# the old bell book and candle -- means what?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 22, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357 "2000-11-22T20:14:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357/1 "2000-11-22T20:14:50Z")

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I saw this phrase on another thread. Apparently a Britishism but I haven’t a clue to the meaning.

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357/2 "2000-11-22T20:25:18Z")

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It was a play by one John Van Druten back in the 1950s.

A play about:

_ **Witchcraft.** _

woo woo . . . .

for more information:  
[http://www.paganpath.com/bellbk.html](http://www.paganpath.com/bellbk.html)

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357/3 "2000-11-22T20:45:07Z")

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“Bell, Book and Candle” usually refers to the rite of excommunication within the Catholic Church. Other references derive from that. Cecil did something on this:

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5\_242.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_242.html)

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357/4 "2000-11-22T20:45:09Z")

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The Master has addressed the formal rite of excommunication, here (at the end of the article):

[How do I go about getting excommunicated?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_242.html)

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2000, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-old-bell-book-and-candle-means-what/42357/5 "2000-11-22T21:22:19Z")

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Apologies, **jmullaney** , it was I who used the phrase in the other thread (concerning possession of cannabis) as a silly joke about exorcism in cases of “possession” by the devil. Still, it seems as though explanations have been made already, for which I am glad, as it must have looked very strange in the context! General Questions is pretty impressive.