Carromancy- Candle divination

 Grab your matchsticks and light up your candles, let’s see how bright the future looks.

Divination is the act of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. One of the most ancient types of divination is the art of reading wax, called carromancy or ceromancy.

“Carro” comes from the Greek word for waxen, while manteia means divination.  When hot wax is poured into water to be ‘read’, it’s also known as ceroscopy.

When performing carromancy, one will observe how fast the candle burns, the wax images that form and how the wax pools or drips. In a money spell, if the wax spills over, it indicates that the spell is working. When burning marriage candles, the figure which burns the fastest is believed to be the more eager to marry or more dominant partner.

 

Shapes that form while the wax melts are called transient images, while shapes formed after the wax has melted are called persistent images.

The wax can form distinct symbols, numbers, patterns and letters which can be read to gain sight and divine the possible future.

All these aspects can give you insight into how effectively your magic is working and insight into any burning questions which you may have.

Here’s how to perform a candle wax reading of your own:

What you will need:

• A glass or ceramic bowl of water (moon water is recommended but optional)

• A white candle or a candle in a colour corresponding to your ritual

• Matches to light your candle

• Pencil and paper to write your question down

• Anointing oil (optional)

Method:

• Write your question down on a piece of paper.

• Anoint your candle with oil while holding your question in mind. You can energetically charge the water with a few drops of the same oil too.

• Focus on your question and light your candle.

• Draw omens from how the candle burns, be patient while you let the wax pool. Note any transient images that form.

• When you are ready, pour the wax into the bowl of water and allow the persistent images to take shape while the wax cools and hardens.

Wax reading is very ‘3D’, so you can remove the hardened wax to observe the shapes that have formed. Note any images which stand out to you and how they make you feel.

You can also meditate on what they may represent or use a carromancy chart. The shapes are read much the same as tea leaves when performing tasseomancy.

In Poland, wax is melted in a copper pot and poured through a keyhole into a bowl of water. The pieces of wax are then held against a candle light to produce a shadow on a wall. These shadows are then interpreted for insight.

If you’ve done a wax reading of your own, I’d love to hear your insight.
Tag #potion.slinger in your next carromancy reading.