This article is part of a series of instructional chapters on CANDLE MAGIC IN THE HOODOO ROOTWORK TRADITION
Candle burning has roots stretching back to ancient times as a part of both religious ceremonies and magical rites. Most hoodoo practitioners and rootworkers, like other folk magicians, burn candles for magical effect, spell-casting, and as an adjunct to prayer, but unlike the traditional and conservative craft of making mojo bags, candle burning in the African-American hoodoo tradition has undergone considerable evolution during the 20th century.
During the 19th century candles became readily available as a commercial product, sold in general stores, rather than having to be made at home or on the farm or purchased at a special candle-maker's shop. By the early 20th century, paraffin candle, with a relatively high melting point compared to tallow candles, were transported by rail nationwide and -- and with the invention of aniline dues, they were soon made available in a number of colours.
The epicenter of new developments in ritual candle-magic in the hoodoo tradition was New Orleans, where a long tradition of Roman Catholic candle-burning combined with African-American folk magic to produce an emergent style of working with candles, both for prayer and in laying tricks. This new way of working with candles soon spread to Memphis, Tennessee, and Mobile, Alabama, and, by the late 1940s, was fairly uniform throughout the South among all professional rootworkers.
Probably the two most important influences on the development of African-American candle magic from the 1940s to the present have been the books of Mikhail Strabo and Henri Gamache.
Through a series of three booklets published from 1941 through 1843, Mikhail Strabo, the Jewish proprietor of Guidance House, a hoodoo and New Thought supply company in New York City, described the methods and customs of altar work with candles ans he found them in the Black New Thought and Spiritualist churches of New York in the late 1930s and early 1940s. These ground-breaking documents -- "A Candle to Light Your Way," "How to Conduct a Candle Light Service," and "The Guiding Light to Power and Success" (which completely incorporated the text of "A Candle to Light Your Way," and expanded greatly upon it) opened up a nation-wide conversation on the increasing importance of altar work with candles in Protestant-derived African American New Thought and Spiritualist churches and among non-church-affiliated spirit mediums, spiritual advisors, psychic readers, hoodoo root doctors, and private practitioners. "The Guiding Light to Power and Success" remains in print at the present time.
"The Master Book of Candle-Burning" was published in 1942 and widely advertised in black-owned newspapers like the Chicago Defender in the 1940s. It is still carried today by all the major mail-order spiritual supply catalogues, this work delivers exactly what it promises -- detailed instructions that tell spiritual doctors, rootworker, or private hoodoo practitioners "How to Burn Candles for Every Purpose." The chapters include information on how to select candles, anoint them, arrange them on an altar, and engage in what the author quaintly refers to as "fire worship." Along the way the reader is presented with a garland of anthropological tidbits about folk-magical practices from Canada, Europe, Africa, and the Malayan Peninsula, making this book a fascinating document indeed.
For those who are not familiar with the work of Henri Gamache, i'd like to note that he was a prominent mid-20th century occult author and folkloric researcher who developed a unique Creole combination of hoodoo, Christian, Kabbalist, and Spiritualist magic. Not much is known about Henri Gamache's personal life, but if he is not simply another pseudonym for the mysterious Mr. Young who ghost-wrote occult books from 1925 - 1948, he seems to have been a man of mixed race, possibly born in the Caribbean, who lived and worked in New York City. Most of his books remained in print for decades, and all are quite interesting. In particular, his "8th, 9th, and 10th Books of Moses" is a fascinating document, detailing his theory that Moses, the leader of the Jews, was a black African, "the Great Voodoo Man of the Bible."
Henri Gamache used the term "Philosophy of Fire" to describe the candle burning rituals he set forth in "The Master Book of Candle Burning." That term, and his frequent references to "Zoroastrianism" allow us to identify one of his major influences, for the "Philosophy of Fire" is a system of magical working described in the writings of an earlier author named R. Swinburne Clymer. A Rosicrucian and sex magician prominent in the early 20th century, Clymer in fact wrote an entire book called "The Philosophy of Fire" in which he espoused a mixture of magical theories that embraced Spiritualism, Zoroastrianism, and sex magic.
Clymer had in turn learned most of his occult theories and sex-magical techniques from the writings of Paschal Beverly Randolph, an African-American sex magician and Spiritualist of the mid 19th century. In 1860 or so, Randolph originated a magical order called the Brotherhood of Eulis to carry forth his beliefs; it was reformed in 1874 under the name The Triplicate Order. After Randolph's death in 1875, Clymer corresponded with his widow, Kate Corson Randolph, and received instructions from her as to how to operate his own order of sex magicians. Clymer also reprinted "Eulis!" -- one of Randolph's books on sex magic -- in 1930.
The link from Randolph to Gamache, through Clymer, is probably one of book-learning rather than direct initiation, but it is interesting nonetheless, especially in light of the fact that most modern occultists tend to identify African-American practitioners exclusively with folk-magic and to discount the contributions black people have made to the development of formal occultism and ceremonial sex-magic.
Here are four of the best books ever published on candle magic; two were written in the 1940s, one in the 1960s, and one combines a 1940s text with material from the 1990s through the 2010s. These are time-tested, reliable, and detailed instruction manuals that every practitioner ought to be familiar with.Each is different and contains different spells and concepts, with very little overlap.
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The Art of Hoodoo Candle Magic in Rootwork, Conjure and Spiritual Church Services
by Catherine Yronwode and Mikhail Strabo Candle magic is one of the foundational practices within African American hoodoo folk-magic. Spell-casters of every level of experience within the community know the value and efficacy of setting lights, This book is actually three books in one filled with history, teachings, traditions, and instructions on how to become a candle magic practitioner, how to provide candle ministry services to clients, and how to conduct public candle-light services. 96 pages, paperback. |
$9.00
BOO-GRI-AHCM
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The Master Book of Candle Burning
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$7.50
BOO-GRI-MSCB
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The Magic Candle
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$7.00
BOO-GRI-MCCD
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The Guiding Light to Power and Success
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$6.95
BOO-GRI-GUID
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Following the instructions of Mikhail Strabo and Henri Gamache, it became popular among conjure-workers of the 1940s to burn small free-standing candles or "lights" of various colours to draw luck, love, and money; for protection from evil; and to wreak vengeance or exert control over others. Because many, if not most, of the spiritual suppliers then catering to the African-American market were Jews, they usually offered 7-branched menorah candle-holders to their customers, which gave hoodoo candle burning ceremonies of the period a slightly Kabbalistic cast. The colour symbolism ascribed to altar candle colours is influenced by European magical traditions, admixed with remnants of African religious symbolism:
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- white -- spiritual blessings, purity, healing, rest
- blue -- peace, harmony, joy, kindly intentions, healing
- green -- money spells, gambling luck, business, a good job, good crops
- yellow -- devotion, prayer, money (gold), cheerfulness, attraction
- red -- love spells, affection, passion, bodily vigour
- pink -- attraction, romance, clean living
- purple -- mastery, power, ambition, control, command
- orange -- change of plans, opening the way, prophetic dreams
- brown -- court case spells, neutrality
- black -- repulsion, dark thoughts, sorrow, freedom from evil
- red and black (Double Action) -- remove a love-jinxing spell
- white and black (Double Action) -- to return evil to the sender
- green and black (Double Action) -- remove money-jinxing
Typical sizes for colour-coded free-standing candles are 4" Altar candles, 6" Offertory candles, and 9" Jumbo candles. (The candles shown here are the 6" size.)
In addition to plain offertory candles, spiritual suppliers, as early as the
1930s, provided figural or "image" candles for special
uses. More expensive than plain offertory candles, figural candles are preferred
by many practitioners when working unusual or extremely strong spells, because
their visual symbolism is easy to see and by carving names or other
features in them, they can be personalized to represent
individuals, in what amounts to a cross between working with candles
and working with doll-babies or poppets.
Most of the old figural candle styles are still manufactured. Among the most
popular are the following:
Double action candles are 9" long jumbo candles that have been poured in two stages, so that they are half black and half another colour, according the usual colour symbolism of candles -- red for love, green for money, white for peace and spiritual blessings. They are used to reverse troubles back to the person who sent them and are called "double action" because they both repel jinxes and crossed conditions and attract what is desired in the way of happiness and luck.
Double action candles are not burned in the usual way -- they are generally "butted" before they are lit. The original tip is cut off and a new tip is cut on the black half, so the "bad" black half will burn off first, leaving the "good" half at the end of the rite. The name of one's enemy is carved backwards in the black half and one's own name is carved normally in the coloured portion. One or more candle dressing hoodoo oils to reverse bad luck back to the enemy is applied to the black end, stroking away from oneself, and a dressing oil to draw what one wants is applied to the coloured half, stroking toward oneself.
Butted double action candles are sometimes burned on a flat mirror, to further aid the reversing spell. They may be dusted with Reversing sachet powder or circled with a ring of Crab shell powder (because "Crabs walk backward" and uncross jinxes.
Another way to burn double action candles is to carve a second tip on the black end, dress them as described above, and stick them into a nail that has been driven through a board. The nail holds the candle horizontal, like a compass needle, and the black half is pointed toward one's enemy's home, while the coloured half points towards oneself. Both ends are lit at the same time. This is a messy way to burn candles, so use aluminum foil or a metal baking dish to confine the dripping wax to one area.
Reversing -- also called reversible -- candles are 9" long jumbo candles
that are similar in their uses to double action candles, but
instead of being poured in two layers, they consist of a red core and a
black outer layer. The red shows through only at the tip. These candles
are only found in red and black, and they are a very old style, still
quite popular for reversing enemy work,
breaking tricks,
and uncrossing crossed conditions. They are often butted and
burned upside down, and are often burned on a mirror, as described above.
All the names and words carved or inscribed into reversing candles is
generally done backwards, in mirror writing.
Whereas Catholic religious practice presents us with the novena (nine-day) candle, in hoodoo, we see instead the seven-day candle, sometimes referred to by older practitioners as the "7-day vigil candle," due to its being burned for difficult cases or ongoing situations over the course of seven days, while one watches and waits for divinatory signs.
There are four types of 7-day candles used in hoodoo:
The candle divided by seven needles or pins:
I believe that this is the oldest form of the 7-day candle. To make one, take a regular offertory or jumbo-size candle and seven needles or pins. Poke the needles into the candle, dividing it into seven equal parts (the seventh needle or pin can go at the top or at the bottom, but no one i know ever uses SIX needles or pins to divide the candle into seven parts). Write your wish (or seven wishes) on a piece of paper. Turn the paper 90 degrees sideways and write your full name over the wish or wishes seven times, crossing and covering the previous writing with your name. Place the paper under the candle. Dress the candle with an appropriate oil. Burn it for seven nights, pinching it out (NOT blowing it out) each time a needle falls. Save the needles when they fall. When the last needle falls, stick the needles into the paper in the form of two X patterns surrounding one double-cross pattern (that has two lines crossing one upright line). Dispose of the ritual remains in an appropriate way : Bury the paper and any leftover wax under your doorstep if your intention is to draw something or someone to you. Throw the paper and wax away at a crossroads, in running water, or in a graveyard if the intention is to get rid of something or someone.
THE SEVEN KNOB CANDLE:
I have seen ads for these under the name "The Famous 7-Knob Wishing Candle" dating back at least to the 1930s; they might be older, but i do not know. They are mentioned favourably in Henri Gamache's "Master Book of Candle Burning" (written in 1942) and they are very popular in the African-American community, which seems to indicate that they are efficacious. Seven-knob candles generally come in four colours, with the usual symbolism implied (white for blessing or wishing, red for love or sex, green for money or gambling luck, black for destruction or revenge). Carve a brief wish on each knob -- either the same wish seven times or seven different wishes, one per knob. Dress the candle with an appropriate oil. Burn it for seven nights, pinching it out (NOT blowing it out) each time a knob is gone.
THE SEVEN CHARM SORTILAGE CANDLE:
This is a hand-made candle that contains seven tiny metal charms (milagros or ex-votos) inside, which are revealed one per day as you burn the candle down over the course of seven days. It is more common in Latin America than in the USA. Often the charms are religious as well as lucky, and they may include a cross, an angel, the powerful hand of God, a man's head, a woman's head, and so forth.
THE SEVEN-WISHES GLASS ENCASED CANDLE:
This style of 7-day candle only became popular from the 1970s onward. It is made with seven layers of wax in different colours, poured into a tall, narrow glass container. Burn one layer each day with appropriate prayers or wishes. It's interesting to note that this is the same size and shape of candle which the Catholics call a novena candle, although they expect it to burn for nine days. For many more examples of glass encased candles in both the Catholic and hoodoo traditions, see the sections below on glass encased religious candles and glass encased vigil candles.
A votive candle is one that is burned as the result of a vow. Many people think of votive candles as small, glass-encased candles, about 2 or 3 inches in height, but this is only one type of votive candle. In fact, such candles are defined by their function, not their form. However, for the purposes of clarity, in this article, i will refer to paper or glass encased candles under 2 inches in height as tea lights, those under 5 inches in height as votive candles and those that come in tall glass cylinders as novena and vigil candles.
Perhaps the first glass encased votive candles specifically marketed to hoodoo buyers (as opposed to religious buyers) were Jan-O-Sun brand jelly-jar style three-colour votive candles, sold by the Standard O and B Supply Company of Chicago in the 1940s. They look essentially like modern glass votive lights of today and seem to have come onto the market suddenly, to have achieved immediate popularity, and to have been in production from various makers since their introduction.
Typically, votive candles are burned as the prelude to or result of a conditional vow: The petitioner asks a favour of a deity, saint, or spirit and offers recompense (an ex voto) if the wish is granted. Under these circumstances, votive candles may be used either as inducements, as offerings, or as both.
When employed as inducements, votive candles are burned during the course of making the petition. For instance, a petitioner may be awaiting a court case hearing in nine days, and will burn votive candles for the entire length of time as an inducement for a patron saint to hear his plea for help, all the while promising an additional offering, such as flowers, more candles, publication of the saint's name in the newspaper, or a donation to a charitable organization, if the court case has a successful outcome.
When votive candles are employed as offerings, the petition is made silently and the burning of a certain number of candles with the patron saint's picture on them in a church where all may see and recognize the patron saint's efficacy is a typical offering that is promised or vowed should the petition be granted.
Properly speaking, any candle used in conjunction
with a vow is a votive candle, but in the United States,
the term votive candles generally refers to candles moulded to fit into a glass or ceramic
votive holder. They can be burned as free-standing lights
(sometimes called "stubbies") rather than placed in holders if
you wish to "read" the way their wax melts for the purposes of
divination.
A typical votive light is 2 inches tall and 1 1/2 inches in diameter.
When in a holder, such a candle may burn for 10 - 15 hours. These candles
come in an assortment of symbolic colours and they will fit in
most sizes of glass or ceramic votive candle holders or can be
used as free-standing "stubbies", which will make for a shorter
burn time.
Lux Perpetua means "eternal light" and that is the name given to
paper-encased votive candles in Latin America.
In Mexico, small paper encased religious votive candles
called "Lux Perpetua" were developed during the 19th century.
These delightfully old-fashioned,
hand-made devotionary religious candles predate paraffin
was candles. They are filled with a very soft grade of wax that may
also contain animal fat, poured into a stiff paper cup or cylinder. The paper is printed
with a Catholic devotionary image.
Imported into the United
States, especially along the border with Mexico, they
are now quite popular among African-American Catholics
as well as with immigrants from Latin America.
Lux Perpetua lights are much sought by
those working in traditional forms of Mexican and Latin American
espiritismo (spiritualism) and curandismo (herbal spiritual
healing).
By 1945, although American mail order
hoodoo catalogues still primarily sold free-standing altar
candles with pasted-on labels -- under brand names such as black cat, Success, and Master
Power -- they also began to carry what they called "religious"
candles, those familiar tall, glass encased European-American Catholic novena
candles bearing printed paper labels depicting various saints.
Novena candles are
designed to be burned for nine days while a series of votary prayers
are made. It is not necessary to dress them with
magical hoodoo or conjure oils,
although many people like to anoint them with named Saint Oils or
hoodoo oils
that match the candles they burn. Colour symbolism is not always
important part of the lore accompanying these religious candles, although
some saints do have certain colours associated with them, such as
green for Saint Jude
and red for Saint Expedite.
The use
of glass-encased Novena candles is widespread in Catholic Latin America; as well
as in syncretic Catholic African-Caribbean religions such as
Santeria and Voodoo, and among the syncreticCatholic Mayans of Guatemala who burn
glass encased candles to a black-garbed peasant figure called
Maximon or Saint Simon.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Cuban, Mexican, Guatemalan, and Salvadoran
immigrants -- both Catholics and Santeros -- entered the United States in great numbers, which led to the increased
marketing of Catholic
saint novena candles here. Suddenly, not only could one find novena candles
dedicated to universally well known Catholic figures like
Saint Jude (San Judas Thadeo),
but candles
featured a host of Catholic saints previously little known here, such as
San Martin Caballero (Saint Martin of Tours)
and the Nino de Atocha (Infant of Atocha).
Additionally, as time went on, manufacturers began to add more and more
paper-labelled glass encased novena candles marketed to their inventories
in order to appeal to this sector of the population.
Some of these candles honour Catholic folk saints and
holy apparitions that are revered in Latin America but
have not been officially approved by the Vatican, like the
Anima Sola (Lonely Soul),
a Mexican favourite, and the
Seven African Powers (Siete Potentias),
a staple image that represents the Cuban Santeria religious practice of mingling Catholic saints with
the West African deities called Orishas.
On occasion one may even find the conflated Mayan-Catholic
deity-saint Maximon (often labelled Saint
Simon-Judas) on the candle shelf in a grocery or supermarket, a sure sign that a community of
Guatemalan immigrants lives in the area.
The arrival of these immigrants, with their firmly entrenched candle-burning customs, has had a strong effect on hoodoo candle-burning practices.
After decades of exposure to people who find it efficacious to petition the saints, it is not
uncommon now to hear from African-American Protestants who have little interest in the Catholic form of
Christianity, that they would like to burn a Just Judge (Justo Juez) candle for a court case.
Although special-use figural candles
are still very popular with African-Americans and "The Master Book of
Candle Burning" is still in print, since the 1970s, the old Jewish-style offertory
candles have shared shelf space in hoodoo curio shops with
"vigil candles" modelled after tall,
glass-enclosed Catholic-style novena candles.
In short, a merger between hoodoo
and Catholic candle burning
traditions has been effected.
Catholic novena candles bear colourful paper
saint image labels, and many
hoodoo vigil lights are
similarly decorated. (Others are printed with one-colour line-art and hand-lettered
text silk-screened directly onto the glass.) The text and images
found on vigil candles are typically the same as those used in
hoodoo formulae for anointing oils, including Fast Luck, Uncrossing,
Compelling, Money House
Blessing, and the like.
While hoodoo glass encased vigil
lights still retain such
traditional African-American titles as Fast
Luck and John the
Conqueror, some have been outfitted with partial or
complete Spanish translations of their names or intended manner
of use. In addition, the makers of silkscreened hoodoo
candles may carry a Mayan item such as the chuparrosa love
candle and they might add a Santeria line with special colours
and designs for the orishas or their Catholic saint equivalents.
The evolving form of hoodoo
candles has not greatly affected
the traditional system of colour symbolism, although under the
influence of Santeria's Catholic heritage, which invokes the
brown-robed Saint Anthony
as the finder of lost things and returner of lost lovers,
brown candles, formerly used for court cases, are now also
employed for the return of that which is lost. Glass containers
make it easy to pour two-, three-, and even seven-layer candles
-- which led to the development of multi-colour symbolism.
Probably the most popular of the multi-colour glass encased
7-day vigil candles is the red-and-black Reversible candle
for returning evil to the one who sent it. This is simply a
modification of the old standby two-colour free-standing jumbo altar candle
called "Double Action," which is still manufactured and still quite popular.
However, other multi-coloured candles are only found in
glass encased form,
among them the seven-colour Lucky Prophet Lafin [sic] Buddha Brand All Purpose
Novena Candle which grants "7
desires" to the user.
The practice of dressing candles with
anointing oils and
magic herbs had to
be modified considerably to accommodate the new 7-day vigil
candles. Since the sides of a glass encased candle cannot be
rubbed, it is now customary for the retailer rather than the
user to dress the candle. This is done by poking holes into
the top of the candle with a nail (preferably a coffin
nail) and then dripping an appropriate
anointing oil
and
magic herbs into these holes,
sometimes finishing off the top with symbolically coloured
glitter. This technique leaves the customer in danger of
spilling the dressing oil
while carrying the candle home, so in many
stores the dressed candle is covered with a plastic sandwich
bag or cling wrap, held in place by a rubber band.
The introduction of glass encased candles also necessitated
modifications in spells designed to be worked over a length of
time. The old pin or needle measuring technique, described above,
cannot be used on glass encased candles, so timed burning or
measuring the glass into sections with a marking-pen has taken the place of needles or pins among
people who prefer the glass encased candles. This serves to weaken
the practitioner's involvement in the spell, however, because
there are no pins or needles left over to make the crosses and double
crosses prescribed in the older workings. A glass encased candle
spell therefore takes on a slightly "ritual" or "religious" tone,
in that one's desires and wishes are expected to do the work
alone, as contrasted to an offertory candle spell, in which
the manipulation of magical objects -- candle, flame, paper,
herbs, and
needles or pins -- is integral to doing the job.
Due to requests from those who regularly perform candle-work
at their altars, many curio and candle shops carry pull-out candles -- refills for
novena and vigil lights. There are pluses and minuses to the use of pull-out
candles, of which the user should be aware.
ADVANTAGES OF PULL-OUTS:
Folks old enough to recall the earlier types of novena and
vigil lights will be pleased to know that pull-outs are REAL WAX
-- solid wax, not the gooey semi-solid you get these days in
vigil lights.
Pull-outs are sturdy enough to burn as STAND-ALONES, that is,
standing on their own with no glass, like a commercial
pillar candle.
Pull-outs can be LOADED from below with personal concerns,
petitions, and so forth.
Pull-outs can be CARVED with names and petitions and
DRESSED with oil before being slid into the
glass holder.
Favourite glass holders can be re-used again
and again.
Pull-outs come in all ten of the standard colours used in
candle-magic symbolism. Standard novenas and vigil lights are
most often white or yellow, but with pull-outs, you can burn
a candle of any colour you prefer
in a jar dedicated to the saint or condition of your choice,
making personal combinations that cannot be found in stores.
DISADVANTAGES OF PULL-OUTS:
Pull-outs are usually 2 inches wide and 7 inches tall. Because of their width, they
do not fit into every single brand of novena or vigil light.
There are at least three
different patterns of moulds used on the glass for novenas and vigil candles.
Wide-mouth novenas made in glass jars DO take the pull-outs
but narrow-mouth novenas in what is often called the "sanctuary style" do NOT accommodate them.
The cost per pull-out candle is almost the same as the cost of
new glass-encased candle -- and some folks will no
doubt think that is too high. The reason for this, as with all
candles, has to do with the quality of the wax (pull-outs are made with better
wax than novenas and vigil lights) and with the WEIGHT of the candles. Pull-outs weigh about 1 lb.
each when wrapped for shipping. Many internet retailers keep their shipping costs
very low by estimating shipping on "average" products but
candles are not average in weight, so they add the extra candle shipping
charge to the price of the candles, which makes them look more expensive
than they really are. If retailers did not do this, they would have
to calculate and charge shipping on every single order
individually, which is beyond most occult shop owners' abilities at math --
and above the math inclinations of most of their customers as well.
Offertory and figural candles are dressed by rubbing them (for instance, upward to
"draw" and downward to repel) with appropriate anointing
oils, such as Fast Luck,
Compelling, or John the Conqueror. Some
practitioners then sprinkle them with sachet powders or roll them in
finely cut
magic herbs
selected for their specific spiritual powers.
Glass-encased vigil and novena candles are dressed by
using a sharp tool (such as a nail, awl, or screw driver) to
poke holes or engrave a name or symbol in
the wax at the top and then drizzling in a small amount of oil.
They may then be topped with finely crushed herbs and symbolically coloured glitter.
They are then prayed over and dedicated for use.
Care must be used when adding oil and herbs to a vigil light -- too much
oil will result in the candle wick becoming drowned, and too many
herbs, especially those that are highly flammable, may lead to
the candle catching on fire all along the top surface, which can
be a fire hazard and may also result in a black, sooty burn, which is
an unfortunate outcome when seeking to perform a
candle divination.
The time of day the lights are set is important:
To draw influences, some folks prefer towwork in the morning, and the sun rises and
hoodoo practitioners say that the candle
should be lit when both clock hands are rising, in the second half
of the hours between six and twelve. To repel or cast off
influences, some folks like to work as the sun is setting and
some say that the candle should be lit when both
hands on the clock are falling, in the first half of the hours
from twelve to six. Other folks prefer light to all of their candles at
midnight, the traditional "witching hour."
Candles are usually inscribed or marked in some way to indicate
on whose behalf they are being burned. In its
simplest form, this consists carving a name in the wax, but it also a very
common, almost a universal, practice to write out a petition
and/or a name on paper (often writing the name multiple times) and
to place the paper beneath the candle, sometimes under an
overturned saucer to protect it from burning. In addition to the petition paper,
words, symbols, or sigils may be inscribed or carved into
the candle wax with a needle, pin, rusty nail, or
knife, depending on the intention behind the
spell, and the candle may be "loaded" by inserting personal concerns into a hole in the
wax and coverin it over with wax before the candle is lit.
When a name-paper or a petition paper with a name on it
is placed under the candle, this is called "burning a
candle on [him or her]." Many people also burn a candle on
someone's picture, that is, place a drawing or photo under the saucer. It is
customary to write the name on the back of the picture when doing
this. Burning a candle on someone's name or picture can be done for
love, revenge, harm, or any desired result, depending on the candle
colour and the dressing oil used.
The earliest printed version of this spell i have yet found comes
from New Orleans and dates back to 1924. It is found not in a book of
folklore or magic, but rather in
the song
"Hoodoo Blues"
written by Spencer Williams and recorded by
Bessie Brown. Due to the constraints of the blues lyrics format, the
spell is given in sketchy format, but it is recognizable.
In this 1924 song, a black cat bone is
used for the return of the narrator's lover (he seems
to have moved into another woman's home) and burning a candle on her
picture (a black candle, i'd wager) is to get her to
let loose of the man so he can return to the singer. The enemy's picture goes under the candle,
and although it is not specifically stated in the
song lyric, i presume that in keeping with modern usage, the enemy's name is
written on the back of the picture and the picture-with-name goes under
a saucer which is under the candle.
Here is the relevant verse:
Free-standing candles are typically burned in candle holders or candle stands. These may be
elaborate or plain. When a large number of small altar candles or offertory
will be lit at one time -- as, for instance, in the
Fiery Wall of Protection Spell,
it is most economical and efficient to utilize small, simple, stamped metal candle stands
called "star holders."
In some spells, the candle is burned a half-inch at a time for several
days. In others, it is burned in intervals at specified times of the day, or
marked into sections with pins or needles
and burned a section at a time "until the pin drops."
In addition to burning the candle while it stands on a piece of paper,
some spells specify that the candles should be moved toward or
away from each other over the course of the working, or that
the candle flame be used to ignite
the name- or petition-paper, the ashes of which are then used in the work.
During the course of certain conjurations, altar
candles may be butted and burned upside down or even burned sideways
at both ends, as with double action candles. They may
also be ceremonially extinguished in water or turned
upside down into a saucer of
graveyard dirt
to put them out.
Any kind of matches can be used to light candles, of course, but
some people enjoy having specialty matches available, both for
aesthetic and for practical reasons. Wooden matches are easier to
light than paper ones and burn longer, so they can be used to set
several candles alight at once. When it comes to glass encased candles,
most folks burn those straight through -- but
if you chose to burn them for short periods, put them out,
and then relight them, you will probably need to use extra-long
fireplace matches to get them going again.
When a candle is burned in sections, either measured by time or by pins,
it is invariably pinched or snuffed out, not blown out at the end of each
session, to signify that the spell is not yet complete. A more
graceful way to put out candles than by spitting on your fingers and
pinching, is to snuff the candles out with an old-fashioned
candle snuffer. This also reduces objectional smoke from the
snuffed candle.
Decorative candle snuffers are often made of brass or brass and wood
and they make elegant altar tools for spiritual workers whose
practice involves regular candle burning.
If pins or needles are used for measuring sections on a candle, they usually will not be
discarded after they drop, but will be saved for further use.
Depending on the type of job being done, they may be utilized for making
crosses and double crosses in the paper on which the names or
desires have been written, they may be wrapped in a cloth or paper and
buried or carried in a mojo
hand, or they may be disposed
of in a ritual manner.
Experienced workers often accompany the
setting of lights with the burning of an
appropriate incense. Some folks prefer to light the incense first to set
the mood as they mark, inscribe, dress and light their
candles. Others believe that the lighting of the
candles must come first, with the incense following.
There is also a strong contingent of spiritually-inclined folks
who will not use common matches at their altars
because they feel that the disposal of matches breaks the ritual flow of
their movements. They prefer to light a taper or an extra-long
fireplace matches in another room and
bring it to the altar, and blow it out or
snuff it once the actual lights are set. As with all such matters,
tradition and personal preferences leave room for variation.
The art of reading signs or making diivinations from
burning cadles, melted candle wax, and the glass jars
in which candles have been burned is called ceromancy.
For a list of the common signs and meanings that can be read
by burning free-standing offertory candles
and glass encased hoodoo, Catholic, Santeria, and
Mayan candles, go to the page on
HOW TO READ DIVINATION SIGNS FROM CANDLE-BURNING.
Lots of folks don't have full privacy to do spell-casting in
their homes. They may live with their parents,
or they may live in shared housing such as a dormitory, or
-- tough as it is -- they may be performing a spell that is
intended to directly affect a family member in the home,
such as a spouse, child, or in-law. Pretty much every system
of magical working can be adapted to function under
conditions of secrecy, but candle-burning is the most
difficult form of rootwork or conjure to hide, for obvious
reasons.
One method used by many practitioners to conceal candle work
is to burn the candles a bit at
a time and hide them between burnings.
When candles are burned a bit at a time -- which we call
"burning in sections" -- they may be left up on the altar or
hidden away between lightings. It is customary to burn them
for at least 15 minutes at each session -- just long enough
to get them going well and to spend some time over them in
prayer or petition before putting them out. In order to keep
one's link to the candles continuously strong during the
switches from "on" time to "off" time, practitioners long
ago developed two further traditions, "pinching them out"
(for all candles) and "wrapping them up" (for candles that
are hidden away).
In hoodoo, one oft-heard piece of advice is, "You should
never blow a candle out if you want to return to it, because
that ends the spell, but if you pinch it out, you can come
back to it any time." This is a customary, but not
compulsory, way to deal with candles that are to be burned
in sections. When i say "customary but not compulsory," i
mean that you may work differently, but you will be in the
minority, since most hoodoo practitioners prefer to pinch
out candles when a spell is ongoing and the candle must be
stopped for a time.
To pinch out a candle, just lick your thumb and first finger
and -- sffft! -- put out the wick. Or, you can keep a
pretty
metal candle snuffer at the altar (and it can do double-duty
as a shaper for
incense cones).
Pinching or snuffing out the light is done for all candles
burned in sections -- that is, both for candles that will be
left on the altar and for those that will be hidden away.
When hiding away candles or any other altar objects, it is
the custom in hoodoo
to wrap and tie them. This secures
their spiritual energy, and marks them as still being in
use. The most common way to wrap candles that are being
burned in sections is to place them in a brown paper grocery
bag and twist the top shut. They may also be rolled up in a
flat piece of brown grocery bag paper and tied with cotton
packaging twine.
As you can see, burning candles in sections does not
"ruin the work." On the contrary, it is a common, practical,
and useful way to work, and it is so often done that an
entire set of terms and traditions has grown up around the
custom of burning in sections.
Another way to burn candles in secret is to have spiritual practioners, such as those at
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church, set lights for
you, but hoodoo
will enjoy hoodoo more and
learn to become a sharper practitioner if you try working
candle spells on your own.
Remember, too, if you are new to
candle magic, to be careful and safe with fire -- don't set lights
near wind-blown curtains, nor where pets can knock them
over.
In European-American traditions, many people bury candle wax
and other ritual remains after a spell is cast. Burial
toward the appropriate quarter of the compass is considered
a thoughtful way to go about this. Some neo-pagans dispose
of ritual or spell remains in a bonfire or fireplace.
In African-American hoodoo candle magic
spells the disposal
of left-over materials follows other
patterns, usually dependent upon the type of
spell.
If the intention of the spell is good and it involves
matters around one's own home, like blessing, love-drawing,
money-drawing, or home protection, one can wrap the
materials in a cloth or paper packet and bury them in the
yard. It is important to never bury remains from negative spells in one's own
yard.
If the intention of the spell is not centered on matters
close to home, or if one does not have a suitable yard, one
can wrap the materials in a cloth or paper packet and throw
them in running water over the left shoulder and walk away.
Alternatively, one can take the materials to a crossroads -- any place
where two roads cross -- and throw the packet into the center of the
crossroads over the left
shoulder and walk away. The crossroads is also the
preferred place to throw bath-water before beginning a
spell; it is often used for throwing out the remains of
candle wax if the spell does not personally involve the
practitioner or if the spell is negative or
influence-removing.
If the intention of the spell is specifically to get someone
to leave town or leave one alone, one can divide the
materials (e.g. 9 needles used in a spell and 9 pieces of
wax from a candle) into 9 packets and add Hot Foot Powder
(or Drive Away Powder) to each packet. One starts at a
crossroads near to where the person lives and throws out the
first packet. Then one travels in a direction away from the enemy's home,
toward where one wants them to go, and drops a packet at each
crossroads one passes until all the packets are gone. In the
country this might carry one several miles. In the city it
would only be 9 blocks, so city folks only count major
intersections (with a light) when they do this, or they may
count freeway interchanges to get some distance worked up
between the packets.
If the intention of the spell is seriously, irreparably
harmful (like causing another person grave illness),
especially if it contains graveyard
dirt or goofer dust, one can dispose of the
material in a graveyard. The wax and other remnants are
placed in a miniature coffin, buried, and marked
by a miniature headstone with the enemy's name on it.
When setting such a spell to rest, many workers also
sprinkle a mixture of sulphur powder and salt around the
grave, then walk home and don't look back.
For a list of titles and images found on
contemporary glass encased hoodoo, Catholic, Santeria, and
Mayan candles, go to the page of 7-Day
and Novena candles.
For a list of contemporary
manufacturers of hoodoo, Catholic, Santeria, and Mayan
candles, go to the page of candle
makers.
Here are some simple conjurations using candles:
Many, many more candle spells can be found here by using
the ATOMZ.COM search engine below to search this site for the keyword candle,
plus a word or phrase indicating the type of spell you want
(such as love or money or court case).
VOTIVE CANDLES:
TEA LIGHTS:
Tea Lights are very small votive candles poured into aluminum cups;
originally designed to be used at the table to keep foods and drinks warm (hence the name "tea light"),
they make great refills for glass votive candle holders, are extremely
economical, and are relatively safe to burn. Their small size is also
an advantage for busy people who wish to do continuing candle magic on successive days
without leaving large candles unattended.
GLASS ENCASED
RELIGIOUS NOVENA CANDLES
GLASS ENCASED
VIGIL CANDLES
UNLABELLED PLAIN GLASS ENCASED
VIGIL CANDLES
For those who wish to burn candles in their own home but
don't want family members or visitors to know their business,
the preferred form of symbolically coloured vigil candles
are those that are fixed and prepared with
herbs and magical hoodoo or conjure oils, but WITHOUT LABELS. Usually called "plain" lights,
they can be introduced into the home under the name of "mood lighting" or
"holy lights." Their actual purposes -- and the types of conjure oils and
herbs used to dress them -- remain the secret of the one
who lights them.
PULL-OUT CANDLES:
REFILLS FOR NOVENA CANDLES
AND VIGIL LIGHTS
DRESSING, MARKING, MEASURING,
LIGHTING, AND EXTINGUISHING CANDLES
Goin' 'neath her window, gonna lay a black cat bone
Goin' 'neath her window, gonna lay a black cat bone
Burn a candle on her picture, she won't let my good man alone.
HOW TO READ DIVINATION SIGNS
FROM CANDLE-BURNING
HOW TO BURN CANDLES
IN SECRET
HOW TO RITUALLY DISPOSE OF
USED CANDLE WAX 
NAMED TYPES OF
GLASS ENCASED CANDLES
MANUFACTURERS OF
GLASS ENCASED CANDLES
SIMPLE CANDLE SPELLS
FOR YOU TO TRY
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