Get the Feed

customize your newsletter

Choose what you receive and when you receive it!

hagl_survey
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
hagl_da

The Brilliant Beeswax Candle: Natural Air Purifiers and More

posted by Annie B. Bond Nov 26, 2002 6:16 am
The Brilliant Beeswax Candle:  Natural Air Purifiers and More
  • Print

By Annie B. Bond, author of Home Enlightenment (Rodale, 2005).

Beeswax candles offer a honey scent, a golden flame, and the longest, cleanest burn of any candle.

But there is much more benefit to beeswax candles compared to paraffin candles that are made from polluted petroleum sludge, or even vegetable-based candles that are a big improvement over paraffin: When beeswax candles burn, they clean the air like a great, natural, air purifier, and they are a link to a deep spiritual belief system.

For each pound of beeswax provided by a honey bee, the bee visits 33 million flowers. It eats 10 pounds of honey. It secretes the beeswax from its abdomen, and then uses the wax to construct a honeycomb. Beekeepers recover the wax from the comb by heating it in water where the melted wax rises to the surface and can be removed.

Many have written about the wisdom of the beehive, and how burning beeswax puts a person in a special mood of reverence. It is easy to imagine why, given that millions of flowers have been visited and pollinated to make any one beeswax candle!

Healing and spiritual powers have been attributed to all products of the beehive. Honey has always been considered holy, a gift from God, and endowed with esoteric and mystical qualities. The Path of Pollen, or bee shamanism, is a calling into the secrets of healing, longevity, and spiritual powers of bee products, including honey, wax, and pollen. The Hebrew word for bee is dbure, meaning word, with the message being that the bee brings the Divine word. Specifically beeswax candles are designated for the Christian Roman Mass.

To burn a beeswax candle is to enter into the wisdom world of the bee, and you enter, too, into a world of benefits from the bee. Compare this to breathing toxic fumes from paraffin candles! (For more on toxic candles, see Candle Soot.

Cleaning the Air by Burning Beeswax Candles
Air contains billions of electrically charged particles called ions. Ions act upon our capacity to absorb and utilize oxygen, and therefore cause powerful effects on our lives and well being. The ions in the air can affect our mood, energy and health. Negative ions actually feel good. Too many positive ions make us feel bad and they are loaded down with pollution and allergens that are drawn to them and suspended in the air. Negative ions, on the other hand, remove the pollution and allergens from positive ions, allowing them to drop harmlessly to the ground.

Beeswax candle fuel is the only fuel that actually produces negative ions, which not only helps remove pollution from the air but increases the ratio of negative ions to positive ions, the ideal and necessary scenario for clean air.

Beeswax Candle Buyer’s Resource Guide
Make sure to only buy 100 percent pure beeswax candles.
Choose yellow beeswax (it is lightly refined)and not white beeswax is often bleached with chemicals and is best avoided.

Ditto Candles

Honey Candles

Blue Corn Naturals

Santa Fe Candle Company
More on Green Home Decor (141 articles available)
More from Annie B. Bond (3171 articles available)

The Marketplace

Better Basics for the Home

Simple solutions for less toxic living. buy now
  • Print

58 comments

add your comment »
58 Comments       add a comment »
Amalthea Lalaith

Sarah: vegans do not use products from any animals (including bees) even if the product is not eaten.

Sarah Leach

While I really like this article and I'm glad to have the links that were included... I wonder, Marion R. What's being Vegan got to do with it?

James Berryhill

I've made beeswax candles for years and have been worth it. I've known about the soot of other candles sense I was a kid(home-school). Keep up the good work.

Colleen Valha

This web-site offers tealight beeswax.
www.candlebeefarm.com

Gretha Van Sinderen

the hebrew word voor bee is 'dvora' and the word for 'word' is 'mila' but the word root of dvora is d-v-r like in ledaber -talking in hebrew and in this way it fitts your way of thinking ver well

Marion R.

sounds great, but I'm vegan....

Patricia Ballentine

I have used beeswax candles dating from the late 60s. They are wonderful. Soy candles are also a good choice as they burn clean also. Thank you for the info.

Patricia Ballentine

I have used beeswax candles dating from the late 60s. They are wonderful. Soy candles are also a good choice as they burn clean also. Thank you for the info.

Lorraine K.

Thanks, this is a good article and I will be buying some beeswax candles for this Yule!

Judy Elliott

I will definitely start using these candles. My cat seems to have alergies to the fragrant kind, but now I am wondering if it is what is in it rather than the aroma. Great article. I signed up for some news letters from the candle makers.

Please enter your comment.
1500 characters remaining

Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

1740

Gaiam_may_waterbottle_300x250
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters