When burning candles for a spell

So I’m aware of importance of focusing your intentions and energies into the flame of the candle when working candle magic. And for this reason (especially if I have to substitute a white candle for whatever color I am lacking) I make sure to do a meditation before I begin but once the candle is lit I’ll then do another meditation to help me direct my energy to the flame. But for candles such as votives, pillars and tapers which obviously have a longer burn time I wonder is it necessary to focus on the flame non stop or is it fine to check in with it so long as I’m practicing fire safety while burning the candle.


For instance I’m a mom and a dog mom and also a pregnant witch with sometimes very urgent needs to pee :woman_facepalming:t3::rofl: so like for instance if I need to let my four legged children outside to run off the built up energy they get (I’m guessing in part as a result of the energy I put into my spellwork)
(this is Ziggy the tiniest and youngest of my children at the moment :dog2:) or my daughter has witch/homework questions or my tiny inhabitant decides it’s time to tap dance on my bladder can I leave the flame to work it’s magic while I tend to the matters demanding my attention right then or is it necessary to focus on the flame for the entire 4-6 hours of burn time that my candle requires? I’ve had success when stepping away momentarily however it does usually result in short lived success. What are your thoughts/experiences?

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Absolutely not. When I do candle magic, I focus my energy and direct it toward the candle when necessary. Then once I light the candle, the candle already knows what its job is so I don’t have to focus on it anymore. I light it and leave it alone.

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That’s what I do most of the time. But if I notice that my flame is getting smaller or not shining quite as bright I usually focus back on the flame and direct my energy to it to kind of build it back up. I’m not sure if it helps but sometimes it builds back up :woman_shrugging:t3:

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Updating to add this picture. This literally just happened. Kinda scared me a little bit and I have no idea why this just happened because I almost always dress my candles with oils and herbs before lighting them :woman_shrugging:t3:

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It looks like you went overboard with the herbs on the candle! :herb: It’s really nothing unusual, the plant material came in contact with the wick and it caught fire.

Make sure to always have water in hand just in case. Avoid putting anything flammable near your altar, and never leave candles burning unattended! :candle: Safety first! :pray:

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It may also be that the bottle has plastic on the ring. I know bc I drink those cold Starbucks :sweat_smile:.I’d suggest using glass. Please for everyone’s safety!!!

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@christina4 these are glass bottles with metal lids. I took all the plastic off of them and washed them good before using them

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Oh ok. Then maybe it’s what @Francisco mentioned with the herbs. I love personally use like a pinch all I’ve the entire candle. For the oil, just a drop or sometimes two depending on how big the candle is. Anyway the main thing is that you’re safe! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I agree with Francisco on this one. Even though you may always dress your candles with herbs and oils, they’re not always the same and sometimes this can happen. The main thing, as Christina said, is that you’re safe because that can turn bad really fast :fire:

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When I do candle magick, I usually perform the entire spell and then snuff it out (never blowing it out, as I personally believe that ‘blows away the magick’). I then light it for 10 to 20 minutes consecutively each day and repeat other parts of the spell. Sometimes I will leave a candle burning out on its own, in this case I use tealights (which burn for 4 hours) and I usually stay in the room with it but I leave it alone. I was taught that candles are a form of transformation as the wax melts into liquid and disappears; they bring about changes. So the process should not need constant attention once the spell is complete. However if you want to maximize the power, suffocating the flame and relighting it daily at a certain time until the candle burns out completely is a great way to ‘build up energy’ over time.

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I’m learning lots of things quickly, but I still feel like a noob. My first thought was “just use candles that don’t burn as long.”

Then I thought, “Yeah, because no one else ever thought of that.”

Is there an spell advantage to using longer burning candles? Or is it more about the strength and focus of your intention? What sayeth the collected wisdom of our coven?

@phoenix_dawn, I don’t think anyone can focus fully on any intention if they have got to pee! My vote is to cut a door in the circle, if you’re using one, handle whatever you have to handle, and return with a fully focused intention. I don’t think doing the pee-pee dance adds to anyone’s spell efficacy. But who knows? I mean sex magick is a thing. Nevermind, I’m not risking an infection to do pee magick. Seriously, I think a fully focused witch works better magick than a distracted one. Ditto fire safety message for the legal dept, but I think you know this already.

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:laughing: :sweat_smile: :rofl: :joy: Thank you for the visuals. Next time I cast a circle I am not going to be able to take it seriously because I will be laughing about this.

@phoenix_dawn, I agree with Megan’s comment. :slight_smile:

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@praecog29 I’m glad that my #MommyWitchStruggles will bring a sense of lighthearted humor to your circle. Consider it my gift to you Everytime you visualize it while casting your circle I’ll be letting you “tap” into my energy for extra oomph :rofl::rofl::rofl: you’re welcome :tada:

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My first mentor said to always snuff out your candles. to blow it shows disrespect for the candle’s function and to the element you’re working with.
I didn’t question, just snuff it out.

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I’ve heard it both ways: “Always blow them out” (as in a birthday wish) and “never blow them out” (as in, it will cancel the spell). At this point I am convinced it’s a matter of personal style and preference. :wind_face: :candle:

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