Autumn. “And the days grow short when you reach November.”

I love to be in sync with the seasons. I mean really connected, to the extent that I embrace those crispy days, flaming leaves, and wooly sweaters, happy to bid dock days and flip-flops goodbye for another year. I keep working on it.

So to do this ‘working on it’ thing, I count the ways in which I really DO love the cooler, darker days of November. One of them, maybe even the top one, is candlepower. Second would be twinkle lights, but for this blog I’m going with the candles.

They really seem to make things ‘special’. Nothing warms up a meal like having one or two (or more) glowing candles on a table in the dusk of evening. It draws us in, tweaking primal memories of the comfort and magic of fire.

(Now for the ‘however’) However, choosing those romantic candles can make more of a difference to our health than it seems most folks either know or care about.

First there’s the wax. Do. Not. Buy. Dollar Store. Candles. Yes, they are cheap, but how precious is the quality of the air we breathe? These candles are made of paraffin . . . oil sludge that releases petroleum-based, carcinogenic soot into our home. This is especially true for candles burning in a non-ventilated bathroom.

Instead, look for beeswax (my fave), or soy, or coconut oil, or even hemp oil. Beeswax actually purifies the air and brings the scent of 10,000 flowers into your home. Read the label. If it doesn’t specify, ask. If it doesn’t specify it’s probably paraffin. And make sure that your candle is 100 percent of the oil you choose, not blended with paraffin.

Then there’s fragrance, speaking of 10,000 flowers. Artificial fragrance is no safer in your candle than it is in your skin care product. These toxic ‘fragrances’ are the endocrine disrupters and allergens that wreak havoc with our hormones and nervous systems, and add more carcinogens to the load we carry. Buy candles that are scented with authentic essential oils or simply use a diffuser to scent your home.

And finally the candlewicks. This can be tricky. Find candles that are labeled ‘lead free’. Lead candle wicks emit five times the amount of lead considered dangerous for children. They are banned in the States and Australia but as far as I can tell, not yet in Canada. (I’d like to be proved wrong.) Most of them are imported from China or Taiwan. To test for lead wicks, first peel down the fibre strands from the tip to see if it’s a metal core, then rub the tip on a piece of white paper. If the mark on the paper is gray, the candle likely has a lead core. I know what you’re thinking . . . most candles are wrapped snugly in plastic.

The best wicks to buy are made of cotton, wood, or hemp. And the wick has to be wide enough or there will be walls of unmelted candle surrounding a deep hole. There is a real science to wicks and candle making.


So, my beloveds, do embrace the season and all of her treasures as well as her ‘surprises’, and I promise to do the same – letting go of the need to have weather, or the day, or sky feel, or be, or look the way we imagine it should. Who are we to say? Nature has much to teach us if we are quiet and open and willing.

                                                 Autumn . . . the year’s last, loveliest smile.
                                                                                      -- John Howard Bryant (Indian Summer)