Candle Lore and Magic
by Rosemary Ellen Guiley, Ph.D.
Candles have a long and interesting history in religious worship, magic and folklore. They 
light the way to the sacred;they dispel the forces of darkness; they are associated with ghosts and the dead; they can find buried treasure; and they play a role in incubated dreaming.
The origin of candles is not known, but there is evidence that beeswax candles were used in Egypt and Crete as early as 3000 B.C.E. Other early candles consisted of tapers made of a fibrous material, such as rushes, saturated with tallow.
Ancient peoples observed that candle flames revealed mysterious things. By staring into a flame, one could enter an altered state of consciousness and see gods and spirits, or see the future. The late Egyptians of about the third century used lamps, and possibly candles, in a magic ritual for "dreaming true," or obtaining answers from dreams. The individual retired to a dark cave facing south and sat and stared into a flame until he saw a god. He then lay down and went to sleep, anticipating that the god would appear in his dreams with the answers he sought.
Ancient Pagans used candles and lamps in religious observances, a practice which the Roman Christian theologian Tertullian vehemently protested as "the useless lighting of lamps at noonday." By the fourth century, both candles and lamps were part of Christian rituals, but it was not until the latter part of the Middle Ages, from the twelfth century on, that candles were placed on church altars. The Catholic Church established the use of consecrated holy candles in rituals of blessings and absolving sins, and in exorcizing demons.
Witch-hunt Lore
During the witch-hunts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, inquisitors' handbooks such as the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) prescribed holy candles as among those consecrated objects "for preserving oneself from the injury of witches." Farmers used holy candles to protect their livestock from danger and bewitchment.
light the way to the sacred;they dispel the forces of darkness; they are associated with ghosts and the dead; they can find buried treasure; and they play a role in incubated dreaming. The origin of candles is not known, but there is evidence that beeswax candles were used in Egypt and Crete as early as 3000 B.C.E. Other early candles consisted of tapers made of a fibrous material, such as rushes, saturated with tallow.
Ancient peoples observed that candle flames revealed mysterious things. By staring into a flame, one could enter an altered state of consciousness and see gods and spirits, or see the future. The late Egyptians of about the third century used lamps, and possibly candles, in a magic ritual for "dreaming true," or obtaining answers from dreams. The individual retired to a dark cave facing south and sat and stared into a flame until he saw a god. He then lay down and went to sleep, anticipating that the god would appear in his dreams with the answers he sought.
Ancient Pagans used candles and lamps in religious observances, a practice which the Roman Christian theologian Tertullian vehemently protested as "the useless lighting of lamps at noonday." By the fourth century, both candles and lamps were part of Christian rituals, but it was not until the latter part of the Middle Ages, from the twelfth century on, that candles were placed on church altars. The Catholic Church established the use of consecrated holy candles in rituals of blessings and absolving sins, and in exorcizing demons.
Witch-hunt Lore
During the witch-hunts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, inquisitors' handbooks such as the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) prescribed holy candles as among those consecrated objects "for preserving oneself from the injury of witches." Farmers used holy candles to protect their livestock from danger and bewitchment.
