The Very Short Candle Ritual

Introduction

Put on your ritual garb or comfortable clothing or go skyclad. This ritual assumes that you do not have a dedicated ritual space and altar. If you do, you don’t really need this document. It also assumes that you have little experience in such matters and you may want to read through to get the feel of it.

Setting the tone

Tell everyone to leave you alone. Find a comfortable space where you will not be disturbed for at least 30 minutes. Lock the door, unplug the phone, and turn off all electronic distractions. Optionally, you can lock the kids in the basement, and duct tape the cat to the wall.

Once you are sure you will not be disturbed setup the candle and incense so they are about 3 feet from where you will be sitting. Don’t light anything yet. If you wish you can have a small dim light so you can see what you are doing.

Facing East. Sit in a comfortable position, either in a chair or on the floor with your legs crossed. I find that sitting on a soft mat or pillow is preferable to hardwood floors.

Focus, Must learn Focus!

Straighten you back, close your eyes, tilt your head back and up, take a slow deep breath through your nose, filling your lungs and stomach, at the top of the breath hold it for a 3 seconds, slowly release the breath through your mouth blowing out all tension and loose thoughts. Hold the breath for 3 seconds at the bottom of the breath as well. Do this about 9 times to clear your mind and calm your thoughts. Allow random thoughts to pop up but pay them no mind and flush them out with each exhalation.

Continue the rhythmic breath but pay it little attention to it, it is meant to help you focus not distract you.

Erecting the Temple: (Creating sacred space)

Now with your hands in front of you about chest high, form two halves of a circle like: ( )

On an exhaled breath, visualize a small ball of white light about the size of a golf ball appear between your hands. Fill the ball with positive protective energy. Feel the tingle of electrical energy from the balls glow. It is ok if you feel nothing, with time and experience your senses will tune into this energy. For now the visualization is important. With each exhalation pull your hands apart slowly and visualize the ball growing to the size of an orange, then a grapefruit, then a basketball and so forth. By now the ball should be getting pretty large and its edges about to touch you as it touches you, you may feel the slight tingle as it grows and passes through you like a wave of energy, pushing out all negativity and engulfing you and your working area with its positive protective energy. Make the ball large enough to fit your entire working area.

The temple is now created, however it still needs tweaking and reinforcing. Continue your rhythmic breath and close your eyes.

Through the door.

Visualize a door. A large wooden door. See the black iron hinges and the black handle. Touch the door handle. Feel the cool steel beneath your fingertips. Grasp the handle feel the cold hard steel in your hand. Pull on it, it opens gently and easily. Looking outside you see a summer day a field of green grass stretches as far as you can see. Step outside. Out of the East feel the gentle breeze blow across your face. Take a deep breath of the clean, crisp, fresh air. Exhale it into your sphere charging it with its power. Now, turn your face towards the Sun, feel the warmth of its light caress your face. Breath deep of its warmth, exhale it into your sphere charging it with its power. Walk forward. As you walk you begin to hear the sound of a stream, trickling softly. Walk closer to the stream. You can smell the clean fresh water, so cool and crisp. Kneel next to the edge of the stream. Put your hand in the water. Feel the cold water touch your skin, feel the pressure of the water push against your hand. Drink deeply, feel it enter every pore of your body. Exhale it into your sphere charging it with its power. Look to your left, looming before you is a huge oak tree, it’s shadow cast long with the Sun. Its arms stretch towards the sky, so high you can barely see the tops. Walk up to the tree. Put your arms around it. Its trunk is massive, so wide your arms are stretched out. Feel the course bark beneath fingers, on your face, the woody smell of it enters your nose and feel the energy of the tree envelop you. Reach inside the tree with your feelings and sense the cold of the Earth as its roots extend deeply into it. Exhale into your sphere charging it with its power. Rest here for a moment. When you are ready return to the door and come back inside. Open your eyes when you are ready to proceed.

Now that the temple has been erected and charged, you are ready to work.

The Work

Light the incense. Let it begin to fill the sphere charging the air with electricity. You may feel a tingling sensation in your spine. This is ok. Breath deeply.

Light the candle. At this point you may want to say something like:

"By the powers of Air and Fire, fulfill my desire!"

"By the powers of Earth and Sea, so mote it be!"

Remember the power you felt at the original circle where you created the candle. Again it is ok if you felt nothing yet.

Visualize the finished result of your healing. With your Athame, Wand or index and middle fingers of your dominant hand project this power into the candles flame, with each exhalation visualize the flame growing stronger and brighter then fading back to normal. Some like to hold the candle in their hands either way is valid. It may look like an intense beam of energy or flow from your finger tips like a jet of flame. Like fanning the flames of an open fire. Visualize the smoke of the flame rising up into the atmosphere programmed with your desire. Visualize it changing the world and reality around you to shape your will. (This is the law of "As above, so below") You may want to chant something at this point or just concentrate. Keep sending energy and concentrating on the finished result of your healing.

Continue to do this for 10-15 minutes. If your concentration breaks just snap it back.

If for any reason you are interrupted, because life is like that, you may:

1. Answer them and then go back to what you are doing. Pushing them out of your mind.
2. If you have to leave for a short period, snuff out the candle and incense, and with you hand or ritual tool, cut a doorway in the sphere, step out, close the door behind you and do the reverse when you come back. Pick up where you left off.

After 15 minutes. Close your eyes and visualize the wooden door again. Open it and walk through.

Thank the Wind for keeping you cool.

Thank the Sun for its warmth.

Thank the Stream for refreshing you.

Thank the Earth for supporting you and keeping you safe.

Walk back through the door and close it behind you.

Draw the sphere back to you, getting smaller and smaller reversing the growing process. Reabsorb the energy.

It is done. SO MOTE IT BE.

Explanations

This is a guideline. This also expects you know the terms that I am using. Check out any number of New to Wicca books by Cunningham, Buckland (the big blue book) or many others. Magick is about creativity as well as technique. What works for you may not work for me. Change the ritual to fit you. One size does not fit all. One size fits all is called Organized Religion, the spandex of faith. Yes, you can call Watchtower guardians, angels, do the work only at the proper moon phase, planetary day and hour. You may use the meditative part of this ritual without doing any work. Just to relax in sacred space. Some have seen animals, these are often your totems. Don’t worry about what you see or not, what you feel or not. These things come in time. Above all, "An it Harm None" HAVE FUN!