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Have you noticed a lot of soot around the tops of your glass pillar candles as you're doing workings? Or maybe you've just planned out and done a massive ritual only to find out that there's a ton of black soot around your glass candles.
Well, don't panic too quickly, it's pretty normal and there are multiple reasons why this happens. In this article, I'll take you through the physical and spiritual meanings behind candle soot on your glass candles.
Candle Work In Practices
For centuries, candles have played a massive role in all practices and culture's spiritual ceremonies. Aside from just lighting up a space, candles have long been revered for what they represent: illumination, enlightenment, divine presence, communication with guides, and offerings. With any type of candle, the physical burning of the wick plays a role in removals, renewals, and so much more. There are so many aspects to candle work, which are discussed in other articles here on my site.
What Is Soot? Candle soot is that black gunk that's left over on some glass pillar candles after it's burned. Physically, it's the incomplete combustion of the candle burning. So, the candle's wick and wax do not burn completely and leave a carbon, or soot, film. The soot can be a variety of shades and thicknesses depending on the type of wax in the candle, the wick used, and how much air is circulating around the candle as it burns.
In most practices, fire is a powerful element that can provide communication, or a bridge, between the physical and the spiritual realms. Lighting a candle means you are opening that bridge up to the other side. It can also mean that you're making the areas around the candle a sacred space, bringing in a higher vibration, cleansing an area, and more.
Physical Reasons For Soot
Before you look at the spiritual meanings behind the soot on your candles, let's take a look at the physical ones. *Always look to the physical before the spiritual.
Impurities in the candle: The most common reason for soot around the top of a candle is impurities in the wax. Cheap candles are made with lower-quality wax which usually contains additives equalling soot around the tops.
Crappy combustion: If there isn't enough oxygen to the flame or in the room itself, it can cause a low flame and incomplete combustion. This will cause the flame to smoke more and cause a nice sooty layer.
Wick isn't wicking: The type and quality of the wick can also cause a lot of issues when the candle is burning. If the wick is too long, too short, off-center, etc, it can cause a lot of soot.
Too many combustibles: When you're beginning your candle work journey, it is natural to want to throw a ton of herbs on a candle. However, that creates a huge problem in that herbs are combustible. Too many herbs means too much heat, and that means soot and the possibility of your candle glass cracking.
Lighting techniques: How you light the candle wick, especially if the candle has burnt down low, can cause a soot line. So be care when using long matches, incense sticks, etc as they will all cause a soot line.
To learn more about wick issues and how to help fix them, check this article out.
Spiritual Reasons For Soot
Let's talk about the real reason why you're here: the spiritual meaning behind soot on your candle glass!
Negative energy going bye-bye: Soot after a candle ritual can mean that the clearing has worked. Some practices believe that seeing soot after a pillar candle has burned down means that the negativity has been cleared, collected in the soot, and is ready to be discarded. In other words, the candle has absorbed the negative bs. This is what I was personally taught and how I view my glass candles that have soot on them after a ritual.
Cleansing the space: In other practices, seeing soot can mean that there is a bit more clearing work to do. Even though I believe that the soot is the collection of the negative bs, if I see soot, I will still cleanse the space after the working is complete. With the negativity gone, cleansing and dedicating that space back to a sacred one is key.
Spirit talking: Other practices believe that the candle soot can provide messages from the other side, spirit guides, and so on. The pattern left behind in the soot can be a powerful clue as to how the ritual working was received.
To learn more about reading soot on glass pillar candles, check out this article!
I hope that this helps explain how and why soot is on the glass in your pillar candles with your next ritual working!
Love, Bodhi