THE BLESSING ALTAR AND THE GOLDEN SURFER AT MISSIONARY INDEPENDENT SPIRITUAL CHURCH
Perhaps most my readers are familiar with the works of prayer, petition, and praise are conducted in the performance of a candle service. But did you ever stop to think what it would take to keep an average of 164 candles going every day, and to make sure that each and every client and church member who requested a light, or a series of lights, be given a full interpretation of the resultant divination?
It's a full-time job as well as a spiritual ministry.
It would be too tedious to reprint the entire manual here, but Ia few sections of the complete work -- pages 9 through 14 -- might be of interest to church members, especially those who do their own candle work at home on behalf of themselves and their families, or who hold candle services on behalf of clients. This is the section of the manual that describes the physical "blocking" and the clerical record-keeping that goes into a daily candle service.
So, herewith is an excerpt from "The Missionary Independent Spiritual Church Candle Service Manual, for the Use of Ministers, Deasons, and Candle-Servers," which, i hope, will give you a good idea of what it's like to be a full-time Deacon Candle Server or Candle Service Minister at our church:
The Missionary Independent Spiritual Church
Candle Service Manual
for the Use of
Ministers, Deasons, and Candle-Servers
(c) 2007 catherine yronwode
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any format by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the copyright owner.
Text:
catherine yronwode
Production:
nagasiva yronwode
First Edition 2007
Published by
The Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
6632 Covey Road
Forestville, California
95436
Printed in the United States of America.
-----
HOW TO CONDUCT A CANDLE SERVICE
[Pages 9 - 14 of the booklet, reprinted here, describe one cycle of
candle service from start to finish.]
INVOCATION
We begin the day's candle services by ringing the gong
outside the church. At that time you may make a brief
invocatory prayer for the success of the work and for
the needs of the clients on whose behalf you are
working.
EXHALE
In order to make room for new candles, we must open up
places on the altars. This is like exhaling before
taking in a new breath.
Remove all burned-out candles from all of the altars.
If they have long vertical white streaks, remember
which altar they came from, as the direction on those
streaks is of importance in interpretation.
* Set the candles on the table in alphabetical
order by client surnames
* Pull the RED FOLDER of IN PROGRESS candles
* Pull the OFFICE COPIES of all candles
* Pull the FILE BOXES of PICTURES and PETITIONS
* Prepare your TOOLS: matches, clear tape, white
sticky paper, a pen, wicks, a hole-poker, parchment
paper, tongs, small envelopes, etc.
Proceed to MATCHING CANDLES TO PAPERWORK.
MATCHING CANDLES TO PAPERWORK
There are two parts to this: matching pulled candles to
orders in the RED FOLDER and matching finished invoices
to our OFFICE COPIES.
RED FOLDER
For each burned-out candle, find and pull the
corresponding Customer Copy invoice and Candle
Report packet from the Red Folder.
OFFICE COPIES
If this is the only or the last Candle Report of
its invoice-set, find and pull the Office Copy of
the invoice. If it is not the last Report in a
series, don't pull the Office Copy because you
won't need it at this time.
Be careful to match INVOICE NUMBERS of candles to
Reports in the red folder, as clients may have
same-named candles set on different invoices.
Proceed to REPORTING.
REPORTING
OUR CLIENTS EXPECT REPORTS
All orders for vigil lights are given CANDLE REPORT
SHEETS. Once an order is started, its reports are
kept in the RED FOLDER.
IF YOU PULL THE CANDLE, YOU WRITE THE REPORT
If your report completes a set of reports for a
client, you must see that the full report-set is
mailed to the client. Fill out the candle report,
including your NAME, the candle's APPEARANCE, and
your INTERPRETATION.
REPORTING YOUR NAME
Use your full first name, not initials. Also fill
in the date.
REPORTING THE CANDLE'S APPEARANCE
Limit description to 1 1/2 lines. Use keywords and phrases, like:
* a clear, clean burn; lightly smoky; white cloudy smoke marks
* white smokey streaks; evenly grey and smoky
* a dark, sooty burn; black soot at top but clear at bottom
* down one side (describe side relative to map orientation on altar)
* stuck wax and/or herbal residue (describe area)
* unburned wax at bottom (tell how deep in approximate inches)
* burned label (describe area that is burned and how badly)
* cracked glass (describe area)
REPORTING YOUR INTERPRETATION
Fill the space with your interpretation. Don't go over the dotted line.
To save space, thiink in keywords and short phrases, like these:
* good outcome; looks good; successful; favourable; hopeful signs
* communication issues; hidden issues; past issues
* delays and obstacles. sorrow and tears; some problems remain
* candle went out and had to be relit; there is resistance
* possible enemy work; poor prognosis; may need to do more work
If this candle report is not the last on the
invoice, return it to the red folder and skip to
TRANSFERRING, RE-USING, AND RECYCLING.
If this candle report is the only or last in the
invoice, proceed to CLIPPING, DATING, FILING.
CLIPPING, DATING, FILING
If all the reports on the invoice are complete,
CONGRATULATIONS. You have now completed a finished
"product order." Like all products, this one must
be shipped to the customer -- and when it comes to
shipping, Candle Reports are treated exactly like
any other item we ship.
Fold the Candle Report (one or a set) in thirds.
Tape it closed. Take it and the pulled office copy
of the invoice to the packing area. Put the
completed report into the outgoing mail box. Go to
the packing table and fill out the office copy of
the invoice with your name as PULLER and SHIPPER.
CLIPPING
Clip off the address, just like you were going to
use it as an address label for a regular package.
You do not need to use it, so simply shred it.
DATING
For "Date Shipped" put today's if it is early, or
tomorrow's or next Monday's if it is late or if you
are doing this work on the weekend.
FILING
Place the clipped and dated office copy of the
invoice in Susie's box so she can enter it into our
computer system.
Proceed to TRANSFERRING, RE-USING, AND RECYCLING.
TRANSFERRING, RE-USING, AND RECYCLING
There are three parts parts to transferring, re-using,
and recycling -- transferring petitions from one candle
to another when they are set in a series or run,
putting away finished petitions and pictures for re-use
by the same client at a later date, and recycling
candle glass.
TRANSFERRING PETITIONS IN A SERIES
If the petitions were made correctly (as described
later), they will contain the name of the client,
the name of the candle, a series number (e.g. "1 of
5") and, possibly, the words "TRANSFER PETITION",
which is sometimes shortened to "Xfer". Locate the
next candle in the series (on the floor), pull the
petition from the old candle, and tape it on the
next candle. RE-USING PETITIONS, PICTURES, AND
PAPERS
Our regular clients expect us to keep their
petitions and pictures on file. When taking down a
finished candle, put its accompanying pictures
and/or petitions into the file drawers,
alphabetically. There should be a dated envelope
for each client. Envelopes of clients who have not
had lights set within the past 3 months are stored
in boxes in the back office.
RECYCLING CANDLE GLASS
Place empty candle glasses in the recycling bin
whole and unbroken.
Proceed to INHALE.
INHALE
Now that you have cleared spaces on the altar and dealt
with finished lights, you can take a new breath and set
candles on the altars. This work of "inhaling" is done
in an orderly progression, as follows:
THE ORDER OF LIGHTING CANDLES
Working in an orderly manner decreases mistakes,
especially those caused by telephone calls and
walk-in customer interruptions. Here are the
general principles -- detailed instructions follow
on the paged noted:
* Candles that have gone out prematurely and are to
be relit go first, if possible being returned to
the altar from whence they came. Be sure that you
have marked their Candle Reports with the date of
relighting. See below.
* Candles being burned in a series, with
transferred Petitions, are lit second. Be sure you
actually have the next candle in the series. See
page 13.
* Pending candles that have been fixed but are
waiting on the floor (e.g. solo candles, dated
candles whose date has come up, or #1 candles of a
new series) follow in third place. See page 13.
* New orders that you fix today are lit last. See
pages 13 - 14.
RE-WICK AND RE-LIGHT CANDLES THAT ARE OUT
Pull the Candle Reports for all candles in need of
relighting. On them, write the words "Re-lit,
[Date] by [Name]." To re-wick, drive a hole down
next to the wick, touching it if possible. Drop in
a length of clipped wick as a splint. Pray
briefly, light the splint (using tongs if it is
far down), take the lit candle back to its altar,
and re-file its Candle Report in the Red Folder.
LIGHT CANDLES WITH TRANSFERRED PETITIONS
The Candle Report for the previous candle in the
series should already have been finished (see page
10) and the transferred petition for it should
already be on the next candle in the series (see
page 11), so all that remains is to mark the
Candle Report for the next candle with the date
and your name. Check invoice numbers so you don't
jump from one invoice to another if the client has
two series of the same candle title.
CHECK THE FLOOR FOR FIXED CANDLES TO LIGHT
Looking on the floor, scan the top labels for any
solo candles (#1 of 1), any candles waiting for a
date whose date has come, or any candles that are
a new #1 of a series. Pull their Reports and mark
them with the date and your name. Light the
candles and set them on appropriate altars. Then
put the Candle Reports back in the red folder.
PREPARE NEW CANDLE ORDERS
Get the pending orders for candles. Pull candles
for each order, one order at a time. If you need
to label candles, do so, being sure to affix both
a front and a back label. Make sure you have
pulled all of the candles for each order.
Check the order for Petition instructions. Check
both the FILE BOXES and the RED FOLDER for work
previously done or currently underway for the
client. Pull pictures and re-usable Petitions from
the File Boxes. If no Petitions exist, make them
(see below). Label the Petitions (see page 14) and
affix them.
Dress and pray over each candle; series candles
are blessed as a group with a white blessing cloth.
Side-label the candles. Candles not to be lit
immediately are covered with plastic wrap (but no
rubber band), and top-labelled (see page 14).
EVERY CANDLE GETS A PETITION PAPER
Please consult cat's course, where there are two
full lessons on the subject. For more samples, see
HHRM under Apple, Goofer Dust, Sampson Snake Root,
and Sassafras -- and the pink love spell flyer
under Honey Jar. Placing petition papers under a
candle is traditional, but we need to be able to
see the names, so we tape the paper(s) to the
side(s) of the candle.
LABELLING THE OUTSIDE OF THE PETITION
Fold the Petition and write the following label on the OUTSIDE:
* Surname of Petitioner.
* Name of candle (be specific; don't draw a
heart; write "Love Me").
* Name of Target Person (this is needed
because clients may set the same title of
candle on several people, now or at a later
date).
Tape the Petition on with clear tape. Also tape on
any pictures. If client-supplied pictures are too
large, reduce them on the colour copier.
EVERY CANDLE GETS a WHITE STICKY SIDE-LABEL
On white sticky label paper at the top, between the
colour labels, note:
* The Invoice #.
* The Date You Prepared the Candle.
* Surname of Petitioner.
* The Series # ("1 of 1", "1 of 4", "2 of 4",
etc.); note that solo candles are to be marked
"1 of 1" so no mistakes will be made.
* Transfer Notice ("Xfer Peition") if petition
is needed for a series.
* Name of Target Person (this is only needed if
the client is setting the same title of candle
on several people).
PENDING CANDLES GET WHITE STICKY TOP-LABELS
Candles not to be burned immediately need plastic
wrap and a top-label. On white sticky label paper
on top of the plastic wrap note
* The Invoice #.
* The Date You Prepared the Candle.
* The Series # (1 of 1, 1 of 4, 3 of 4, etc.).
Proceed to CLEAN UP.
CLEAN UP
Put away the RED FOLDER, FILE BOXES, and all TOOLS.
OPTIONAL SECOND SWEEP
If the work of the day takes two hours or more, you may
make a second sweep before you clean up, beginning at
EXHALE to catch any candles that have recently gone
out. This second sweep is usually very rapid.
Well, that's just a small part of the manual, but i hope that you found it of interest. As with any spiritual ministry, a candle ministry is conducted partially in the realm of spirit, and partially in the mundane world. This has been the "Wicks and Wax" portion of our work -- and i hope it was educational to those who contemplate undertaking such a ministerial service themselves.
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