I have not made candles in 30 years but I bet my stuff is still up in the attic somewhere! They were candles in metal moulds - star shaped, hexagon columns - lots of figure candles, but never made any tapers - it's to easy to go out to the Dollar store and buy cheap ones or a good card shop and buy beautiful ones. 30 years ago a store known as 'American Handicrafts' used to sell candle wax in 10-pound blocks and all the supplies such as wicks, colors, scent oils, and whatnots. That fad died out a long time ago but a large craft store like Michael's or Moore's may be able to help you.
Basically it's prepare the molds with some release spray or silicone spray, put the wick in place, seal the spot where the wick comes through the mold. Melt wax in a double boiler (never boil or burn wax- bad for your health!), add color or scents as desired. Pour hot wax into molds, repour to fill bottoms once wax sets. Allow wax to harden at least overnight, remove candle from mold. And be sure to cover every inch of table with old newspapers and have a bucket of cold water handy in case the mold springs a leak!
Tapers are made from tying lengths of wick to a dowel, and dipping the wicks repeatedly into wax. It is a long boring process as anyone who has worked on a 'Thanksgiving re-enactment' can tell you!
PS - the boxes of paraffin wax they sell in supermarkets should not be used for making candles: the paraffin melts at such a low temperature that the candles burn themselves away in no time flat!
There was some controversy a few years back about the lead in burning candle wicks being bad for you, (how many years have we been burning candles and now they tell us this?) so I don't even know if you can find wicking with a lead core anymore.