Traditionally, Halloween is considered to be the time of year when the boundary between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Many traditions surrounding this holiday revolve around honoring ancestors, or guiding the dead along to their proper place. It is also a very magical time, perfect for candle spells. To the ancient Celts, it marked the beginning of the new year -- that means that this is a great time to perform rituals for new beginnings, ending old habits, and more.

Setting Intentions

This time of year is great for setting intentions for the year to come. Since the boundary between worlds is easily crossed, you can call upon your spirit guides and other helpful entities to aid you. You will need:

A piece of paper or parchment
A pen
A quartz point
A black candle
Success oil
A fireproof bowl

Dress the candle with the Success oil. On the paper or parchment, write down a list of the things you wish to attract or accomplish in the coming year. Be as specific as you can. When you are through, fold the paper and place it beneath the quartz point. Say:

"As the year turns, so turns my life. As the seasons change, so do I. May I [state your goals here], in perfect accordance with my highest good. As I will, so it will be."

Light the candle. As the flame burns, meditate on your desire. Visualize yourself achieving all of the goals you set for yourself. When you are ready, light the corner of the folded page in the candle flame. Let it burn in the fireproof dish. Allow the candle to burn completely. When both the paper and candle have burned away, bury the remains near your front door to attract your desires to you.

A Halloween Luck Spell

Along with setting goals for the next year, Halloween is a great time for bringing in luck and blessings. For this spell, you will need:

A black candle
An orange candle
Good Luck oil
A glass of cider, wine, spice tea, or another autumnal beverage

Dress both candles with a drop of Good Luck oil. Set them before you on a safe surface, with the black on the left and orange on the right. Light the black candle. As you do this, think of the past year -- all of your successes and failures, the good and the bad, the blessings received and the lessons learned. Say a few words of thanks for all you have been given.

Next, light the orange candle. Orange is a color of success. Ask your deities, spirit guides, and ancestors to usher in a year of luck, prosperity, and blessings for you.

Hold the glass in your hands, and gaze at the candles. Picture the dream that is most dear to your heart. Speak this wish into the glass, infusing it into the drink. Swirls it clockwise three times, and say, "As I do will, so it will be." Place the glass between the candles.

When you feel that the beverage has absorbed all of the luck and power it can, drink it to take it into yourself. Allow the candles to burn completely, and bury the remains of the black candle in your back yard, and the orange near your front door.

Honoring the Beloved Dead

Now is the best time of year for remembering your ancestors and departed loved ones. If you have any pictures of them, or items that belonged to them, use them to decorate a small table or shelf. You may also wish to include a vase of seasonal flowers, especially chrysanthemums.

In the middle of this ancestor altar, place:

A black candle (you may use a skull candle if you wish)
A pink candle
A fireproof dish

Think of the ancestors or departed loved ones you wish to honor. Write down any pleasant memories that come up on small slips of paper, and place them in the dish.

When you have written down all you can, place the dish between both candles. Light the black candle first, then the pink. Say,

"Though you are gone, you are not far. Know you are loved and remembered."

Hold the slips of paper in the flame of the pink candle, and drop them in the dish. You can also burn some ancestor money, if you like. Let the smoke carry your memories and the spiritual vibrations of the ancestor money to your loved ones. (You may wish to do this outdoors, since it can produce a lot of smoke.)

Thank your ancestors, and snuff the candles. You can either save them to honor your ancestors in the future, or dispose of them according to your tradition.

Halloween is the perfect time to communicate with the benevolent spirits in your life, get a fresh start, and draw luck, prosperity, and other blessings. These candle spells are a simple and powerful way to harness the energy of this season.