Like many of you I've had a difficult past week, as a human, as woman, as a member of the queer community, and as a person who would like to have a future filled with maybe the opposite of horrors? It's also been difficult as a small business owner. This business is my sole income now, and November and December are when I earn 75% of it. But what do candles matter right now, when people might be afraid for how they will protect and feed their friends and families?

Many of you have reached out with kind words about how my candles inspire or help you, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. I deeply hope that my creations can be little lights in the darkness in more ways than one. 💜 I've gathered three candles that speak to some of the specific supports we might need in these coming days: candles for comfort and resistance, and candles for queer joy.

This candle, originally crafted to honor Imbolc as a part of a Reading & Ritual box, was created with a specific kind of calm and quiet in mind: the moment of stillness and peace that we experience in a warm place during the deep of winter: a light sleep in a dry hayloft as snow falls gently outside, a pair of hands around a warm mug as the crackling whispers of the fireplace burn on. Since then, I’ve had numerous customers tell me that it reminds them of a specific place in their past, one of pure peace and warmth.

Brigid has thus become the candle for comfort and healing. Many have also told me that this candle helped them through times of grief and loss, and so I offer it to you in this difficult time, in the shadow of what will no doubt be even more difficult times.

I’ve always had a deep connection to Athena, and this candle was one of the first I wanted to make when I started Woodland Magic. The fragrances, however, took me over a year to perfect.

I originally had in mind a candle inspired by the Mediterranean landscape over which Athena’s little owl familiar flies, and the scents do follow that initial line of inspiration. But when I wrote the label I realized that this is a candle of resistance and especially resilience. It’s a candle that draws from Athena’s unwavering energy--she is the unwearying, she who fights at front. Perhaps she can help you find the courage and energy to carry on when it feels like hope is lost.

As the candle burns, the offerings to Athena & her little owl will be released into air, bound with the sigil phrase: We seek Athena's unwearying courage in the face of daunting struggle.

Unlike Athena and Brigid, Carmilla is inspired by a written text rather than a goddess. Immortality aside, hers is an earthly power. Carmilla represents the often dubious function of the vampire in queer literature as a monster and as a creature of monstrous desires. But like many things, we’ve reclaimed the monsters they tried to make of us. And if the queer community knows anything, it’s that love in times of fear, alienation, and sometimes death is all that can get us through. The scents of Carmilla are unapologetically seductive, intoxicating, and filled with desire for life and for love.

Do you have specific candles or scents that offer you comfort or inspire you in difficult times? I'd love to hear about them if you do:)