Tea Lights: What good are they in hoodoo, anyway?
Tea Lights: Cheap, Inexpensive and Appealing to the Frugal
Tea Lights: What good are they in hoodoo, anyway? They are so tiny, so small, and they burn so quickly. How on earth can they be any good for a hoodoo working?
A friend on my Hoodoo Arts forum asked me, “In your experience, have tea lights worked for you? I have a few of them but merely thought of them as teaser spells.”
Yes, they are kind of teaser. They are too small and burn too quick to be of any huge lasting effect. They are cheap, small, and a dime a dozen. Which, of course, makes them VERY attractive to the frugal minded.
I know they are indeed a kind of teaser, but I think they can be potent if you have a lot of people lighting them. This is where the power is: in numbers. In other words : lots of people = small candle = big working. But for me personally on my own — no. Just one person lighting a single tea light is probably very small potatoes magic. This is why you need lots of people burning tea lights and why churches will give out tea lights to put on mass altars. In this case, it’s quantity, not quality. Tea lights are GREAT for mass workings because they fit the concept of small effort + large number of people = big effect.
My friend’s thoughts are: “(I) think this boils down to intent again but it is well known that despite strong intent, once the tea light goes out, the working is considered done. With offertory and 7 day vigils, the work goes a lot longer. Energy and focus is key but a small firecracker that goes pop and one that goes boom, makes quite the difference.”
Another friend on my Hoodoo Arts forum commented in favor of tea lights: “I find tea lights work terrifically…I’ve even gotten requests at work and drawn pics of lit candles on post its, written the person’s name across it and used that as a focus. The lights are a focus point…the real energy comes from the practitioner knowing how to use the point to focus and send energy. I have found that its not necessarily about what you use, rather how you use it. You can kick just as much ass with a piece if paper and pen as you can with a ton of candles, oils herbs and other things (not that those things aren’t cool and effective)….You can always “program” it for sustained release. You light the candle to start but the focused energy that has been imparted continue until the situation has resolved, the universe says “nope..not this time”, or whatever time frame you decide. It’s more than intent. You have to manipulate the energy. You can have the best intent but if you can’t control the energies you’re not going to get results no matter what you use.”
The use of post it notes is, in my mind, an interesting variation on candle working. If it works for her, she should continue doing that, but I personally am in favor of the actual flame, the actual candle, herbs and oils, etc. The debate pm whether “intent” trumps all is a worthy argument. I personally am on the side of “it takes more than just intent — ya gotta do the work too.” I personally am more on the side of “put some time, money, effort, materials, etc” into your working. Not saying you have to break your bank at all. Because, for example, I am the queen of grocery store hoodoo — stuff from your local supermarket works just as good if not better than the stuff you buy at high end metaphysical stores.
