Candle rituals are by far the easiest yet powerful form of rituals available. Did you know that candles can actually cover all 4 elements - Earth, Air, Water and Fire?
The candle in its solid state as Earth, Air that flickers the flame, the melted wax as Water and the flame itself as Fire!
Candle rituals can be as simple as picking a candle color that corresponds to your intention, lighting the candle and setting your intention.
Candle Color Meanings & Uses:
White – cleansing, purifying, blessings, unity, relieves tension
Black – protection, absorbs negative energy
Green – harmony, balance, money, growth, healing, new beginnings
Blue – meditation, loyalty, overcoming addiction, heals emotional wounds, trauma, transformation
Yellow – confidence, optimism, charm, concentration
Orange – stamina, success, youthfulness, independence, encourages ambitions, broadens horizons
Red – energy, courage, fertility, love, sex, passion, lust
Pink – romance, friendship, self-love, forgiveness
Purple – enhance psychic ability, wisdom, ambition, insomnia, boosts spiritual enlightenment, creativity
Gold – God energy, masculine, sun, prosperity, abundance, happiness, knowledge, influence, divination, power
Silver – Goddess energy, feminine, moon, astral realm, dreamwork, ambition, fame, communication with ancestors, creativity
For more elaborate candle ritual but still easy enough, read on to find out. These are basic guides, feel free to add or remove as needed. Listen to your instincts and make this ritual personal to you :)
Step 1: Choose your supplies
The form of candle you choose is going to depend on the way you plan to use the candle. Glass pillar candles are great but they don’t work if you want to carve symbols or words onto your candle, or if you plan to dress your candle with oil and herbs.
First, decide on the appropriate color based on your intentions. Next, consider the size of the candle. Bigger candles may look great but will also take longer to burn down. Bigger candles are great if you plan to use it for rituals that lasts several days with the extinguishing and relighting of flame.
Other supplies includes a flame to light the candle, oil and herbs for dressing the candle, a holder/dish, a tool for carving if needed and any added items you wish to have on your workspace altar. Consider playing some music and dimming the lighting in the room but it's ok to keep things basic and simple!
Step 2: Prepare your workspace
As we are working with fire, do your best to make sure your space is fire safe! Set up your workspace away from any fire hazards like curtains. Altar cloths will add to the aesthetics, but be extremely careful since they can be flammable. If you have furry or human kids, ensure that they are kept away and out of the space to prevent accidents. Consider the type of clothing you will be wearing, making sure there are no flowy ends and bits that may catch fire. The same is true of long hair. Throw it up into a bun or a ponytail to keep your hair safe.
Everything else on your workspace isn’t set in stone. You can set things up anywhere you like and how you feel works and looks best to you. I personally like to have my candle in the center, decorations and/or tools on either sides. If you like to reflect and journal during the ritual, feel free to have your journalling supplies out too. Grab a drink while you work on your ritual. I love a cuppa hot ceremonial cacao while I sit and work or read in the space.
Keep in mind, this is a workspace and not your regular altar for deities etc. It can get messy. Move things around freely as needed. Make it functional to suit your needs :)
Step 3: Preparing your candle
Next, it’s time to prepare your candle.
1. If you plan to carve your candle. Now is the time to do it. Simply use a butter knife, a mechanical pencil or other pointy objects should do the trick. Depending on your intentions, you may carve words to identify your intentions or your target. If there are iconic symbols, they may be used too. (E.g dollar sign to represent money or a heart shape to represent love). Carving is NOT a mandatory part of the ritual. It's perfectly alright to skip this step. Intention is key!
It's also a good idea to keep backup candles on hand if you're new to carving candles as the candles may snap in the process while starting out on your first few carvings :)
2. Next is dressing the candle. Often, candles are dressed in oils and/or herbs. Plain old olive oil or any oil from our kitchen will work just fine. If you have any specific ritual oils for the intended purpose, go ahead and use that instead. Coat the candle from top to bottom with the oil.
After your candle has been oiled, you can add ground herbs to it. The herbs used depends on the intention of your ritual. These herbs are commonly found in the spice aisle and should be easy to find. Browse the internet with your intention for corresponding herbs and pick from the wide range you feel called to work with or you have access to. You do not need every single herb that is listed on the internet relating to your intention for it to work. Just 1 or 2 is enough. Remember, intention is key!
Make sure to ground up your chosen herbs if they are not already in their powdered form. Sprinkle them over the sides of your candle or roll your candle directly into the herb mix.
The oil on the candle will help stick the herbs onto the candle, coating it.
Once your candle is coated, go ahead and place it on your candle holder/dish while you clean up and get ready for the ritual itself.
Step 4: Light the candle - Intention
Now comes the main part of the ritual - Lighting your candle!
Once everything is ready, light the candle, recite your intention, aloud or in your head while focusing on the flame for the duration of your intention.
If time allows, you can meditate or daydream about your intention while watching the dancing flame and melting wax. It is pretty mesmerizing :)
You can also journal your intention and have your written intention set out near the candle while it burns.
If there isn't time to sit and watch the candle burn down for an hour or more, just be sure to at least repeat your intention thrice and you may leave the candle to burn while going about with your day. Do stay within the vicinity and never leave your open flame unattended even while you move along with your day.
There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just flow and allow your energy and intention to manifest with the ritual.
Step 6: Blow out or burn down
There are several point of views with regards to this aspect. Some people feel that blowing out your candle is “extinguishing” your intention and that you should only ever let the candle burn down. Others feel that, breath is a powerful tool and blowing out a candle is a form of using their breath to put in their energy into the ritual.
My personal preference is to allow a candle to burn down if possible. Sometimes, I do extinguish the flame and re-light the same candle for a ritual meant for several days. This is especially in the case with our Chakra Balancing candle blends that's in a jar. I like to work on balancing a specific chakra for up to 7 days continuously. Candle in a jar may have a tendency for wax to pool and extinguishes the flame naturally over a period of time. I typically use that time to meditate or practice self Reiki while keeping my intention to balance the specific chakra that I am working on. Other times, I simply allow it to burn in the background while I work on my projects.
Regardless of your choice, keep in mind to never leave a burning candle unattended. Keep the burning candle in sight or stay within the vicinity of the candle for the entire duration.
Step 7: Dispose of the remnants properly
Disposing of spell remains is pretty subjective. I personally do not recommend burying remnants or throwing them into water bodies. It can cause harm to our nature more than you can imagine. Personally, I have a designated bin where I dispose of these remnants, without mixing in any other thrash, as a form of respect and throwing it out as usual when it is full.
It might seem like a lot to follow, but add or remove steps and tweak it to make it work for you. If it is still too overwhelming, remember, candle ritual can be as simple as picking a corresponding candle color to match your intention, light it, set your intention and BAM!
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