Chime candles for spells? Wasting by not burning enough…

[BlueAngelite]

Dear fellow practitioners,

I’m running into a weird issue with candles and spell work. I’m a newer practitioner and do spell work maybe once a week or so. I began spells maybe a couple of months ago after learning more on spells8 and through several books on the subject.

My issue is that I commonly use chime candles in my spells due to their smaller size and because what I learned is that you shouldn’t reuse candles from spell to spell. However, during the time it takes me to complete a spell I usually only burn up to 1/8 to 1/4 of the candle at most. (One time I did a seven day spell with one chime candle and I burned the candle down to about 1/3 of the end). So I feel like I’m wasting the chime candles by throwing them away after each spell.

A couple of follow up questions:
Is it possible that I am not spending enough time with each spell?
Should I consider using even smaller candles? (Do these exist other than birthday size?)
Or is there a way to reuse without duplicating the intention of the previous spell work?

Help please!

[georgia]

Tea lights last about 3 hours. That’s the size I use. I burn a set while listening to my Quarters CD- about 90 minutes. Then I extinguish and burn a second day, no matter what spells I cast. I find this to be cost efficient for me, but you can do as you choose.

As to how much time you spend on your spells, use your intuition. You already are. Good job, btw. When you feel done, you are done enough.

Are you drawn to using birthday candles? Go for it. Make candle holders from clay, I learned here.

[BlueAngelite]

Thanks @georgia

I’m not necessarily drawn to birthday candles… do tea lights burn for less time than a chime candle?
So you reuse the tea light for two days for two different spells? Just curious.

[tracyS]

I use taper candles, also called spell candles, they burn quicker. I also re-assign candles for various spell work. Maybe a chaoti thing, but once the spell is done, if the candle has alot of life in it, I smoke cleanse it, and re-use. My philosophy on this unauthodoxed method, is nature would not want any waste, nor would my deity, so they’ll bless my re-use as long as I cleanse it. Unless I’ve used the candle in baneful Magick, I re-use. Baneful I burn right down. Just me, my life is chaos so you may wish to ignore everything I’ve just written

[john1]

I do the same

[Devenne]

I reuse candles I use in mediation. I reuse candles that are for specific spells as a reminder like I think about it and relight it the next day to burn it. Or if it’s a candle used in good intentions I just reuse it. I don’t follow rules to much on this. I have tons of lil candle pieces which I will eventually melt down for new candles as long as they are not used to get rid of something or in a way to banish or get rid of something. If that’s the case I toss it out. Seconding @tracyS on cleanse reuse

[starborn]

@BlueAngelite

do tea lights burn for less time than a chime candle?

I don’t think so. I get an hour out of my chime candles, so they’re easy to use one per spell with. However, I think they may be soy candles, so that might explain why they’re relatively quick? Not sure.

Out of tealights, I get quite a bit longer. Maybe closer to Georgia’s experience of 3 hours each. However, mine are beeswax candles, so that might explain another difference. Sorry for making it complicated.

As Georgia said, though, when you feel done, you’re done. And as the rest show, cleansing and reusing is a viable option, so you could even go bigger than chime candles if that’s something you want.

[Susurrus]

Hi @BlueAngelite

I have quite a collection of candles laughing: Most of the ones that I use are chime candles. When you are working on a spell, you have a few options once you are finished with the spell. Yes, 1 is to dispose of it, but reusing it for a spell with the same intention is also possible, saving it for a full moon cycle. You can also let the candle burn through to completion. If there is a deity that you are working with during the spell, you can let it continue to burn to completion. *(Of course any time that you are using candles, always follow Candle Safety. I have also melted them to make a whole new candle or reconsecrate the candle,

I believe we also have some topics about candles for spell & ritual use as well as disposal of them:

→ Candles: Use Once? or Reuse?
→ How to Dispose of Spell Remains
→ Used Candle Wax Disposal

There may be others, but these seemed the most relevant when I looked real quick

[BlueAngelite]

@tracyS

I smoke cleanse

Interesting. I like this way of reusing candles and may try it for spells of similar types. Thanks!

[BlueAngelite]

@Susurrus

saving it for a full moon cycle

Do you you mean not using it until after that moon cycle is completed? Or using it within the current moon cycle?

[BlueAngelite]

@starborn

beeswax candles

Beeswax look like a great option too and may be softer, melt quicker? Not sure. But definitely smells great! I’ve only had large beeswax candles not chime or spell candles.

[starborn]

@BlueAngelite

and may be softer, melt quicker?

That’s what I also thought, but @BryWisteria has been saying that they last longer. I haven’t actually timed or tested mine, so I’m going to defer to the wisdom of others.

They’re a bit more expensive as well, I think, but not a huge amount more. If you try chime ones out, let us know how you like them for spell use. (Or not. )

[georgia]

@BlueAngelite

do tea lights burn for less time than a chime candle?

Oh, I haven’t used a chime candle since I was about 12 years old- when the chime candles we owned almost burned down the wooden holiday chime Mom bought in Bryant, Ohio. She was so thrilled with that thing and so disappointed to lose it.

I trust @starborn and her assessment of time for each candle.

@BlueAngelite

So you reuse the tea light for two days for two different spells?

I am low income. Yes, I reuse candles for different kinds of spells.

I think of it this way: if I only had one piece of rose quartz and needed it for a self care and a love spell, I’d still be working with my own heart. Even if I saved the crystal for years between spells, it is my intention that casts the spell, not the crystal. I am casting upon myself, using the crystal as a focal point for my mind. Candles work the same way, but get used up over time.

When I do a spell, I use my candles to represent the elements rather than the spell itself. The spell may draw energy from different directions, but I am the one who focuses the energy. The spell happens in my mind and heart.

Do you carve your candles for your spells? You may want to save carved candles for similar intentions, but I still think you can use them for separate spells.

Blessing candles with oil and intention is a tool of focus for the current spell. It can be cleansed with a new intention.

Please remember that the candle itself is a tool, not a cage or rule. You hold the intention and all the power.

Another possibility is to save the partially used candle until the spell manifests and light it to express gratitude.

If it were me, saving partial candles, I might end up with a drawer full of candle nubs with no clue which ones were for which spells- which means I’d forgotten the original intentions and could use the nubs for anything after all.

I began my practice using any candle I could get my hands on. The focal point was the flame, which was the energy source. Burning a 7 day or evening taper took a long time, so I did several spells on one candle on a regular basis. Once the flame was extinguished, the spell was sent out to the Universe for manifestation. Nothing unexpected ever happened from using a candle multiple times.

[peter3]

You can make chime-sized candles out of the sheets of beeswax that you cut to size and roll around a wick. These burn quite quickly. You can get the sheets in different colors and its easy to do. You can also extinguish your candle and relight to let it burn to completion at your convenience on multiple days. Just leave the spell working set up, extinguish, relight, repeat until done.

[Susurrus]

@BlueAngelite, that is sort of what I meant, saving (not using) the remaining candle for a cycle, then re-consecrating it or melting it down to make a new candle or using it for something else.

It was originally a spell for protection… use it for another protection spell. Or whatever the correspondence/intention for that candle is, re-use it with the same correspondence/intention.

If you cleanse and reconsecrate it, you can use it for whatever you need that candle or color candle for afterward.

If it was carved or anointed, you can reuse it with the same intention/reason/correspondence for a similar spell. Cleanse it from the energy of the original spell, then use it again for a similar spell that would use the same anointing or carving.

[Ostara]

I buy beeswax candles and extra wicks. I unroll the beeswax and cut them down to the size I want. I can make several candles out of one sheet of beeswax. The looser you roll the bee wax, the quicker they will burn. You can even combine different colors for double action candles. Have fun with it BlueAngelite. Who has time to sit for 4 hours waiting for a candle to burn. Lol!

[tracyS]

I think also, the burn time, (for me anyway), is affected by which deity you invoke to help with the spell. I’ve lit both altars, Loki’s and Mr Lucifer’s, Loki has 2 tealights, Mr Lucifer has 1 in his angel crystal. Loki’s have burnt out and I’m re-lighting 2 more, Mr Lucifer’s is still burning the original candle . Same tealights from same package.

[Ostara]

Sounds like they are competing. Lol!

[peter3]

Cool, I never thought to roll different colors together. Thanks!

[Ostara]

You’re welcome. My favorite is rolling black around red. It looks like the candle is bleeding when it burns.