Are you allowed to cut an unused candle in half? I’m new and thinking I won’t have enough time to let a candle burn all the way down for a moon ritual.
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Yes you can. I roll beeswax candles from the sheets and you can cut them to any size. The only problem I can see with cutting regular candles in half is you may not have enough wick for the lower half. You can also use birthday candles. They are small and burn quickly and they come in all colors. 
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Hi @alison11,
Great question!
I haven’t cut a candle myself so I can’t say for sure, but I can see how it would work in theory. It might be a little tricky getting the bottom half to start, but if you hold the flame close and let the wax burn away to reveal the wick, it might be okay and catch on.
I second what @Ostara said about using birthday candles instead- they are great for short-term spells! Another option is to use chime candles (sometimes listed as “spell candles” on witchy sites and marketplaces). Tealight candles are small too- and have the extra bonus of already coming in a holder.
Another option is to respectfully snuff the candle when you are done with your spell. While there are many witches who wait for the candle to extinguish on its own, there are also many witches who extinguish and reuse candles- here’s a great discussion about resuing spell candles where you might get some ideas and inspiration- at the end of the day, it’s up to you to find what works best for you and your practice! 
Wishing you a blessed full moon- happy spellwork, Alison! 
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I’ve never cut a candle for a spell myself, but I’m here to second (third!? 
) the options that everyone else has already said. Cut it, use birthday candles, respectfully extinguish the candle – all viable options!
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Thanks everyone for your responses. Good point about getting the bottom half lit as the wick would be flush with the wax. Maybe I can carefully chip away some of the wax.
So for my first moon ritual last night I used a tea light candle and it was still burning after 3-1/2 hours. Since I’d never timed it before I thought it burned for less time. I had to blow it out since it was almost midnight and past my bedtime.
A birthday candle for short spells is a nice idea or even a Chanukah candle next time as they only burn for about 40 minutes. I’d forgotten about them. And now they can be put to an even better use. They come in colors too so I might have to stock up this December. 
Thanks again everyone.
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Hi there, I’m fairly new!
Not sure if it’s accurate but my group told me to buy birthday candles. They are small and you can find really neat ones. They take less time to burn.
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I have a painful memory from when I was 5 or so, tried to cut a candle in two with a bread knife, it ended in blood… 
So please be careful… something like a hacksaw might work better than a knife there. At least with stearine candles, I don’t really have experience with beeswax. 
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You’re welcome, @alison11 From what you’ve said, it sounds like birthday/Chanukah candles are well worth a try! I hope they are what you are hoping for if you decide to give them a do in your spellwork.
Good luck and happy casting! 
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The candles I use for quick spells where I need it to burn quickly are these really thin ones I get from the Asian Market. I don’t know if they have a specific name, but they look like this and they come in red, yellow, or white.
They only cost a couple dollars for a stack of $20 and they only burn for about 20 minutes. Maybe try something like that?
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