Step 1: Gather your supplies. I used:
*small Dixie cups (must be wax-lined 3oz cups)
* double boiler (a large pot for boiling water and a smaller pot that sits inside enough to touch the water but not sink inside. This is so the wax does not burn. Never heat up wax directly on stove. I get my pots at Goodwill. Once you use them for candles, you should not expect to use them for food. Keep your candle making supplies separate.)
* something for stirring in the wax. I use a hawthorn stick but anything wood or metal is fine.
* wax. I save the butts of large, unscented pillars that I buy and melt them down once a year. I also buy local beeswax and mix some in with the cheaper wax for a nice burn. You can buy candle wax at the craft store, too.
* wicks (I used a pack of votive wicks with the metal bottoms from the local craft store)
* something to hold the wicks steady and centered in the cups. All I had at hand was silver painted cat bones and they worked great, but pencils work fine, too. (I know that sounds weird but I’m a witch so what do you expect?)
* a towel, a pie pan, a flat surface that is protected with a special cutting board or aluminum foil, and some paper towels.
* herbs and whatever crystals, salt, etc you are using in your candles…
Start melting your wax on the double boiler. Fill the large pot up with water and let it come to a rolling boil. turn it down to a simmer and place the other pot inside with some wax in it. Allow the wax to melt. This will take about 15 minutes. Chop or grind some of your herbs and put them in now. They will infuse the wax as it heats.
Note: If you are melting down the butts of candles, make sure you take out the old wick pieces with a fork or stick when all the wax is melted. You should see them easily and this should always be done asap before you fill the candle molds.
As you wait for the wax to melt, get your cup molds ready. I do small batches of 4 at a time, but you can do larger batches if you feel able. Position the cups on the protected surface and situate the wicks in the center of the cups with the top ends wrapped around the pencils. This will keep them in the center. Play with them a bit until they look good.
Pour the melted wax carefully into the prepared cups, careful to pour from the side and not to get wax on the pencils holding the wicks if you can help it. Do not fill them to top. Try to leave about a ½ inch. The wicks and pencils may move slightly during this. It’s fine, just center them again carefully as soon as you are finished pouring all the wax. The herbs naturally sink to the bottom of the melting wax, so if you want the marinated herbs in your candles, take a spoonful or two and add them to each mold. (You’ll see what I mean here when you’re doing it.) If you have wax left in the pot, just set it back in the water and let it keep heating for now.
Let the candles sit for about 5-10 minutes, then add some herbs that will float on top and look decorative. This batch is for Yule celebration and also protective, so I used rosemary, rue, mint, and some salt in the melting pot. Once the wax was poured in the molds I sprinkled a little cedar, cinnamon, and lavender into each of them as the wax started to set.
Let them sit for another 5 minutes. At this point you can sprinkle some essential oils into them if you want. I used bergamot, cedar, and lavender oils.
Wait about an hour. If you have a very specific intent for these candles, this would be a good time to pray over them or send your intent to them.
Step 6:
Peel the paper cup carefully away from the candle. It helps to cut the lip of the cup a little to get it started, then the paper peels easily away. The bottom paper may be stuck. It’s important to get that off too. I just use my nail to get under it and it comes off fairly easily, too. It’s very important to get all the paper cup off of the candle.
Step 7:
Voila! Beautiful fricken’ candles on a Wal-Mart budget. I like to charge them on my big amethyst or put them under the next full moon… Really it’s entirely up to you how detailed or focused you want to get with this. The basic process is simple and then you can start to experiment with colors, herbs, crystals…
The awesome thing about these is that they fit perfectly in any standard size votive holder!
* clean out the pot with the wax when it is still warm. I try to use every drop and then wipe it out with a paper towel. You can always set it back in the larger pot of water to heat it up before wiping it out.
* If you will be doing very different spell batches it might be nice to have a few small melting pots for each specific herb blend.
* Keep your candle making supplies together and in a safe spot. Especially if you have kids and pets.
Have fun, witches!
