Butter Lamps:
The Safe Alternative
for Your Altar
by Dr. Jonn Mumford
An MSNBC story on candles detailed the environmental and personal pollution provided by some brands sold to the consumer. As the follow excerpt by Francesca Lyman, from January 2001 details:
No one ever mentioned the controversies over burning candles that have flickered in the news throughout last year: that candles with lead wicks can give off toxic emissions. One study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that such candles give off emissions that exceed Environmental Protection Agency–standards for outdoor air… Don’t burn candles with a shiny metal core in the wick unless you know it’s lead-free.
Given the custom of using candles for both ritual and for ambience, I would like to introduce you to the use of magical ghee, or clarified butter, in lamps as a natural source of light for your altar and other magical purposes.
Indian ghee lamps, often popularly called “butter lamps,” provide a very pure, very nontoxic flame that make splendid focal points in magical ritual. Ghee lamps are perfect for use as altar lamps and are wonderful for romantic interludes as well. The flame is nontoxic and pure, and gives no smoke when properly adjusted. It also is part of an ancient magical tradition.
Ghee, or clarified butter, is a delicious, if cholesterol-laden, substance preferred for Indian cooking. Ghee is a semiliquid form of butter from which the water and milk solids have been removed by heating and straining. Indians refer to it as “liquid gold,” and it can be bought at any Indian market in larger cities. (The recipe for turning unsalted butter into ghee also appears at the end of this article.)
The Lamp
Providing you live in a city with an Indian ethnic community, it would be simplest for you to go to an Indian shop to purchase your ghee lamp, and the cotton wicks appropriate for the size and type of the lamp. There are two types of ghee lamps; one variety is a shallow yoni dish, in which ghee and a special cotton wick is placed and lit. These lamps may be made of brass or clay. The other type of lamp has a special wick holder in the center so that the straight cotton wick points upright, rather like a candle. In this type of lamp you can also burn grapeseed or sunflower oils, both of which are, in homeopathic magic, sacred to Surya or the sun. Think of sun-ripened grapes and sunflowers to see the reasoning.
Homemade Wicks and Butter Lamps
Since you may not always be able to find a ready-made ghee lamp, you may have to master the fine art of making a cotton ball wick on your own. Here are the accoutrements necessary for a homemade ghee lamp: a supply of ghee, a shallow metal dish (half an inch maximum depth, no more), and pure cotton balls.
Note: I rushed out today just in case I was so out of touch with the real world that real cotton balls no longer existed. I had visions of finding only synthetic, teased plastic balls rather like cotton candy, but I discovered you can still buy real cotton balls these days. Just make sure the package says they are pure, 100 percent cotton and nothing else.
Procedure
Melt a little ghee gently in a saucepan. Remove it from the heat and drop in a few cotton balls so that they become thoroughly saturated. Remove the cotton balls and gently squeeze the excess ghee out of them. Take care not to distort their round shape, then twist the top-third of the cotton ball into a point, leaving the other two-thirds as a ball shape. The point, which will be your wick, should be no more than an inch in length.
Now, pour the remaining melted ghee into the metal container and place the ball flush up against an edge with the wick extending horizontally over the side or lip. Brass ashtrays are ideal since they have ready-made lips to hold cigarettes. Otherwise, with pliers you can make a lip in your small metal container. Remember the dish must not be more than half or three-quarters of an inch deep or the cotton ball may drown in the ghee.
Light the point, or wick, of your cotton ball, and a lovely flame will appear. When you get the knack of this, the lamp will burn on the altar for an hour or more—depending on how much capacity your container has to hold ghee.
Making Your Own Ghee
First you will need:
1 lb. unsalted butter
Break the butter into smaller pieces and melt it over medium heat in a stainless-steel or glass saucepan. Stir to encourage slow and even melting of the butter without risk of burning. While stirring, turn the heat up and allow the melted butter to reach a gentle boil. Once it is boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer. Bubbles will rise to the surface of the butter, and a foam will gather as a crust on the top. You may skim this off or leave it alone; these are milk solids, which will eventually settle to the bottom.
Allow the butter to simmer until all the bubbles stop rising (which indicates the water has been boiled off), and you are left with milk solids on the bottom and hot, clear golden oil on top. Turn off the heat source and remove the ghee with a soup scoop or ladle, being careful not to disturb the milk-sediment on the bottom. Golden ghee is the pure oil fat left over after the water has been boiled out of the butter and the milk solids have been decanted.
Assuming you have a steady hand and the pan has a handle, you may gently pour the clear ghee directly into a heatproof glass or steel container with a lid for future use. Allow to cool before sealing.
Ghee is a remarkable in that it does not become rancid and will indeed keep months unrefrigerated. Kept in the fridge, you can be sure it will last six months or longer. One very famous cook recommends freezing ghee to prolong its life to a year or more. Ghee is highly valued in Ayurvedic medicine as a restorative and a vehicle for carrying medications.
Ghee takes temperatures of up to 375 degrees F before burning, and when used for frying it gives a rich flavor. Ghee is particularly good for cooking spices, as it encourages the release of the medicinal and culinary components of them.