As the element of transformation, fire is a powerful tool for spell-work. Candle spells are a great, controlled way to harness that power for your magick! Candle magick is simple, effective, affordable and flexible. It's great for the beginner witch to start getting comfortable with spells, but is also still used by the experienced witch after honing their skills in their practice. There are many different ways to practice candle magick, but in this post we're going to cover dressing spell candles.

If you're more of a visual learner, I have a video on this same subject! If you prefer reading, just scroll on below to get to dressing!

Disclosure: some links in the post below are affiliate links. Click here for full disclosure.

Choose Your Candle

You can pick from a variety of colors and candle styles based on your needs. Sometimes I'll make the candles myself so that it only holds my energy from start to finish, but I'm known as the "lazy witch" for a reason, so I most often choose white chime candles. Different color candles can attract or banish different things, but white candles are like an all-purpose candle color for magick.

These are the chime/spell candles that I normally use: https://amzn.to/2We70i7

Cleanse Your Candle

Unless you made the candle yourself, your candle has been in contact with a lot of energies between being made and getting to you. The people that made and shipped the candle, being handled by other prospective buyers or the delivery people. Even though it's brand new, you'll still want to cleanse it out using your preferred cleansing method! If you don't have a preferred method, here are a few really quick ways you could cleanse it:

Rinse it with spring, river, ocean or moon water
Smoke-cleanse it with incense or burning herbs
Ring a bell around it
The "knocking" method (literally just trying to KNOCK the energy out of it. Careful not to break your candle)

Carve Your Candle (optional)

If you'd like, you can carve symbols, sigils, or words into your candle to further define your spells intention. I usually just use a toothpick, but if you'd prefer you can get carving tools for more precise carving.

Anoint Your Candle

The next step is to anoint your candle with an anointing oil. You can make or buy oils specifically for anointing, but you can also just use olive oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil, etc.

The key here is HOW you anoint your candle. There are different methods out there but the one that resonated most with me is to think of the wick/flame as myself. Get a little of your selected anointing oil on your fingers and point the wick towards you.

If your spell is to bring something in, you'll rub the oil onto the candle drawing up from the base toward the wick and yourself, pulling your intended desire toward you. For jar or tealight candles, instead you'll rub the oil clockwise around the wick.

If the spell is to send something away, you'll rub the oil onto the candle pulling from the wick down to the base and away from you, pulling the thing that you do not want away from you. For jar or tealight candles, instead you'll rub the oil counter-clockwise around the wick.

Dress Your Candle with Herbs/Spices/Flowers

Next, you are going to complete dressing your spell candle. Find herbs, spices or flowers that carry the magickal attribute that you desire. For just a few examples, you could use lavender for peace, rose for love, or basil for abundance. You don't need to select many. Follow your intuition (and your budget). It's great if you can make a mixture specifically for your intention, but if you only have one on hand, one will work!

Crumble your herb(s) with your fingers or use a mortar and pestle. The more sand/dust-like it is, the better it will stick to your candle. Keep an eye on larger chunks as they may light up and burn when you are using candle! That's normal, just make sure it's on a firesafe surface and has nothing too close to it that could catch on fire.

Your Spell Candle is Ready!

I hope you enjoy dressing your spell candle! In the next part of this mini-series (coming very soon) I'll cover tips on what to do while burning your spell candle and casting your spell.

Happy magick-making and blessed be!

Candle Magick: Dressing a Spell Candle