19 replies to this topic

[Qryztufre]

Outside of ritual I've always tied to save any left over candle bits once the wick was gone. Once or twice a year I'd spend a Sunday out in the kitchen melting down these old bits by color to make new non-ritual candles.

(I can go into details if asked, but that's not the real reason I'm here)

I'm wondering what are the do's & don'ts of using ritual & spell candles?

I've re-used & recycled candles used to light a ritual, but I've never recycled an actual ritual candle (one actually used in the process of a spell/rite) ...though the thought crossed me that maybe this would not be a fully bad idea. In that, what would be the proper procedures of doing such a thing?
Q

[vulnera]

sometimes for particularly "strong" candle workings i do divination on the drippings, recycling the leftover wax for later ritual use in the same or related subject.

for example: polish wooden ritual implements, stick things together, make parchment waterproof, etc... the list goes on.

sometimes i keep parts of the candle forever (lol) in case i will be needing that for anything. kind of as insurance.

a bit of a pack rat, but my permanent collection features only about a dozen stubs and an amalgamated giant mixed dripping from a particularly long working.

i dont particularly see anything wrong with recycling "general occult use" candles to make more, but certain ones may taint or give unwanted flavor to future wprkings. a real creative person could work with that and enhance their workings considerably. (a pinch of love candle, a pinch of solstice candle etc)

[Qryztufre]

vulnera said:

i dont particularly see anything wrong with recycling "general occult use" candles to make more, but certain ones may taint or give unwanted flavor to future wprkings. a real creative person could work with that and enhance their workings considerably. (a pinch of love candle, a pinch of solstice candle etc)

As most of the work I do, or have done, has been for the betterment of myself, those I know, or just for the great goodness that is all....maybe tossing in some ritual/spell candles into my batch for "just light" may give a loving air to the place. Which is really something I never really thought of!
Q

[Lost in Translation]

Do - cleanse them and bless them to remove any negative energy prior to melting and after final "construction".

Don't - recycle anything who's original purpose, in the best of your guesstimation, has not been accomplished.

Do - sort by color, but also try to sort by wax type (the label or packaging may tell you what they are - not always, though). It makes for a more even distribution of color and keeps lumps and bubbles and such to a minimum.

Don't - EVER, EVER, EVER mix green and red unless you want barf colored candles. LOL

[Foxwind]

For some reason I end up being asked to help people out in areas of home/family/holding pregnancies/and protection... This seems to be the ongoing theme of things over the past few years...
For these things I have two primary candles that have been dedicated to two different Deities, both candles carry the essence of being so to say... So anything I light off them become them, when they are near reaching an end, I light another of the same from them... Again what is-becomes...

I wouldn't always mix those original 'lighting candles', nor would I try to disarm and drain them... What little nublets that are left before I stop useing them, I'm more apt to shave off for use in other like-workings... Or as vulnera said, use them for things like waterproofing parchments...

One deity might be more tuned into matters of hearth/arts/so on, the leftovers make great water proofing, sigs/seals, and can bring dimention to otherwize flat pieces of art, or can be made into creations by dripping, forming so on... Powdered up and placed in juju bags, glazed over scraps of felt to keep it from wilting in pockets/bags/or to just preserve it forever... Rubbed over non-fired air dried clay, even play-dough sculptures, to help preserve... I like rubbing candle wax into rocks, old dried out wood, it brings out the hidden shades, lines, carvings, drawings, sigils...

Depending on the nature of protection candles, would depend if Id reuse the left overs for other types of things, some yes, some NO...
One used for basic shielding, non-dedicated, simple stuff, sure...
But say one dedicated, and amped up with a little 2+4 bite to it for any that get to close, NO... Those bits get saved, used for said project and thats that, the bits get labled, wrapped up and stashed "insurance"...

Your basic candles, no specifics intended, those are in my oppinion fine to melt back into other candles , for whatever you want to use them for...

One year a friend suggested that we all save our basic candle stubs and drips up,
then before Brigids Day/Imbolk/Candlemass, come to his house and melt them all down in a big pot and make new candles there...
He had great space and it was a lot of fun, much needed bit of community function in Feb... Cuz by that time of winter up here, we NEED warmth and community something firce...
Everyone made something to suit their likeings and we all got to take our new creations home to our families, good energy to help restoke the hearthfires...

~~~SIDHE~~~

[tsukiryoko]

There's 3 things I do with my old candle bits, seeing as I also save them, and yes you can use them ritually. The first thing is, I ask either family or a friend to collect their bits of candles as well until we have a good pile going. Then, everyone partipates in helping melt down the candles (everyone stirs a little, pours a little, helps with the wicks, etc) and whenever you and whoever helped you make the candle gets into a rough spot or the relationship could use some reassurance, light the candle(s) you made together. This is excellent for families.

The second thing is, I save them for the new year or rituals in which I need to center. For the new year, they're great for adding light to the year and welcoming in the sun. It also represents all the of the last years lessons being rolled together and taking something old and used and making something new. For centering rituals, it does the same- it helps channel energy into bringing yourself back to one central place and making something fresh and useful.

The last thing I do is, as was mentioned before in the thread, candle dripping divination. It's an excellent way to make use of bits of wax.

[Lucifer]

I use candles for specific purposes only, and then scrap them.

However, i'd recycle candles that I charged with a Singular/Positive intent; and relight them as a way of further charging the previous working(s).


EDIT: case in point, I do not think you would want to recycle candles used in death spells to modestly light your house.

[arjil]

I've pondered on this question myself, for years. I've got a rather large pile of molten wax, left over from so many spells I can't even remember what they were (as well as all sorts of weird little packets and vials, sealed up with intent that I can't remember what I made them for so they just sit there, and I eye them warily on occation)
It seems like a good idea to recycle the wax, but then again the possiblility of lingering intent and random residual effects makes me leery.
so I guess I'm in the same boat... damn. I should probably just chuck the lot, but everytime I try I fail my Willpower check vs. Packrat. sorry, been reading old gaming books of late...

[Sorgan]

Why don't you banish the energies that are in them, just have them with you during your banishing method?

[arjil]

that is a thought, though banishing and un-making magick run contrary to my nature (I know that seems anathema to most learned occultists, and it my well not be the wisest thing ever, but there you have it) I may give it a whack and see. I wonder how long the original intent lingers after the person who shaped it forgets about it? this is something I've often wondered. sometimes it seems to break the moment the thought is interrupted and others it lingers on with a seeming life of its own... hmmm

[Sorgan]

It's your energy, it stands to reason that if you can make it you can also unmake it.
Although it wouldn't be unmade as energy can't be made or destroyed but rather converted to another state.
Maybe making a candle from wax of candles that where used for the same kind of intent would increase your workings energy, for example, making a banishing candle from old candles used for previous banishings would be super 'banishy'

the idea works in my head but that usually doesn't mean much

[Octarine Prince]

Sorgan said:

It's your energy, it stands to reason that if you can make it you can also unmake it.
Although it wouldn't be unmade as energy can't be made or destroyed but rather converted to another state.
Maybe making a candle from wax of candles that where used for the same kind of intent would increase your workings energy, for example, making a banishing candle from old candles used for previous banishings would be super 'banishy'

the idea works in my head but that usually doesn't mean much

Using your same reasoning, but diverging at a critical juncture, we get the total opposite. If you use the leftovers of candles that were used for some working, the energy is all gone, and they are just beeswax, paraffin, etc.

[Corvus]

I'm really not into candle magic but from a practical side I feel you can recycle items used previously. Any object carries residues of past handling and use, often even the original maker's essence, whether they were used for magic or not. Its history will always be part of it, but does not have to determine its future. The new energy you give to it will be prevalent for the new purpose.
Despite all the banishing activities and scattering of energy you may attempt on something, you cannot banish it all. A history is always maintained in a different form of energy (my personal belief, and also a type of wave theory). One of the skills I have had all my life is that of psychometry. If it is mostly your own energy in the object already, no worries. Look at it as extending the usefulness of a particular thing, reshaping a tool to give it extra charateristics and focus on those new intentions. If there still seems to be some sort of block that you feel about using it due to residual energies, try any of the number of techniques others use for clearing various objects using things such as sage or quartz, sea salt water, some bury an object in the ground for a length of time, or leave it in natural sun and moonlight for a few days.

[Sorgan]

Octarine Prince said:

Using your same reasoning, but diverging at a critical juncture, we get the total opposite. If you use the leftovers of candles that were used for some working, the energy is all gone, and they are just beeswax, paraffin, etc.

If all the energy is gone there wouldn't be a problem making ritual candles from just beeswax, paraffin etc.

[eshaum]

It's not a common practice of mine (due to the situations not coming up where it's handy), but I've recycled spellwork candles when the intents were complimentory. Point and case: A situation was coming up that I really didn't want to be a part of, but it was looking as if I was going to get drawn into it. I also happened to have the stub of a candle that I had used in a protection/"lighthouse" based spell. So I made a bottle, and crammed the situation into it among various nails, sealing it shut with the rest of the candle.

With the situation now gone, I have some very lovely nails charged all full and proper with ickiness for potential future usage if the situation arises.

Some might disagree with recycling magick, but I figure.. if I can put a banana peel on my tomato patch, why can't I use a protection candle to seal some ick away.. ..and potentially use that ick in a future situation..

[Angelologist]

I personally prefer to eat my left over candle wax. Sike, anyways I don’t see anything wrong with recycling candles if cleansed properly before second use. I usually throw away unused candle wax, but I lately I’ve been holding on to them and experimenting various uses for it. And I agree with Lucifer on not reusing negative used candles.

[son of dhamma]

Frankly, it REALLY depends on what magick the candle was used for. For a lot of candle-working certain methods of deployment or disposal completely exclude the option of recycling the wax, like melting on a bottle or burying in certain places. On the other hand, I actually consider it crude not to recycle wax from candles that are safe sources, and I usually melt them together into one marvelous mixed-smelling jar and burn it later when I need good measure. You see, the mana left over in candles after they've been burned can be so precious, thus the recycle candle can be full of good juju. What sort of magician wouldn't take advantage of this? Not one I'd work with.

[Bara Mortath]

Would the act of melting the candle down to it's base component not be an act of cleansing anyway? You are removing the form that underlies and holds the energy, the structure should collapse and disipate as the remains of the candle do. To be safe you could then cleanse the whole batch of liquid wax before imbuing it with new intent.

[son of dhamma]

Bara Mortath said:

melting the candle down to it's base component not be an act of cleansing anyway? You are removing the form that underlies and holds the energy, the structure should collapse and disipate as the remains of the candle do.

I don't think this is accurate. A melted candle is the same material as the candle before it is melted. Once it solidifies, it contains the energy it had before it melted, except the wax that evaporated.

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To be safe you could then cleanse the whole batch of liquid wax before imbuing it with new intent.

If you want to cleanse the candle of the energy then you're just left with a neutralized candle, same as when you bought it. Candles that don't need to be cleansed might as well not be to make use of their great energy.

[Bara Mortath]

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I don't think this is accurate. A melted candle is the same material as the candle before it is melted. Once it solidifies, it contains the energy it had before it melted, except the wax that evaporated.

Yes, it is the same physical wax, but it is a new candle. The act of creating a new candle could be undertaken as a ritual of purification thus reseting the energetic component to it's base state (releasing the old energy as you melt it, imbuing the new as you our it into the mold or dip it). Or one could as you said, sort by energy used; but at least part of this topic involved wax that people didn't remember the source of, thus my suggestion.

Frankly I'd just rip the old structure out and use the candle stub as I saw fit but that dosen't seem to be a popular option.