Samhain Crafts & Rituals

Samhain Candle Making

Samhain being Wiccan New Year, I've developed a habit of getting all my ritual leftovers together after Mabon--candle ends, wax globs (Lady knows we've all got those :)), leftover bits of herbs, oils and incenses, the leftover salt from the North salt-dish, half-burned bits of smudge-stick, etc. I melt all that together and make one big fragrant, slightly lumpy candle. The wax is coarsely strained going into the mold, but there will still be a lot of little bits of stuff in the candle. The thickish, braided wick is wrapped deosil (so it will burn widdershins) with thread of any ugly or sad color.

At the last Full Moon observance before Samhain, I strip the altar down to its very simplest and clean it and everything on it well. The water of self-blessing is dipped and drunk directly from the cauldron, the place of change, rather than the chalice; the accompanying meditation is on assimilation of the year's changes, good and bad and in between, as sources of power. Then at the esbat's end, the cauldron is dried carefully and (unless the candle is in a glass jar) lined with foil so wax and stuff doesn't have to be dug out of it later with anything marked Black and Decker.

Finally, the candle is set in the cauldron, lit, and left on the altar. (In a dish of sand since I have cats and no fire insurance. :)) Every night untill it is gone or until two nights before Samhain, whichever comes first, I will spend some time meditating with the candle. (If it is not large, I may snuff it out and re-light it for each session.)

Everything in it, all the little bits of herb and salt and ash and feather and clay, all the scents and blended candle-colors, carry memories of the past year: its events, its rituals, its magicks and moods and times good and bad. Some will hiss and pop and announce themselves, some will slip away quietly. I will let go of each memory as it surfaces, glad that some are going, accepting some without emotion and having to grieve others. I will do all this thoroughly, maintaining conscious contact with the Lord and Lady as I do. (It can be quite a conversation, let me tell you. :))

As the binding burns off the wick, I will picture my own true self, my own core light, coming clear of any old habits, attitudes or circumstances that have bound or constricted it in the past year, and will pray that something I do in the coming year will provide some sort of light for a fellow human being to find a step or two of his or her way by.

If there is unburned candle or unburnable residue two days before Samhain, I will throw it in the river or bury it under a large rock, away from home in a place nobody walks, thanking the water or earth. I will then walk away and let go of it, spending no energy on trying to remember (or forget) where I put it.

This has allowed me to approach the New Year with a lot more peace and a lot less unfinished business than I used to. If you try it, I hope it helps you too; take what you like and leave or restructure the rest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
(c) Rain Redknife, '91. Originally published in PAGANS IN RECOVERY reprinted in STIRRING THE ASHES. Feel free to reprint.

BOS Index