As a witch I was burning candles for healing way before I learned Reiki. It is one method of healing in my bag of tricks that has been effective for me more times than I can even count. When my friends ask, I will light a candle for them in their time of need. I use a Reiki candle when I don’t have time for a full distance Reiki session or I think that the person needs a continuous flow of Reiki to alleviate a pressing disease. I keep a drawer stocked with a multitude of colored candles for this work. You can also use this method if you want to manifest or banish something.
As I have said before, I like to time my work with the moon. Waxing for manifesting and waning to banish. The one exception to this for me is healing because it is both. You can tailor your candle to the moon tide if you like. A candle for a person with an abscessed tooth in the waxing moon could be white for all-around healing or blue for soothing infection. Whereas in the waning moon you would use purple for transformation, gray for neutralizing, or black for banishing. It can add punch to your working for you to go with the moon but it is not necessary if it is an emergency healing.
I like to check the healing color table on page 264 of Christopher Penczak’s book The Inner Temple of Witchcraft for suggestions for different diseases. He also has a pretty comprehensive color list for candle intentions in the Magic of Reiki in the Appendix. If you are in a pinch, white is the best one to have around because it contains all colors and can be used for any goal or healing. When in doubt go with the healing color that speaks to you at the time. Trust your intuition to help you choose the right one for the situation. For healing an abscessed tooth my intuition lead me to blue where Christopher suggests purple or violet. I love Christopher, but you can bet good money I went with my intuition because it sees more than my conscious mind can process.
I’ve taken out my blue candle and got a metal holder for it. I like to carve Reiki symbols that align with what I am healing. Since this is a physical healing I would use the empowerment symbol and since it is at a distance the distance symbol. I might also add the emotional symbol because it may have roots in the emotions. There are other symbols you could incorporate but I like the simple three. I will usually use a knife or nail to carve them in. The next step is to anoint the candle in a healing oil or potion. My healing oil at the present comes from a Scott Cunnigham formula of eucalyptus, orange, and pine essential oil mixed with a base oil of grape seed. If you don’t have something like this you can use sunflower oil or olive oil to anoint it. I like to move out from the center when banishing and moving from the ends of the candle to the center for manifesting. Other traditions do it differently but this is the one that has always stuck with me. After this is done I reiki the candle until I feel that it is charged. You should be able to feel when it is full. I like to say an intention prayer over the candle. This statement has changed over the years but is based on something I read in a book by Silver Ravenwolf and one by Marion Weinstein. It goes like this:
“By the one power that is the goddess and god
from which all Reiki and healing emanates,
Who work through me and with me
To bring about healing (manifestation, clearing or any intention)
I charge this candle to burn in service of the light
(here is where the intention comes in)
To heal Charley Chuckle’s abscessed tooth
and to return him to perfect health on all levels
I ask this for the highest healing good of all concerned and harming none.
So mote it be!”
Then I put in place and light the candle. I clap my hands three times to symbolize letting go of any attachment or cords created and let it do its work. I like to put mine either on my altar when I am near by or in our fireplace. Sometimes if I feel it is desperate I will put the candle in the sink or bathtub to burn overnight. If you can’t do this it is perfectly fine to snuff your candles and relight them when you can watch them. I feel this makes the healing take a bit longer though so if it is an emergency I let it burn through the night until it is done. When the healing is done sometimes I will burn a white candle as an offering in gratitude for the healing.
