Ceramics for Daily Candle Rituals by Sweet Tarnation

Candles give us moments of quiet among all the noise.

Lighting a candle brings me so much joy. The little *phump-hiss* of the match as it catches and the smell of sulfur and cedar as the match head becomes flame. When the match is put to the trimmed wick and the flame is transferred, setting that lit candle down in its home means it’s time to relax, take deep breaths, and be still for a moment. It brings me back to me, giving me permission to quiet the hurry of my day and take time for myself.

Candles draw us to them with their light, their scent, and sometimes their color/inclusions. It all depends on what you want to feel when that candle is lit and it can be very personal. For me, I love a warm glow and a quiet room, soft scent of lavender or something woodsy, and a cup of hot tea in my hands. Nothing tells me to slow down quite like candlelight. If you subscribe to candle magick, maybe yours is dressed with herbs and has a color that reminds you why you’re taking this moment for yourself and what your intention is in this place, this time. Candles can do a lot more than just give us light!

I‘ve started lighting candles while I bathe, even if it’s a quick shower, to infuse that time with warmth and scent. I’m so thankful to have a simple daily ritual that brings me so much happiness. It makes that simple act a time of calm and reflection. I can give those moments to myself, so why wouldn’t I? What’s stopping us from putting a little more magick into our days?

However we engage with candles and whatever the ritual may be, having a safe, fire-proof place to put your candle is a must. Take a look at available candle dishes and other vessels here!

We all know it’s important to practice candle safety, making sure our candle is on a fire-safe surface, away from flammable things like wood and cloth. What better way to practice safety than with beautiful pottery? These vessels undergo thousands of degrees in the kiln to vitrify the glaze (turning it to glass), making it the perfect surface for candles. Dishes slightly larger than each candle leave space for setting spent matches or a trusty lighter when not in use. Personalizing a candle corner makes it all the more likely to be used, everything set out and ready for the next pocket of quiet. Setting the scene makes it a personal experience that we get to build for ourselves, in our colors, in the materials we love to see and touch, pure happiness that we create, just for us.

Having a set place for each candle looks good even when it’s not alight, creating a beautiful display we want to come back to again and again. Who doesn’t love an attractive dish? They can give reverence to the things we want to prioritize; time with ourselves, a personal altar we see each day to keep us focused, those keys we keep losing and now we know exactly where they are every time, because we’ve made it a priority to put them in the same dish by the door when we get home (saving us LOTS of time!). These little boosts to our quality of life make a difference. They make our home more us, and seeing the life we want to be living reflected in our simple, everyday choices means we spend less of our energy wishing and more of it just being.