The use of figural or representational magical candles may have entered hoodoo through contact with European folk magic, for the use of images molded of beeswax is very common in that tradition. After the Civil War, when paraffin became widely available, and especially after the First World War, when aniline dyes made the symbolic colour-coding of candles feasible, such objects as these might have been home-made, but they were never found for sale in shops. Even after the Second World War and the publication of The Master Book of Candle Burning by Henri Gamache, any candles representing human genitalia would have been impossible to find in the market and were instead hand-carved at home from large pillar candles .
With the increasing leniency of mores in America during the hippie era of the 1960s, and the loosening of legal restrictions that soon followed, it finally became feasible for occult shops and spiritual suppliers to offer candles in the form of naked men and naked women, as well as the human penis and human vulva for use in love spells
The colour symbolism of these 6" tall, realistically modelled magical candles is fairly straightforward:
white for attracting a new or unknown female lover.
red to arouse passion in a woman, to restore nature.
blue for peacefulness, fidelity, and a happy home.
black to wreak sexual vengeance on a woman.
Before being lit, the candle is carved with the name of the intended target, using a needle or pin to write the name in the wax, along with one's wishes. It may be placed on a name-paper or other item linking the work to the target individual. It is dressed with an appropriate dressing oil, such as Love Me or Reconciliation or Kiss Me Now! -- or, if the object is same-sex love, Lavender Love Drops may be added to any of the above or used alone. Genital candles can be tied and bound or tied together in pairs for various purposes. If the work is not being done for love, then another appropriate dressing oil should be selected, of course.
It is important to properly dispose of ritual remains. If the work is done for romantic purposes, you may want to keep the remains around your home. Wrap up any left-over candle wax, incense ashes, and used sachet powders in a piece of cloth. Secure it with thread and tie it. Bury it in your yard. If the work is done for other purposes, dispose of it according to the ritual methods outlined on the web page called "Laying Tricks and Disposing of Ritual Remains in the Hoodoo Tradition."
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