Everything Under the Moon

Hey all! Since I am pretty new here, I first want to say sorry if someone has already asked this or if it has been posted already. I did do a thorough search and could find nothing, so I hope I’m okay! I also hope I don’t come off as dumb, so go easy on me! But anyways, this is the question I have: how do you all handle spells that require you to burn something/what do you use? I hear people talking all the time about fire proof dishes, but how do you know it’s fire proof? And please, feel feee to add whatever you’d like in regards to additional fire safe practices you may follow!

Cast iron is fireproof. They say Glass is to but to put sand in it for smudging. Sometimes they will say if it is where the sticker thing is or if in box.

Agreed with LC -- cast iron is safest. I have a little cast iron cauldron that I put on top of a stone tile, just in case. I'd also strongly recommend bringing fire extinguisher or having more than one way to put out a fire in a ritual. I can't tell you the number of times that my coven members have almost burned themselves trailing their sleeves in a candle, so just be thoughtful of candle placement. And if in doubt, LED/flameless candles are always okay, especially in places that have sensitive smoke alarms!

Thank you guys It was mostly just questions about burning things, but I figured why not talk about fire safety for other people like me. How about plates? Particularly dollar store plates, how are they for holding candles? And what about candles burning on top of jars? How do you handles those safely ?

Stick to metal.
Glass breaks from heat. I've had glass candle holders split in half.
Just stick to metal and you're never going to need to worry

I have used a terra cotta bowl for small fires, after years of use it cracked in half. This was for outdoors. In fact unless you have a fireplace in the house and depending on the size of fire, I would suggest all things burned be done in a firepit outdoors. If you are tossing a burning piece of paper in to a container, metal is best. If you have a metal vessel with a lid, it can be easily snuffed if out of control. Small burning tasks can be done on the stove.
Baking soda works as a fire extinguisher is you do not posses a canister style. Do not try to put out fire that is high in oil with water, it will spread.
BB, Firebird

An oven proof Pyrex baking dish does well & they come in many sizes. Metals get really hot. I've used brass, copper, iron, stainless steel OK. In all cases layer the bottom with 1/2 inch fish bowl gravel or sand to absorb heat. I slide a hot pad underneath to protect the table from blisters just like you'd do in your kitchen. Any burns larger than a 3x3 petition paper are done outside to avoid the smoke detector alarm chorus

Most plain glass dishes or even thick plain glass ash trays crack if the candle flame comes in contact with the glass. Thrift store Corelle & stoneware saucers & plates work well as candle plates. If you melt the bottom of the candle before sticking it to the plate they won't fall over. Cut a rounded taper-candle bottom so it's flat. Don't leave candles where pets will investigate.

Those messy jar lids with candle melts - I'd set it in a tin foil pie pan to catch wax run off. You see all sizes of disposable aluminum baking & roasting pans spring up from thanksgiving onward.

SpiritTalker wrote:An oven proof Pyrex baking dish does well & they come in many sizes. Metals get really hot. I've used brass, copper, iron, stainless steel OK. In all cases layer the bottom with 1/2 inch fish bowl gravel or sand to absorb heat. I slide a hot pad underneath to protect the table from blisters. Any burns larger than a shredded petition paper are done outside to avoid the smoke alarm chorus!

Most plain glass dishes or even thick plain glass ash trays crack if the candle wick comes in contact with the glass. Thrift store mismatched Corelle & stoneware works well as candle plates. If you melt the bottom of the candle before sticking it to the plate they won't fall over. Cut a rounded candle bottom so it's flat. Don't leave candles where pets will investigate.

Those messy jar lids with candle melts - I'd set it in a pie pan to catch wax run off. You see all sizes of disposable aluminum baking & roasting pans spring up from thanksgiving onward.

There’s a spell I’ve been wanting to try, but it involves letting a candle melt in a jar top. When the candle is finished burning, I’m worried about what will happen when the wick reaches the jar top

So what are you putting inside, for pete's sake? Normally there's nothing highly flammable in the contents of a jar spell. If the spell causes anxiety then don't use it. There are plenty of other choices.

A metal lid won't melt if that's your concern. The candle's waxy melt down also smothers the flame. Anchor a candle in it's own wax on top of the lid. As a standard taper or chime candle extinguishes It isn't going to heat up & explode the customary contents of a jar spell. Leave air space inside.

Edit: random thoughts

A small metal baking sheet Or serving tray with a 1/2" deep rim works well under candle spells. It holds a smidge of water if wanted for safety & can be picked up & moved. If a candle falls over it will land on the baking sheet but I've never had one fall over. It's useful when lighting multiple candles & you don't need individual candle holders - just stand a candle in it's own wax right on the sheet. It won't look shiny for long & wax gets scraped off.

I extinguish charcoal disc remnants in the kitchen sink & run water over the coal to be darned sure it's out before throwing anything in the trash... Just sayin' in case you ever use charcoal don't just toss it in the trash unless it's stone cold & a day old.

If I do it outside, I build a fireplace or a small pit of some kind. When in the house, I usually have a big wide plate under what ever I need to burn. Usually its small piece of paper for which that place works just as good as for keeping several candles safe. Anything bigger than that and its forest + fire pit time.

Luckily in Finland camp fires are allowed in most places when its not too dry and where ever you find a path in a forest, you can be almost certain that there will be a good place for campfire on the way somewhere. I have several just few kilometres from here, some on the shore and few more on an island. So burning stuff here isn't a problem. Also during winter it gets even better as everything is covered in snow and ice, no way to have a forest fire.

I'm thinking of finding some sort of metal bowl/cauldron type of thing which I could use.

Joshmartinez wrote: letting a candle melt in a jar top

I'm confused, are you saying IN a jar top or ON a jar top??
If you are speaking of a honey jar, for instance, your ingredients are in the jar and the lid is sealed on the jar, candle goes on top. (These can be ongoing replacing the candle as needed), no lid I have ever seen had an issue. I wouldn't use a painted lid though.
You could put a tea light on top they are pretty self contained, some tapers might be treated with fire retardant at the bottom, this is to prevent glass/crystal holders from breaking.
When you said IN the lid, I wouldn't do that ...most lids are treated with plastic to get a good seal, and you could release toxic fumes if the plastic starts to melt.
Get a large flat terra cotta dish (the kind for placing under a flower pot) and do your burning work on that on the stove or in a fireplace.
Also I would suggest working with fire some. Light candles, build a fire, burn some paper...in a pit outside. Sounds like you could do some experimentation to see fire in action before questing upon a fire spell.
Bb, FF

Make your smudge sticks small. They will burn for a long time. I made some that are way way too big and took forever to burn off. Not necessary. The small ones will make plenty of smoke to smudge with.

Rosie

Sorry for the confusion everyone! In response to the candle on top of ahoney jar spell, I was just nervous what would happen when the candle ran out of wax, but all was well. I’ve since picked up a small Cauldron from the local occult store, and made my smudge sticks way smaller. Thank you to everyone who answered! I didn’t mean to sound as dumb as I probably did but I figured also loads of new witches probably have the same question

If you happen to have cats, be very aware of candle safety around them. Hoss, may he rest in peace, dragged his very long haired tail through a candle flame once. I was panicking. He just looked like, "Oh. My tail's on fire. How about that." No cats were harmed in his experiment.