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Practical Candleburning Rituals: Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose
This trusted guidebook by popular author Raymond Buckland has introduced candle magick to more than 300,000 readers. From winning love to conquering fear, obtaining money to improving relationships, Practical Candleburning Rituals is filled with simple candle rites that get real results.
Newly updated and re-organized, this edition includes thirty-seven rituals-adapted for Christians and Pagans-that can be performed at home with readily available materials. No prior magickal knowledge is necessary. Diagrams and simple instructions make this candle magick primer an ideal practical guide for beginners.
Newly updated and re-organized, this edition includes thirty-seven rituals-adapted for Christians and Pagans-that can be performed at home with readily available materials. No prior magickal knowledge is necessary. Diagrams and simple instructions make this candle magick primer an ideal practical guide for beginners.
186 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
119 people are currently reading
2719 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Buckland
94 books366 followersRaymond Buckland was a highly influential figure in the development of modern Wicca and the occult in the United States. Born in London, he became interested in the supernatural at an early age and was initiated into the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition in 1963 by Monique Wilson, a high priestess appointed by Gerald Gardner. After emigrating to the U.S. in 1962, Buckland introduced Gardnerian Wicca to the country, founding its first coven in New York in 1964. He later developed his own tradition, Seax-Wica, inspired by Anglo-Saxon paganism, and published The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft to make it accessible to all.
In 1968, he established the first Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in the U.S., which helped normalize and educate the public about Wicca. Over the course of his career, Buckland wrote more than sixty books on Wicca, divination, and the occult, including Witchcraft from the Inside and Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, both regarded as essential texts in Neopaganism.
Throughout his life, Buckland remained a prolific teacher, writer, and practitioner. He continued to write and teach until his death in 2017, leaving behind a lasting legacy that shaped the spiritual practices of countless Wiccans and Pagans worldwide.
In 1968, he established the first Museum of Witchcraft and Magick in the U.S., which helped normalize and educate the public about Wicca. Over the course of his career, Buckland wrote more than sixty books on Wicca, divination, and the occult, including Witchcraft from the Inside and Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft, both regarded as essential texts in Neopaganism.
Throughout his life, Buckland remained a prolific teacher, writer, and practitioner. He continued to write and teach until his death in 2017, leaving behind a lasting legacy that shaped the spiritual practices of countless Wiccans and Pagans worldwide.
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January 12, 2022
Alright, this book was definitely a wild ride for me. I definitely did not like Buckland as an author due to his blue book. I absolutely destroyed that book by crossing out things, writing in the margins, basically demanding that Buckland own up to the fact that his history, facts, and some of his opinions were really bad. But this book – the one right here - (minus that very shitty appendix section – which I will get to eventually) is actually fairly decent. I would recommend this book, with some caveats about certain spells and some acknowledgments about some of the language and more hmm, parts of this book. I own a third edition, so I don't know how other editions are.
I honestly have to say that beginners and the more experienced spell casters should pick it up and have a decent read through the spellwork in this book. I was not offended by the fact that we have Christian and Pagan chants for every spell – but if those chants aren't right for you, find something else that does. This particular book is extremely flexible when it came to changing or altering things to make it easier for people to model and change it up. It's actually one of the things that Buckland champions in the book himself.
In that regard, this book is plainly useful for people who really need to learn different styles of spellwork that come from a textile and very physical place. A lot of spellwork in occult or new age books are not folk magic or practical. They are more metaphysical or ephemeral.
In being more practical or physically based, this book introduces concepts in spellwork like movement over time meaning both over certain specific time frames and days, movement and interaction with sympathetic magic towards the petitioner, bullying the candle (meaning saying something, blowing the candle out, relighting it, saying the same thing, blowing it out again, only to repeat this process), and symbolism which is directly linked to a particular result. It's not about finding your spiritual core per se but dealing with the now and the things you need.
Honestly, Carl Weschke's foreword minus the Divine Power specific parts and the spelling of magick (with the k) should be required reading for most beginner spell casters as a idea of why low magic (or in this case, practical magic) is important. This foreword was amazing, and a very nice change of pace from the usual bullshit in the New Age section. I really appreciated it.
Another thing I'd love to note is that Buckland in detail, with diagrams, explains how to actually dress a candle. Now I know this is something that may appear in other books (which I have not read) but this is the first book that I've reviewed that went into this much detail and with this much intention of clearly educating the spell caster how to dress a candle. Now I know how to dress a candle because I asked someone else, and it involves using a cookie sheet and some wax paper. But it wasn't something I could easily find many years ago. Buckland's using a completely different technique here, but honestly, for this alone – from page 8 to 10 in the preparation section? This is a great resource for any new spell caster.
Now for the drawbacks...
Buckland's introduction – as well as his appendixes - are well... bad. It is clear to me that Buckland begrudgingly made this book of practical magic. That he was loathe to step away from his Religiosity to publish this book. Especially saying that this book was “not witchcraft” (because Witchcraft is a religion [see my other book to give me more money – says Buckland]) and emphasizing that he is not responsible for publishing any of the “evil” magic that may appear in this book because it's not a Witchcraft [see his other book – says Buckland].
Similarly, in the appendices he outright writes in detail about spellwork and magic that he finds to be unacceptable. If you think it's morally or ethically problematic, why are you writing it in such detail? We can give him a small hand pat for attempting to clear up that the hexes he's publishing are not Vodun, but rather coming out of British magic via “Black Magic.” But that is something we should be discussing how that framing of language as well as the reason why it gets associated with “Voodoo” instead of English magic is important. The fact that Black is being used in a derogatory sense, also needs to be discussed. Buckland absolutely doesn't bother with that, just moves on expressing more of the hexes themselves and washing his hands of the implication of publishing them.
In the last section of the appendix, Buckland attempts to answer the question of how to do these spells in this book without candles – for all the practical reasons, you know nosy neighbors, living conditions, concerns about pets – and absolutely fails to do so. His solution is “Creative Visualization” because “everyone can visualize” which is absolutely not true and not useful. People wanted to perform the spells he has listed, not use an entirely different technique. And that technique, to these 2022 eyes, looks very “The Secret” and that “manifesting” dialogue that's not in the element of the practical or physical style that's throughout this book.
In Buckland's failure, allow me to give you options. You could use Crayons instead of candles because they are still waxy and come in a host of colors. I would just touch the top of the crayon as if I were lighting it and move on with the movement of the spell. You could also use unlit candles as well – but some leases explicitly say you cannot have any candles. Likewise you could use rocks or even buttons, and move them around. If you have pets, you could instead of having the spell be laid horizontal use the vertical and use a magnetic board or a pin board and pin the movements. You could even write the physical words of what the meaning of the colors and draw their movements in. Honestly there's so many alternatives to the physical nature of this spell that candles are just one vehicle which will get you to many other core parts of spellwork.
Instead of verbalizing the chants, you could mouth the chants. Think them. Write them down. You could read them, scanning each word carefully with your eyes. You could for the psalms simply pull open the bible to the psalm's beginning and hold it above the items below. Similarly you could print the chants and do the same. You could write them down with your finger on the table, spelling out each word if you didn't want to have a physical copy – or write them in the air above the items below. You could also write the chants or psalms out in honey on a plate, run hot water over them, collecting the honey water in a bowl. Wait for it to cool, and drink the words in the middle of the spell. You have plenty of options available – words don't just need to be spoken to be powerful or to be useful in spellwork.
I think this comes from a place of rigidity where Buckland cannot look past what his own idea or framework of what spells are. This really limits his ability to provide an educated or even more useful answer to those that look up to him as a resource or an expert. I was extremely disappointed by this appendix in particular.
In terms of other things to be on the look out for (as usual in my reviews) there is not really a lot of inclusive language for the petitioners. It never use gender non-specific language – always the petitioner is a him generally. All of the marriage references are heterosexual couples (and also just couples, there's no concept of poly relationships). In addition since we're on the subject, there's one particular marriage spell that is extremely manipulative to me – and does not actually “fix” what it exposes to do. Meaning that it “grows love” from the partners to each other, but it doesn't actually resolve the issues that exist in the marriage itself. It basically uses love as a binding mechanism – which I'd argue is more of a hex forcing people to stay together to ultimately be hurt even more when they separate because there's no understanding, there is no attempt and repairing or mending any of the real issues in the marriage. This is one of those, let the therapists who do marriage counseling handle this one alright.
Circling back to the Religiosity – the fact that we do not have a full explanation about where these tables (Astral Candles, Symbolism of Colors, Days of the Week and their colors) come from is really important to address when considering folk magic or low magic. Much of the symbolism comes from Transcendental and other forms of High Ritual Magick. It's not low level symbolism or low level sympathetic magic (which Buckland makes up a fact about on page 1 in the Introduction). It's pretty obvious because colors are getting assigned specific ritualistic meanings. That in of itself makes it a little iffy how secular friendly these are just as written when you remove the chants and substitute something different – so you will need to adapt them to remove the religiosity.
But generally there wasn't very much else that stood out to me in a negative way.
Finally, in terms of the spell casting, a lot of times I preferred the Christian versions over the Pagan versions. Both in terms of the actions being performed, but also because the Christian version explained in more concrete or more direct ways what it was doing. Whereas the Pagan versions of the spells were more or less copies of the Christian version with some changes here or there. Buckland probably could have added more spells to this book if he had simply just had a space for the two differing chants. Though there are times that the spells are completely different (such as the Christian spells using that bullying technique I referenced above and the Pagan one using no such method).
I have very little to complain about this book in it's entirety. If you'd like, please go ahead and see if you can snag a copy at your local used bookstore or request it from your library. There are many interesting types of spells in here. I think there's a lot of lessons to learn here from some of these spells as just examples. You certainly could grow, in terms of your knowledge and experience, simply by reading this book's mechanics for casting.
I honestly have to say that beginners and the more experienced spell casters should pick it up and have a decent read through the spellwork in this book. I was not offended by the fact that we have Christian and Pagan chants for every spell – but if those chants aren't right for you, find something else that does. This particular book is extremely flexible when it came to changing or altering things to make it easier for people to model and change it up. It's actually one of the things that Buckland champions in the book himself.
In that regard, this book is plainly useful for people who really need to learn different styles of spellwork that come from a textile and very physical place. A lot of spellwork in occult or new age books are not folk magic or practical. They are more metaphysical or ephemeral.
In being more practical or physically based, this book introduces concepts in spellwork like movement over time meaning both over certain specific time frames and days, movement and interaction with sympathetic magic towards the petitioner, bullying the candle (meaning saying something, blowing the candle out, relighting it, saying the same thing, blowing it out again, only to repeat this process), and symbolism which is directly linked to a particular result. It's not about finding your spiritual core per se but dealing with the now and the things you need.
Honestly, Carl Weschke's foreword minus the Divine Power specific parts and the spelling of magick (with the k) should be required reading for most beginner spell casters as a idea of why low magic (or in this case, practical magic) is important. This foreword was amazing, and a very nice change of pace from the usual bullshit in the New Age section. I really appreciated it.
Another thing I'd love to note is that Buckland in detail, with diagrams, explains how to actually dress a candle. Now I know this is something that may appear in other books (which I have not read) but this is the first book that I've reviewed that went into this much detail and with this much intention of clearly educating the spell caster how to dress a candle. Now I know how to dress a candle because I asked someone else, and it involves using a cookie sheet and some wax paper. But it wasn't something I could easily find many years ago. Buckland's using a completely different technique here, but honestly, for this alone – from page 8 to 10 in the preparation section? This is a great resource for any new spell caster.
Now for the drawbacks...
Buckland's introduction – as well as his appendixes - are well... bad. It is clear to me that Buckland begrudgingly made this book of practical magic. That he was loathe to step away from his Religiosity to publish this book. Especially saying that this book was “not witchcraft” (because Witchcraft is a religion [see my other book to give me more money – says Buckland]) and emphasizing that he is not responsible for publishing any of the “evil” magic that may appear in this book because it's not a Witchcraft [see his other book – says Buckland].
Similarly, in the appendices he outright writes in detail about spellwork and magic that he finds to be unacceptable. If you think it's morally or ethically problematic, why are you writing it in such detail? We can give him a small hand pat for attempting to clear up that the hexes he's publishing are not Vodun, but rather coming out of British magic via “Black Magic.” But that is something we should be discussing how that framing of language as well as the reason why it gets associated with “Voodoo” instead of English magic is important. The fact that Black is being used in a derogatory sense, also needs to be discussed. Buckland absolutely doesn't bother with that, just moves on expressing more of the hexes themselves and washing his hands of the implication of publishing them.
In the last section of the appendix, Buckland attempts to answer the question of how to do these spells in this book without candles – for all the practical reasons, you know nosy neighbors, living conditions, concerns about pets – and absolutely fails to do so. His solution is “Creative Visualization” because “everyone can visualize” which is absolutely not true and not useful. People wanted to perform the spells he has listed, not use an entirely different technique. And that technique, to these 2022 eyes, looks very “The Secret” and that “manifesting” dialogue that's not in the element of the practical or physical style that's throughout this book.
In Buckland's failure, allow me to give you options. You could use Crayons instead of candles because they are still waxy and come in a host of colors. I would just touch the top of the crayon as if I were lighting it and move on with the movement of the spell. You could also use unlit candles as well – but some leases explicitly say you cannot have any candles. Likewise you could use rocks or even buttons, and move them around. If you have pets, you could instead of having the spell be laid horizontal use the vertical and use a magnetic board or a pin board and pin the movements. You could even write the physical words of what the meaning of the colors and draw their movements in. Honestly there's so many alternatives to the physical nature of this spell that candles are just one vehicle which will get you to many other core parts of spellwork.
Instead of verbalizing the chants, you could mouth the chants. Think them. Write them down. You could read them, scanning each word carefully with your eyes. You could for the psalms simply pull open the bible to the psalm's beginning and hold it above the items below. Similarly you could print the chants and do the same. You could write them down with your finger on the table, spelling out each word if you didn't want to have a physical copy – or write them in the air above the items below. You could also write the chants or psalms out in honey on a plate, run hot water over them, collecting the honey water in a bowl. Wait for it to cool, and drink the words in the middle of the spell. You have plenty of options available – words don't just need to be spoken to be powerful or to be useful in spellwork.
I think this comes from a place of rigidity where Buckland cannot look past what his own idea or framework of what spells are. This really limits his ability to provide an educated or even more useful answer to those that look up to him as a resource or an expert. I was extremely disappointed by this appendix in particular.
In terms of other things to be on the look out for (as usual in my reviews) there is not really a lot of inclusive language for the petitioners. It never use gender non-specific language – always the petitioner is a him generally. All of the marriage references are heterosexual couples (and also just couples, there's no concept of poly relationships). In addition since we're on the subject, there's one particular marriage spell that is extremely manipulative to me – and does not actually “fix” what it exposes to do. Meaning that it “grows love” from the partners to each other, but it doesn't actually resolve the issues that exist in the marriage itself. It basically uses love as a binding mechanism – which I'd argue is more of a hex forcing people to stay together to ultimately be hurt even more when they separate because there's no understanding, there is no attempt and repairing or mending any of the real issues in the marriage. This is one of those, let the therapists who do marriage counseling handle this one alright.
Circling back to the Religiosity – the fact that we do not have a full explanation about where these tables (Astral Candles, Symbolism of Colors, Days of the Week and their colors) come from is really important to address when considering folk magic or low magic. Much of the symbolism comes from Transcendental and other forms of High Ritual Magick. It's not low level symbolism or low level sympathetic magic (which Buckland makes up a fact about on page 1 in the Introduction). It's pretty obvious because colors are getting assigned specific ritualistic meanings. That in of itself makes it a little iffy how secular friendly these are just as written when you remove the chants and substitute something different – so you will need to adapt them to remove the religiosity.
But generally there wasn't very much else that stood out to me in a negative way.
Finally, in terms of the spell casting, a lot of times I preferred the Christian versions over the Pagan versions. Both in terms of the actions being performed, but also because the Christian version explained in more concrete or more direct ways what it was doing. Whereas the Pagan versions of the spells were more or less copies of the Christian version with some changes here or there. Buckland probably could have added more spells to this book if he had simply just had a space for the two differing chants. Though there are times that the spells are completely different (such as the Christian spells using that bullying technique I referenced above and the Pagan one using no such method).
I have very little to complain about this book in it's entirety. If you'd like, please go ahead and see if you can snag a copy at your local used bookstore or request it from your library. There are many interesting types of spells in here. I think there's a lot of lessons to learn here from some of these spells as just examples. You certainly could grow, in terms of your knowledge and experience, simply by reading this book's mechanics for casting.
May 29, 2025
“Practical Candleburning Rituals: Spells & Rituals for Every Purpose” by Raymond Buckland, another addition to Llewellyn’s Practical Magick series, is arranged into two sections: “Old Religion Rituals” and “Christian Rituals.” This text also includes two appendixes, Appendix 1: The Darker Side, and the second unnamed appendix that deals primarily with creative visualization.
The second section, I presume, would be used more by “Christian Witches” as they’re known. While magic may seem to be the antithesis to Christianity, Christian Witchcraft is in fact quite similar in some ways to Kabbalic practices.
What’s interesting is the many of the rituals are similar among both sections (e.g. “To Soothe and Quiet the Nerves” and etc.), usually with the text being changed. In fact, most of the “incantations” in the second section are borrowed from the Christian Bible—and particularly from Psalms and the Song of Solomon.
I like how Buckland provides a figure for each ritual, showing where the various items should be laid on the altar. However, the type of rituals provided are a bit heavy and negative. For example, the author includes rituals titled, “To Gain Power Over Others,” “To Arouse Jealousy,” and “To Gain Control Over Others,” but doesn’t really discuss ethics or personal responsibility with his readers.
Overall, this was an interesting book, but modern-day Pagans don’t need to follow a proscribed “recipe book” for candle burning. Rather, this book provides readers with some great examples of how to create their own rituals.
The second section, I presume, would be used more by “Christian Witches” as they’re known. While magic may seem to be the antithesis to Christianity, Christian Witchcraft is in fact quite similar in some ways to Kabbalic practices.
What’s interesting is the many of the rituals are similar among both sections (e.g. “To Soothe and Quiet the Nerves” and etc.), usually with the text being changed. In fact, most of the “incantations” in the second section are borrowed from the Christian Bible—and particularly from Psalms and the Song of Solomon.
I like how Buckland provides a figure for each ritual, showing where the various items should be laid on the altar. However, the type of rituals provided are a bit heavy and negative. For example, the author includes rituals titled, “To Gain Power Over Others,” “To Arouse Jealousy,” and “To Gain Control Over Others,” but doesn’t really discuss ethics or personal responsibility with his readers.
Overall, this was an interesting book, but modern-day Pagans don’t need to follow a proscribed “recipe book” for candle burning. Rather, this book provides readers with some great examples of how to create their own rituals.
August 6, 2009
Once again Buckland gives us "authentic rituals" that sound as though they were lifted by bargain-basement gypsy fortune-tellers, and ask us to abandon any sort of dignity or reason as we mumble the sacred words to make our wishes come true. Try not to wonder how our ancestors acquired the proper colour candles or the right incense to ensure success for their rituals, or how this mysterious lore was handed down only to someone like Buckland. The next time someone mentions how Anton LaVey was the literary equivalent of a car salesman (and he basically admitted he was), I would like to point out Raymond Buckland and his vast library of arcane literature.
Read
July 12, 2008One of the first books on magick that I acquired as a teen. It was a shocker in that it included pagan and christian variations of the same spells. I also quickly realized that the enormous number of candles, space, and time these rituals would take made secrecy a problem. If you are in a situation requiring a high level of secrecy, this isn't the book for you. The smell of wax and smoke will linger. Many of the rituals require several days to complete or for candles to burn all the way out. You can't just pack this stuff away in a hurry.
May 23, 2018
This was literally the first book related to witchcraft I ever owned. I bought it with my own measly little income from working at Kmart in 1998. However, at that time, I lived within the confines of a VERY Christian family deep in the heart of the Bible Belt. Don't even get me started on any of that...
So, yeah. I was never actually able to perform any of the spells in this book at that time. I had to obtain another copy of it recently, mostly feeling nostalgic, and now I'd rather I hadn't spent the $10 on it...
Witchcraft has been a part of my ancestry. Hundreds or thousands of years ago my early ancestors were performing magick rituals for various needs. While I do think they could have used herbs and flowers to produce candles of a certain color, my thoughts are that they wouldn't have gone to that effort most of the time due to cost or danger. So, color might seem important, and this author seems to think color is EXTREMELY important, but I don't really think that's the case at all. I think it's the INTENT, not the COLOR that matters, and in modern times, I can totally see why assigning a color to a candle would help one to establish a firmer intention. But, that he was making it sound as if you couldn't make your ritual work without all the right colors put me off. I don't think my ancestors would have been all that concerned about the colors, since they wouldn't have been able to get, say, a gold candle very easily.
Another thing that put me off and that I hadn't remembered this book included when I first bought it so many years ago was how LONG these rituals apparently take to complete. I understand that sometimes magick works slowly, but one of the rituals in this book takes as many as NINE DAYS! I don't have that long, like, ever. I don't have a place to conduct my ritual for that long, and even if I did, I'd have to be subject to questions and accusations from family members that I'd just rather not put up with.
Of course there's "creative visualization", but I don't think that's nearly as effective as putting that energy into a physical ritual. At least, in my experience, that hasn't been the case.
The general feel of the spells seem as if they would work, so long as you have the right mindset before you get into it, but I don't agree with the strictness of it. I somehow doubt that the Universe much cares if I have a gold or light green candle or whether I'm able to conduct a ritual for 2 weeks straight without disturbing my altar so long as I had a real intent and plenty of energy invested in my goal. After all, isn't that more like what our ancestors would have done?
As for the additions of black magick, I have no opinion. I'm not Wiccan, and I do think we all have to balance things out when somebody is insistent upon whacking balance all the hell. If I have to be the one to get that balance back where it should be by sending a punishment against he or she that caused that imbalance, so be it. I don't believe my actions will cause a three-fold retaliation from the Universe.
Decent book to get some ideas from, but I question the need for its strictness.
So, yeah. I was never actually able to perform any of the spells in this book at that time. I had to obtain another copy of it recently, mostly feeling nostalgic, and now I'd rather I hadn't spent the $10 on it...
Witchcraft has been a part of my ancestry. Hundreds or thousands of years ago my early ancestors were performing magick rituals for various needs. While I do think they could have used herbs and flowers to produce candles of a certain color, my thoughts are that they wouldn't have gone to that effort most of the time due to cost or danger. So, color might seem important, and this author seems to think color is EXTREMELY important, but I don't really think that's the case at all. I think it's the INTENT, not the COLOR that matters, and in modern times, I can totally see why assigning a color to a candle would help one to establish a firmer intention. But, that he was making it sound as if you couldn't make your ritual work without all the right colors put me off. I don't think my ancestors would have been all that concerned about the colors, since they wouldn't have been able to get, say, a gold candle very easily.
Another thing that put me off and that I hadn't remembered this book included when I first bought it so many years ago was how LONG these rituals apparently take to complete. I understand that sometimes magick works slowly, but one of the rituals in this book takes as many as NINE DAYS! I don't have that long, like, ever. I don't have a place to conduct my ritual for that long, and even if I did, I'd have to be subject to questions and accusations from family members that I'd just rather not put up with.
Of course there's "creative visualization", but I don't think that's nearly as effective as putting that energy into a physical ritual. At least, in my experience, that hasn't been the case.
The general feel of the spells seem as if they would work, so long as you have the right mindset before you get into it, but I don't agree with the strictness of it. I somehow doubt that the Universe much cares if I have a gold or light green candle or whether I'm able to conduct a ritual for 2 weeks straight without disturbing my altar so long as I had a real intent and plenty of energy invested in my goal. After all, isn't that more like what our ancestors would have done?
As for the additions of black magick, I have no opinion. I'm not Wiccan, and I do think we all have to balance things out when somebody is insistent upon whacking balance all the hell. If I have to be the one to get that balance back where it should be by sending a punishment against he or she that caused that imbalance, so be it. I don't believe my actions will cause a three-fold retaliation from the Universe.
Decent book to get some ideas from, but I question the need for its strictness.
March 4, 2015
I have been a practicing with for 17 years. It's only been in the last few years that I have actually started to be open to working candle magic. I really had no idea how to start and how to get working. This book provided me with everything that I needed to know. Now there are several spells in this books that I am excited to try.
This simple book is really made out of four different sections. There is the section of preparation, section for witchcraft style spells, and a section on Christian style candle magic rituals. The final section is an appendix that talks about and covers temptation in magic and ways to work magic without candles due to living situations.
The section on recuperation which opens the book really should not be forgotten. This small section talks about the various things you need to be ready to practice this magic. There are no complex theories, breathing rituals or guided meditations. Just simple explanations on tools, space, and how to work with the candle. The section closes with a few important correspondences for colors, days of the week, and colors for the zodiac signs (all of which are important for the spells and rituals in the following sections).
The first thing mentioned in the section about witchcraft spells I dont agree with which was a statement about witchcraft being a religion and magic a practice. Witchcraft is not a religion. It can have religious elements. However since witchcraft was not the focus of the book, the mention was only really to note the difference in approach between the witchcraft and pagan spells and the Christian themed spells.
The spells are written out in plain and simple language. The only materials needed for the spells are the candles and dressing oils and incense of your choice. Each spell comes with an altar or work surface set up. All you need to do is follow the words as they are outlined in the book. Every altar setup includes a space for the book to use as a reference.
The third section of the book focuses on Christian spells. Many of these spells use the Psalms in the working. The spells are very similar to the workings in the previous section. The differences really are in the spirits and divine beings that are involved. The best part about this section is that is gives Christian Witches a great starting point and reference guide for spells that can be used in their day to day lives.
The appendices honestly I think would be best located in the opening section. I say this because here there is a discussion on creative visualization and a little bit on magical ethics. I believe that these sections placed earlier in the book would allow the practitioner to have more success in magic earlier since visualization is a large part of many magical traditions.
I overall have to say that this book is a great resource and will be a reference guide for me in many years to come.
This simple book is really made out of four different sections. There is the section of preparation, section for witchcraft style spells, and a section on Christian style candle magic rituals. The final section is an appendix that talks about and covers temptation in magic and ways to work magic without candles due to living situations.
The section on recuperation which opens the book really should not be forgotten. This small section talks about the various things you need to be ready to practice this magic. There are no complex theories, breathing rituals or guided meditations. Just simple explanations on tools, space, and how to work with the candle. The section closes with a few important correspondences for colors, days of the week, and colors for the zodiac signs (all of which are important for the spells and rituals in the following sections).
The first thing mentioned in the section about witchcraft spells I dont agree with which was a statement about witchcraft being a religion and magic a practice. Witchcraft is not a religion. It can have religious elements. However since witchcraft was not the focus of the book, the mention was only really to note the difference in approach between the witchcraft and pagan spells and the Christian themed spells.
The spells are written out in plain and simple language. The only materials needed for the spells are the candles and dressing oils and incense of your choice. Each spell comes with an altar or work surface set up. All you need to do is follow the words as they are outlined in the book. Every altar setup includes a space for the book to use as a reference.
The third section of the book focuses on Christian spells. Many of these spells use the Psalms in the working. The spells are very similar to the workings in the previous section. The differences really are in the spirits and divine beings that are involved. The best part about this section is that is gives Christian Witches a great starting point and reference guide for spells that can be used in their day to day lives.
The appendices honestly I think would be best located in the opening section. I say this because here there is a discussion on creative visualization and a little bit on magical ethics. I believe that these sections placed earlier in the book would allow the practitioner to have more success in magic earlier since visualization is a large part of many magical traditions.
I overall have to say that this book is a great resource and will be a reference guide for me in many years to come.
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May 24, 2017Seems to be a good introduction for beginners, but I wasn't a fan of the large amount of spells used for negative purposes-- it's one thing to have a spell to open people's eyes to your good qualities, for example, but it's quite another to break up an existing relationship.
August 6, 2018
One of my fave spell books. I use it quite often. Good basic candle spells.
8/5/18: I have grown a lot since I last read this book, used these spells. It's time for this book to move on.
8/5/18: I have grown a lot since I last read this book, used these spells. It's time for this book to move on.
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June 11, 2018Does anyone know where the source material for this book comes from?
February 19, 2019
Good reference book
Quick read and good reference book for candle rituals. I will keep it handy if I ever decide to use one of the rituals.
Quick read and good reference book for candle rituals. I will keep it handy if I ever decide to use one of the rituals.
January 29, 2022
This is not necessarily a great beginner book for candle magick. Not a lot of things are explained and some of the spells are not clear for the intention. I wish the author had put in some explanation for each one as many newer books have begun to do. In the beginning of this book, he says this is strictly a magick book, not a witchcraft book so perhaps that’s why not much is explained. I do think this would be a great resource for Christian Witches since every spell is redone with a Christian focus. The sequel to this book was far more informative than this one but there are a few of the spells that I’ll be adding into my collection.
January 29, 2017
This book was alright. I wouldn't gush over it but if someone is new to candle magick then this would be an asset to your collection (Check out The Enchanted Candle by Lady Rhea). People either love or hate Raymond Buckland. In any case, he has made significant contributions to the Pagan community whether or not you agree with his approach. This book is alright as I mentioned before. It covers a lot of the basics.
March 5, 2018
No está mal, pero tiene muchos rituales para sobreponerse hacia los demás, incluso para hacer daño. La magia está para todo, pero pienso que hay que usarla para cosas benéficas, como el desapego de lo material, la conquista de uno mismo y generar más paz y amor.
July 14, 2020
Practical candleburning Rituals
Recommend for anyone who is curious.Great practices,meditation and visualization. A work of substantial knowledge and practice.I am very pleased I stumbled on this book.
Recommend for anyone who is curious.Great practices,meditation and visualization. A work of substantial knowledge and practice.I am very pleased I stumbled on this book.
February 21, 2021
Very light on content. Probably more suited to an absolute beginner who does not know anything on the subject. Would suggest borrowing this book if you can, rather than paying out for your own copy, as it isn't worth the money.
March 23, 2018
A great little read full of information. Simple to read and great for anyone with an open mind Christian and pagan alike.
July 9, 2019
Good
Every informative book and i suggest if you don't know a lot about candle magic to get this no matter how long you have you been in paganism
Every informative book and i suggest if you don't know a lot about candle magic to get this no matter how long you have you been in paganism
August 18, 2019
I liked it! I could relate to much of the writing angst and decisions about stepping away from the novel writing. Not sure I’d recommend it for non-writers though.
July 21, 2020
This book really rubbed me the wrong way. Definitely not for me, highly disappointed
February 10, 2021
easy and quick read repeated information but a good reference book
November 20, 2022
This wasn’t one of his better books for me anyway. I did like it but I doubt I’ll go back to it b
December 16, 2023
A great book for magical working requiring candles. Gives a very scholarly and educated look at the rites, rituals, and practices therein.
April 25, 2024
Great for ideas and not a lot else 🤷♂️
July 1, 2025
Love the rituals
September 24, 2025
very detailed
January 11, 2026
Excellent candle spells. Easy. Simple. Effective!
March 3, 2017
I'm not a huge Buckland fan. However, I found this book great for teens! (as long as they don't burn down the house) It was over all clean, and wholesome, allowing for someone to practice without screwing themselves over. I'd recommend it for a younger teen that's new at this, or someone wanting to dabble in the "occult".
January 4, 2015
If you are interested in learning some of the basics of candle magic, this is a book I'd really consider adding to your shelf. A warning, though, that the book is definitely european pagan oriented, and so there are some concepts and ideas in the book that are a little strange if that's not your particular path.
However, there's great information for a beginner, and it lays out some of the more basic concepts (colors of the candles, altar setup, basic spells to get you to understand different parts of them). I read this one in just about an hour or so, and a lot of the elements linger for me.
If you're strictly hoodoo or strictly some other field of magic, I still recommend using this to help you understand things a little better!
However, there's great information for a beginner, and it lays out some of the more basic concepts (colors of the candles, altar setup, basic spells to get you to understand different parts of them). I read this one in just about an hour or so, and a lot of the elements linger for me.
If you're strictly hoodoo or strictly some other field of magic, I still recommend using this to help you understand things a little better!
March 15, 2015
This book is a contemporary Grimoire in every sense of the word. Unlike medevil grimoires, it doesn't use hyperbole or have a lengthy introduction where the author expands on all the mystical ecperiences he's had in order to impress/scare you. The author gets straight to the point. The rituals described are very clean, simple and won't ruffle anyone's feathers with a christian version and a dechristianized version for neopagans.
This is magic for the masses, pretty much, and after wading through the lemegaton and contrived nonsense like the grimorium imperium, I have to say this simplicity is certainly refreshing.
Ray Buckland has this gentle, almost fatherly tone in his writing that I really liked. I plan to pick up more of his books in the future.
This is magic for the masses, pretty much, and after wading through the lemegaton and contrived nonsense like the grimorium imperium, I have to say this simplicity is certainly refreshing.
Ray Buckland has this gentle, almost fatherly tone in his writing that I really liked. I plan to pick up more of his books in the future.
January 29, 2011
Believe it or not, despite the fact that half the space in the book is taken up by the Christian versions of the spells, this is one of the top three or four spellbooks I have used over the last 20 years! Perhaps because I love candle magic, these spells work extremely well for me, and they are awfully fun and engaging to perform. Beginners are well served to have this book and non-beginners will turn to it again and again when you want something simple and powerful that will work. Good luck!
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