Q&A: Slow Burn VS Fast Burn

Hey there, occulties,

Just a quickie today.

Q: Can you tell me which is a better “sign” – the candle burning slow, or the candle burning fast?

A: To be fair, some people read a slow burn as a good sign, and by slow, I mean uber super slow. I do not take it as a positive, personally.

You’re thinking “Cat, how in the fuck would I know it’s burning slow?” Well, see, that might take you being familiar with how that brand or style of candle burns. I burn so many candles that I do actually have some idea how long each lasts. HOWEVER, if you don’t have that sort of information available, you might consult the manufacturer. Most candle sellers will post “approximately (x) hours burn time.”

So, if I’m burning a candle that takes 12 hours on average to burn itself out, and it burns 36 hours? I take that as a sign that the work has A LOT to overcome and may not manifest. However, in the same situation, if I’m burning a 12 hour candle and it burns 15 hours, I actually do not view that as being a bad thing (or even a good thing.)

If the candle burns overly fast (again consult your own familiarity with that brand/style of candle or the manufacturer’s suggested burn time,) I don’t take that as a super great sign, but it has it’s own meaning. So, if I’m burning a 12 hour candle and it burns out in 2 hours, that probably means a fast result, HOWEVER it can also mean the results will be short-lived or tenuous. ALSO if there is a lot of herb matter on the candle, that might just mean you over-did it on the herbs, and the candle went up quickly (ergo, do not take it as a form of chieromancy.)

Since there is often some confusion here, “Seven day” glass encased candles more often than not burn around five to five and a half days. That’s not a fast burn.

If you experience extremely slow burn, when your candle has burned out, burn another candle on the same situation. If you experience extremely fast burn, I would also run another candle spell soon thereafter to reinforce the energy (so as it’s not so *possibly* tenuous.)

Hope that’s some help,

~Cat