Your spell is done, your candle burned. You can sit back, secure in the knowledge that you have done your best work, and your desires are on their way to you. There is only one thing left -- what do you do with the remains? Herbs, parchment papers, and even crystals are all easy to dispose of, but candles can be a bit trickier. Fortunately, there are several ways you can get rid of burned candles without jeopardizing the results of your work.

Let the earth take care of it.

Burying a candle is the simplest way to dispose of it. Depending on what your spell was supposed to achieve, you can either bury it on your property, or far away. If you want to attract something new to your life, like a job or a lover, bury the candle stub near your front door to help it find its way to you. If you want to keep something in your life, bury it in your back yard. If you want to get rid of something, bury it as far from your home as possible. If your spell is intended to affect someone else, bury it in their yard instead -- if you can do it without trespassing.

If the candle is in a glass container and you cannot remove it, no problem. Glass is mostly silica, just like sand. It is safe to bury, as long as you are careful about any breaks or sharp pieces.

Use fire.

Fire is what makes candle magic work, and it can also help you dispose of the remains. Melting a candle down in an open fire will make it disappear completely, so it is good for those times when you do not want the spell's energy to linger around you -- like when sending a hex or jinx, for example, or working to release yourself from a negative situation. To do this, just place the candle remains in a fire and allow them to melt away to nothing. Wax of any type is fuel for flames, so practice good fire safety.

Do not use this method for candles in glass jars. Glass can shatter when it gets hot. If you want to burn your candle stubs, remove them from the glass first and find another way to dispose of the container.

Leave them somewhere.

Leaving spell remains somewhere can be strongly symbolic. This can only really be done with very small or easily-hidden items -- it probably is not a good idea to try leaving the rest of a full-sized botanica candle on your enemy's front porch, unless you want them to know what you were up to!

Leave candle remains near a busy street or railway (not on the tracks) that passes near a person's house in order to direct a spell toward that person. Leave them somewhere far from you, or near an abandoned area, to send something away from you. If you have a candle in a glass container, you may need to remove it and throw the glass away separately.

Mold them into something new.

Sometimes, disposing of a spell candle is as simple as re-shaping it. After all, you might want that energy to stick around -- what if your spell was intended to draw a new lover to you? Or bring you prosperity? Or protect you?

In cases like this, you can take the candle remains and shape them into something new, using your fingers, a mold, or whatever tools you have available. Warm the candle stub until the wax gets soft, then shape it however you like. A heart-shaped candy mold can create a beautiful love amulet, or you can flatten the wax and inscribe it with a rune or sigil for power and protection. After that, cleanse the glass and re-use it in whatever way you choose.

Before you begin a spell, it helps to have some idea of how you want to dispose of the leftovers once you are finished. As a rule, keep the remains near you if the spell is designed to bring things to you, and dispose of them far away if you are trying to get rid of something. Beyond that, you can choose whichever disposal method feels the best for you.