For centuries, candles of all different shapes, colours, and sizes have played an important role in the magickal rituals and spells of countless religions and ancient traditions.
In the world of magick, spell candles serve as powerful beacons for our own magickal energy and can take on various forms depending on the ritual or spell that is being cast and the amount or even type of energy that is required.
There is a great deal of magickal symbolism that can be linked to each candle colour as well as how that candle burns.
There are even specific types of candles or candle colours for specific types of spells and castings. If you would like to learn more about the various candle colour vibrations and their magickal uses, please be sure to check out my beginner’s guide to Candle Colour Magick 101 series!
In today’s article, we will be delving deep into the art of spell candle dressing and discovering ways that you can dress a candle for love!
Contents
What is Candle “Dressing”?
Alright so, you have already determined which specific candle colour, shape, and size is required for your desired spell or magickal outcome and you have taken the time to properly cleanse said spell candle of all lingering or negative energies. Now what?
Well, now your candle wax is what I like to refer to as a “magickal blank slate.”
This simply means that the wax has had all outside influences fully removed and is now ready and waiting for you to charge and empower it with your own magickal energy. In fact, candle wax is an extremely useful tool in most witchcraft, spellwork, and in many other magickal traditions across the globe.
Spell candle wax, in particular, serves to absorb all of the metaphysical energies that flow within and around us, encapsulating them to be released later on once the candle is activated.
Once lit, a spell candle will activate and release all of this stored up energy, amplified by its own colourful vibrations, and intensify the results of whichever spell was cast with it. In this way, we witches are able to utilize spell candles as powerful vessels into which we may pour our own magickal energies and intentions in order to further increase the power of our spells and to better manifest all of our spellbound desires.
When it comes to more advanced magick, however, the act of choosing which sorts of magickal materials and/or oils to dress and prepare your spell candles with tends to become equally as important as the act of choosing a correct spell candle in the first place.
In witchcraft, the art of correctly selecting the most magickally suited spell candles, ingredients, timing, materials, and navigating all of the other various influences whether magickal or mundane, is that which serves to separate the truly powerful from the novice.
This skill, carefully developed and honed over time is also what will determine and overall increase the likelihood that your spellwork or rituals will not only work as you intended but that they will do so quickly and consistently!
To further enhance the intensity or magickal potency of a specific spell or ritual, many learned witches and casters often choose to “dress” or to consecrate and bless their spell candles before beginning to light or work with them.
In essence, the purpose of a witch dressing their spell candle is to forge a powerful link between themselves, their intention, and the spell candle’s wax.
Dressing a spell candle serves to add yet another magickal/vibrational layer to our spells and to increase their power, accuracy, and, in some cases, the speed at which they may manifest our magick.
What Sort Of Ingredients Should I Use?
The magickal act of dressing a spell candle can be adjusted to be as simple or as complex as you personally feel is necessary for your own magickal practice or traditions.
However, I have found that the more magickal materials I use to increase the potency, and the rarer – more natural – my ingredients are the stronger and more powerful my spells will become!
The truly important thing to remember here is quality and intent. The more potent the mix, the more potent the magick!
Witchy Tip:
As I mentioned above, the quality of magickal materials and ingredients is key! Therefore, I feel it is necessary to warn you against the careless or accidental use of fragrance oils in place of pure essential oils when dressing your spell candles or when conjuring magick of any kind.
You see, fragrance oils are not to be confused with nor substituted for essential oils in your spell or ritual castings.
To do so would at best result in a fizzled out spell or, at worst, a dangerous backfire! Yes, these types of oils may seem significantly cheaper or even easier to get your hands on but this is because they are synthetic chemicals with absolutely zero magickal energy or metaphysical value.
Essential oils on the other hand come from plants and natural life. When working with spells or magick rituals we are inevitably working with the forces and essence of nature.
Essential oils carry the magickal properties and vibrational energies of the plants they were produced from making them powerful tools in magick whereas fragrance oils do not hold such powerful energy and are simply cheap chemical imitations.
Here’s how To Dress A Candle For Love
There are countless magickal oil blends and herbal concoctions that can be used to dress a candle for love. That being said, here is a very simple step by step guide for a rather easy candle dressing that you can try on your own at home.
If you mix it correctly and pair it with the right candle and spell, it will serve to draw true love and passion your way…
Step One
To try and find love or to strengthen the love that you already have, with a small carving tool, inscribe a love-based symbol or magickal sigil such as two intertwined love hearts in the wax of a pink or bright red spell candle. Also feel free to carve the name of the person you desire into the candle as well, or perhaps your initials and their initials.
Inscribe your carvings lengthwise along the side of the spell candle, stopping approximately one inch from the candle’s base and wick.
Step Two
After you have properly carved and marked your spell candle, it is time to apply the magickal materials you plan on using to intensify and strengthen your spellwork. These materials may consist of one, or multiple magickal oils, powders, minerals, and/or dried herbs and flowers or any other unique ingredients which magickally correspond to your specific spell or ritual.
For this particular guide, we are going to be using a simple yet powerful mix of both Desire Me Oil and Come To Me Oil. We will also be adding dried rose petals for love and glamour, star anise for luck and warmth, and dried rosemary for protection and purity.
Step Three
There are many different methods and traditions for anointing your spell candle – some more complex than others. For the purpose of this beginner’s guide, I will only be covering two of the more simple methods…
Candle Dressing Method One:
Take your freshly carved spell candle and hold it gently but firmly in your non-dominant hand so that its wick is pointing outward and its base is pointing towards your chest.
Now, with your dominant hand, slowly dip your index finger into the oils and rub it onto the candle starting at the top and slowly moving down in a singular motion from the wick to the base.
Make sure to leave just enough room at the bottom of the candle for you to be able to hold it without it slipping from your grip. Repeat this action, dipping your index finger into the oils and rubbing it gently from the wick to the base until the entire spell candle is covered with oil.
As you are dressing your candle with the oils, visualize the outcome that you desire. Focus your mind entirely on your spell’s purpose as you imbue the candle’s wax with your magickal intent.
Remember, never rub your candle up and down in the same motion – always wipe the oil in the same direction. And always anoint your spell candles with your power or dominant hand.
In this first simple method for candle dressing, we anoint from the wick to the base moving towards our body for spells in which we seek to bring something towards us or to manifest something into our lives.
For spells with which we seek to remove something or banish something from our lives we would do exactly the same except instead of dressing the candle towards ourselves from the wick to the base we would instead dress away from ourselves starting at the base of the candle and moving towards the wick (make sure to avoid getting the oil on the actual wick).
Candle Dressing Method Two:
Many witches and spiritualists believe that you should begin dressing a spell candle at the middle, working from the middle of the candle towards the wick, and then from the middle towards the base of the candle for spells that seek to remove or banish something.
Likewise, they also believe that you should begin from the base and move towards the center and then from the wick to the center for spells which seek to draw something in or to manifest your desires.
Dressing or anointing a spell candle in this way is believed to increase the potency of your spell or prayer by sending it from the center or “heart” of the spell candle itself out into the Universe.
Step Four
Whichever method of candle dressing you choose, remember to keep your energy focused on your desired spell outcome – in this case, you want to focus all of your magickal energy on visualizing the person you desire or if you do not have a specific person in mind try focusing on the qualities you crave in a lover.
Step Five
After you have finished applying the oils and imbuing your spell candle with your intent sprinkle the dried rosemary, dried rose petals, and crushed star anise onto a small plate or dish and gently roll the freshly anointed candle in the mix allowing it to stick to the candle’s body all over.
Each of these love-inspired ingredients will merge with the candle’s wax and oils and lend their unique magickal properties to the power of your love spell.
Step Six
(optional) Allow your dressed spell candle to sit someplace warm where it can be further charged by the energy of the sun until it is time to cast your love spell. The sun’s gentle rays will add additional warmth and cheerful energy to your spell as well as to the love it will manifest!
Bonus Magick:
Some casters like to sprinkle a little bit of glitter on their spell candles during the dressing process. Glitter tends to easily stick to the oily wax and will gather in unique clusters as the candle burns down and the wax melts, sometimes forming shapes or symbols, which experienced witches can then use to gain further insight into the condition or progression of an active spell.
This process adds to the divination aspects of the ritual or spell.
When using glitter, remember to choose a colour appropriate to the task and preferably a biodegradable product that will not harm or interfere with nature. Interpretations are highly personal, and ultimately you should rely on your own intuition to discern the hidden messages formed within your candle wax during your spell.
And, there you have it! A very basic way to dress a candle for love and a few extra witchy tips to help you manifest your deepest desire!
Until Next Time!
Clear Skies & Bright Moons,
Naia Moonbrook
