Your Everything-You-Need-to-Know Intro to Candle Magick

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If you’re just starting to explore magick, you’ve gotta ~let it burn~. Candles are a staple item in any magickal tool kit. They’re used to amplify and release energy, and they can either be left (unlit) around your pad to promote positive vibes or used (lit) in rituals and spells. (Don’t burn down your apartment, kthx.)

What is candle magick?

Candle magick is an ancient form of manifesting, wish fulfillment, empowering your intentions to make them a reality and bring focus to your goals. Fire has been an ever-present force in human history, from prehistory onwards, across all cultures and continents. The act of lighting a candle, investing the candle with a wish, and seeing its flame burn as you feel that wish being released to the universe is a very simple kind of spell. We have probably all blown out the candles on a birthday cake at some point in our childhood and made a wish as we did. That was candle magic!

Fire changes everything it interacts with, whether it’s turning a love letter into ashes or making water boil for mac and cheese. This transformational energy is what you’re channeling in candle magick, encouraging and accelerating changes in your life.

The act of burning is believed to connect the physical world to the spiritual realm, but the other key element here is about using different candle colors. This is called color magick! Different colors store different types of energy, and this is what we’re trying to access when we burn a candle of that color. FYI: Burning candles is an easy way to access that color’s energy, but it’s not the only way. You can also wear certain colors or decorate your home with various shades.

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Set of 20 Spell Candles

Get ready to cast some. candle magick with a set of 20 mini candles, also called chimes.

Spell Chime Candles

These candles come pre-dressed with herbs and oils. Each is designed for a specific intention, like self-love, wealth, and sex.

The Book of Candle Magic: Candle Spell Secrets to Change Your Life

This book includes instructions for many different candle magick spells to help you manifest more happiness, love, prosperity, and fulfillment.

Intention Oils

You can use ritual oils like these to dress a candle. There are many options, each tailored to a specific intention, purpose, or zodiac sign.

Love Come to Me Magic Candle

This spell candle includes a crystal at the bottom: After you've burned your candle, the stone will be supercharged with your intentions and you can keep it with you or place it on your altar.

Third Eye Matches

While you can use any kind of match or lighter to practice candle magick, these ones add an extra ~oomph.

Himalayan Salt Stone 2 Hole Candleholder

Your candle holder can be part of your candle magick, too.

Brass Finished Candle Snuffer

Some candle magick traditions say you should never blow out a candle; either let it burn itself out or use a snuffer (or your fingers).

What do I need to perform candle magick?

All you need is a candle (white will do, but you can use color magick to tailor the color of your candle to your wish) and some oil (almond, coconut, jojoba all work well). You don’t need to be a witch, psychic, magic or even particularly ‘believe’ in anything here. This is about using ritual to focus your thoughts and hopes. The tools are perhaps less important than the intention to spend time thinking about your wish and goals.

Candle color meanings, explained

White

White can be used as a good "default candle" if you’re short on resources. However, in color magick, it promotes serenity and peace and enhances personal strength and insight. White makes you feel clear-headed and resolute about your goal.

Black

Black is always a protective force in color magick. Black crystals, clothes, and, yes, candles are all there for psychic protection, bb. Think of black as your personal cosmic bodyguard.

Green

Green = growth, luck, fertility, vitality, and creativity. Green is nature’s natural ally, and is always looking to innovate, expand, and develop your ideas to life. It also amplifies prosperity (aka $$$), so you'll want to use this color in money manifestation. Yes, please!

Blue

Blue promotes harmony, peace, understanding, empathy, and wisdom. Blue is a great color to surround yourself with when you feel conflicted or stressed. It’s a soothing calming force and connects with your chakras and any emotional wounds that need healing.

Yellow

Yellow is a networker, a super connector, and a chatterbox! It enhances your networking and social skills, bringing in new career opportunities. (Try keeping a yellow candle on your desk—unlit—as a beacon for new opportunity).

Red

Red encourages love, sex, and passion. If your ritual has anything to do with your love or sex life, odds are you’ll need a red candle.

Pink

This one’s for ~romance~. Placing a pink candle by your home’s doorway will welcome in love, and use a pink candle in a ritual to draw the eye of your object of affection.

Purple

This color is all set to boost your spiritual enlightenment, psychic ability, and creativity. Purple is a deeply spiritual color.

Orange

Orange is vibrant, vital, and energetic. Think of it is like a pep talk. In candle magick, this color encourages your ambition and helps you broaden your horizons. Make your goals bigger and bolder with orange!

Brown

Brown is materialistic and practical grounder of the color spectrum. It helps with all things relating to your resources—like health, energy, possessions, pets, endurance, and courage.

The colors for each day of the week

Along with different qualities and goals, different colors align with different days of the week. If you can do your ritual on the right day, it will further enhance the energy and impact of your efforts. (For example, if you’re using a red candle for ~passion~, try your ritual on a Tuesday.)

• Sunday: gold and orange

• Monday: silver, white, and gray

• Tuesday: red, brown, and other autumn shades

• Wednesday: yellow and gray

• Thursday: purple and deep blue

• Friday: light blue, green, pink, and copper hues

• Saturday: maroon, dark shades, and black

Combining colors in candle magick

You can choose one candle and focus on that, or you can get creative and mix and match different colors by burning multiple candles to tackle a more nuanced intention or desire. For example, say you’re an aspiring tarot reader trying to manifest the perfect role to both bring you material reward (yellow) AND fulfill your spiritual potential and growth (purple). Then you could burn a yellow AND purple candle.

Or maybe you’re feeling emotionally bruised from an argument with your partner and you want to both heal yourself from the encounter (blue) and restore the romance and connection between you as a couple (pink). Then you might burn a blue AND a pink candle.

How to Do Candle Magick

Step 1: What are you trying to manifest?

Think of what you want to bring into your life. Be specific, realistic, positive, and kind. (Don’t wish bad things for others, no matter how aggro they’re being. Let karma take care of it.) Clarify your intention in a single sentence, like, “I need to find a job that pays more and makes me feel excited.”

Step 2: Create your spell.

The most basic candle magick spell is to simply visualize your goal, say a sentence, and light the candle to release the energy. Job done.

Choose the candle’s color carefully. Pick one that corresponds with the nature of your goal, like yellow for your job search. You may also want to place relevant crystals, herbs, or flowers around your candle to amplify the right ~vibes~.

To level up, you can check on astrology placements to align your ritual with the right energy from the cosmos. If it’s about love, maybe wait till Venus is in Libra. If you’re hoping to bring fresh opportunities into your world, you might choose a New Moon. Avoid Mercury Retrograde, naturally, unless you’re feeling like playing Russian roulette with the outcome of your spell. (Yikes.)

You can also create a little chant, poem, or song about your goal. I know this sounds a little silly, but trust me: It helps increase your commitment to and resonance with your goal.

You’re obsessed with all things astro. Same. Get all the deets on ~the cosmos~ with Cosmo Unlocked.

Step 3: Level up your spell.

You can mix and match the candles to create more focused intentions. Like, if you’re looking for great sex AND true love in your next partner (yes, please), then use a red (sex) and a pink (love) candle in your ritual.

If you want to set the scene for having and healing from a difficult conversation, you might use a yellow (expression) and white (healing) candle to balance the mood.

Or if you want to make money from your creative talents, then try a green (creativity) and orange (ambition and success) candle combo. And if you want to project protection and healing onto a loved one who’s ~going through something~, then bring in black (protection) and blue (healing) candles to double up your psychic care package.

If you want to receive messages about your true calling in life, then use a purple (spiritual enlightenment) and orange (personal success) candle to help you find your niche. You get the idea! Mix and match it up.

Step 4: Dress the candle.

This is important. You’re aiming to forge a ~psychic link~ among the candle, you, and your goal. This is called “dressing the candle.”

First, rub the candle with oil (any oil you have works, like almond, coconut, or jojoba. If you’re an essential oils fan, you can mix them in too). Rub the candle from top to bottom to draw things to you or from bottom to top to send things away. As you rub the candle with oil (cover the whole surface but skip the wick), focus on your goal and mentally *pour* that vision into the candle. Chanting helps—srsly. You may feel your hands start to tingle or get really warm. This is a good sign that the vibes are flowing and the magick is working.

Continue dressing the candle for a couple of minutes, until you feel like it’s ~charged~. You can also scratch names, numbers, or symbols in the wax if there’s something that’s relevant to your spell.

Step 5: Light the candle.

Okay, you’re ready for magick. Take a few deep breaths, release tension, and visualize your worries or thoughts drifting away from you. Clear your mind.

Then start to visualize your goal as if it has already happened. Imagine how you’d feel and what life would look like. When you have a clear mental picture, repeat your chant/song/poem or say your intention out loud. When you feel almost ~full~ of your goal’s energy and positive vibes, light the candle.

Focus on the candle’s aura (the light right outside the flame) and visualize it getting bigger and bigger until it fills the room. Then imagine it expanding beyond the room into the universe, beaming out and sending a signal to bring your intention to you. Hold this vision in your mind as long as you can. When you feel your energy waning or you start getting distracted, blow out the candle and you’re done.

Step 6: Interpret the flame

As your candle burns, pay close attention to the way the flame moves during your ritual, because—yep!—that can have meaning too. For instance:

• A blue flame: A spirit is close by!

• A tall, strong flame: The spell will work wonders!

• A flickering flame: This could mean the imminent arrival of spirits (!) or that strong feelings are at play around this spell.

• A sputtering or popping flame: This could indicate tension, conflict, or opposing forces working against your manifestation right now. You might want to wait and try again another time.

• A slow, faltering or weak flame: You need to put more focus and intent into this spell. Visualize your wish in technicolor and concentrate. If the flame grows, the power is increasing.

• A candle that sizzles, pops or hisses: Something or someone is trying to communicate with you, perhaps an ally from the "other side." Try to interpret words or messages within the sounds.

• Something else catches fire or the candle explodes: Beware—it’s possible that something or someone is blocking your wish. Perhaps re-examine your goal for ways it could hurt or impact someone else and tweak your strategy. Make sure you do no harm in getting what you wish for.

• The candle won’t burn: Start over.

• The flame is burning only on one side of the candle: The wish will only be partially delivered; there will be some aspect missing or delayed.

Happy spell-casting!

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