Posted by Jacqueline on Jun 2nd, 2009 in Beginners Candle Spells, Special Announcements | Comments Off on Free Candle Spells | Interview with Wizard Candles candlemaker – Pt. 3
This is part three of our interview with Stan Morey, candle maker and owner of Wizardcraft Technologies (www.wizardcandles.com), who gives us insight about the properties of candles, the use of herbs and oils in the candles and the debate of soy vs. paraffin vs. beeswax for candles that are used in candle burning spells FIRST QUESTION: Stan, almost all candles that are burned for magical and spiritual purposes are made from paraffin and since this material is petroleum based and subject to oil price increases and environmental and health issues, could you give us some ideas on the nature of paraffin and some good advice on how to keep safe with using these candles? I would burn the paraffin candle in a fairly large area with lots of air space to dilute the particles that come off the wick in the smoke of the flame. Air movement of any kind should be minimal to allow the flame to consume the wax straight down. That way you get more value from the burning. Paraffin is a refined petroleum product made from decayed organic matter (plants, birds, dinosaurs, ex-lovers, ect.). As a result, when it burns, it releases hydrocarbons and water and scent, if it has any. Basically, I would say if you light it and a few minutes later you react to it, asthma, allergies, ect. Then burning a candle of any kind indoors or maybe outdoors would not be a good idea for you. Here is a little epiphany about the nature of paraffin that I realized a few nights ago. Oh, and by the way, it may not be the pure paraffin that’s causing the trouble. It might be whatever additives that were mixed with the wax to make it burn longer or look nicer. I have come to realize that in the 25 plus years of candle making, working with several different mediums of wax, that there are certain properties of different waxes THAT EXPLAIN why scent and color differ in the results of the pouring of these waxes. For example, the most common wax in candle making is paraffin. This is a natural petroleum product, from the earth and is a fairly stable solid fuel. The most noticeable characteristic of this wax is that as it cools in the mold, regardless of the type of mold, the wax shrinks towards the wick. I feel that the reason for this is on the molecular level. Paraffin is a long-chain hydrocarbon. So as it melts, the heat expands the spaces betwixt the molecules and within them. This is where the scent and dye molecules attach themselves. So as the wax loses heat, the space contracts and the wax pulls in on itself. This is why multi-colored “layered” candles have a day per color pouring time. If the next layer isn’t poured at a “Cold” Temperature, i.e. just around the melting point, it flows into the space left by the shrinking first pour and the mold, forming a thin coat over it. This is known as “Flashing”, and usually has to be picked off to reveal the color wax underneath. The problem with this is that if the next pour isn’t hot enough, it will not melt the surface of the hardened wax under it and WON’T “fuse” the layer to the one being poured on. So what might happen is you have layers of colored wax that separate from each other, ONLY HELD together by the wick. The taller the candle, like a pillar, the bigger the problem. Natural waxes, like soy, palm, and beeswax have shorter molecular chains, so while they too, expand in the heating, they...
Posted by Jacqueline on Jun 1st, 2009 in Beginners Candle Spells, Special Announcements | Comments Off on Free Candle Spells | Interview with a Candle Maker – Pt. 2
Stan Morey, creator of Wizard Candles , has been gracious enough to answers some questions regarding candles and such. It is an honor to ask an artisan who works with these materials and substances on a daily basis to give us a different perspective on candles and spiritual work. FIRST QUESTION: Since you told us that you are also a spiritual practitioner, do you have some basic candle preparation techniques to share? According to my training in the English Tradition, and as I understand most traditions in the Craft follow these ideas, The first thing one would do with a blank candle is scribe or draw glyphs (symbols), or their intention for the candle in some magickal alphabet (Elder Futhark is quite popular, but you can Google and find several other rune styles that are True-Type fonts that you can download, usually for free, and work it on paper in Word or whatever word processing software you might have to print it out first to use as a guide). The scribing should be done with the atheme, or a crystal, or even a bamboo skewer, cut to a comfortable length to carve the symbols into the wax. Up or Down, Clockwise (Deosil, pronounced “Jess-ill”) or Counterclockwise (Widdershins) only matters in how you are shaping the energy in the first place. After you are done with that, clean off any residual bits of wax and you are ready to anoint or “dress” the candle. This is done to charge the candle with your energy and connected it more directly to you and your thought energy. The easiest way to do this is to take a little oil that you use for this purpose (essential oils work best) and put some in the palm of your receptive hand (the one you don’t use to eat or write with). Take the candle in your “Power” or dominant hand, wrap your oiled hand around it and starting about half-way or in the middle of the candle, gently pull and twist (going “deosil” (Jess-il) or clockwise) until you reach the end, focusing your thought or intention as you do. Note: It’s very helpful to visualize the end result as though it has already happened or more like a memory and you’re just catching up to the event. Then turn the candle around and do the same to the other half. Your candle is dressed and ready to go! Always burn your candle in a heat proof holder, and never burn it unattended!!! If you have one of those candle holders with a round base, put a ring of table or sea salt around the candle to shield it from stray energies that could “muddy up” the waters of your work, so to speak. If you don’t have one of these kinds of holders, just a holder on a saucer with a salt ring works just as well. When you are ready to use the candle, put it somewhere where it won’t be disturbed or bumped into during the burning. Every so often, like every 5-10 minutes, check on it and send your thought energy to it. SECOND QUESTION: Can you share with us a positive outcome to one of your candle burnings? (Identities kept Secret) I sometimes have burned a specific candle for inspiration (red) when writing poetry, or other things and it works fairly well so far. Since most of my magick work is done by direct thought energy and intention, I don’t use that much pyromancy (fire magick) in my workings. I have noticed, for example, that if I’m doing some form of divination, (like Tarot, Runes, or even D and D...
Posted by Jacqueline on May 30th, 2009 in Beginners Candle Spells, Special Announcements | Comments Off on Free Candle Spells | Interview with Wizard Candles candlecrafter Pt. 1
Readers, I know from your e-mails and questions that you have concerns about the different candles that are available today to use for your candle spell rituals. I thought it would be best to go to the source, someone who is in the field of candle making. This is part one of a three part interview with Stan Morey, artisan and owner of Wizard Candles. He is a frequent exhibitor at area psychic conventions and metaphysical fairs, and is a wonderful resource for all kinds of candle burning questions. FIRST QUESTION: The Catholic Church rules that the candles used in Mass are to be at least 51% beeswax. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using beeswax candles or beeswax-blend candles for candle ritual work? As far as I can tell, there are few, if any problems with beeswax or a blend. Most traditions agree that your tools should be made of natural materials, so beeswax and soy fill that need. In fact, we have several kinds of candles that are made with this blend that is hand measured. The advantage to beeswax is that’s it’s long burning and mostly self consuming leaving very little, if any residual wax. Also, it’s almost dripless, depending on the air movement around the candle. The stiller the air, the straighter the burn. SECOND QUESTION: What about using soy candles for ritual work? What are the advantages of using these? Are they really healthier for use in chapels or small enclosed ritual spaces? Soy has the same advantages as beeswax. It’s natural, clean burning, and long burning, in most cases. There are fewer by-products that you get from refined paraffin, which is a petroleum-based product, so it is believed to be a cleaner, “greener” wax. THIRD QUESTION: The 7-day novena/vigil candles in glass that we used to get from the local markets do not burn for 7 days anymore. Do you have any idea? Is there something we can do? I have not really used those kinds of candles, but I would think that they changed things to cut cost and improve the profit-margin. As to the burn, I think, perhaps, the wax blend has changed. From what to what, I couldn’t really tell you, I’m not a chemist. But I do know that the wick is far too thin for the diameter of the wax. So it cannot “suck up” the liquid wax pool at the base of the flame fast enough to consume at a consistent rate. Also, with a cylindrical container, there is the problem of oxygen deprivation when the candle flame gets to half-way or below. The heat pushes the air up faster than it can be replaced. Also, any air movement across the mouth of the container creates a vacuum effect and suck the air away from the fire. So in those cases, the flame either drowns or suffocates. FOURTH QUESTION: Asking from a purely technical standpoint, what would cause candles to go out by themselves? (Ruling out any spiritual things). Fire needs three things to survive, air, heat, and fuel. Take away any one of those and the fire dies. It’s called the “Fire Triangle”. Humans are similar with a triangle of mind, body, and spirit. Too much air movement around the candle or its container causes either the air to be sucked away from the flame (suffocation) or it bends the flame to the side, causing the sides to melt away faster than the middle around the wick. Usually, depending on the wick’s thickness, a pool and then as it continues to burn, a well of liquid wax will form around the base of...
Posted by Jacqueline on Apr 17th, 2009 in Special Announcements | Comments Off on Insightful and Honest Tarot Card Readings by Jacqueline
Using Obi divination while reading with the Tarot of the Orishas, Jacqueline offers insightful and clear solutions to your matters of love, prosperity and success. Jacqueline also creates custom candle spell kits, oils, mojo bags and love charms for you. For more information on what Jacqueline can do for you, please go to: www.tarotbyjacqueline.com...
