Spell candle question

Hi so this has bothered me for sometime and i decided rather than just putting the question off and going online to do some more bargin hunting, i will ask you lovely witches and wizards… So my question is (drum roll)… Can i use another type/shape of candle instead of using the average 10cm small/skinny spell candles we are all familiar about? I don’t know about everyone else, but i have done heaps of hunting and it always seems the price or the spell candles are right but the shipping is ridiculous, or the candles are expensive and shipping is free…
I am still willing to pay to get some good spell candles but i thought maybe another option may be better like these 5cm x 7.5cm candles which i have in a variety of colors…

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I don’t know why I got so excited when I read this, but I did… :blush:

While “spell” or chime candles are what the standard are, I use tealights, votives, pillars, jars, scented, unscented, birthday candles, battery operated candles.

A white candle :candle: can be substituted for any candle… also, if you finish your workings/spell/ritual before the candle has burned down, you can put it out & use it again for a spell/ritual/repeat of the one you did… for the same intentions.

I also use my diffuser when using actual incense isn’t the best option depending on the scents I have & what I have made up of my own & the use of the incense or oil.

I hope this helps! :two_hearts:

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TLDR: It’s my personal opinion in my practice that the type of candle is virtually irrelevant compared to one’s intention/purpose for using the candle :slight_smile:

I agree with what @Susurrus said — you can use any kind of candle that works with you and your working :slight_smile: I typically just use white tealights for everything because that’s what’s available where I am where I live in the middle of cornfields :joy_cat: I also use birthday candles for quick workings or if I have a busy day and can’t sit around for very long making sure the candles are safe. I also use cheap seven-day candles from the dollar store or whatever smelly candle I think smells good for multi-day workings or just as general altar candles.

What’s important (at least in my practice — I’m not trying to speak for anyone else or to put words in their mouths) is intention. As Siofra said, white candles can be used for any working. I use white candles for just about everything, but before I use them for whatever working I’m doing, I hold them in my hand, focus on whatever intention I want to use the candle for, and then project that intention into the candle. I’ve even used colored candles that were “inappropriate” for whatever energy I wanted to bring into my working :see_no_evil: haha

At the end of the day, in my opinion, Witchcraft is about influencing the world and universe around you. It can be done without any special tools, (in my opinion!) any tools can be substituted for any others with the proper intention, and it doesn’t require any tools at all. Prayer in any form in “standard” religions is a form of Witchcraft in and of itself — one’s petitioning to his/her/their deity in a prescribed (i.e., ritualistic) way is an attempt to alter/influence some situation. (Which, in my personal opinion, is the definition of Witchcraft)

My personal perspective and practice is to try to live my life as a prayer for the Universe/Divine. I strive to make every action I perform (magickal or mundane) a petition to the Universe to live in a way that leads to my higher food and the higher good of everything around me. If that means using a magenta birthday candle instead of a black chime candle to absorb negativity, then that’s what needs to be done in the moment :relaxed:

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This is probably blasphemous to some in the Craft, goes against the opinion of most people, and I’m hesitant to admit this but I’ve also reused candles for completely different, unrelated workings :see_no_evil: I try to use one candle per spell, but I hate being wasteful, and I also believe that it’s important to keep the environment in mind. Mass produced candles (anything, really) are more likely to be produced in ways that are more likely to contribute to environmental and human suffering, so I try to use them as efficiently as I possibly can to limit my negative impact.

When I use candles that come in containers, I try to get them in containers that can be reused in some way, and if not reused then easily recycled.

When I reuse a candle for a different purpose, I cleanse it before recharging it with my intentions for its new purpose. I typically set it on a pile of salt, then use one or two other cleansing methods on it before I put my intentions in it and reuse it.

Again, that’s just my personal opinion I use in my practice, and it’s contrary to what most believe, but I figured I’d share it as yet another perspective on things :sweat_smile:

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I’d say use what you got! It’s the intention that matters.

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Standing Ovation!! :clap: :clap: :clap:

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I use these. They are perfect for what I need and I feel like it’s an affordable price :slight_smile: Gotta love amazon
Spell Candles on Amazon

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Well, all of the above. Intention is primary, however I use different kinds of candles. There’s something about candles that makes a difference for me. Some I get from the dollar store. Sometimes for quick rituals I use birthday candles. Amazon and Walmart.com are useful sources, especially for bulk consume-able items, just make sure you cleanse whatever you bring in to your home. I’m trying to identify sources for different sizes and colors, and then keep my eyes open. I’d rather not wait until I run out.

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I don’t use chime candles. I kept accidentally setting stuff on fire. I switched to jar candles I get from the dollar store or tea candles in holders. I re-use them all the time.


A jar candle costs me about a dollar and they’re harder to knock over. Plus I can paint them! Sometimes I use birthday candles in a pinch or votives or tapers. Much safer for me!

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Thanks it sure does. While the spell candles are cute so is the price lol, and have so many nice bigger candles here that i could use. x

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Thanks for replying. I agree it is the intention behind what we do that is the most important. Remember we are the one with the power not the items we use, they are just there to assist us with directing that magick…

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To be honest i have thrown out a candle before but felt worse about throwing a barely used candle out than reusing one, so after that i just reuse them. We are all about nature and caring for it so reusing items is apart of that

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Agreed great post :blush:

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i am the same i still have my new burnt pentacle cloth in the middle of my altar with 2 crispy holes… I ended up buying tealight candle holders… Safety first

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I found some candles in mason jars. Once I used the candle, I clean the jar and use the jar for my herbs and dried flowers.

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Exactly :slight_smile: That’s what I was trying to get at, but couldn’t come up with that eloquent of a wording of it :sweat_smile: I’m going to bookmark your quote to keep coming back to it and rereading it — I’ve been trying to read more witchy books, and most of them put SO MUCH emphasis on using all these tools, which makes me feel guilty for not resonating with the use of lots of fancy tools :see_no_evil:

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Yes you can. The power is in the witch.

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This reply may have statements that some might find offensive. They are my ideas and mine only. No offense meant.

Wade, I think it was Ben Franklyn who wrote, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
To bury perfectly good candles is wasteful. I don’t know about you, but I’m not made of money (darn it!). Not only is the reuse of candles better for the environment, but the reuse of the wax in making candles is a good idea.
To the fundamental witch, I fear this may skate the line of ‘heresy’.

Garnet

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I completely agree! :slight_smile: I’ve also always viewed using partially-used spell candles to melt down and make an altar candle as practical in both the mundane and magickal sense. Not only does it help save money and reduce waste, but (in my opinion based on how I practice my Craft) it also makes very powerful altar candles for several reasons:

It shows the Divine/Universe/Spirits/Nautre/whoever one works with that you care about the health of the universe.

It stands in solidarity with, and shares power with, those who are in positions in which one can’t afford new candles. Recognition of the fact that some people literally can’t afford to use new candles every time interacts with and amplifies the energy of the intentions behind the workings of those who can’t afford new candles for every working.

Continuing to use the wax from previously used spell candles as a general purpose altar candle continues to allow their energies/intentions to be released as the altar “Frankencandle” is burned.

Again, these are my personal beliefs and practices, but I know most people don’t like reusing previously-used spell candles :sweat_smile:

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What’s a Frankencandle? It sure sounds like I ought to have one!

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