Charging Candles
By Mary Caelsto

Whether it’s a jar candle designed to fragrance the room or chosen for a specific ritual purpose, one of the important parts of candle magick is “charging” the candle. Simply put, when a candle is charged it is filled with energy designed for a specific purpose. The energy comes from ourselves and the universe. It’s freely available and anyone, of any faith, can charge a candle. If you’re not comfortable with the thought of rituals or magic you can think of it as a prayer.

The most basic way to charge a candle is to hold it in your hands and think about the purpose you wish the candle to serve. If you’re burning it for healing, for example, then imagine the person getting better and becoming healthy once more. For prosperity, think about you living the live you want, free of worries and stress from money. The important part is to be positive about your goal and to imagine it happening.

If you want to go farther in charging a candle, then there are additional steps that can be taken. Anointing the candle with oils helps to imbue it with the properties of the essential oils. In addition, you can add nuances to the magical meaning of the candle. Adding planetary or zodiac oils to the candle can bring those elements (such as Capricorn for money or Mercury for communication) to your candle magic.

Some people inscribe runes or symbols on the candle. Continuing with the prosperity spell, a simple dollar sign is easy to carve and expresses in concrete terms what the candle magic will be for. Names, numbers, even small pictures can be created with a minimum of effort on the candle.

With the simplest form of candle magic, the candle is dressed (or anointed) with oils, a symbol carved on it, charged with energy and then burned. This ritual can take only a few moments to several days depending on the steps involved and the preferred timing of them.

Of course, when it comes to candle magic, and charging a candle, following the basic steps is good, but the best thing you can do to have a properly charged candle is to choose the correct candle. The size and type of candle doesn’t matter for ritual purposes. Some people prefer jar or container candles. Tapers, mini candles, tea lights, or votives all work well. The two factors in choosing a correct candle are the scent and the color.

When it comes to scent, an unscented candle, ready to be anointed or left “as is” may be your best choice. Otherwise, with the wide variety of scents available choose the one that’s closest to your ritual’s purpose. If working on a prosperity spell you may wish to choose scents that make you feel rich and luxurious. Spells for love naturally call for floral fragrances.

And the color of the candle plays a role too. Green is the color of prosperity. Blues evoke healing, and pinks and reds are for love or passion. While there are plenty of tables out there that talk about the correspondences of various colors, the bottom line is that you’re the one charging the candle and doing the ritual. You get to choose which works best for you and what feels right. The color and the scent of the candle are fully under your control.

In the end, it isn’t the way the candle smells or what kind of wax it’s made out of that creates the magic. It’s you. To charge a candle means putting your will into it and that will helps to form an outcome. The magic is within. The candle is merely a tool. Charging the candle gives it direction. Nothing more and nothing less. Your spell, prayer, ritual, or whatever you wish to call it, really works the magic. However it sure doesn’t hurt to have a full set of tools at your disposal and charging a candle doesn’t take much time or energy. Just a little thought.