Downplayed to the point of Mundane Fantastic.Wizards in general are kind of obsessive about the importance dribbly candles have to the look of magic, to the point that they won't use a fresh candle until the University's team of skilled candle dribblers have been to work on it.When Magrat mentions ceremonial candles to the other witches in Wyrd Sisters, she gets a blank look and Nanny points out she's got a perfectly good oil lamp, thanks.The full Ritual takes lots of large candles, rare incense, a ceremonial octogram, and whatnot - and it's all set dressing used by self-important wizards to lend some gravitas to something that can be done with three bits of wood and a couple drops of mouse blood (or two small bits of wood and a fresh egg). The Rite of AshkEnte, which summons Death.Parodied several times in the Discworld series:.The Deryni series has a positive example: most formal Deryni rituals use candles at the four cardinal directions to represent the four guardian angels.Carnacki protects himself against the attacks of the title creature by creating a technomagical barrier that includes burning candles. William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost-Finder story "The Gateway of the Monster".Compare and contrast Post-Modern Magik, where profound mystic rites might be perfectly well suited to fluorescent bulbs. For bonus points, they might be Technicolor Fire, Cold Flames, or otherwise overtly supernatural - or they might not. In either case, the symbolism of open flames and a circle of candlelight help to establish the ritual space as a threshold where the supernatural and material worlds can meet. They might also be used to define the ritual space, particularly in the case of Geometric or Hermetic Magic. In this role, they could be an Eye of Newt component in the ritual or, more rarely, as magically empowered items in their own right. The candles might also be part of the ritual's Spell Construction. For both, the candles can provide a dramatic Chiaroscuro and some Gothic flair. More benign rituals benefit from fire's association with purification, protection, and enlightenment. If Black Magic is involved, it's evocative of both Fanatical Fire and Evil Is Not Well-Lit, and might pair well with mysterious cloaks and ominous magical sigils. This Ritual Magic is performed by candlelight instead: the candles might be there as a light source, as props, or as components of the ritual itself.Ĭandlelight can add spookiness or solemnity to the scene, especially if it's otherwise set in total darkness. A profound mystic rite would look out of place under fluorescent bulbs, after all.
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