Making herbed & oiled candles

I had made several lovely herb blends lately and was considering different ways to use them.  Two in particular are especially delicious, these being Diana's Spell and my truely scented Absinthe blend.  I remembered my Aunt Vi and Grandma Mary making candles rolled in herbs for gifts.  I decided to experiment with the idea and of course I made a huge mess, managing to burn myself a few times!  The house is still standing though and I now have several really deliciously scented candles. 

To begin with, I lit my main ceremonial pillar and cleansed my space.  I do all my work in my bedroom/library/studio and so I regularly smudge the area and always keep Holy Water and Florida Water there.  I decided to work on the Diana candle first and so poured out a bit of the mix onto a flat surace.  I took a long simple white taper candle and carefully warmed it over the flame.  I held it about 1 inch away and rolled it about just until the surface was shiny, but not dripping or turning black.  Then I rolled this into the herbs, pressing lightly. 

I discovered that if I tried to cover the whole length of the candle this way, bits fell off or even caught on fire!  I began doing the candle in sections: heating it, rolling it, and then adding a layer of dripped wax onto the herbs to seal them in.  Once the whole length of the taper was finished, I stood it up and dripped first sandalwood wax then black patchouli wax down its length.  I rolled the candle in the herbs again quickly while this was still soft.  Then another final layer of scented waxes.  Once this cooled a bit, I oiled the whole candle with olive oil and a bit of honey.  This has soaked into the herbs nicely and smells wonderful.  When the candle is burned, the herbs and oil make a delicious scent and the wax remnants can be used in other projects.  The ingredients for my Diana's Spell herbal blend are:

 

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I then worked on my Absinthe Fairy Candles, which smell like a delicious blend of anise, licorice, and peppermint.  I do not put wormwood into any of my absinthe products because when burned, this herb will give off toxins.  Also, none of my herbal mixes are made for consumption, they are to be used strictly for external use only!  My original recipe for this limited edition batch is:

The sugar and salt in the mix actually helped the herbal ingredients stick to the candle better and I was very pleased with the results.  I've used this mix in bathing soaks, ground it down to blend into body powder, and now made candles with it.

The Absinthe candle began with a white taper as well and was dripped with yellow and green additionally.  I oiled it with sweet almond oil and absinthe essential oil.  I then wrapped it with pretty ribbon and yarn, attatching a glass moonstone pendant.