The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home - Arin Murphy-Hiscock 2018
Lamps and Sacred Flames in the Kitchen
The Kitchen As a Sacred Space
As the flame is one of the most common representations of the sacred, particularly in hearth-related spiritual paths, lighting a candle or some other kind of flame is a natural thing to do when you wish to have a physical representation of your spiritual hearth in the kitchen. As mentioned in Chapter 2, an eternal flame is used by many temples, churches, and shrines to signify the presence of the Divine.
Candles are lovely but need to be replaced on a frequent basis, and the heat of the kitchen as well as the drafts created by heat moving can make them burn unevenly or can even damage the candle, depending on where you place it. Additionally, the open flame may make you nervous. A good solution to these problems is to use an oil-burning lamp, such as a hurricane lamp or some variation of it (also known as kerosene lamps or paraffin lamps). Lamps like this are fueled by liquid oil that is contained within the base. A wick of cloth or other fiber runs from the oil up through the neck of the lamp, and the flame burns at the tip of the wick. Fuel is constantly drawn up the wick through capillary action. Usually the flame of an oil lamp is protected by a glass chimney, which allows the light to be seen and cast out into the room while protecting the flame from drafts. The height of the flame may be adjusted by turning a small screw that raises and lowers the wick, increasing or decreasing the amount of wick exposed above the fuel in the base.
There is another style of lamp that is sometimes referred to as an Aladdin lamp but is more correctly called a dipa. A dipa (literally “lamp”) is a Hindu oil lamp made from a roughly oval clay dish or bowl with one elongated end forming a small open spoutlike channel in which is laid a wick formed of twisted cotton that draws the oil in the bowl up to feed the flame burning at the other end of the wick at the edge of the spout. There is often a handle at the other end of the oval. Dipas in temples can be impressive brass candelabra-shaped affairs holding these shallow dishes where candles would be placed, a wick burning in each one. Dipa-style lamps burning olive or other thick oils do not catch fire if tipped; the oil simply spreads and the flame dies.
The simplest kind of oil lamp can be made from any heat-safe dish and a wick from thin cotton string. Cut a piece of string about three inches long and tie a knot in the middle of it. Trim the string until there is an inch on one side and approximately a half-inch on the other. Take a small piece of tinfoil about a quarter-inch square, make a small hole in it with a thumbtack or pushpin, and thread the knotted string through it so that the knot rests on top. Bend the corners of the foil up slightly to make a dish shape. Float the square of foil on the top of the oil in the dish, knot side up. Wait a few minutes to allow the string to absorb oil, then light it. Trim this wick as necessary to avoid smoking and to obtain the best flame.
Create Your Own Lamp
You can create a lamp out of any kind of container made from nonflammable material. Making your own lamp provides you with the opportunity to design it to reflect the spiritual goals you’ll be using it for. Try making your own dish out of clay, shaping it into whatever style or shape you desire or feel inspired to mold. Dry it, glaze it to seal the inside surface, and fire it in a kiln. (Check your city’s listings for ceramic groups or shops that can provide this service or that can help you make the dish on site. Local schools may also offer evening workshops or classes.)
You can experiment with the following materials to find the perfect wick for your homemade lamp. In all cases, be certain that your material is 100 percent cotton and not blended with anything:
✵ Waxed candle wicks (make sure there’s no metal wire inside)
✵ Spools of braided round or square wicking for candles
✵ Cotton batting, loosely twisted into a wick-like shape
✵ Cotton kitchen string
Make sure to use a saucer or dish under the lamp if you’re using one that has a wick lying against the lip of the container; the capillary action that feeds the wick can leak oil over the edge.
Oil Lamps and the Divine
Lighting an oil lamp when you work in the kitchen is a lovely way to signify that you are aware of the presence of the Divine. You can light this before each session in the kitchen or first thing each morning. Safety indicates that you should extinguish it before you leave the house. As you do, say a prayer or something as simple as “Although I extinguish the physical flame, the spiritual flame continues to burn both at the shrine and in my heart.” Say this each time you extinguish the flame and say something similar when you relight it when you return to the kitchen, such as “I physically relight this sacred flame, reflecting the spiritual flame that burns continually at this shrine and in my heart.”
When lighting it first thing in the morning, a more involved prayer is appropriate. Something along these lines, for example:
Sacred flame, symbol of purity and life,
I light you now and invoke your sanctity.
Descend upon the members of this household, and upon this room.
Bless every person who enters it.
Grant us peace, health, protection, and joy.
I thank you for your many blessings, sacred flame.
At the end of the day, extinguish the flame. This is associated with the traditional smooring of the hearth, the banking of the coals and embers to keep them alive but protected so that a fire could be easily built and lit the next morning (see Chapter 2). A prayer such as the following can be said:
Sacred flame, symbol of purity and life,
I extinguish your physical form, although never your sanctity.
We are grateful for your many blessings.
Keep our family and home safe throughout the night.
I thank you for your many blessings, sacred flame.
Tending to Your Lamp
The oil lamp provides you with a visible reminder of the spiritual hearth. Tending the lamp can be a satisfying act that engages you with physical activity while serving a spiritual function. Here are some things you’ll need to consider for the care and functioning of your lamp.
The basic fuel used for oil lamps is kerosene, a clear, thin water-like liquid with a slightly greasy feel to it. It is usually sold in two forms: kerosene and paraffin oil. Pure paraffin oil is a refined kerosene that burns with very little soot and odor, making it a good choice for indoor wick lamps. (It is not a liquid form of paraffin wax.) Always use the purest form of oil that you can afford or find to minimize airborne by-products that may be hazardous to your health. Never use other fuels or oils that are not designated for use indoors, as the fumes created may be toxic. Avoid buying colored or scented lamp oils, as the fumes from the burning additives that lend the color and scent may not be as safe to breathe. Keep any oil lamp out of the reach of children, as well as the fuel.
In general, the thinner oils with a water-like consistency or viscosity work best in closed hurricane lamps, while thicker oils like olive and castor work better in dipa-style lamps.
An oil lamp that burns olive oil is a particularly appropriate piece of equipment for this purpose, as opposed to an oil lamp that burns paraffin. Why use fossil fuel when you can burn a plant-based oil that is likely already in your kitchen? Additionally, the burning of the oil can be seen as an offering, which ties together the oil lamp and the idea of offerings made to the spirits of the hearth nicely. Olive oil is of a thicker viscosity than kerosene, and the capillary action that draws the kerosene up the wick in a hurricane lamp is not strong enough to draw thicker oils to feed the flame. Therefore, if you are looking to use a thicker oil as a fuel for a presence flame, consider the dipa or dish-based style of lamp.
Be vigilant about keeping the wick trimmed so that the oil does not gum up the wick and slow down or stop capillary action. Olive oil is shipped from many miles away, and for that reason you may object to it on an ethical basis for the transportation and fuel expended in bringing it to you. Other vegetable oils can be used as fuel for lamps as well with varying degrees of success and brightness of flame, such as coconut oil, castor oil, palm oil, and sweet almond oil. Clarified butter was used as a lamp oil in India, as Hindu culture holds the cow as sacred, and thus offerings of dairy products were often made.