From Evernote:

Blog: Daily Devotion

For those who are interested in Magick. A great way to keep connected with magick is through daily devotion. Here are some helpful tips for your daily devotion time. Enjoy!

Peace & Love - 

Tater the wise Spud

Daily Devotion

It is important to remain connected to your magicks at all times if you are going to live a life with magick. You need to be aware of the continue ebbs and flows of your own energy and learn to keep it in check.

When we first start out on the path we are taught about energy personal, elemental, divine and the list goes on and on. We start to keep books of shadows, where we note every new energy form, we come in contact with.

We also note when our own internal energy changes and begin to control it allowing an even continues flow of energy and magick. For the beginner it is important to strengthen your connection and magick.

One of the best ways to do this is to do a daily devotion. There are no hard and fast rules on how your devotion should be shown, although for beginners it should become a routine.

Some ideas for Daily devotions include-

Writing in book of shadows

A mini ritual (breathing meditation visualisation)

Simple meditation

Pendent charging (charging a piece of jewellery you ware each day with solar energy)

Morning or evening ritual (short complete ritual)

Energy play or building and retracting energy

A daily prayer one of own construction

A walk in nature

This daily devotion should help you to connect with magicks on a deep personal level like you would with a friend. I personally feel that if your only contact with magick and the divine is when you celebrate a festival or do spell work you will soon find they find you less worthy.

One of the biggest things that a daily devotion does is help remove fear and it the fear we face when we look in to the eyes of the goddess or at the form of the elements or even at the magick we hold. That do hope I am worthy feeling we get when we first start our pagan path.

We need to befriend these forces say hi just because the day is just not right unless you have said hi. These force want to be your friends and allies so treat them well like you do your best friend.

Now your daily ritual as a form of devotion is it away of honouring their presence in your life and a reminder that they will give you all you need without asking so with out asking give to them your time and love.

 

Think of it in the same way as facebook pop in, nothing formal, update status check their comments leave response or click a like sometime wait for response other times check back later.

Your daily devotion is a person thing it can be as lose as face book or as complex as a high magick ritual but it should be fun and leave you feeling refreshed. You can have one alone “big or small” or have lots of little ones they can be at the same time everyday or at random time to suit you busy life.

Example; a daily devotion. To the god of nature and the mother earth.

Each day I walk the dog I walk past three oaks in a row when I come to the first tree I stop look up through the branches seeing the energy flow through the tree say a short thank you then walk on if I notice any special acorns or twigs I collect them and take them home they normal have a reason. On the route home I cross a field and as I walk the grass I start to think of my goddess and all she does and depending on the weather I think of the element of earth and if raining earth and water etc

There are no fancy words just an inner dialogue with the divine and elements a friendly chat so to say. That all a daily devotion needs to be, you just need to find your own way of giving some time to honour them daily a way of saying thanks for all they share with you.

Posted from http://www.cybercauldron.co.uk/daily-devotion/ 

From Evernote:

News: Gravity-Defying Goats

Posted from the news desk of ilovetater.com

Evolution continues! Enjoy!

Later -

Tater Scot

Gravity-Defying Goats

Photograph by Adriano Migliorati/Caters News

Using moves that would make any rock climber jealous, Alpine ibex cling to a near-vertical rock face of a northern Italian dam in summer 2010.

This and other pictures of the goats have been circulating online recently, particularly in emails claiming the animals are bighorn sheep on Wyoming's Buffalo Bill Dam, the rumor-quashing website Snopes reported in September.

In truth, Adriano Migliorati snapped the pictures at the 160-foot-tall (49-meter-tall) Cingino Dam (see map of the region), the Italian hiker told National Geographic News via email. The goats are attracted to the dam's salt-crusted stones, according to the U.K.-based Caters news agency. Grazing animals don't get enough of the mineral in their vegetarian diets.

It's not far-fetched, though, to think such a scene could be photographed in the United States. For example, mountain goats could scale dams in the U.S. West, according to Jeff Opperman, senior advisor for sustainable hydropower at the U.S.-based nonprofit the Nature Conservancy.

Opperman, who called the Cingino pictures "mind-boggling," pointed out a picture of a Montana mountain goat doing an "incredibly acrobatic stretching maneuver to lick salt" in the November National Geographic magazine (eighth picture in this photo gallery).

"He is wedged up this sheer vertical cliff face, almost doing a yoga pose with four hooves splayed out there," he said. "It's the same concept [with the Italian goats]—these animals can overcome what looks like impossible topography to get what they want."

Opperman cautioned, though, that the Italian dam is rare, in that its rough masonry provides gaps that act as toeholds. The more common, smooth-concrete dams—such as Buffalo Bill Dam— would give goats anywhere in the world trouble, he said.

Cingino Dam isn't completely vertical, allowing ibex—such as these goats pictured in summer 2010—to gain some purchase.

Adapted to their perilous environment, Alpine ibex have evolved a specialized split hoof, whose cleft is wider than on any other split-hooved species, according to Smithsonian Magazine. The hoof also has a hard wall that can grab on to steep cliffs and a soft, rubbery inside that serves as a "stopper" when the animal is pushed forward by gravity, the magazine reported.

 

And because dams are usually built in steep canyons, Cingino's steep rock face is likely nothing novel for the mountain-dwelling ibex, according to Opperman. 

Sometimes reaching heights of 16,000 feet (5,000 meters), the herbivores spend their lives scrambling the European Alps' rocky and steep terrain, according to Caters news agency.

By scaling Cingino Dam, salt-craving ibex, such as this animal pictured in summer 2010, are "showing ingenuity, taking advantage of this human-created thing in their environment," the Nature Conservancy's Opperman said.

Some other enterprising species can also work around dams in their habitats. For instance, eels can literally wriggle up some dams obstructing their paths, Opperman noted. But all too often dams act as barriers for wildlife, for example by blocking migrating salmon and other fish.

"When we think about dams, it's often [about] these weighty issues," such as balancing energy needs with wildlife protection, Opperman added. The goat pictures are "a whimsical, comic relief to that."

—Christine Dell'Amore

Posted from   

Published November 1, 2010

From Evernote:

Blog: Hearing Voices

For those who are interested in Tarot. Ginny Hunt talks about the different "personalities" of tarot decks and how the connection you have to them, says a lot about you. Enjoy!

Peace & Love - 

Tater the wise Spud

Hearing Voices

By Ginny Hunt

from 78 Notes to Self: A Tarot Journal 

My statement in the comments section from this  post  regarding the "personalities" of decks seems to fly in the face of my stance that these tarot cards are inanimate bits of paper and ink that have no power in and of themselves.  How can I say on one hand that they lay lifeless until the reader gives them voice and on the other hand state they have unique "personalities?"  It's really just a metaphor, and I think tarot readers are so accustomed to speaking in metaphor, given the symbolic and highly metaphorical nature of tarot cards, that we tend to say stuff like this and it goes unchallenged because we "get it."  But not everyone reads tarot and not everyone gets it.  And some people are fruit loops and think the cards actually talk.  But no lie, it sometimes seems like they do.

                                                                                        

When I chose my first tarot deck I did so out of purely subjective preference for the artistic style of the deck.  I really love art deco/nouveau, 1930's era children's book illustrations and pre-raphaelite styles.  I was torn between Pamela Coleman Smith's and Frieda Harris' styles.  Of the Rider-Waite-Smith choices the softened colors of the Universal Waite appealed to me and the large size of the Thoth deck counted against it as I have smallish hands and needed a deck I could actually shuffle. (I have since learned this deck comes in a smaller size.)  In the end I eventually acquired both, but I started with the Universal Waite.  Tarot was so new to me then that I didn't perceive any particular "personality" to the deck.  To me it was just a deck of lovely pictures that I was trying to learn and decode.  That deck became very worn very fast.  It remains one of my favorite decks to read with and I tend to use the RWS when reading professionally because I am so familiar with it and it feels very straightforward to me.   I don't want to have to work any harder than I already do.

Soon enough, I felt the yearning for a different deck, a different set of pictures or at least the same pictures drawn a different way.  I chose the Robin Wood tarot.  It was so like the RWS that I had come to know, but different enough to challenge me and force me to look at certain cards a different way.  I still think the Robin Wood deck's Devil card is one of the most unique I've seen and the 3 of Swords, 7 of Swords, and 8 of Swords are, to me, very compelling.  I don't care for most of the court cards, though, and they have a very late 70's early 80's style of art that wasn't appealing to me.  I still hadn't sensed "personality" in these decks but was focusing mainly on the appeal of the art.  The Robin Wood reads similarly to the RWS, so it wasn't much of a difference.  As I began collecting decks that appealed to me and started reading with them, I think the first one I noticed myself having a distinctly different response to the cards was the Fey deck.  The scenes on the cards, seemingly childish and cartoon-like, actually held within them much depth and darkness, and yet the figures would often seem playful and not at all serious.  The images themselves seemed to reach into places inside my mind that my other decks did not go and they inspired me to look at the meanings of certain cards in a unique way.  This is what lends a deck its "voice" and "personality."

The voice of the deck, how it "speaks" to you, is subject to your own experiences and preferences.  Certain images will provoke certain responses from you while others leave you blank.  That's why we choose certain decks over others, because of our own visceral responses to them. That response will differ from reader to reader as it is highly individual.  The Thoth, to me, is slightly dark, humorous, and snide.  When reading with this deck, I sometimes feel like it's being sarcastic or playing a slightly amusing to itself joke on me.  It's an intelligent and dry kind of humor that doesn't sit well with some people.  The Hudes deck, while some don't like the "dull" expressions on the faces, I love it for its quiet and somber mood.  It's deep to me and expressive.  I can only really "hear" the voice of a deck if I work with it a lot.  I have to get to know its distinct personality, the way it sends its unique messages, the tone of readings that are common with the deck.  I was really surprised by the cute, retro Housewives Tarot.  It was so kitchy and fun, I picked it up on a lark, just because it reminded me of all the old TV shows I used to watch as a kid.  But when I began reading with it, I was floored by the straightforward, "listen up, girlfriend!" readings it gave.

One thing I have learned about decks and their unique styles is that you never can tell how one will strike you.  You may love the artistic style, but when reading, it lies flat on the table, mumbling its messages.  I say, "Speak up!  I can't hear you!" and it just keeps murmuring.  This is not the fault of the deck at all.  It's not really a fault even.  It's just that the images, appealing as they may be, just aren't resonating with my subconscious storehouse of associations.  I've given these decks away to others for whom that chatter incessantly.

It can be tempting to become a deck hoarder just to sample the variety of personalities out there, but what I found when my deck collection began to grow is that I just didn't work with new decks enough to hear them well.  One has to really become familiar with a deck by reading with it a lot before you can really assess its tone and style.  Which is why deck reviews have very little appeal to me.  While some may find them useful, my experience with tarot is unlike watching a movie or eating at a restaurant.  It's even more intensely subjective and one person's "dud" deck is another one's tried and true gut-spilling oracle.  Just because a deck may or may not "read well" for one person is no indication at all whether I will click with it or not.  I appreciate deck reviews mainly as exposure for new decks I haven't seen yet.  Following the online link to the author and/or artist website so I can see more has led to a few purchases.  After acquiring around twenty or so decks, I stopped collecting.  Tarot decks are, to me, like confidantes.  Just as I can't possibly truly know a hundred people intimately, I feel I wouldn't have time to really get to know more decks.  I am not closed to the opportunity to make a new friend with a new deck, if I should find one that especially appeals to me, but I am now very selective about those choices. 

Here's an example of how I "hear" the Housewives Tarot:

Question:  I just applied for a position at my place of work.  Is there anything I can do to increase my chances of getting the job?

That Queen of Cups is all, "I know, honey.  You're so tired of the process and you want something to come through for you soon.  It's really hard.  Here, have a drink and relax.  You've already submitted your application and there's nothing you can do now but wait and see if they contact you.  You know you are more than qualified for that position.  They would be so lucky to get you!"  (Thanks, I needed that bit of encouragement)

Temperance: "Just wait a bit.  Keep doing your present job to the best of your ability.  Don't do anything rash.  Keep stirring, just keep stirring.  You know the secret to baking is the precise amounts of ingredients, so maintain a good balance between giving a damn but not letting it affect your life outside of work.  Remember what happened  the last time when you allowed yourself to get a little carried away with the attitude that it was a sure thing?  Yeah, your cake fell and bubbled all over the oven.  Just allow yourself a measured bit of hope with realistic thinking."  (Oh.  Ok.  Good reminder)

Five of Wands: "It's a highly competitive environment both in and out of your workplace.  You have to show how talented and skilled you are above the others vying for the job in order to make an impression.  There are just too many applicants that all have the same skills.  Find a way to stand out and shine! Now go get 'em, Girlfriend!" ( I'll be happy to do this if I score an interview)

See, to me, it's a very positive deck and yet realistic.  It's not Pollyanna-ish, but it is lighthearted.  I love this deck for advice readings.  I don't usually use it in professional readings because people tend to look at it quizzically like, "That's a tarot deck? What am I paying for here?  June Cleaver's predictions?"  I like it, but that doesn't mean everyone will.

Same question, same cards, different deck: The Thoth

The Queen is enshrouded in mist and can barely be seen or heard.  Her voice sounds muffled as if speaking under water.  I'm hearing her speak more to my mind, impressions, not a voice with words.  It sounds much like she's trying to calm me, soothe and comfort me,  reminding me that I am fine just the way I am.  But I won't get this job unless I really want it.  I have to feel the desire, not just speak it.

Temperance shows I'm going to need a good dose of mojo working in my favor to get this job.  It's a job that calls for a blending of many different qualities and skills, so I need to be aware that I'm going to need some heavenly odds in my favor, some magickal working.

Five of Wands -- Even with the gods in my favor, I'm still going to have a lot of competition, so without the gods, I'm screwed.

Thanks a lot, Thoth.

Others will likely see and hear these cards differently than I, and that's my point.  The cards themselves don't really have a voice or personality but that which the reader ascribes or associates with them.  The artist may intend one thing, but the viewer of the art perceives another.  We can argue forever about why this or that deck is "awful" or "fabulous" but in the end we're only talking about ourselves.

By Ginny Hunt

Ginny Hunt is a Professional Tarot Reader from Maryland. Her interest in the spiritual and metaphysical has been a lifelong passion. She has been a practicing counselor, both professionally with adolescents and para-professionally as a volunteer with abused women. She offers professional reading services through 78 Notes to Self.

 

From Evernote:

Blog: Magickal Herbs - The Uses of Sandalwood

For those who are interested in Magick. This article, by Debbie Dawson, discusses practical uses for Sandalwood. Enjoy!

Peace & Love - 

Tater the wise Spud

Magickal Herbs - The Uses of Sandalwood

Nov 1, 2010 Debbie Dawson

Sandalwood is a Herb With Many Magickal Uses - Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen

White Sandalwood is the better known common name of the tree Santalum album. Other folk names include; Sandal, Santal, Yellow Sandalwood and White Saunders. Sandalwood grows mostly in India where it is regarded as a sacred tree, known as Chandana, and the Indian government controls the trade in Sandalwood.

This article has been truncated per Author's instructions. Click link to read the full article: Magickal Herbs - The Uses of Sandalwood http://www.suite101.com/content/magickal-herbs---the-uses-of-sandalwood-a303479#ixzz149b6Y5kK

From Evernote:

News: Dentists offer Halloween candy buyback program

Posted from the news desk of ilovetater.com

Save your smile and lift the morale of U.S. troops at the same time! Enjoy!

Later -

Tater Scot

Dentists offer Halloween candy buyback program

By Jon Hurdle

PHILADELPHIA | Tue Nov 2, 2010 9:49am EDT

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Just a day after Halloween two Pennsylvania dentists are offering a candy buyback program to save the teeth of young trick-or-treaters and boost the morale of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Dentists Nalin and Arpan Patel, of Fairless Hills near Philadelphia, say they will pay $1 a pound (0.45 kg) to parents and children who turn in excess candy collected on Halloween. The proceeds will be sent to U.S. troops serving in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

"Not only will it save your teeth, our troops that are serving our country overseas will be able to enjoy a Halloween away from home," the dentists said in a statement.

Americans consume about 24 pounds (10.9 kg) of candy a year and most of that is believed to be at Halloween, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The American Dental Association urged parents to be aware of the damage too much candy can do to young teeth.

"This Halloween and throughout the year, the American Dental Association advises not to play decay-causing tricks on your teeth," it said in a statement.

 

Children seeking sweet treats from their neighbors on Halloween commonly come home with pounds of candy scooped up from baskets held out by home-owners or left on front porches where the roving groups can help themselves.

Children often eat too many of the free sweets on Halloween night and for days or weeks afterwards, boosting consumption well above normal levels.

But so much free candy can overwhelm even the sweetest tooth, and may encourage its recipients to give up their proceeds to the buyback program.

The dentists are accepting candy from November 1-5, and hope what is collected will cheer U.S. troops overseas.

"Now during these hard times, the spirit of giving and helping is needed more than ever," they said.

Posted from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6A131S20101102?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FoddlyEnoughNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Oddly+Enough%29&utm_content=Google+Reader 

From Evernote:

News: Maricopa County probes Sheriff Joe Arpaio's hidden employee database

Posted from the news desk of ilovetater.com

Sheriff Joe Arpaio can best be described as a cross between Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrain and Boss Hogg.  He is the sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the country. I can't tell you how proud I am to say, this [insert expletive]  is my sheriff. Enjoy!

Later -

Tater Scot

Maricopa County probes Sheriff Joe Arpaio's employee database

Officials say 'hidden' logs show misspending

by Yvonne Wingett and JJ Hensley - Nov. 1, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Maricopa County officials believe the discovery of a duplicate payroll log and database hidden in a secure computer system at the Sheriff's Office could reveal the extent of alleged misspending in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's agency.

The sheriff's employee database operated parallel to a county-run system, recording a different set of sheriff's staff assignments and payments than official records provided to county auditors. County officials say the system has existed since the early part of the decade, but they learned of it only recently through paperwork produced in a case alleging racial profiling against the Sheriff's Office.

Details of the sheriff's employee database and steps taken to investigate will be outlined to county supervisors at a hearing this morning.

The supervisors plan to subpoena 20 to 30 people to testify in the future about the hidden database, which is housed in a computer system at the center of a costly legal battle between Arpaio and the supervisors.

County administrators believe the Sheriff's Office intentionally misappropriated as much as $80 million designated for jail operations over five years to pay employees working in patrol, human-smuggling operations and investigative units. Those employees should have been paid with other funds, but county officials suspect the Sheriff's Office tried to maintain staffing levels by using money that legally was inaccessible.

The voter-approved jail-detention funds were established more than a decade ago with a sales tax of one-fifth cent per dollar to build and operate jail facilities.

If proven, the misappropriation of funds could lead to criminal charges. County Manager David Smith has called for an investigation by various agencies led by the U.S. Department of Justice.

A spokesman for the Sheriff's Office denied any intent to deceive county administrators. He blamed the confusion on a lack of compatible technology between the Sheriff's Office and other county agencies.

Some experts also have criticized county supervisors for not closely scrutinizing Sheriff's Office finances earlier.

County officials believe the Sheriff's Office used the payroll system, along with other spreadsheets and databases, to monitor work assignments but did not update the changes to the county's official payroll system. As many as 30 percent of employees were paid out of the wrong funds, they say.

Although the sheriff has wide discretion over how his agency's funds are spent, the board has responsibility to oversee all county spending and to ensure that it complies with state law.

The failure to maintain oversight of which funds were being used to pay employees has led to allegations that as much as $16 million a year in restricted detention funds was improperly spent.

The detention funds were approved by voters to be used only for jail operations. If the Sheriff's Office is found to have spent the money on patrol, immigration sweeps, administrative costs or other expenses, county officials believe the money legally would require repayment.

Attorney Tom Irvine, who represents the supervisors, suggested the county could crack down on sheriff's expenses to squeeze the money out of the sheriff's budget.

County officials are poring over records to determine how far back the alleged misspending of detention funds occurred. They suggest it could stretch five years or more and total as much as $80 million, although sheriff's staff dispute the figures.

County officials have a document in which Arpaio's chief financial officer, Loretta Barkell, estimates the figure to be $34 million, excluding overtime costs.

County budget and computer experts obtained data last week from the payroll system, known as PHReD, which was created in the early 2000s by a county programmer who has since died.

The custom-made system tracks employee salaries, job assignments, promotions, salaries and how the agency's 3,400 employees move around in the enormous system.

County officials believe the Sheriff's Office used PHReD and other spreadsheets and databases to monitor employee movements. But as employee assignments changed, the changes did not always get reported to the official payroll system.

The Sheriff's Office employs several systems to track employee movement throughout the county, said Lt. Brian Lee. He said the use of those systems was necessary for the office to function, not a plot to hide information from the county.

In the past two months, county officials have made allegations that later proved incorrect regarding Sheriff's Office spending on trips to Belize, Puerto Rico and Walt Disney World.

"It would seem that recently it has become standard operating procedure for the county to take this sinister approach against us regarding these matters," Lee said. "They've had to back off when we've proven them wrong. We feel they're going to have to back off on these allegations."

Deputy County Manager Sandi Wilson and her staff in the Office of Management and Budget for months have worked to figure out how extensive financial problems are, and she expressed shock at the hidden system.

"They've developed a system that basically tracks where they are working versus where they are being paid, and they did not update the official database, which led to the potential problems," Wilson said. "I think they deliberately hid this info from us."

The employee-tracking database was in a secure criminal-justice computer system accessible only to the Sheriff's Office. Control of access to that system, known as ICJIS, has been the subject of a long-running and expensive legal battle during the past two years.

County administrators say they were puzzled by the sheriff's willingness to sue over what they viewed as minor issues related to control of the ICJIS system. The fight by the sheriff to block county access to the system has cost more than $1.6 million.

County officials believe Sheriff's Chief Deputy David Hendershott sought to limit access to the system to hide the shadow payroll records it contained. Those records showed that potentially hundreds of employees who did no work in the jails were being paid with detention funds.

"That's a reasonable conclusion to draw, but we don't know for sure," Irvine said. "From Maricopa County's perspective, the ICJIS dispute and lawsuit has made no sense."

County officials sent information on the payroll system to the U.S. Attorney's Office for review. That office is conducting a separate abuse-of-power probe of Sheriff Arpaio, his employees and others.

U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke is working with County Attorney Rick Romley to deputize federal prosecutors so they can investigate allegations of crimes committed under state law, including potential legal violations as a result of the hidden payroll system.

Last month, County Manager David Smith, on behalf of the county Board of Supervisors, asked Burke to review financial records for "possible evidence of criminal behavior."

County officials believe sheriff's staff may have violated state statutes that include misappropriation of restricted funds; stealing, destroying, altering or secreting public records; malfeasance in public office; theft; and tampering with computers and public records.

The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/01/20101101maricopa-county-joe-arpaio-payroll-investigation.html#ixzz14452rnZz

From Evernote:

Blog: Budget Witch Tip - Recycle Your Candles!

For those who are interested in Magick. This is a great article for the budget-conscious spell caster on ways to recycle your candles. Enjoy!

Peace & Love - 

Tater the wise Spud

Budget Witch Tip: Recycle Your Candles!

by Rowan Pendragon

How many times have you been online or in a cool Witchy shop and found yourself mesmerized by the big, fat, colorful pillar candles?  If you’re there in person with the candles I’m sure you’re holding them, smelling them, and thinking about where you’ll have room for such a magickal candle.  Then you get it home, you light it and for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on how long you burn it at a time, you enjoy your candle and it’s warm scent in your home or at your altar.  But often these large pillars never burn all the way down and you almost always end up with left over wax.  Sometimes these candles can cost as much as $20 if you get one that’s handcrafted and 2-3″ of wax that doesn’t melt can be quite a waste.  But for just a little money, not only can you reuse that wax and keep the magickal scent going, you’ll also be able to do something good for Mama Gaia by not tossing out big hunks of wax!

This all started for me when one of my favorite candles didn’t burn all the way down last year.  I had bought a candle for Samhain from White Magick Shoppe, one of my favorite Pagan Etsy shops (who you’ve seen on my altar just about every Sabbat for over a year).  The candle wasn’t being used for my Samhain ritual but rather my small altar at my desk, this way I could smell this unbelievably awesome candle all day while I worked.  One day while burning it, thinking I still had a good amount of time left on the candle, it decided to go out.  I tried relighting it a handful of times and tried to get more exposure of the wick in hopes of getting something going, but it was to no avail.  I ended up leaving the hunk of wax sitting on my desk for a few days until I decided what to do with it.

It was time to recycle that wax!

Use it in a tart warmer or oil burner.

This is the easiest thing to do with your scented candle wax that gets left behind.  Wax tarts are those little 2″ round scented pucks that are basically candles without a wick.  You place them in the dish of a tart warmer and typically a candle, usually a tea light or a small votive candle, is placed in the bottom cavity of the warmer to heat the wax in the dish above; there are electric ones now that just need to be plugged in and a heating element does the rest.  The tart warmers can be quite inexpensive and can be found for $20 or less in stores like Wal-Mart or Target.  Nice “witchy” ones can be found in gift shops and new age stores and some candle shops, like Yankee Candle, often have some funky at Halloween time.  Once you have one you will save tons of money on candles, believe me!

You’ll need a cutting board and knife to do this (be aware that once you use this cutting board and knife for candles it’s best to keep them for this purpose only in the future and not use them for food again, no matter how much washing you do).  Carefully cut the remaining wax in small 1-2″ chunks and discard any remaining wick found in the candle.  Place your chunks in a small sandwich baggie for storage and use one or two in your tart burner at a time.  They will melt down and fill the room with rich scent, and when the candle in the warmer dies out the remaining wax will harden in the dish and you can simply keep using it by placing another candle in the bottom of the warmer.  Add more wax to the top as needed.  You’ll be amazed at how far this will extend the life of your scented candles!

A make-shift double boiler.

Make new candles.
This process takes a little more time, a more tools, and a little more patience, but it’s a great way to use your wax remnants.  For this you’ll need a small pot, a dish that you can place on top of the pot to make a double boiler, a plastic stirring spoon, candle holders or molds, new wicking with either weighted bottoms or candle adhesive to hold them in place.  You’ll also want gloves to protect your hands from the hot wax, newspaper to protect your counters and, depending on your confidence with your ability to pour candles, some sort of funnel.  Again, once you use these things for candles don’t use them for anything else in the future.

Start by preparing your molds or candle holders.  Place wicks securely inside with candle adhesive (both adhesive and wicking can be found in most hobby and craft stores or online through candle making sites).  Cut the wick long so that it hangs outside of the mold or holder; you can always trim it down when the candle hardens and this way it is far less likely that it will fall into the candle as it’s being poured.  You can also tie the wicks to a dowel or chop stick which can rest across your mold/holder to prevent the wick from falling in.  Have them near by at the stove placed on top of old newspaper to catch and drips.

Cut up your candle and remove any old wicking from inside the candle.  Place about 2-3″ of water in your pot and bring to a simmer on your stove (do not create a rolling boil because this can create too much heat).  Be sure to test your double boiler set up before hand to make sure the water isn’t touching to bottom of your bowl!  Trust me, I speak from personal experience when I tell you hot, boiling water touching the bottom of a glass bowl full of candle wax will make for a big dangerous mess in your kitchen.

When the water starts to simmer place the bowl on top of the pot and place your wax in the bowl.  The bowl will slowly warm from the water in the pot and the wax will melt.  Stir constantly to make sure the wax melts all the way through and stays as a liquid.

When the wax is melted completely remove the bowl from the heat (be sure to wear oven mitts because it will be hot) and then carefully pour into your molds or holders, using a funnel if you feel you need to.  Leave the candles to sit and dry/harden overnight.

This is a great way to also create brand new candles from old candles.  If you have a bunch of white candle remnants hanging around to recycle and you need to make a meditation candle, use this wax just like this but while stirring the wax to melt add frankincense and myrrh oils or herbs and let it “cook” into the wax and then pour into your molds/holders and, voila!  New meditation candle!

A basic shape to use for a poppet.

Make a wax poppet.
In the movie “The Witches of Eastwick”, when pressed to do a spell to make Daryl go away the women gather together items to make a spell poppet, or voodoo doll, out of wax.  The wax is simply cut up white candles melted in a double boiler on the stove and then shaped as needed.  It’s really that simple!  You can either use a whole bunch of candle remnants from candles the connect to your need (blue candles and rose scented candles for healing, for example) and melt them all together in a double boiler.  Take the bowl off the pot and let it cool for about 5 minutes.  Keep an eye on it because you don’t want it to get too hard to work with but you need it solid enough to shape.  When the consistency is right, start molding it into a gingerbread cookie shape.  When it cools some more you can cave a face into it, add symbols or names to it, and carve out a cavity for stuffing with herbs like you would normally place inside a cloth poppet before sewing closed.  Then away you go!  When your spell is complete you can totally melt down the poppet to release it’s energy in a bonfire or fire place.

What if I have spell candles left over?
Typically it’s a good rule of thumb to never use a candle used in spell work for anything else.  Personally I think that if you’re going to take the wax and create a new candle for the exact same type of magick, that’s completely acceptable as long as you cleanse the candle completely before using.  After your candle is made and completely cooled and hardened wash it with blessed water, clear with white light and your intention, and then charge for it’s intended purpose.  This way if you have a bunch of pink and red candle bits left from love spells and you need another candle for a love spell, melt those all together and use them to create the new candle that you need.

What if my candle wax is in a commercial glass jar holder?
Many of the larger glass jar and tumbler candles will inevitably have a few inches of unmelted wax at the bottom by the time they go out.  These are perfect for using in a tart warmer.  Simply take a large mixing bowl and place your candle jar in the center.  Use hot but not boiling water to fill the bowl around the jar so that there is enough water to be in line with the wax in the jar.  Let this sit for about 5-10 minutes.  With a knife (one not for cooking or eating) very carefully begin to run it along the inside of the jar between the wax and glass.  The wax will begin to separate from the glass and you can either pull it out or use the knife to break it up into a few pieces for easier removal.  Allow the wax to cool, cut into 1-2″ pieces, store in a baggie, and use in your tart warmer.

When you recycle your candles you’ll save money, you’ll save the earth, and you’ll gain more life from these wonderful smelling wax creations that we Witches love so much!

Posted from http://onewitchsway.com/2010/10/budget-witch-tip-recycle-your-candles/