Welcome, and wonderful Wednesday! As promised, I will be covering a very simple candle technique to increase the power and accuracy of your spells and rituals. I chose to make mine on Thursday in the hour of Jupiter.
First, you’ll want to design a sigil. There are several ways of doing this, so you can choose your favorite. I have chosen to demonstate a variation of the technique Austin Osman Spare previously popularized in the past. If you don’t know who they were, it might be worth taking the time to research them a bit at some point.
Begin by choosing a focus for the spell or rite - a particular person and/or statement of intent. Minimize this as much as possible, while still allowing it to retain as much of its original meaning as possible.
I have given an example below. Be sure to keep the purpose of the process in mind at every step in this process for maximum effect.
If you’re unfamiliar with the principles of sigilcraft, that may be worth looking into as well. Perhaps that is something I will cover a little more in depth in a futute post.
Next, you want to choose a candle. I have chosen white, because it will work as a substitute for any other color; and all of the green candles near me are actually white candles with a thin layer of green wax covering them.
Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but in my experience, this can make carving into the candle extremely tedious. Not to mention nearly impossible, at times.
Next, decide which oils and herbs you will use. I use a combination of planetary and/or elemental correspondences, mixed with personal preferences to choose mine.
The last step before moving into the carving is to gather some tools for the carving, such as a bead reamer, or kintting needles, or a pencil. I recommed at least one tapered item, as it makes widening the carving much easier to do whithout chipping or gouging…
Also, get some sort of cardboard or something to prevent the carved wax from mixing into your carpet, rug, or hardwood.
I like to also use a ruler to help keep my lines nice and straight.
But, I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist, at times.
Now, its time to carve the candle and fill it with herbs! Take your time, here. I went very slowly with this one and it still only took me half an hour; design, carving, and dressing all took me about an hour.
At this point you can annoint the candle with an oil that suits your intention. A common tactic is to either rub from the top of the candle down to the bottom to bring the result toward the target - rub from the bottom up to the top to do the opposite - or, rub from the top and bottom to the middle to draw the result to the target; middle to to top and bottom to cause the opposite effect.
If all you can find are pillar candles, that is perfectly fine. Draw the sigil on the candle, instead. Here is an example using a memory candle:
Figures can also be drawn on the bottom and back, as well!
This is the glyph that I tend to use for mercury. Always feel free to experiment in your practice; you never know what might work better for you, personally!
Also, a great thing about using pillar candles, is that a simple canning lid works as a perfect “snuffer” for those who dont like to blow out their candles!
Then, they can be neatly placed beneath the candles after the smoke has dissipated. Or you can just removed it, and use it as a fan to waft the smoke away.
This lid will also keep the glass from damaging your tables when the flame gets really low, a lot of the times. I’ve been doing this for almost a decade and have yet to scorch a table. Results may vary, though.
That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for next time when I show the way this candle burned down, and reveal a technique for divining how successful the spell might be! Have a great rest of your week, and take care!