You read and hear these comments all the time: Light a candle for me... Light a candle for this spell... Light a candle at each of the circle corners... But what does all this candle consumption do to us? What does it do to our environment? We have asked ourselves these questions many times over the years, and here are the research results.
Fire rituals are as old as fire, and candle burning is a beautiful continuation of this tradition. Most Pagans have no desire to quit burning candles, but at the same time many of us are concerned with the environmental and health impact of candle burning. Although most people are not that concerned about a few candles burned on special occasions, the average Pagan burns large numbers of candles on a regular basis.
Burning candles may affect the quality of the air inside your home, and eventually may affect your health. When burned, candles emit the standard chemicals present in most combustion processes. These emissions include carbon monoxide, soot (carbon particles and hydrocarbons - burned, unburned and partially burned) and carbon dioxide.
Scented candles may contain alcohols, solvents, aldehydes, petrochemicals and other synthetic fragrances. Many of these fragrances are considered safe for perfuming, but were never intended to be burned or heated. There is little to no governmental regulation on what can be used to scent candles in the U.S.A. or other countries. Both naturally scented and artificially scented candles may cause irritation for those with allergies, and generally, the more fragrance a candle contains, the more toxins it releases when burned.
A few candles on the market use thin metal wires within the wick. This wire is usually made of zinc, which is considered safe, but it is sometimes made from lead. It is best to either avoid these candles or to purchase this type from a supplier with a lead-free guarantee. When a lead wick is burned, it becomes very fine particles of lead oxide. These easily airborne particles can be inhaled, deposited in the lungs where they eventually enter the blood stream (lead poisoning.)* They may also be deposited on food, clothing, hair, walls, furniture, etc.
Soot from candle burning will slowly coat the surfaces of your home and your lungs. Certain types of soot may even contain carcinogens.
Before moving on, lets put this into perspective. The pollutants from burning a candle on your altar in no way compares to the pollutants you would inhale while standing on a busy street corner when a bus goes by! The significance of candle pollutants is that we are exposed to them on a regular (cumulative) basis.
Beyond the actual materials used in candles such as soy, beeswax, paraffin, etc., the actual construction of a candle can affect its emissions. A poorly made candle with a wick that is too large for the diameter of the candle will smoke and emit more soot. A candle made with a wick that is too thin for the candle diameter will also smoke and emit more soot. A candle made with stearin and highly refined paraffin generally has fewer emissions than a cheap, oily candle made of low grade paraffin.
How you burn your candles will also affect the amount of emissions a candle creates. Here are some tips to keep emissions to a minimum:
- Don't burn candles in drafty areas. Drafts cause the flame to flicker, and will cause more smoke and soot. If you occasionally desire flickering candlelight (such as for Scrying purposes), crack a window to provide additional ventilation.
- Do burn candles (and incense) in ventilated areas. Many homes are super-sealed to conserve energy. Weather stripping and insulation may keep out the cold and heat, but they can also prevent fresh air exchange. Whenever you are burning candles or incense, it is a good idea to provide a little ventilation. Crack a window a quarter inch, but keep your candle away from it to prevent drafts.
- Keep it clean. Remove matches, wick pieces, insects (moths in the summer) that fall into the wax. These may emit more toxins, and they may catch fire and become a "second" wick.
- Trim wicks to 1/4 inch. Keeping wicks trimmed will cut down on smoke, soot and emissions.
- Primitive Lead Test: If you have a candle with a wire-core wick, try this test. Peel the cotton wicking away from the center metal wire. Rub the exposed wire on a piece of paper. Zinc will leave little or no mark, lead will leave a mark like a thin pencil lead. Pencils don't use real lead anymore, but the wick mark will be similar. If your candle leaves a pencil-like mark, wash your hands thoroughly and properly dispose of the candle.
- Size DOESN'T Matter: Choose the smallest candle possible for your needs, and consider replacing tapers with votives for less wax waste and more consistent burning. For any magickal purpose, the size of the candle you use makes no difference. You can put the same amount of energy into a birthday candle as you can a 20 day jar candle. If a spell requires you to burn a candle for several days, try charging several smaller candles, and then burning one each day while you re-focus your energy. Not only will you burn less wax, you'll be adding reinforcement to your spell. Don't use a 40 hour votive for a 4 hour Sabbat ritual. Don't burn a 10 hour taper for a 1 hour dinner.
- Choose Unscented: Buy unscented candles whenever possible. If you wish to use fragrance, anoint or dress your candles. (Better yet, use an oil diffuser to add fragrance to your ritual.) Dressed candles have less fragrance, and the oils you apply to the outside of the candle are often heated and evaporate or diffuse before they are ever burned.
- Choose Color Free or Layer Dipped: White candles have fewer chemicals and toxin when they burn. Metallic colored candles in silver and gold are the worst toxin culprits, but even the solid colored candles have large amounts of pigments. Some of these colors are non-toxic (like crayons) but were never intended to be burned (much like many fragrances). The best solution to adding color is to purchase white candles, and burn them in colored glass votive jars. Keep a rainbow of colored votive jars on hand for every magickal use. Layer dipped candles are then next best option. These are white candles that have been dipped a few times in colored wax.
The Environment
Understanding how every aspect of candle burning affects the environment, from manufacturing and production of candles to lighting a match or lighter to start the wick, is far beyond the scope of any single article. This is a brief comparison of the origins and production of most candles, and which methods appear to tread more lightly on our Earth.
Paraffin Candles:
The most common type of candle, these are available in a wide range of quality. Some types, such as those found in tall jars at occult shops, use very low quality wax that emits a petroleum fragrance. Other types are made with high quality wax and have fewer emissions.
Paraffin is a petroleum by product. Before petroleum is processed into gasoline, motor oil, kerosene and other products, paraffin and other chemicals are extracted. Petroleum is not a renewable resource.
Soy Candles (and Vegetable Wax Candles):
Soy candles burn cleaner than paraffin candles. Soybean waxes are used as a base instead of petroleum, and they emit considerably less smoke and only trace amounts of soot. Soy candles have a lower melting point so they burn a little cooler and a little longer (30-50%). The longer burning is good, because the cost of these candles is shocking as they are a popular new trend.
Although soy is a renewable resource, soybeans are not necessarily without their own environmental impact. The production of soybeans puts an enormous amount of toxins into the environment (herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers) and the Monsanto corporation has created genetic hybrids that may potentially cause even more environmental problems.
Due to their trendy popularity, lower supply and some savvy marketing, these candles cost a great deal more than any other type of candle. Many companies use scare tactics to sell these candles, making paraffin out to be some Satanic toxic waste conspiracy. These candles are far superior to paraffin, but we are not positive that they warrant their hefty price tag, and we don't appreciate how they are being marketed as completely safe and harmless (to people and the environment).
Soy candles made from organically grown soy are very rare, and currently cost up to $25 for a single votive when you can find them. There are other vegetable wax candles available with lower price tags and similar long, cleaner, burning properties to that of soy.
You can also use olive oil, canola oil or other similar oils in special vegetable oil lamps such as the Hestia Goddess lamp to the left. Although these are obviously not candles, they can be used for similar fire workings.
Beeswax Candles:
Like soy candles, beeswax emits considerably less smoke and soot. In addition, there are no petrochemicals in the wax. A renewable resource, beeswax production is essentially a byproduct of honey production. Because beekeepers sacrifice a large amount of honey production by harvesting the wax, the cost for beeswax can be high. Still, they generally cost less than soy candles (but more than paraffin) and bees provide pollination to many orchards around the world. Read more about beeswax by searching PaganPath.com.
Beekeeping is becoming more difficult with the introduction of new genetic hybrids (without flowers or pollen) and the copious amounts of chemicals used in the agro-industry (like soybean production). Beeswax candles also burn longer than paraffin (but not as long as soy candles), offsetting some of the higher cost.
Unscented beeswax has a natural, pleasant, honey fragrance. Candles are usually yellow, gold, light yellow, or cream in color. Although they aren't perfect, we think these are a good candle choice overall.
Bayberry Candles, Bayberry Tallow, Myrtle Wax:
Made from the wax of the bayberry bush (Myrica sp..) and often blended with beeswax, bayberry candles are an interesting type for occasional use. They may smoke a little more than beeswax, but they are made from a renewable resource. The waxy "berries" are collected, leaving the plant alive, and they contain no petrochemicals. Myrica are generally grown with fewer fertilizers and pesticides than soy.
Bayberry candles are naturally green, forest green, brown-green, gray-green or yellow-green in color (think avocado) and have a light hay or hay-and-honey type fragrance. They are very costly, about twice the price of beeswax but wonderful for Yule.
Floating Wicks (Veilleuses in France):
These are by far the best choice for burning. Known for many years in the floral industry for use in floating flower arrangement, these wicks can be used to create custom candles in less than 10 seconds.
A small, 1 cm (1/2 inch) piece of rigid, wax coated wick is places in a special plastic disk. A heat resistant container is filled part way with water, then topped with an inch or two of vegetable oil. The plastic disk is floated on a layer of vegetable oil. Like soy candles, floating wicks burn at lower temperatures and have few emissions and soot.
The water can be colored with food coloring, stones, shells, crystals, etc. for a multitude of magickal purposes. Although the vegetable oil can be scented with small amounts of essential oils, we do not recommend this practice. Some oils can release minute quantities of toxins. More often, some essential oils will degrade the plastic disk or cause the wick to burn too hot and melt the plastic.
The environmental "friendliness" of these candles depends on the type of oil you burn. Soybean, vegetable and corn oils all have the same agricultural drawbacks that soy wax candles do. Sunflower oil is a better choice. Olive oil is the best choice in our opinions because olive trees are grown with fewer chemicals, and they are left standing after harvest. A wonderful, truly renewable resource. This is our currently our personal choice.
Oil Lamps:
For ritual purposes, only two types of oil lamps will be profiled here.
- Paraffin Lamps: Usually clear glass with a fibrous wick, these lamps burn clear or colored, scented or unscented liquid paraffin and have the same drawbacks as paraffin candles.
- Vegetable Oil Lamps: These are usually copper, ceramic or pottery lamps with a cotton wick. They burn any type of vegetable oil and come in a variety of styles. Allowing just the right amount of wick to be exposed is the trick to this type of lamp. Too little or too much wick exposed will cause smoke and soot.
Supplementary Reading:
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Report:
PDF FILE FORMAT: Candles and Incense as Potential Sources of Indoor Air Pollution: Market Analysis and Literature: Prepared by National Risk Management Research Laboratory in Cincinnati, OH: January 2001: EPA/600/SR-01/001
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