intense so please be careful and keep the candle away from flammable objects and have a holder for the candle that can take the heat if need be.

Candle talk can go on for so long when you get into them and if you're anything like me I use all sorts of colours, shapes and scents on a daily basis from subdued lighting to casting spells. A witch needs her candles, better yet, she won't be without them.