Candles did not begin as a luxury. They were first known as a tool for survival and healing, used as a means to work, to bury the dead, to give birth, to honor death, and to keep watch in the hours when the sun withdrew. Yet even in their most functional form, they carried devotion. Across cultures and millennia, candles have illuminated not just darkness, but the human spirit.
People mixed wax with herbs, resins, fats, and oils, not only for efficiency or beauty, but to infuse intention. From their earliest use, candles were both instrument and offering. They were a medium through which humanity learned to speak the language of fire.
When I pour wax, I feel a trace of that lineage in my hands. It’s not nostalgia for a personal memory, but a deeper kind of inheritance. This knowledge was passed down through the elementals. Oil from trees. Wax from bees. Essence from flowers. A wick spun from fiber. To make a candle is to join the elements into one body: earth in the plant, fire in the burn, air in the breath of the flame, water in the life that once moved through every ingredient.
Nothing about a candle is inert. Every component once lived — woven in prayer.
The story of candle-making spans continents and civilizations. Ancient Egyptians crafted early forms of candles by dipping reeds into animal fat, while the Romans rolled tallow into papyrus wicks to light temples and homes. In China, early candle-makers used rice paper wicks and whale fat; in India, they used ghee, for both spiritual offerings and practical illumination.
In every corner of the world, humans sought ways to capture and sustain fire, but what’s more fascinating is how they ritualized the act. Candles were often made with sacred resins like frankincense and myrrh, as well as herbs like rosemary and sage, or oils pressed from native plants. The materials chosen carried symbolic resonance, evoking themes of purification, remembrance, devotion, and protection, among others.
Over thousands of years, candles became a universal language of ceremony. They burned at altars, beside bedsides, in temples, and at graves. A single flame could bless a birth, guide the dying, or mark the cycles of the moon. Although technology has transformed how we illuminate our world, the symbolic role of the candle endures as both light source and symbol of devotion.
Every candle embodies the alchemy of the four elements. Earth lives in the plants and bees that give wax and oil. Water flows in the life force that once moved through every living ingredient. Air sustains the breath of the flame. Fire transforms matter into light.
To pour a candle is to participate in elemental creation, to bring these forces into harmony. In many traditions, lighting a candle is not merely a gesture of ambiance but an act of communion with nature itself. The wax melts like the Earth yielding to the Sun. The flame breathes, sways, consumes, and releases. Candles are quiet teachers in impermanence and presence.
Even the process of candle-making invites reflection. Choosing each ingredient with care — the wax, color, and scent — is an exercise in mindfulness. When we approach candle-making as a sacred craft, every pour, ingredient, and burn becomes its own sort of prayer.
One of the rituals I feel a profound resonance with is la velación, a Mesoamerican healing ceremony in which candles are read to assess the energetics of a person or situation. In a velación, the candle’s flame becomes a divinatory instrument. The way the wax drips, the flicker and height of the flame, the soot’s direction, or how a wick bends or resists… all of it is a form of language. Practitioners observe these signs to interpret energetic imbalances, blockages, or affirmations from the spiritual world.
The candle becomes a living intermediary between worlds. Once lit in a sacred space with a specific intention or petition, every aspect of its behavior is part of a dialogue whose message is shaped by air, fire, and unseen forces.
While velaciónes are deeply spiritual in nature and not a substitute for any medical practice, they demonstrate something profound: flame can reveal what words cannot. Every flicker of light carries the wisdom that fire itself is an ancient communicator between realms.
Today, candle-making is experiencing a beautiful revival. In an age of screens and overstimulation, people are returning to rituals that ground and slow the spirit. Lighting a candle has once again become an act of intention, or a way to reclaim our sacred time. This modern renaissance also carries an ethical consciousness. Makers are turning to sustainable waxes, such as beeswax, soy, and coconut, as well as clean-burning wicks and natural colorants. Each ingredient choice becomes a meditation in harmony with the planet.
More than just décor, candles have reemerged as tools for mindfulness and presence. They are small, luminous anchors that remind us to breathe, pause, and feel. When we craft or light a candle, we participate in an ancient dialogue that reminds us that illumination is as much an inner act as an outer one.
Burning a candle is a meditative act. This is one of many ways to connect with a lineage that stretches from ancient hearths to your own modern altar. To honor this tradition, take a moment before lighting your candle to breathe deeply, set an intention, and acknowledge the sacred space you are creating. When you light your flame, you are participating in one of humanity’s oldest conversations between matter and spirit.
Each of our five signature Ritual Candles has been handcrafted in collaboration with Nikka of Crescent & Craft, merging artistry, intention, and ancestral knowledge. They are designed to honor the elements and carry the energy of a specific incantation, connecting you with protection, love, prosperity, intuition, or creativity.
Safety Notes: Burn with care and attention. Never leave a candle unattended. Each candle is approximately 8 inches tall, made with organic beeswax and soy wax, and infused with sustainably sourced, non-toxic dyes.
A Ritual Reminder: When you light any candle, remember that each flicker is a whisper of transformation, and every pool of wax is a mirror of surrender. Speak your intentions, offer a silent prayer, or recite the provided incantation. The words are yours, and the flame carries them into the space around you. Through ritual, collaboration, and presence, we continue the lineage of candle-making, honoring the alchemy of fire, plant, and intention. May every flame you light remind you that you are both the spark and the vessel, the offering and the prayer.
My relationship with candle-making deepened the moment I met Nikka Phillips — a fellow artist and witch whose work embodies the liminality of candles, elegantly dancing between the tangible and the mystical. From the first time I held one of her candles, I felt something alive in the light. Each flame seemed to remember, carrying the hum of ancient craft and quiet devotion. It felt less like discovery and more like a reunion.
Our collaboration quickly unfolded, like fire finding wick. We began blending our practices and passions into a new line of Ritual Candles, each one an offering to the elements. When Nikka came to New York City, we delved deeply into the artistry, experimenting with color, herbs, shape, and texture to explore how each combination might convey a distinct energetic tone.
Our workspace became an alchemist’s altar: notebooks spattered with wax, jars of petals and resins, pigments of ochre and indigo scattered among whispers of ideas burning late into the night. We matched herbs to colors, drawing from the earthly palette to weave symbolic harmonies:
Each blend reflects the symbolic (not medicinal) wisdom of plants, honoring the old ways that treated Nature’s hues and scents as conduits for prayer.
What I love most about this collaboration is how it mirrors the candle itself: two flames coming together to form a single, steady light. Together, we’re cultivating a practice that honors both artistry and ancestry, guided by intuition, reverence, and a profound appreciation for beauty.
May these candles tend your altars, soften your rituals, and remind you of the quiet power of the light we create together. We are so thrilled to see them illuminate your sacred spaces!
With warmth and wonder,
*This blog is for educational purposes only. The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
