A few days ago we talked about some of the ins and outs of candle dressing.  And yes, I did equate oils and herbs to turkey gravy. But today we’re going to make another food reference and talk about charging your candles by way of marinading them since we’re basically going to be looking at ways to let your candle soak up energy for your work before dressing and using them.  This is an interesting way to do prepare your candles that I learned some time ago and have been using for years.    I have found it to be a great way to work with your candles, especially if you’re not sure that your own personal energy and visualization is either enough or if you just happen to be the kind of person that wants to add as many layers of energy as you can to your magic.

Some people have problems with charging candles through energy, visualization, and light alone.  When you’re new to magic and working with this sort of thing I can completely understand that.  That’s one reason that I’ve started to teach these techniques to those new to the magical work who want to use candle magic to start because they perceive it as easy and less intimidating than other forms of magic.  And this is certainly true!  We’ve all worked candle magic earlier in our lives as children even though we didn’t really know that was what we were doing.  Think about it; ever make a wish and blow out a candle on a birthday cake?  Voila!  Your first foray into candle magic!

Charging your candles before doing your work is very important.  Many people have this idea that the tools and implements we use in spells and magic are in and of themselves magical.  Whether a candle is sold as a “magical spell candle” or it’s just a taper candle that you picked up at Target you need to put the intention and the real magical energy into that candle, that tool, in order to get it to work right for you.  This energy comes from within you.  This energy is your desire, your intention, and your personal essence and drive which manifest things into reality.  Without this energy infused into your candle you’re likely to see weak results.

While your own energy is the most important energy that needs to be added to anything being used in magical work, we also add layers of energy with other ingredients.  Together this “charges” the candle with energy and intention and turns a simple candle into a vehicle for delivering powerful manifestions.  There are different ways to do that and here we’ll look at several methods.

There are four specific ways that we can charge a candle:

1. Oils
2. Herbs
3. Crystals
4. Light

Oils
We partially covered this in the previous article on candle dressing but there is another way to do this too.  The process of rubbing the oils into the candle certainly adds to the energy of the candle, but another way to work with the oil is to pour a fair amount over the candle and allow it to sit for several hours before rubbing the oil into the wax.  This is actually a great way to add oil to candles that are made of materials like beeswax; beeswax candles start off soft and can get even softer when heat from your hands and oil are added to the mix.  By pouring oil onto the wax and letting it sit you’ll give the candle a chance to marinade in the properties of the oil and absorb some of its energy while also literally absorbing into the material of the candle.  Then you can rub the rest of the oil into your candle with gentle but intentioned motions.

Herbs
This method is one of my favorites, especially when it comes to candles that will be used in healing work.  For this you will need either a single herb or a combination of corresponding herbs.  I like to use the same herbs for this that I will use to dress the candle with later.  I also like this one because it’s a simple process but can pack a punch.  Take your herbs and charge them as you normally would (if you don’t have a method for doing this simply hold them in your hand and visualize them glowing with white light and then gently blow on them to wake up the spirit of the plant while also infusing the herb with your essence).   Next place the herbs inside a large Mason jar.  The jar needs to be big enough for the candle to be inside it with the lid closed.  Once your herbs are in add your candle.  Close the top and give it a good but gentle shake.  If you want to use any powdered herbs or spell powders in your candle work you can use them the same way here.  You’re going to leave this jar on your altar, workspace, or other safe area where others wont disturbe it for two days, so you need to prepare this ahead of time and time your magic accordingly.  Each day spend a little time with the jar visualizing your spell and intent while giving it a little shake. When you’re ready to do your spellwork, take out the candle and use those herbs in the jar to dress your candle, or, if you’re not planning to use herbs in the candle dressing, you can use them in other ways in your spell as you see fit.

Crystals
This is another pretty straight forward way to add energy to your candle.  Crystals and candles make great magical partners.  This involves creating a small crystal layout with five stones in the shape of a pentacle or five pointed star.  What you’ll need for this are 5 stones that correspond to your intent (ideally they should all be the same type of stone but use what you feel drawn to use).  You’ll also need your candle and you’ll need a place where you have this layout left undisturbed for 1 week.  This one takes the longest so be sure to plan ahead.  Lay or stand your candle on your altar or work surface and place your crystals around it in the shape of a pentacle.   The order in which you lay your stones is up to you.  You might want to place them in the manner of drawing an invoking pentagram.  You might want to start with a specific element and lay them out in the manner of an elemental pentagram or you can just start at the top and work your way around.  Again, do what you feel is right for your purpose or what you’re comfortable with.  When the week is up and the time comes to use your candle, pick up the stones and either work them into your spell or cleanse them so you can use them again for another purpose.

Light
We talked a bit about this in the candle dressing post, but I’ll review it briefly here.  This is a method of using meditation to charge your candle.  Hold your candle with both hands.  Close your eyes and visualize your intent and give it a color, for example red for passion, pink for love, green for healing, etc.  If you’re not sure what color to use you can use the same color as your candle.  As you hold the candle and visualize the light see it growing around your heart chakra.  Then draw it up through to your chest to your shoulders and then down your arms through your palm chakras in your hands and feel it go into the candle. You may feel the candle start to hum in your hand or, through your mind’s eye, you may see the candle full with colored light and begin to glow.  You’ll know when the time is right to stop.  When you’re done you’re ready to move on to dressing!

Visualized colored light can also be a wonderful way to add a specific energy to your candle when you don’t have the colored candle you would have liked to use for your spell.  For example if you need to do a healing spell right away but don’t have any green or blue candles but you have a white candle you can use the white but then use green or blue light to charge it.  Keeping a small stock of white candles on hand is a good idea because white can be used for any intention and then infused with light of whatever color you need using this method.

Any of these four methods will work well and do the job to charge up any candle to make it ready for your magic.  Try all of them and find the one that works best for you.  You may find that certain ones work better for certain situations or you may develop a combination that works for you.  Experiment and have fun!