She has an abundance of knowledge and experience with Candle Magick for over 10 years, she is well known for her craft not only working with candles, but tarot and astrology.  Her holistic approach is unique for every circumstances, no one client is the same and she caters to individual's needs. She supports small business and showcases their craft in form of candles and gifts.  This month our Chit Chat is with Shabanu Ismail, Candle Magick Expert, who talks about candles, the practice and  supporting animal charities.

 

What does Candle Magick mean to you?

For me it means power and transformation -  Candles on their own are magical, they give us the power in our hands and finger tips to help shift things in the direction that we want them to go. With the addition of all the other elements– the sigils, herbs and oils, it gives our intentions that extra boost it needs to manifest. It’s like shooting a rocket of power towards our intentions and goals.

 

What qualification do you require to practice Candle Magick?

Magick is everywhere, all around us and we all perform it in one way or another in our day to day lives. We have been doing candle magick from the day we were born – blowing our birthday candles and making a wish is candle magick. So in my opinion, if you can light a candle, then you can perform a candle spell.

However, to perform a successful ritual, one needs to know and understand the basics – we need to understand what magick is and isn’t, the candle types, candle colours, herbs, plants, spices, building and preparation of the ritual, putting your intention in it, charging it, working it, reading the wax and flames before closing it. We also need to understand and put into consideration our own personal code of ethics before getting into any magick and spell work.

If you are considering offering it a professional service, then there is a bit of extra training and practice for a few years one has to go through first.

 

How long have you been practising Candle Magic for?

Professionally for the last 8 years although initially I was practicing it part time as I was also working a full time job. However, in 2018, I left my corporate job to pursue my spiritual career full time.

 

What inspired you to go into Candle Magic?

First of all, I have always loved candles and been fascinated with Astrology, Tarot and Magick from a very young age– as a child I would always run for the newspaper every morning to read my horoscope and I enjoyed reading novels that had mystery and a magical theme to it.

I first came across candle magick 12 years ago through my tarot study where I attended a class learning how to perform a spell using tarot cards and candles.

Some months later, I tried my first candle spell which worked and backfired at the same time but I was so intrigued by it that i joined an online coven where I spent over two years studying and practicing magick under a Hoodoo High Priestess before I started offering it as a professional service.

 

What is the most common candle magic that is requested by your clients?

Usually in the past it has been money and love but for the last two years, there has been an increase on clients giving priority to themselves and their wellbeing– so spell workings to support physical health, mental health, releasing old emotional baggage, self-healing have been very popular.

 

What is involved in candle magic?

There is a lot of misconception about magick. Its looked as it is shown to us like in the movies – very negatively with things shooting out of our hands or eyes, a witch preparing potions, or flying on a broomstick throwing curses and hexes at people. But in reality, that is not what magick is. Magick is actually a very powerful tool, a process where we use our intentions with the help of our spiritual team and nature to create change to improve and transform our lives. Magick is also not an instant fix to life’s problems, it’s about aligning ourselves to the desired outcome by doing our part to make the change happen for us. We also have to take proactive action if we want to manifest any change in our lives. Magick works through us, not for us.

 

How long does a session last?

Candle magick is ‘not a one size fits all’, all my workings are customized to an individual’s circumstances. Some simple situations would require just one working while complex situations would require more than one working and probably long term maintenance work.

 

How many sessions does one require?

This would depend entirely on the circumstances around the situation. Challenging situations require more time, i have had clients work on a goal consistently for a full moon cycle and it has manifested and others where even after working for over a year, there has been no movement forcing us to go back to the goals, making changes and doing some booster work or writing up entirely new goals.

 

What do you least like about candle magick?

Hmmmmmm, i haven’t yet found anything I dislike.

 

What do you like most about candle magick?

I love everything about candle magick – planning a ritual, working with a particular candle and colour, carving sigils, dressing it with oils, glitter and herbs, incorporating different astrological aspects like the days of the week, astrological hours of the day and the moon cycles into my work.

But most of all I love that I can be of service to others through the candles I prepare. I am able to give them a powerful tool to help them through their healing process and be a part of making their dreams and goals a reality.

 

Apart from Candle Magick what other services do you provide?

I do Tarot and Akashic readings and recently started teaching candle magick workshops. I also prepare and sell candles, ritual oils, herbal mixtures and DIY candle kits for the ones who want to work their own magick.

 

What is the one word that you want people to associate you with?

Tough one because there are many but if I had to choose one then it would have to be - empowering

 

How has the pandemic affected you?

Business and work wise, I have been very busy and technology opened a lot of different doors for me including corporate companies and international. The pandemic also gave me an opportunity to grow myself as a practitioner, step up to help and support people through all that has been going on in their lives.

 

How do you contribute to the community?

I am a dog lover so part of my earnings is contributed to help animals through organizations like KSPCA and TNR trust. I also support the ones who are struggling financially especially at this time with candles and readings to help them navigate through this tough times.

 

If you were not performing Candle Magic as a career what would you be doing?

I have a passion for cooking so I would probably be running my own small restaurant full time.

 

How can people contact you?

I can be reached through email Tarotwithshabanu@gmail.com and my Instagram @tarot_with_shabanu

 

Photos by Harman Singh Heer