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Our editor was inspired by a thread on a news-group she belongs to, concerning candle-magic. This piece just flowed out of her pen. Perhaps it will inspire you to take up the craft of candle-making! This piece also keys in with the new style Honest Shopping page. |
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| Fire has been part of human religious practice throughout time. The Greek myth of how Prometheus stole fire from the Gods is just one of the age-old stories of how fire came into the possession of early mankind. Zoroastrianism keeps an eternal flame burning. A legend among the Polynesian Cook Islanders of the South Pacific describes the descent of the culture hero Maui to the underworld, where he learned the art of making fire by rubbing two sticks together. The Native American tribes, and the tribes of West Africa, paid homage to ancestral fire spirits. The Aztec of Mexico acknowledged in their worship the fire god Xiuheuctli, who resembled their sun god. Among the early Hindus, sacrifice to the fire was one of the first acts of morning devotion, and the hymns addressed to the fire god Agni outnumbered those in praise of any other divinity. A belief common to all these cultures is that of fire being a purifying medium, and a way through which one could gain enlightenment. When I was a little girl I was taken to many Cathedrals throughout Europe, not to commune with Christ, but because my father was an architect and wanted to view the glories man had created in the name of God for over two thousand years. Inside their cavernous interiors I was always moved to locate the metal candle holders at each individual ‘altar’, and when I had worked out the one with the least candles, I would bother my parents for a few coins. I would then light the candle purchased with them and put it on one of the metal spikes. I did not pray to the saint concerned – I just wanted to add a candle to burn brightly, like all the others. Was this an act of dedication? I do not think so. So why do I mention it here? It illustrates how children see flame, and as we are closer to our subconscious selves in childhood, how we bring that imperative for light and fire through to the practice of magic. So, as you can see, fire worship is in our blood and bone. It keeps the dark and cold at bay. I am lucky in that I can light a real fire in my hearth at home, and watch the fire lick the wood and coal on a dark winter's evening. How much that fire must have meant to our cave-living ancestors! We bring that in-built worship of warmth and light into our personal worship in some form or other. For those of us that practice magic, fire becomes a major part of it as one of the four ancient elements of creation - earth, air, fire & water. So how can we have a symbolic fire in our homes? The easiest way is by using a candle. There has developed a whole sub-division of magic using candles as an expression of this.
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Candle magic and HooDooLast issue, I discovered HooDoo so I thought I would see if candle magic had its place within it. I discovered that most HooDoo practitioners, like other folk magicians, burn candles for magical effect, spell-casting, and as an adjunct to prayer. Also that candle burning in the African-American HooDoo tradition has undergone considerable evolution during the 20th century with the ease of availability of materials.
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| In the 1942 a book by Henri Gamache, “Master Book of Candle-Burning," was published and has been the greatest influence in candle burning magic within HooDoo. It is still carried today by all the major mail-order spiritual supply catalogues. Chapters include information on how to select candles, anoint them, arrange them on an altar, and engage in what the author quaintly refers to as "fire worship." Gamache presents the reader with a garland of anthropological titbits about folk-magical practices from Canada, Europe, Africa, and the Malayan Peninsula, making this book a fascinating document indeed. Not much is known about Gamache's personal life, but he seems to have been a man of mixed race, possibly born in the Caribbean, who lived and worked in New York City. Most of his books remain in print to this day. He brought together magical influences from a variety of magical disciplines including Christian, Kabbalist, and Spiritualist magic, and mixed in all with folk lore. He ended up developing a unique Creole combination of HooDoo. Perhaps it is too strong to say that his work on the use of candles in magic that has infiltrated the Wiccan scene, but his book has been very influential throughout North America, according to the writers on the history of HooDoo at www.luckymojo.com, an excellent web site on HooDoo.
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Candle magic in WiccaCandles have become part of sympathetic magical practices. And, in turn, they have become merged with aspects of astrology, aromatherapy, herbology, and even auric colour theory. Humans love to make meaningful patterns out of everything! Are all these aspects required, or are they just a means of fixing ones will upon an object and that aids, in turn, ‘meditation’ and the concentration of will – a cyclical argument. The principles of ‘sympathetic magic’ of Sir James George Frazer, explicated in his The Golden Bough (third edition, 1911-1915). These principles include the "law of similarity" and the "law of contact" or "contagion." These are systematized versions of the manipulation of symbols. Frazer defined them this way:(2)
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Make or buy?Most modern Wiccan writers agree that a candle for candle magic is more potent if the practitioner makes it, adding colour, herbs, and essences to it. It imbues the candle with the will of the working, whatever that is. As candle-making is also a simple and easy hobby to develop, the desire to make a candle for magic can become a thing of beauty, as well as a tool to express the magic-makers will. Many of us have experienced the use of candles for meditation purposes. Is candle magic an extension of that? I suspect that it is. If you have made a candle, adding herbs, aromas and colour related to your desire, and then creating the ambience to aid meditation upon your desire; then the act of lighting the candle, dedicating it to your will and then watching it burn – leaving it to go out in its own time – should work in terms of sympathetic magic. If it does not, then one has the get-out that one's will was not strong enough, or the Gods or Goddess invoked were not on your side. But in real terms you have expressed your need and that can become enough of a release in itself. ConclusionDoes candle magic work? Can it be proven to work? In the end these two questions can only be answered on a personal level. Like most magical, mystical and paranormal experiences, if we could replicate them each time by the same method than we could prove their validity to science, but we cannot. Sometimes they will work, and sometimes they will not. I will always enjoy lighting a candle for my altar. I will always enjoy watching a big candle burn by my fire-side. Will I make candles for magic-making purposes? Probably not, not because I do not think it will work, but because I think it could. Sympathetic magic is the bases of many magical practices and Candle magic uses it as a fundamental principle. It helps hone the act of placing your will upon a single purpose – it is the will that works. A certain amount of restricting the mind to some imagined object (or will), according to Aleister Crowley, produces mystical attainment or "an occurrence in the brain characterized essentially by the uniting of subject and object." (Book Four, Part 1: Mysticism). Magic seeks to aid concentration by constantly recalling the attention to the chosen object (or Will), thereby producing said attainment. I just do not want to have the responsibility for having my ‘will’ change what fate has decried will happen. Would I use Candle magic if I know someone had used magic against me? I do not know, and I hope I never will have to make that choice. |
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© 2005, Judy FarncombeTo visit Judy's own web site please acces the links page |
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Footnotes:(1) Quote from http://www.luckymojo.com/candlemagic.html |
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Need a good book to read on Wiccan related subjects? Here is a selection of interesting items for you to choose from - reviewed by Grey Cat, one of our resident writers, and our editor. |
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Devoted to You: Honoring Deity In Wiccan
Practice
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I have long believed that there is an inborn need in many people to believe in deity, to participate, preferably with others, in some formal expression of this “religious” impulse. I hadn’t actually expected to find scientists confirming this idea but in recent years they have postulated exactly that and provided the beginnings of formal proof. Even before the search for the “religious gene” began, there was statistical support showing that prayer or other forms of spiritual healing correlated closely to degree of recovery. “Science” has moved from considering religious belief a near-psychotic aberration to recognizing it’s power in individual lives and society. It may not be obvious to many, but what’s enough religion for one person is certain to be too much or too little for another. Each person makes the decision regarding just how much time and energy they feel the need to devote to it. The decision has little to do with the specifics of the individuals religion but rather on the focus of each person. Devoted To You is primarily written for those who choose to make religion a major part of their lives and schedule although anyone with a specific identification with a particular deity may find it of use. Complete with meditations and Wiccan-style rituals, this book is a goldmine of ideas.
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The Veil’s Edge
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Willow opens the book with the warning that it is written specifically for people with both solid training and some years of actual experience. She repeats her warning and I certainly agree that no beginner should even consider casually trying out any of the things discussed. I realize that everyone hates to be told, “wait till you’re older, dear” but there were probably was a good reason then and there certainly are good reasons in this case. Does magic really work? A lot of people have and do think so. Is magic magic? Quite a lot of it can be explained, discussed and dissected—which doesn’t necessarily destroy the wonder. At some point many of us realize that the herbs, the wands and sacred knives aren’t the magic—the magic is in ourselves and our minds and bell, book and candle simply aren’t all there is to it. The Veil’s Edge helps you get into that beyond and understand it.
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What’s Your Wiccan IQ?
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| Not only is this book a teaching aid and a useful yardstick against which to judge your own knowledge or that of your students, it can also be used to build community and to help train our leaders to understand the difference between discussion and argument. Combine a dozen or so community leaders, some really good munchies and the book and you have an evening that may well lead to better understanding among different Pagan groups and can allow those of different paths to interact on a personal level without all the business of public events. At worst it will discover those individuals who cannot discuss or tolerate any deviation from their opinions.
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West country Wicca: A journal of the Old religion
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The book recounts her experience of following the old ways long before Gerald Gardner created modern witchcraft. It lays out folk traditions that survived a thousand years of Christianity, hidden in Devon country practices, yet still holding the Goddess and God to the heart of them. In her words: “We lived on the Devon/Somerset border and although the system in general may be peculiar to that area, study in later years made me believe that some of their customs were quite widespread. The winter rituals in particular have some practices which have popped up in various part [sic] of England.” She explains the duality of the God and Goddess as expressed in the practices this ancient form of witchcraft well. For them the year was cut into two, “the Goddess ruled from March 25th to October 31st, and the God for the other half of the year.” She goes on to explain that the rational for this was that the Goddess slept during the winter months and then awoke in spring. In Britain the winter months in rural areas can be harsh, farming livestock may be slaughtered, the prevalence of hunting takes place; in her words – they can be “harsh and masculine” – hence the God rules. As she puts it; “in olden times people could not feed all their stock during the bitter winters and, in some years, were forced to slaughter all but the breeding stock. Rather than just wantonly take life, this was viewed instead as religious sacrifice and who but the God would accept such an offering?” In the same chapter she goes on to say: “to the old countryman … the real ‘world’ … [was] …concerned with planting and growing, each in its proper time and place. In this way, the balance in all life was maintained.” The book goes on to describe the rituals, the festivals, miscellaneous Devonshire folklore, remedies and divination. Although there is some divergence from modern Wiccan teachings [the festivals celebrated being one of the differences that the author highlights]. You can learn how to make herbal remedies for ailments such as asthma and varicose veins; you can learn how to make face masks, skin tonics and herbal baths. She gives recipes for mead, Sabbat cake, and wine from hedgerow fruits. I believe this charming little book would make an excellent primer for teenagers wishing to explore witchcraft. It is also useful as it opens up a window into the history of witchcraft in Britain. I wish to extend my thanks to Ms Ryall for putting her knowledge, and in the context of its origins, down on paper. Without her this small piece would probably have been lost as country traditions die out. |
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© 2005, Grey Cat & Judy FarncombeTo visit both writers web sites please access the Links page |
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Links & Special events:UK based events |
Beltane Bash, London, UK
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16 June 2005
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18 June 2005
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2 July 2005
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North American & world events |
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West
country Wicca - UK
