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The Llewellyn Encyclopedia

Term: candle magic

DEFINITIONS

Candle Magic: “The use of candles in magic dates back many centuries, but the specific system of magic in which colored, anointed candles are the primary tools is a relatively recent innovation, developed in the nineteenth century out of Catholic devotional practices using candles of various kinds. The southern United States, with its rich heritage of hoodoo magic and African tradition, seems to be the homeland of candle magic, with New Orleans probably the original place of invention.

“The basic practices of candle magic involve a detailed color symbolism in which red candles represent sexual desire, green stand for money, white for spirituality and healing, black for cursing and banishing, and so forth. Candles used in magic are “dressed” or anointed with specific oils, which are typically rubbed onto the candle from the middle out to both ends. A candle magic working may simply involve lighting one or more candles and reciting a charm while it burns; it may also involve rearranging candles on an altar to represent the rearrangement in the world that the working is intended to bring about.

“Originally, candle magic was mostly practiced among Southern folk magicians of various kinds, but in recent decades it has spread far more widely. Many Witches and Pagans in the current Pagan revival movements make use of it, as do a great many occultists who simply picked up a book on the subject and found it to their liking.”
source: The New Encyclopedia of the Occult, by John Michael Greer


ARTICLES

Let the rituals be rightly performed with joy and beauty
In the G∴B∴G∴ this phrase is spoken as the opening of your ritual from the center of the Circle. It has the power of similar phrases like "Man your Stations" and "Let the Games Begin!" Note there are three admonitions—that ...
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The Zodiac Tarot Review
Summary: A unique deck that can aid in understanding astrology basics and the correspondences between the Tarot cards and astrology as made by the Golden Dawn. Also great for psychologically oriented readings. Name of deck: Zodiac Tarot Publisher: ...
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Who Were the Druids?
To mention the word Druid is to evoke images of ancient wizards and wonder-workers from old Irish sagas, Welsh legends, Caesar’s Gallic Wars and Scottish folktales. If you have read about the Druids, you’ve probably retained one of their many images ...
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Postures and Movements—East and West
“Postures” generally refer to Eastern yogic postures along with controlled breathing, and our familiar Western postures of standing and sitting. In addition, postures involve intentional movement—even if just sitting with grace and ...
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The Path of the Shaman Then and Now
I recently heard a wonderfully simple definition of the word shaman. It was: "A shaman is one who helps people in their dealings with the other worlds." These other worlds are the realms above, beyond, and deep within the experiences of our lives. ...
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The Contemplative Tarot Review
Summary: The Contemplative Tarot is designed for meditation, for self-discovery, and for self-improvement. It is suitable for beginners and advanced tarot users if the user desires a tool for reflection not for learning traditional tarot usage, that ...
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Seeing and Believing
As Claude M. Bristol puts it in his famous book The Magic of Believing, "The person with a clear goal, a clear picture of his desire, or an ideal always before him, causes it, through repetition, to be buried deeply in his subconscious mind and is ...
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Lunar Trance
This was part of the curriculum of the G∴B∴G∴, and could be said to be more of a deliberate attitude than a traditional trance. The word "trance" is not used in the sense of a condition where a person is in a near complete ...
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Geomancy
Primarily, Geomancy is divination by means of randomly made dots in sand. Also by studying cracks made in dried mud, and by the noises and movements of the earth in areas prone to earth changes. Israel Regardie wrote in his Practical Guide to ...
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Review of Gothic Tarot of Vampires
Summary: Although this deck will obviously appeal to those who are interested in vampire culture, Interview with the Vampire, the Twilight series of books and the TV show True Blood, people uninterested in that mythos shouldn’t dismiss this deck ...
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The Fairy Ring Oracle Review
Summary: An oracle deck (not a Tarot) with photorealistic (and surrealistic) art that crosses the boundaries between our physical world and the spiritual world of the fairy. It’s ideal for learning about the classical myths of fairies and various ...
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This article is about the nodal axis from the perspective of evolutionary astrology. A central teaching within Evolutionary Astrology is that the Soul contains within it two antithetical, yet co-equal, desires: one to return to source, and one to separate away. Evolution occurs as the Soul progressively purges and exhausts separating desires from... read this article
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The Final Secrets of Enochian Magick
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