Black is the most misunderstood color on the candle shelf. It has nothing to do with harm: in nearly every candle tradition, black is the color that absorbs. It soaks up what you want gone, the way dark cloth soaks up heat, which is why a black candle is the first tool practitioners reach for when they want to clear out bad luck, end a situation, or put a wall between themselves and someone else's ill will. It is also simply a beautiful candle, and a row of black tapers has dressed dinner tables for as long as people have dyed wax. At Plentiful Earth black is our deepest candle collection, running from plain household and chime candles to seven-day jars, tall pillars, herbal votives, and the full range of traditional figure candles: black cats, separation candles, seven knob candles, and more.
What Does a Black Candle Mean?
A black candle means protection, banishing, and endings. In folk magic and hoodoo it is burned to remove a jinx or crossed condition, to send negativity back where it came from, to break a habit, and to close a chapter so a new one can start. Planetary magic gives black to Saturn and to Saturday, the day of boundaries and limits. Many practitioners burn a black candle first to clear the way, then a white or colored candle to bring in what they want. It is not a candle of cursing unless the person holding the match makes it one.
What You'll Find Here
Household and chime candles. The workhorses. Four-inch chimes burn in about two hours for a single working; six-inch household candles last longer and come singly, in sixes, or by the box of thirty-six or seventy-two for anyone who burns them often.
Seven-day jars and pillars. A black seven-day jar candle holds a long working steady for the better part of a week. Nine-inch pillars, including black-and-green and black-and-white doubles, suit altar work and reversal workings.
Figure candles. Black cat candles, a hoodoo favorite for turning bad luck into good; separation candles, two figures back to back, for ending a tie; male, female, and couple figures; seven knob wishing candles, burned one knob a day for seven days; and witch and Baphomet figures.
Dressed and devotional candles. Protection herbal votives, Reiki-charged protection pillars, ninety-hour jar candles scented with sage, frankincense, and dragon's blood, and black Holy Death candles, whose devotional use within the Santa Muerte tradition is best learned from practitioners within it.
How Do I Use a Black Candle?
Start by naming what you want gone. Carve a word or name into the wax if you like, dress the candle with a banishing or uncrossing oil, stroking away from yourself, and light it on a Saturday or during the waning moon if you follow the timing. Let it burn down completely if you can do so safely. When the working is about removing something, tradition says to dispose of the remains away from your home rather than keep them. Never leave any candle burning unattended.
Explore Related Collections
Black candles belong with our protection candles and the banishing and uncrossing collections. Pair one with a white candle to follow clearing with blessing, or a red candle for strength. Browse by form in chime candles, jar candles, and pillar candles, and find dressing oils in ritual oils.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are black candles bad or evil?
No. Black candles are used mainly for protection, banishing, and removing negativity. The color absorbs; it does not attack. Their sinister reputation comes from films, not from folk practice.
What is a black candle used for in a spell?
Uncrossing and jinx removal, protection, reversing harm, breaking habits, binding, grief work, and endings of all kinds.
What day should I burn a black candle?
Saturday, the day of Saturn, is traditional. The waning moon, when the moon is shrinking, is the matching lunar timing for anything you want to decrease.
What is a black cat candle for?
In hoodoo the black cat candle is burned for luck, especially gambling luck, and to reverse a run of bad fortune. It draws on the old belief that a black cat's luck can be turned in your favor.
How does a seven knob candle work?
You set one wish or one intention, then burn one knob each day for seven days in a row, putting the candle out between burns. Black seven knob candles are used for removing obstacles one layer at a time.
Can I use black candles just for decoration?
Of course. Black tapers and pillars are classic table and mantel candles, and ours burn the same whether or not there is an intention behind them.
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