http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/candles.html#CANDLES%20101
I don't know Joelle personally, but from what I have read of her web site, it looks like incredibly good reading and very educational. I heartily recommend that you read any or all of the items on her extensive site.
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(material below drawn from many sources)
Early candles were made of vegetable waxes produced from plants such as bayberries, candelilla leaves, candletree bark, esparto grass, and various varieties of palm leaves such as carnuba and ouricury. They were also made of animal tissue and secretions, such as spermaceti (whale oil), ambergris, and beeswax (insect secretions). Sometimes entire animals such as the stormy petrel and the candlefish of the Pacific Northwest were threaded with a wick and burned as candles. Tallow candles were made of sheep, cow, or pig fat. All these candles were rather crude, time-consuming to make and smoky.
Of the two kinds of candle fuel, beeswax was considered the better since it burned cleaner than tallow and had a lovely odor compared to tallow's rancid, smoky smell. Being scarce, beeswax was expensive. Only churches and the wealthy could afford beeswax candles.
By the 17th century, European state edicts controlled the weight, size and cost of candles. In 1709, an act of the English Parliament banned the making of candles at home unless a license was purchased and a tax paid.
Matches were invented in 1827, using poisonous phosphorus but were improved by the end of the century, eliminating the need for sparking with flint, steel, and tinder, or for keeping a fire burning 24 hours a day.
Probably most important of all, Paraffin was refined from oil around 1850, making petroleum based candles possible. The combination of paraffin, which burns clean and without odor, and stearins, which harden soft paraffin, with new wick technologies developed in the nineteenth century, revolutionized the candle industry, giving us the tools and materials we still use for candle manufacturing.
Candle Shapes
Container: Any candle that is poured into a container and intended to be burned in the container is a container candle. These candles are often made of soft wax and would not be able to stand on their own outside their enclosures.
The container also prevents soft wax from dripping. Since these candles are safely contained in a vessel, they are often used in restaurants and in religious rituals that require long-burning candles.
Pillar: A thick candle with a geometrical cross section such as a circle, oval, or hexagon is called a pillar. It is usually referred to by its diameter followed by its height. For example, a 3-by 6-inch pillar would be 3 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. Some pillars come in standard sized for commercial and religious use but you can make many variations of pillars by using molds.
Novelty: These are irregularly shaped candles made by molding, sculpting and/or pouring.
Taper: These are the long cylindrical candles that kindle memories of historic candle-dipping. Tapers can be made by dipping wicks into melted wax, by pouring wax into a mold, and by rolling wax around a wick. No matter the method, the result is always candles made to fit into a holder.
Tapers are generally made 1/2 inch or 7/8 inch in diameter at the base because most holders are designed to fit these two sizes. There are, of course, exceptions, such as birthday candles (3/16 inch) and Danish tapers (1/4 inch). Some specialty candleholders are designed to hold a taper larger than 7/8 inch.
Votive and Tea Lights: Although these candles originated in the church, the term now refers to small plug-type candles that are 1 1/2 inches in diameter by 2 to 3 inches high. This shape has become popular for scented candles because their small size allows them to fit easily into small rooms, such as bathrooms.
As votives melt and become liquid in their containers, the wick uses up all the liquid fuel. If you burn a votive on a plate, the burn time will be shorter because the wax will drip and the wick will be unable to use it.
Tea lights are small votives used to warm pots of potpourri and to heat foods. They fit in smaller-than-standard votive cups.
CANDLE COLORS
WHITE: --Self; Protection; Purification; Full Moon Magic; Purity; Innocence; Centering; Truth; Sincerity; Meditation; Peace; Power of a Higher Nature; Greater Attainments in Life; Spirituality.
RED: -- South; Protection; Strength; Blood; Passion; Courage; Health; Power; Fire Elemental; Sexuality; Vigor; Energy; Enthusiasm; Will Power; To conquer fear or laziness.
LT. BLUE: --Healing; Patience; Happiness; Psychic Awareness; Quests; Intuition; Opportunity; Tranquility; Understanding. Ward Depression; Safe Journey; Harmony in the Home; Peace.
DARK BLUE: --The Goddess; West; Water Elemental; Inspiration; Truth; Dreams; Protection; Change; Impulse; Fidelity; Deep Emotion; Peace; Meditation; Changeability; Psychism.
GREEN: --North; Money; Fertility; Growth; Employment; Earth Elemental; Herb Magic; Luck; Healing; Balance; Prosperity; Courage; Nature type Faerie-magic; Garden blessing; Abundance; Generosity; Renewal; Marriage.
YELLOW: --East; Air Elemental; Intellect; Creative Work; Learning; Changes; Confidence; Attraction; Harmony; Clairvoyance; Charm; Imagination; Power of the Mind; Gentle persuasion; Action.
BROWN: --Earth Elemental; Animal Health; Endurance; Steadiness; Houses & Homes; Physical Objects; Overcoming uncertainty and hesitancy; Attract Money and Financial Success; Concentration; ESP; Intuition; Study.
PINK: --Love; Peace; Femininity; Friendship; Honor; Morality; Emotional Love; Affection; Romance; Spiritual Awakening; Healing of the Spirit; Togetherness.
ORANGE: --The God; Attraction; Stimulation; Energy; Healing; Vitality; Encouragement; Adaptability; Luck; Pulling things to you; Clearing the Mind; Dominance, Sudden Changes; Change Luck.
PURPLE: --Power; Dignity; Spiritual Development; Meditation, Spirituality; Intuition; Ambition; Spirit Communication; Tension; Business Progress; Healing Severe Diseases; Occult Wisdom; Success; Idealism; Higher Psychic Ability; Break Bad Luck; Drive Away Evil; Honors.
GOLD: --The God; Solar Energy; Physical Strength; Power; Success; Mental Growth; Skill Sought; Healing Energy; Fortune; Divination; Creative Work; Intuition; Money; Fast Luck; Attracts Higher Influences.
SILVER: --The Goddess; Lunar magic; Removes negative forces; Opens astral gates; Conducts Energy; Meditation; Creative Work; Protection; Money; Psychic Development; Success; Balance; Ward Negativity; Remove Negative Energy; Stability; Victory.
VIOLET: --Self Improvement; Intuition; Success in searches; Creative Work.
BLACK: --Endings; Closing of Doors; Psychic Work; Death; Ward Negativity; Remove Hexes; Protection; Spirit Contact; Truth; Remove Discord or Confusion; Reversing; Releasing; Repel Dark Magic and Negative Thought Forms.
GREENISH-YELLOW: --To Negate; Discord, Sickness, Anger, Jealousy, Cowardice, Anger.
INDIGO:--Meditation; Spirit Communication; Karma Working; Balance; Learn the Ancient Wisdom; Neutralize Another's Magic; Ward Slander, Lies or Undesirable Competition
GRAY: --Non-Nature Faerie Magic; Travel to Otherworld; Vision Quests; Veiling; Cancellation; Hesitation; Competition.
LAVENDER--Spiritual Development; Psychic Growth; Divination; Sensitivity to the Otherworld; Blessings.
MAGENTA: --Very High Vibrational Frequency that tends to work fast so usually burned with other candles; Quick Change; Spiritual Healing, Exorcism.
CANDLE MAGIC
Candle magic can be quite a complicated procedure, but these steps should help make it a little easier.
- Pick a specific purpose for your ritual. Do not chose more than one purpose. Keep it simple and to the point and you will have the best luck.
- Check the sun sign, moon sign and astrological sign that the moon is in to help determine what rituals to do when.
- Choose an appropriate color: The color of the candle you use is your second concern. You must correlate the color with the goal you have in mind. (See the list of candle colors above for reference.)
- Cleanse the candle: Now that you've chosen the appropriate color of candle, your next task is to remove energies infused into the candle during the manufacturing process (Unless you made the candle yourself with a particular goal in mind).
- Saturate a tissue with rubbing alcohol and, holding the candle in your hand, cleanse its surface, moving from bottom to top. This expels energy from the candle (If you are working with a glass encased candle, clean the exposed wax and the glass with the alcohols. It always helps to repeat a cleansing chant while you are doing this. I like the, "I walk in beauty; beauty fills my life" chant for many cleansings.
- Consecrate the candle: This is where you will dedicate the candle to your specific purpose: Carve symbols into the candle: Take a sharp object (such as your working knife) and carve appropriate symbols into the side of the candle (or the top if glass-encased). If you are working toward prosperity, then a dollar sign may be appropriate or if the goal is romance, then a heart would work. Astrological signs, runes, element signs, or personal signs may also be used. Think intensely of your goal while you carve. Even better is to repeat a verbal formula, such as an incantation or affirmation.
- Oil the candle: Most metaphysical stores carry a wide range of oils for sale, some pre-mixed for particular goals, choose one of these or mix your own. Dip your fingers into the oil and anoint the entire surface of the candle with it. If you want to attract good, oil the candle from the top to bottom. If you want to expel something from your life (such as a bad habit, illness, or an unwanted situation) oil the candle from bottom to top. If you can't decide which direction to oil from, try an alternative method; begin at the center of the candle and apply the oil upward toward the top, then from the center down. If working with a glass-encased candle, oil the exposed wax: clockwise (deosil) to draw good, counter-clockwise (widdershins) to expel negativity. It's important to use a verbal formula, a chant or affirmation, while you oil the candle, for this focuses your mind on the work at hand.
- Spray, sprinkle, or anoint the candle with water. Purchase a water (such as Prosperity, Love, Success or Healing Water) from a metaphysical store, and pour some into an atomizer or plant mister. Spray the entire surface of the candle as you repeat your affirmation or incantation. If you don't have an atomizer or plant mister, simply sprinkle the candle, or dip your fingers in the water and anoint the candle as you would with oil. You can make your own ritual waters too. We will discuss this in a later class.
- A cleansed and consecrated candle should be used for one purpose only. If you prepare a candle for prosperity purposes, don't use it for anything else. You should decide how often and for how long a time you are going to burn your candle. Choose your candle size according to your purpose. If your goal is very important, you may wish to burn your candle every day for several days; this means you must use a very large candle. An alternative is to use several smaller candles and burn one each day. If you choose to use smaller candles remember to cleanse and consecrate each one before use.
- Remember to respect FIRE (It is one of the magickal elements!) and to practice your candle magick SAFELY, I cannot stress this enough. I have had a few wonderfully successful rituals using fire inside my home that almost got away from me. How successful would they have been if they would have burned my house down? BE SAFE!
- And, as always--remember the Wiccan Rede in every act of magick you perform, no matter how large or small. "An that it harm none; do as you will." It is very hard to do anything without causing some harm to someone or thing. Keep this always in mind, as well as the law of return, when you do anything in your Wiccan practices.
- Blessed BE!!
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