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Discussion
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Hello everyone! I was wondering if and how electrical candles work in witchcraft. I was thinking that you would set your intentions into the candle and turn it it for a certain amount of time before turning it off. Then cleanse it for later use. Although, that’s just a theory.
I would love to know your experiences and what I should do, thank you!
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Electric candles for witchcraft, do they work?
updated 2 years, 10 months ago
2 Members
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There are like two views on stuff like this so I keep them separate.
1) its all about symbolism, theoretically you can draw the candle on piece of paper and you are good to go. Since its just a symbol.
2) its all about energy. Flame will be there as one of main elements and its energy will strenghten your ritual.
In the end, whatever works for you I guess. For me it would be NONO coz I like to turn off all electronic before I go in.
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I’ve never had an issue doing it. I live an apartment and am also really paranoid about burning the whole place down so I would rather use an electric if a spell requires me to keep the candle lit for a long time (for example, a whole day/night). You can also find some colored ones around holidays and online. Like anything just give a good cleansing after use. Hope that helps.
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I think we should never forget practicality when we approach witchcraft. Just because we try to reconstruct what people way before us did, doesn’t mean *they* wouldn’t do things differently than they did if they had our possibilities.
Also, speaking against candles from a general point of view (you can see things for your own practice differently of course, just talking about general here) feels very one-sided because some may just not be able to use normal candles. Or are too afraid to use normal candles because fire is always a risk. Or you simply cannot watch over it for the entirety it should burn. Or you simply dislike normal candles. Or whatever the fuck your reason is.
What I want to say is: Witchcraft is pretty personal and ever-expanding. Look for yourself whether you would feel weird about “reusing” the same candle.
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I use them for long term spells as you can leave them on while away without having to worry about burning your house down, you just have to consider that the energy from the battery and the light is what is being offered or used rather than the flame or wax. If I am doing a shorter spell I would just use a flame candle or offer up some herbs if you can’t burn anything.
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In my opinion it would work the same, since I view witchcraft and spellcasting as using symbols of something to invite its energy in. For example, I cast spells primarily with tarot cards and sigils. I don’t seen why using an electric candle as a symbol of fire energy would be any different
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To me, it does technically have a flame in it and therefore the same fire energy as a candle. It’s just protected by glass. Which is a win-win for safety in an apartment. Plus, I don’t like using candles because smoke isn’t good for your lungs (and I have birds so I can’t have smoke anyway).
I believe it’s the intention that matters in the end. Although I do feel it’s even more witchy in a way. Like, it’s a glass container cleverly filled with rare materials (gas and “wick”) that burn like an eternal flame… sounds like something a witch would invent, lol. To me, science is witchy, and I get Steampunk Witch vibes from bulbs.
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In my experience, they work. As a techno witch, this kind of stuff makes up a good amount of my craft, and my spells work amazingly.
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When it comes to making substitutes, it’s impossible to give you effective suggestions because we don’t know what ritual you’re planning to do.
Witchery is a lot like cooking: what you can substitute an ingredient with depends on what the ingredient is doing in the recipe. If you’re making beef-stuffed tomatoes, substituting the tomato with a bellpepper will work out because the tomato is just there to hold the rest of the ingredients; but you couldn’t replace the tomatoes in ratatouille with bellpeppers because the tomato is required for a chemical reaction that ensures the slices of veggies get glued together. In both cases, the tomato holds the ingredients together, but does them through different means for each case.
The same applies to witchcraft. You gotta figure out what exactly the candle is doing in the spell and then think of substitutes. And *really* think about it. Is the candle being incorporated as a phallic symbol of power? In that case, a knife might work as a substitute. Is the candle there for the light it sheds? Depending on the ritual, you may be able to substitute the candle for the sun itself, and so and so forth. Just blindly swapping it out will give you very sloppy ratatouille.
Hope this helps!
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I do like the energy side of candles but I live with someone who has a touch of pyrophobia. So it’s the fake candles it is!
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I use them because I’m very sensitive to smoke and paranoid about burning my home down lol
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Our ancestors used what the heck ever was around and we should too. Like, maybe if your ENTIRE practice is extremely extremely nature heavy it might feel incongruous to you and therefore not work, but in pretty much any other circumstance: yes, they work.
Not so much these days, but in ye olde times before the plague, I did a lot of my witchcraft on the move and staying in hotels, etc–places where you’re better off not burning candles, and certainly places where you shouldn’t just LEAVE your candles on while you go to a meeting or whatever. LED candles have been life savers. Theoretically you could flat out do witchcraft on a plane, right, with your lil LED tea light on top of a sigil, while your lap tray thing is open…there’s applications where LEDs are gonna work when flame won’t.
I’m not one of those people who thinks everything is intent, but yeah, the electric candles WORK and I’m not interested in questioning why/how.
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I definitely think intention is a big part of making witchcraft work but I also think one of the important parts is the candle burning out on its own, almost like the spell is completed when its supposed to. I think setting it for a certain amount of time may effect the strength of the spell. If you wanted to do this, have a secondary source of magic, maybe a charm or even a special herb like basil or thyme that resonates with the spell or manifestation you are working on.
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If it’s a representation of fire you want I’ve heard people using candles unlit, or spices or plants associated with the fire element (cinnamon for example). It’s symbolic as others have said; even I sometimes use sun charged water or sun affiliated crystals if I’m out of candles/away travelling
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You can also buy very small candles, if you need real fire.
