then stay away from candle magick. For ideas, try looking through Raymond Buckland’s Practical Candleburning Rituals or Scott Cunningham’s Earth Magick .
Third, work out all the details of symbolism for your spell to make it most effective for your purpose and your psyche. For example, if you are using candle magick, you want to choose a color of candle that symbolizes your purpose, based on your own personal symbol set. Many Americans associate the color green with money, for instance, so if you want to boost fundraising, that might be a good color to use. Some people prefer gold for that purpose. Make sure you choose a color that has the strongest emotional association for you, personally. Use the same internal logic to decide on which scented oil, if any, to dress the candle with; which herbs or powders to rub over the dressed candle or sprinkle around the base; what symbols to carve onto the candle; whether to put a prayer, affirmation, or other statement of your spell focus on a piece of parchment to be placed under the candle as it burns; etc. I would like to stress that all these symbols are merely tools to help you focus your intent. Not a one of them is necessary to spell work. You can do the entire thing in your imagination, if your concentration and visualization