Candlelight Magic Pollution | Valentina Cirasola | Interior Designer

This article was written for http://www.simons.ca (Canada)

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(As seen on Palo Alto Weekly)

Only 100 years ago candles represented the light bulb that illuminated the world through centuries. Today we use candles to create an atmosphere, not save on electricity. With candles human beings beat the dark of darkness and once they understood that the light of the flame had magical powers, they used candles for spiritual or religious rituals. First with animal fat, then with paraffin and with further addition of colors and scents, human being invented candles for any commercial use. One must keep in mind that candles keep the energy of all the people who collaborated in the making, therefore it is imperative to purify candles before using them. One way to purify a candle is to immerge it in a container full of rock salt keeping it in vertical position, otherwise a simple cloth will suffice to rub all strangers’ energies from the candle.

If you are health conscious as I am, you should care about the air you breathe as well. Breathing the fumes from a commercial candle made with paraffin is not the greatest thing you could do. Paraffin derives from crude oil, the same crude oil that is refined to obtain petrol and petroleum-based products. Burning paraffin candles means you will breathe substances that may be carcinogenic, such as formaldehyde, acrolein (from propylene), benzene, toluene (type of solvent) and acetaldehyde. All of these products contained in commercial paraffin candles will contribute to air pollution in your home and aggravate any possible allergy you might already have.

Candles made from bees’ wax are the best, they are natural, save your health, the air you breathe in your home and burn sweet like honey. Bees have a life span of 12-17 days, during this short time they produce a waxy substance in their stomach and with that they build their cells to store honey. After the honey production is all done, beekeepers scrape the honey and discard the wax, or often sell it to candle makers. Bees’ wax is more expensive than the paraffin, is very yellow and compact, made into square shape cakes, or rolled out in a cylinder shape and that’s how it is sold.

Our beautiful nature offers additional natural solutions for candle making art. Soybeans and palm trees are excellent sources for a natural wax, their juices are biodegradable, no fossil fuels are needed to produce this type of wax and candles made with plants products burn slower than the paraffin candles.

If you are into candle art, you might want to consider colors that are suitable for your spirit and personality. Colors affect us in a positive or negative ways. Color will help us creating a message, a mood, a feeling, a character, or harmony. Just like everything else, colors play a large role in candles, it all depends if you want to attract some energy to you or take it away from you. Check out home accessories at http://www.simons.ca/fre/categories/maison/cuisine-et-salle-a-manger/accessoires-de-table/chandelles

I deal with colors for the beauty and benefits they bring to our person, perhaps coloring a candle to your advantage will be the topic of my next article. Love and light, ciao,
Valentina
http://www.Valentinadesigns.com

Valentina Cirasola is an Italian interior designer in business since 1990. She is passionate about colors and all expressive arts. She is a “colorist”. Valentina was featured in Italy on “Vogue” magazine and many prominent publications in California. She also has made four appearances on T.V. Comcast Channel 15. She is the author of her book #3 on the subject of colors: Red-A Voyage Into Colors, available on
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