Hoodoo Figure Candles: Every Shape and What It Is Burned For
Figure candles are candles in a shape: a man, a woman, a couple, a skull, a cat, the devil. The shape tells you who or what the work is aimed at, and the colour tells you what kind of work it is.
This is the guide to the shapes you will find in a hoodoo shop and what each is burned for.
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The shapes and what they are for
| Figure | Used for | How it is worked |
|---|---|---|
| Male and female figures In our store | Standing in for one person: the target, the lover, the enemy or yourself. | Carved with the person’s name and birth date, dressed with the oil that suits the work, and often given a personal concern. Colour sets the work: red for love, green for money, white for blessing, black for harm or removal. |
| Lovers (Adam and Eve, face to face, embracing) In our store | Bringing two people together and keeping them that way. | Dressed with Come to Me or Stay With Me, carved with both names, and burned on a love petition or honey jar. |
| Marriage (bride and groom) In our store | Bringing on a marriage or keeping one strong; in black, for the opposite. | Burned for a proposal, for a troubled marriage, or in black against one. |
| Back to back (divorce, separation) In our store | Splitting a couple apart. | Carved with both names and dressed with Break Up or Hot Foot. Some burn it pulling apart, some cut it down the middle. |
| Genital candles (male and female) In our store | Sexual attraction, lust, potency and sexual control, or the reverse: keeping a lover from straying, or from anyone else. | Dressed and carved for the person. Red for passion, black to bind or to stop. |
| Skull In our store | Working on someone’s mind and thoughts: to make them think of you, to clear your own head, or to cloud theirs. | Red to fill their thoughts with you, white for clarity and healing, green for money on the mind, black to confuse or harm. |
| Black cat (and other colours) In our store | Luck at gambling, turning bad luck around, and crossing an enemy. Red for love, green for money. | Dressed with Black Cat or Fast Luck for luck, or with crossing oils on an enemy’s name. |
| Seven knob (wishing candle) In our store | Seven wishes or seven days of work. | Burn one knob a day, praying over the same wish each day or a new one. Colour sets the work. |
| Devil In our store | Temptation, lust, gambling, and heavy crossing work. Also burned against a cheating lover. | Red for lust and temptation, black for hexing and bringing trouble. Some burn it at the crossroads. |
| Reversible figure In our store | A figure, usually male, dipped in black over red, made to send back what a person has sent. | Worked like a reversing candle, on the name of the one who did the harm. |
| Pyramid In our store | Focusing and raising power behind a work. | Burned on top of a petition or alongside other candles. |
| Cross | Protection, blessing and uncrossing, and calling on God. | Burned with a Psalm, in white for blessing or black for protection against evil. |
How figure candles are worked
- Naming. Carve the name, birth date and sometimes signs into the wax. Many also tuck in a personal concern: hair, nail clippings, a signature.
- Dressing. The oil sets the work. A red man dressed in Come to Me is a different candle from a red man dressed in Bend Over.
- Burning. Some burn a figure all at once, some a little each day, moving two figures closer or further apart.
- The remains. Wax and leftovers are taken where the work wants them: buried in the yard to keep, thrown in running water to send away, left at the crossroads or the graveyard.
For what each colour means, see our candle colours table. For figure work with dolls rather than wax, see our doll baby entry.
Where to buy
Everything marked “In our store” is stocked at Black Magic Witch, our own supply store. Students get 20% off: ask us for your student code.
Learn the work
Hoodoo Witch Certification Course
Figure candle work, naming, dressing and disposing of the remains, is taught in the course.