17 – Candlestick + candle

Physical description:

Painted wooden candlestick.

Museum classification:

Divination

Size:

250 mm

Information:

Candle magic is simple, effective and popular. Carefully choose the colour of a candle, inscribe a rune, name or magical sign in the wax and light it at an appropriate time. This forms the basis of many a powerful spell. Piercing candles with pins is a universal method of divination; light the candle and wait for the pin or pins to drop. The falling pin can answer questions, give directions, even select a person from a group gathered around. Pierced candles are also used by some witches to remove curses or ill luck. Original text by Cecil Williamson : 'Painted wooden candlestick, the work of the wise woman, Mary Sale of Taunton. She made readings from the fall of two black-headed pins piercing a black candle the colour of her pins and candles selected depended on the type of case she was working - that is, for good, for joy, for gain, for love, or for hate etc. The candle stick stood on a large cloth covered round table, when the pins fell, their north-south, east-west, position was noted and together with a distance from base of stick and edge of table, a reading was deducted.' A visitor to the museum from Germany has told us that her parents, who live in Bavaria, used to light black candles (known as weather candles) during thunder storms as protection from lightning.

Resource:

Object

Materials:

Wood

Copyright ownership:

Copyright to The Museum of Witchcraft Ltd.

Candle magic is simple, effective and popular. Carefully choose the colour of a candle, inscribe a rune, name or magical sign in the wax and light it at an appropriate time. This forms the basis of many a powerful spell. Piercing candles with pins is a universal method of divination; light the candle and wait for the pin or pins to drop. The falling pin can answer questions, give directions, even select a person from a group gathered around. Pierced candles are also used by some witches to remove curses or ill luck. Original text by Cecil Williamson : 'Painted wooden candlestick, the work of the wise woman, Mary Sale of Taunton. She made readings from the fall of two black-headed pins piercing a black candle the colour of her pins and candles selected depended on the type of case she was working - that is, for good, for joy, for gain, for love, or for hate etc. The candle stick stood on a large cloth covered round table, when the pins fell, their north-south, east-west, position was noted and together with a distance from base of stick and edge of table, a reading was deducted.' A visitor to the museum from Germany has told us that her parents, who live in Bavaria, used to light black candles (known as weather candles) during thunder storms as protection from lightning.