type of candles

[Elaira]

what kind of candles do u have to have for spellcasting? i've serached sites and they all say diffrerent things. :geez: can u minimum the types of candles and stick to maybe 1 or 2 candles only? :RuNew:

[indigo rain]

all of them say different things because there's no specific kind that you have to use. experiment, find out what works for you. take color and purpose into consideration. if you want to do a long spell get a big candle that will last, if you want to do a short spell, a votive works nicely. just kinda use common sense and through practice, you'll find out what works best for you personally, as it's different for everyone.

[Ben Gruagach]

It's usually best to work out the correspondences that seem to make most sense to you, that feel right, and then work with that. For instance, how do you feel about beeswax candles? Do you think of any particular moods, emotions, events, activities related to those things? What about the shape of the candle? Does a particular candle shape seem more "soft" or "hard" to you, "drawing in" or "pushing away"? What about colours? Scents?

Some people use dozens and dozens of candles in a specific spell, while others might use a single candle. If you can think of a reason why you might want to do something, or if you feel one way "feels better" for a specific spell than another way, then that is how you should probably do it.

What works for one person doesn't neccesarily work the same for anyone else. There are often some generalities and reasons that make sense for most people, but there are frequently differences.

[Elaira]

so u can have 1 or 2 candles, of ur own perference, to make a simple dedication ritual or other spells? ok i get it now.....thanks for ur help guys!!

[Ben Gruagach]

so u can have 1 or 2 candles, of ur own perference, to make a simple dedication ritual or other spells? ok i get it now.....thanks for ur help guys!!

The important thing is that it has to make sense to you, you have to feel there is a reason to include it. If you're including something "just because" then I'd question whether it should be included at all. Unless that "just because" is just because you have a gut feeling that it's important to include, even though you can't explain why... then I'd say include it.

Rituals or spells filled with objects, words, and gestures that don't mean anything to you aren't very likely to be effective for you. When you do a ritual or spell every part of it, every scent, sight, sound, taste, and touch should be included for a reason which makes sense to you, and goes together in a way that makes sense to you.

You could study someone else's list of correspondences and meanings for things, memorize them and make them part of your worldview. Or you could figure them out for yourself, figure out why things "go together" for you, and you'd be just as effective. Both ways require a lot of work though.

But then doing magick, or following a spiritual path, is not likely ever an easy thing to do. (Maybe it is for some people, but I think for the vast majority of people it is a lot of hard work.)

[Demeter]

so u can have 1 or 2 candles, of ur own perference, to make a simple dedication ritual or other spells? ok i get it now.....thanks for ur help guys!!

For ritual work such as celebrating sabbats, esbats, using as quarter markers, whatever, I use tealights. You can get huge bags of them for cheap. Then I have a gazillion different kinds of tealight holders to use depending on my mood, the season, the purpose of the spell etc.! It's fun!

Another choice is white votives, again having fun switching out the holders. Same with tapers - you can get holiday tapers for altar candles.

For spell work, I like seven-day pullout candles. You can carve them, anoint them, even paint on them with that wax paint you can get in craft stores to make really interesting colored designs. After the wax paint hardens, pop it back in the jar and go! I also like using colored votives. I'll go shop for candles as needed; I don't keep a large supply at home.
I do keep a bag of tealights, some white votives, and some white tapers around. Those are all-purpose and suffice for anything if I don't have time to go shopping. Plus they come in handy during power outages.