red spell candle in a black pentacle candle holder with a brass candle snuffer in the foreground

How to Dress Candles For Spells - Candle Magic For Beginners

Rebecca Haynes

When we talk about dressing a candle, we are not talking about adding a pair of jeans and a hat. In a similar principle to dressing oneself, dressing a candle refers to adding to the outside of the candle.

To dress a candle you start by anointing the candle with oil (either a base vegetable oil or a consecration oil that has been prepared for a specific purpose such as money drawing).

After anointing your candle you can add dried botanicals and powders that correspond to your desired spell outcome. This is referred to as dressing the candle and it adds intention to your spell to increase its power of manifestation. It is like adding spiritual fuel to the fire!

Dressing a candle can involve, but does not have to involve:

  • Carving symbols, words and sigils into your candle
  • Anointing the candle with a base oil
  • Adding dried botanicals
  • Adding dried powders
  • Adding items such as glitter

 

What you will need to dress your candle

  • Your candle of choice (consider the spell and how you want to dress your candle before you choose the size/colour of the candle)
  • A boline, knife or scalpel for carving your candle (if you choose to do so).
  • Base oil (olive oil is the most suited to all types of candle magic and this is the oil I would recommend as it is easily accessible to most people, however you can use any vegetable oil that you have on hand)
  • Essential oils (optional)
  • Dried Herbs, powders, glitter
  • Herb grinder/ mortar and pestle or scissors for cutting herbs
  • Candle Holder

lit white pillar candle in front of a granite mortar and pestle, next to a red spell candle which is laying in front of jars of cinnamon, rosemary and oregano and a dark green bottle of extra virgin olive oil

 How To Prepare Your Ingredients 

Once you have decided on your spell, you will need to prepare your ingredients. For my spell, I chose a red spell candle with the herbs Oregano and Rosemary, and the spice, Cinnamon. These ingredients are simple Kitchen Magick ingredients that most people either have in their pantry or are able to acquire relatively easily (these items are found in all major supermarkets in Australia). The combination of the red spell candle and these particular herbs is designed to bring good luck.

Before you can dress your candle, you need to prepare your herbs.There are different ways of preparing your botanicals depending on your initial ingredients. If your herbs and spices are already finely chopped such as store bought herbs from the spice aisle, you can apply them as is. You can also choose to grind them to a fine powder (this is suggested if you are using large herbs. 

Grinding your herbs is best done by hand, in a mortar and pestle, whilst putting your intention into them through visualisation. You can also use a herb grinder, scissors or even a small food processor. The smaller and more combined the herbs are, the safer they will be (no large chunks of dried botanicals to catch on fire) and the more cohesive the energy of the ingredients will be (the last point is just a personal opinion, not a fact). If you plan on rolling your candle in your chosen herbs, place them on a piece of paper or flat plate in preparation. 

 

Carve Your Candle

If you choose to do so, take your candle and carve into it your chosen symbols/ intentions. A pillar or seven day candle is best suited to this application, due to its larger size.

To carve your candle, write the name of your intention on your chosen candle in a vertical direction. If it is something you wish to draw towards yourself, write it from the top to the bottom, if you wish to dispel it, write it from the bottom to the top.

 

How to dress your candle

1. Apply a small amount of the base oil to your fingers or the candle and massage the oil into the candle while visualising your intention for the spell you have chosen your candle for. For any spell of attraction/ drawing, massage the oil from the top of the candle to the bottom , and for banishing, massage it from the bottom of the candle to the top. Make sure that you do not get the oil on your wick- only on the wax.

 

hand holding a red spell candle with a dark green extra virgin olive oil bottle in the background

2. Next, roll your candle in your chosen herbs/ powders. Take your piece of paper/ flat plate with your dried ingredients on it and roll your candle over it, ensuring that the herbs stick to the outside of the candle. You can also take the dried ingredients in your hand and apply them to the outside of the candle this way.
red spell candle being rolled in a mixture of cinnamon powder, oregano and rosemary
3. If you wish to add glitter to your candle, do it in step #2 with the dried ingredients.
4. During each of these steps, the most important part is to make sure that you hold the intention of your spell in your mind and draw the energy of what you wish to create towards you (or away from you if you are doing a banishing).
5. Your candle is now ready to light. Remember when you light your candle that it is likely that some of your dried ingredients will fall off. That is fine, just make sure you have your candle in a candle holder on a fireproof plate (just in case) to avoid getting mess everywhere! As always do not leave your candle burning unattended.
red spell candle, anointed in olive oil and dressed with herbs in a round black pentacle candle holder sitting on a wooden table in front of herb jars

 

I personally love candles and candle spells. Dressing your candles not only makes them look pretty, but adds layers of magic and intention to your spell.

* If you are unsure of the best type of candle to use for your spell, check out this blog post about The Types of Candles Used In Candle Magic

* if you are unsure of the appropriate candle colour for your intention check out our post on common candle colours and their meanings, here).

*If you are looking for spell candles, check out our collection here

Let me know if you try this and what results you have with your candle spells. We would love to hear from you!

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