Candle Magic (or magick, as it’s sometimes named by practitioners) is perhaps one of the simplest forms of spell casting. For anyone looking to incorporate spell work into their spiritual journey, candle magick is a great place to start due to its cost effectiveness, accessibility, and versatility.
What is Candle Magic?
Long believed to have been used by many ancient civilizations, candle magick is a sacred part of many witches’ rituals. It is not just used in Pagan or Wiccan ritual work, but it is highly versatile and can be incorporated into any spiritual practice. What you may not realize is, you have probably already practiced candle magick at some point: blowing out candles on a birthday cake after making a wish is actually a form of candle magick! 🕯️
By cleansing and charging candles with intentions, lighting the candle with a flame, and naturally letting the flame die, you are engaging in candle magick. It is a highly effective form of manifestation and divination, and I recommend anyone curious about spell work to begin incorporating candle magick into their routine.
Spiritually Cleansing a Candle
Before engaging in candle magick, however, it is important to cleanse your candle of any previous energies latching onto it. I will break down different ways to prepare a candle for spell work, and ultimately answer the question, “How do I cleanse a candle?”
Why should I cleanse a candle before using it?
Everything has an energetic field. Anything you bring into your home, your sacred space, or place on your altar has energetic remnants of wherever it has been before you found it. Whether you’re about to cast a love spell or simply say a Wiccan prayer, it is important to clear these energetic remnants and begin your ritual work with a clean slate. This will ensure that your intention can be more easily bound to the object of your spell casting – in this case, a candle.
There are many different ways to cleanse a candle, and I recommend you review them all and choose a way that feels intuitive and true to you and your practice.
How to Cleanse a Candle
There are so many resources about how to cleanse a candle that it can feel overwhelming to anyone who is just beginning to work with candles. We explain some of our favorites methods of cleansing a candle here:
Method 1: Smoke cleansing a Candle:
Using cleansing and clearing herbs is a great way to cleanse a candle of all attached energy. To many, this will sound familiar to the practice of smudging with sacred (medicinal) herbs. In order to cleanse a candle with a smoke ritual, you will need:
- Your candle (any color, based on your intentions)
- Dried herbs: for example a bundle of dried rosemary, lavender, or sage
- A set of matches
- A clear, open work space or altar
- Place your candle in the center of your work space.
- Use the matches to light your bundle of dried herbs.
- Once the smoke starts to flow, use the smoke from your smudge stick to cleanse your candle. While doing so, soften your gaze to the candle and repeat the following smoke cleansing chant:
“I channel the clearing properties of this herb to cleanse this candle of all stagnant energies. I command that these energies return to the Earth so that they may be cycled into loving compassion.”
4. Visualize a bright, white light emanating from the candle and pulsing into your surroundings, moving and removing anything previously stuck to the candle to the Earth.
Print this Grimoire Page
This PDF version comes with a transparent background so you can print it on any kind of paper you want and add it to your own Book of Shadows. Log in to download it or find more free printable grimoire pages.
Method 2: Sea Salt Bath
Another effective way of cleansing your candle is to bury it in sea salt. Salt is a magical ingredient which has naturally cleansing properties and can remove even the densest of energies when given enough time to work. For this method, you will need:
- Your candle
- 16-32 ounces of sea salt, depending on the size of the candle
- A large, non-metal bowl to hold the sea salt and candle
- At least 24 hours
- A dedicated work space or altar
- Take your empty bowl and place it in the center of your work space.
- Hold the bowl gently with both hands and close your eyes.
- Visualize white, flowing light filling the empty space of your bowl. Breathe deeply into this image and slowly open your eyes.
- Place your candle in the center of the bowl, upright or on its side. You just want to make sure the candle will be completely submerged in sea salt.
- Slowly begin pouring the sea salt into the bowl, covering your candle. As you pour, repeat the following chant:
“I channel the cleansing properties of this sea salt to clear all energy attached to this candle. I command that these energies be absorbed into this sea salt and returned to the Earth so that they may be recycled into loving compassion.”
Once you have covered your candle in sea salt, wait 24 hours before removing it. This will ensure that the sea salt has enough time to absorb all energy stuck to your candle.
Elemental Clearing
This grimoire witch cheat sheet explains how to use each Element for clearing and blessing an object. This can be done for consecrating an amulet, for clearing a deck between readings, or simply once in a while to remove stagnant energies.
Method 3: Moon Candle Cleansing
Perhaps the simplest means of cleansing a candle, laying a candle in the light of the moon will remove any unwanted energy attached to it. In order to cleanse a candle with the moon, you need:
- Your candle
- An outside surface in direct line-of-sight of the moon
- At nightfall, place your candle onto your moonlit surface. As you do, take a moment to sit with the candle and bask in the moonlight.
- Breathe deeply and visualize the white light that emanates from the moon surrounding your candle.
- Repeat the following mantra until you feel the commands are clear:
“I call upon the moon to use her cleansing properties on this candle. Please remove and return all energies attached to this candle back to Mother Earth so that she may recycle this energy into loving compassion.”
4. Remove the candle the following morning, up to an hour after sunrise.
How to Dress a Candle
We dress a candle by anointing it with oil or water. Dressing the candle is an exercise in which we focus on the candle and put energy into it. In other words, we “charge” or “program” the candle for the purpose it will be used for.
How you dress a candle will depend on your intent, since anointing a candle is the process of imprinting our intent on it. When we burn the candle, it will release this intent since the energy it generates will be already programmed.
Candle Magick: Summary
Candle magick has been growing in popularity over the last few years as it gains more exposure in mainstream and popular culture. Because of this, there is a lot of information available to anyone who is willing and ready to learn. We have covered how to cleanse a candle in the hopes we can help those just beginning to learn about candle magick. Cleansing a candle is a simple and crucial step in candle magick.
If you are interested in learning more about candle magick, explore the Candle Spells on Spells8. These books are great resources for further reading about candle magick:
- Madame Pamita’s “The Book of Candle Magic”
- Lisa Chamberlain’s “Wicca Candle Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Wiccan Candle Magic”
- Raymond Buckland’s “Advanced Candle Magick: More Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose”
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