{"id":10426,"date":"2014-11-01T01:10:20","date_gmt":"2014-11-01T06:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=10798"},"modified":"2014-10-29T14:25:52","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T19:25:52","slug":"thriftcrafting-witching-on-a-budget-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2014\/11\/01\/thriftcrafting-witching-on-a-budget-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Thriftcrafting: Witching on a budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spell Candles<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Merry meet!<\/div>\n
Every witch I know has a stash of candles. I have drawers of them, yet today I barely hesitated to buy three more: two cedar-scented special edition cedar Yule candles (known to muggles as Christmas candles) and the last Yankee Candle Witches\u2019 Brew candle available at my favorite discount home store.<\/div>\n
Compared to the majority of my candles that I snag at tag sales, these were expensive. Compared to the ones in most stores, they\u2019re inexpensive. Compared to the the spell candles found in witch shops, they\u2019re downright cheap.<\/div>\n
Even before I knew I was a witch, I was doing candle magic \u2013 lighting candles with intention. I learned it from my Roman Catholic Sicilian grandmother. When any of her children, their children or their spouses traveled, she lit a candle for their safe return. When someone was sick, she\u2019d light a candle and put it on the dresser. My mother would make a donation and light one of the candles in tall red glass container on the rack before the tabernacle in which the Eucharist was kept at Saint Pius X Roman Catholic Church.<\/div>\n
I don\u2019t remember a time when I wasn\u2019t drawn to them.<\/div>\n
Decades before I began consciously walking the path, I learned about color therapy and applied it using candles, burning pink or red for love, green for healing and balance, yellow for strengthening my solar plexus, black for protection. There have been times I splurged and bought the ready made spell candles found in metaphysical bookstores and pagan shops. They\u2019re enticing because they\u2019re attractive and so convenient.<\/div>\n
But if you\u2019re on a budget, they are probably a luxury. You need not feel deprived, however, because you can create custom spell candles that are even more powerful than the pre-made variety \u2013 for free if you have some on hand, or for the cost of something from the dollar store.<\/div>\n
Think about what it is you want to manifest. Do a little research to see what color aligns with that intention. If you have choices, choose a candle of that color; if you don\u2019t, use what you have. While the candle should be new, it can be any type: taper, votive, jar, tea light. I\u2019ve even used birthday and menorah candles \u2013 both which come in a variety of colors \u2013 in addition to making my own.<\/div>\n
You can make your candle spell as easy or as complicated as you want.<\/div>\n
You can choose to simply light it and chant something like, \u201cMoney, money, come to me; in abundance, three times three,\u201d perhaps ending with, \u201cBy wax and wick now work thy power. Harming none, this spell is done. By the law of three, so mote it be.\u201d<\/div>\n
As you do this, the amount of feeling you are able to infuse into experiencing the sensations of already having what it is you want, the stronger the spell will be.<\/div>\n
You can also ground and center yourself, then pick up your candle. With the desired outcome in mind, open your crown chakra and allow Goddess energy to flow into you, down your heart and then stream out into the candle you hold there \u2013 or any variation of this, such as gathering the energy and blowing on the candle, or feeling the energy pulse out of your hands into it.<\/div>\n
Lighting the candle will release that intention so that it can manifest.<\/div>\n
To enhance the candle further, you can dress or anoint it. While olive oil is fine, when possible, I\u2019ve used essential oils that are in harmony with my intention (such as lavender if soothing was desired or bergamot to help with depression). Often as not, I\u2019ll chose a scented oil because its smell is pleasing at the moment. Sometimes I\u2019ll use a flower essence.<\/div>\n
I was taught to hold the candle in front of me, with the wick pointing away, and to apply the oil from the base of the candle to the tip if the intention I was infusing into it was meant to be dispersed or to be given to another person, and to anoint from the tip to the base if I wished to draw that energy into myself. Other traditions call for beginning at one end and rubbing to the middle, then starting from the other end, again rubbing toward the middle. Always, do as you are guided.<\/div>\n
Dressed candles can be rolled in or sprinkled with herbs, spices and dried crushed botanicals such as basil for wealth or to dispel fear, mugwort to help with divination, or dragon\u2019s blood for protection or to add potency of any spell.<\/div>\n
Symbols and words can be carved into candles with nails, toothpicks and needles. I\u2019ve used a Sharpie to draw on the metal cups that hold tea lights. If you choose candles in glass jars, you can paint them or glue on items.<\/div>\n
You can also work with the moon energy, Gods and Goddesses, reiki and other energy systems when making your candles. A variety of videos, articles and books can guide you further if you desire.<\/div>\n
The energy you put into planning and researching the candle spell contributes to its power. So does the amount of detail put into visualizing and feeling what life is like when you have what it is you desire. (It\u2019s important to not come from a state of wanting, but rather, from a state of having.)<\/div>\n
Let me leave you with these words from Robert Alden, \u201cThere is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.\u201d<\/div>\n
Merry part.<\/div>\n
And merry meet again.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spell Candles Merry meet! Every witch I know has a stash of candles. I have drawers of them, yet today I barely hesitated to buy three more: two cedar-scented special edition cedar Yule candles (known to muggles as Christmas candles) and the last Yankee Candle Witches\u2019 Brew candle available at my favorite discount home store. Compared to the majority of my candles that I snag at tag sales, these were expensive. Compared to the ones in most stores, they\u2019re inexpensive. Compared to the the spell candles found in witch shops, they\u2019re downright cheap. Even before I knew I was a witch, I was doing candle magic \u2013 lighting candles with intention. I learned it from my Roman Catholic Sicilian grandmother. When any of her children, their children or their spouses traveled, she lit a candle for their safe return. When someone was sick, she\u2019d light a candle and put it on the dresser. My mother would make a donation and light one of the candles in tall red glass container on the rack before the tabernacle in which the Eucharist was kept at Saint Pius X Roman Catholic Church. I don\u2019t remember a time when I wasn\u2019t drawn to them. Decades before I began consciously walking the path, I learned about color therapy and applied it using candles, burning pink or red for love, green for healing and balance, yellow for strengthening my solar plexus, black for protection. There have been times I splurged and bought the ready made spell candles found in metaphysical bookstores and pagan shops. They\u2019re enticing because they\u2019re attractive and so convenient. But if you\u2019re on a budget, they are probably a luxury. You need not feel deprived, however, because you can create custom spell candles that are even more powerful than the pre-made variety \u2013 for free if you have some on hand, or for the cost of something from the dollar store. Think about what it is you want to manifest. Do a little research to see what color aligns with that intention. If you have choices, choose a candle of that color; if you don\u2019t, use what you have. While the candle should be new, it can be any type: taper, votive, jar, tea light. I\u2019ve even used birthday and menorah candles \u2013 both which come in a variety of colors \u2013 in addition to making my own. You can make your candle spell as easy or as complicated as you want. You can choose to simply light it and chant something like, \u201cMoney, money, come to me; in abundance, three times three,\u201d perhaps ending with, \u201cBy wax and wick now work thy power. Harming none, this spell is done. By the law of three, so mote it be.\u201d As you do this, the amount of feeling you are able to infuse into experiencing the sensations of already having what it is you want, the stronger the spell will be. You can also ground and center yourself, then pick up your candle. With the desired outcome in mind, open your crown chakra and allow Goddess energy to flow into you, down your heart and then stream out into the candle you hold there \u2013 or any variation of this, such as gathering the energy and blowing on the candle, or feeling the energy pulse out of your hands into it. Lighting the candle will release that intention so that it can manifest. To enhance the candle further, you can dress or anoint it. While olive oil is fine, when possible, I\u2019ve used essential oils that are in harmony with my intention (such as lavender if soothing was desired or bergamot to help with depression). Often as not, I\u2019ll chose a scented oil because its smell is pleasing at the moment. Sometimes I\u2019ll use a flower essence. I was taught to hold the candle in front of me, with the wick pointing away, and to apply the oil from the base of the candle to the tip if the intention I was infusing into it was meant to be dispersed or to be given to another person, and to anoint from the tip to the base if I wished to draw that energy into myself. Other traditions call for beginning at one end and rubbing to the middle, then starting from the other end, again rubbing toward the middle. Always, do as you are guided. Dressed candles can be rolled in or sprinkled with herbs, spices and dried crushed botanicals such as basil for wealth or to dispel fear, mugwort to help with divination, or dragon\u2019s blood for protection or to add potency of any spell. Symbols and words can be carved into candles with nails, toothpicks and needles. I\u2019ve used a Sharpie to draw on the metal cups that hold tea lights. If you choose candles in glass jars, you can paint them or glue on items. You can also work with the moon energy, Gods and Goddesses, reiki and other energy systems when making your candles. A variety of videos, articles and books can guide you further if you desire. The energy you put into planning and researching the candle spell contributes to its power. So does the amount of detail put into visualizing and feeling what life is like when you have what it is you desire. (It\u2019s important to not come from a state of wanting, but rather, from a state of having.) Let me leave you with these words from Robert Alden, \u201cThere is not enough darkness in all the world to put out the light of even one small candle.\u201d Merry part. And merry meet again.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10426"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10075,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10426\/revisions\/10075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}