Burning Daily Candles
While many hoodoo magical spellcasts are meant to be done for a certain length of time -- 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, etc. -- some works are meant to be a part of one's daily life, at least for a span. Sometimes one is instructed to burn a candle every day. The Black and White Magic of Marie Laveau uses this tactic many a time. Many Henry Gamache candle spells also do this.
The question then becomes, for how long should I burn the candle in such a spell? Or what if the spell says to burn the candle for an hour a day, but I'm using a chime candle that only burns a couple hours total?
Here is a quick guide to the burn time you're likely to need for the more popular candle styles if burning in daily segments:
Chime candle - 10 minutes
Household candle - 30 minutes
Jumbo candle - 1 hour
Now, if you want to burn the candle in sections for a set amount of time, such as over the course of 3 days, it's usually easier to eyeball it and just burn 1/3 of the candle each day. It's also acceptable (though not as ideal) to burn the candle for any amount of time each day and simply let it burn out on the final day; that is, you can burn the candle for, say, 15 minutes a day even if that means less than 1/3rd of the candle is consumed, but let it burn all the way out on the final day even if that takes 3 hours, to still make it a 3-day spell.
Now, if you want to burn the candle in sections for a set amount of time, such as over the course of 3 days, it's usually easier to eyeball it and just burn 1/3 of the candle each day. It's also acceptable (though not as ideal) to burn the candle for any amount of time each day and simply let it burn out on the final day; that is, you can burn the candle for, say, 15 minutes a day even if that means less than 1/3rd of the candle is consumed, but let it burn all the way out on the final day even if that takes 3 hours, to still make it a 3-day spell.