Blowing out birthday candles, knocking on wood, playing the jinx game - these are all examples of everyday magic. These little acts of superstition (or energy exchange, if you’re more conscious) are all examples of North American magick, almost but not universal to USA culture. A favorite tradition created by Northeast Coast colonists as they discovered the ins and outs of the continents? The bayberry candle.
Also, the bayberry tradition is a rare and uniquely American tradition that connects both sides of my ancestry.
The bayberry candle is burned by members of the Polish diaspora on Christmas Eve (Wigilia). We light the candle and say prayers to Mary if we’re Catholic (since I’m an animist, my prayers go to the land, city, waters, my ancestors, and perhaps a folk saint or three). For safety, the candle is usually placed inside a pot and in the sink - it is then allowed to burn down to completion. After many hard-learned lessons, I add water to the pot as an extra safety.
As the candle burns, I meditate on my connections to spirit, acknowledging that the days are growing longer, one minute at a time and that by the New Year, the time of the dead as I live, it will be over until Autumn Equinox rolls around again. There will always be ghosts and stories to tell, but the timber of those experiences changes as the world of the ancestors and the material world once again separate.
On New Year’s Eve, I honor my German, English, and Scottish ancestors (the WASP medley) by burning a second bayberry candle. Inflation makes more output necessary, no? These ancestors made my (unwilling) DAR membership possible, after all!
As the second candle burns (also in a bowl of water or a pot for safety), I mostly burn off my sense of hopeful panic that the year brings what I need. The Gregorian New Year calls for a turn of my attention towards the outward world and what may come with that: taxes and licensing fees, the spring cleaning that begins in January, and the scramble to adjust to whatever may come.
If you would like to burn a bayberry candle for the New Year, I advise against attempting to order them online so late. (I have a reminder in my Google calendar to order them on October 1st, next to the reminder to call a chimney cleaner and have our HVAC maintenanced.)
Here are a few places you can get your own bayberry candles:
Local botanicas often have them decorated with “lucky candle” symbols and mixed bayberry wax into the paraffin.
Call your local witchy shop; depending on the region, some may have them stocked up just for the holidays.
While controversial, I think working with synthetics is okay if you’ve exhausted all other options or if the ingredient you want involves causing suffering or risking extinction. You can easily get bayberry-scented fragrance oil and candles from your local dollar store, grocery store, or department store. The prayers get heard the same, whatever candle you may use. Craft stores are also a great go-to, and JoAnn’s and Michael’s have generous coupon programs in their respective apps.
Ancestry is not required to burn bayberry candles. It’s OK! While I haven’t tested whether they work to bring luck and wealth outside of North America, I’d be curious to find out if they can work outside the land connection! I know that many objects I’ve brought from elsewhere haven’t needed to be close to their original geography to work, but it doesn’t work for everything.
If you need to stock up after the new year - Wisdom Products is a solid go-to.
Happy New Year, and I wish you good health, luck, prosperity, and a healthy connection to your community and loved ones!
Stay Magickal!
Diana
The Spirited Witch Patreon Subscribers - a PowerPoint about bayberry magic and a chart on reading candle flames are up just for you! If you would like access, the flame chart can be purchased for $5, and the material is available to patrons starting at the $10 level. Added bonus - I have a Flame Reading Chart available for $10 individual purchase or as part of a Patreon membership!
Also: I am available for readings and consultations through the new year with extended hours, except for December 30th.
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