A flame out candle system and method for automatically retracting and extinguishing a wick flame. The system includes a candle, a wick, and a puck assembly. The candle includes a bore to receive the wick, and a cavity to receive the puck assembly. The puck assembly can include a motor driven power screw or spur gears associated with spaced apart pinion gears. The puck assembly is removable from the candle for reuse in another candle. A wick engaging member can be operatively associated with the power screw for linear movement that is transferred to the wick. The pinion gears can be engageable with a rack gear positioned therebetween so rotation of the pinion gears translates into linear motion of the wick. A computer system can be utilized to control the motor based on a time signal, an activation signal, a sensor signal or any wireless signal.