Fire Magick – Divining Candle Flames
Anytime you light a candle for a magickal purpose, you can divine the wax, flame, and smoke patterns to interpret your answers. One simple but effective methods is to assign the candle right and left sides the correspond to yes and no. If the candle drips first to the left and you assigned that side to no, then your answer your answer is no.
Other methods call for watching the flame dance or the smoke spiral in a direction. If it dances to the west, you must watch your emotions. If it dances to the east, you must use your mental processes. Likewise, if it dances to the north, you will face a physical task, and if it dances to the south, you will have an intense experience of success.
If the flame burns high and strongly, the magick is working quickly and will be successful. If it is burning low and almost smothering itself out, you need to cleanse the entire area, including yourself, and rework the spell. If the flame is crackling, it means the magick has encountered opposition. If it burns mostly blue, it means you are connected to the divine. If it is sparking, it means to expect company.
If the soot around the candle turns the glass very black (like in a novena), it is thought to mean that someone has been thinking ill of you. A cleansing of the area should be performed. If the black soot is only around the top edge of the novena, it means that the magick has encountered opposition and may take a while to take effect.
If the smoke spirals toward you, the spell will work quickly. If it drifts away from you, you will have to persevere in order for your wish to be granted.
Some schools of thought teach to never blow out a candle flame, because it is rude to the elemental spirits of the fire. Others teach never to pinch them out. Likewise, some teach to never use matches and others say to use only matches. These are things you should decide for yourself, also, when employing candles for magick, always allow them to burn themselves out, if possible.
–Tammy Sullivan, Elemental Witch: Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Discover Your Natural Affinity