Lighting · Decoration · 1.21
How to Make a Lantern
A torch wrapped in iron, and far prettier for it. The lantern is the only light you can hang from a chain, swinging gently over a doorway or a mineshaft.
A lantern hangs from a chain and lights the dark, swinging and all.
The recipe
A torch ringed by eight iron nuggets. Nuggets come from a single iron ingot.
Grab the grids on Astroworld crafting or look up the torch and iron nugget.
Hang it or stand it
Hung
Place it under a block, a fence, or a stack of chains, and it dangles. This is the lantern’s signature, and it looks superb over paths and entrances.
Standing
Set it on top of any block like a normal light. Unlike a torch it has real depth, so it reads as a proper lamp on a table or post.
The soul lantern
Use a soul torch instead and the lantern burns blue: dimmer (light 10), eerie, and it keeps piglins at bay near a Nether base.
Good to know
Brightest light
Light level 15, the maximum, so one lantern covers a wide area and stops mob spawns.
Works underwater
Lanterns are waterloggable, so they keep shining when placed in water.
Chains for looks
Stack chains above a hung lantern for a tall pendant light over stairwells and halls.
Quick answers
What is the recipe?
One torch in the centre surrounded by eight iron nuggets. The nuggets come from an iron ingot, which crafts into nine.
Where do iron nuggets come from?
Crafting one iron ingot gives nine nuggets, or you can smelt iron tools and armour down into nuggets.
Can a lantern hang?
Yes, that is its trick. Place it on the underside of a block, a fence or a chain and it dangles, unlike a torch which only mounts on top or a wall side.
Does it work underwater?
Yes. Lanterns are waterloggable, so they keep glowing while submerged, handy for lighting underwater builds.
What is a soul lantern?
Built with a soul torch instead of a normal one. It glows blue, gives slightly dimmer light, and scares piglins away like soul fire.
How bright is it?
A normal lantern is light level 15, the brightest there is, the same as a torch but it looks far nicer hung from a chain.
Compare it to a plain torchlook up the lantern, chain and iron nugget in the items database, or open the crafting recipes for the exact grid.
Lantern light, chains and the soul variant
A lantern is brighter than the torch inside it
The torch you wrap costs you light level 14, and the lantern you get back gives 15. That one step is the difference between a corner of a room that still spawns mobs and one that never will, because a light level of 15 at the source reaches one block further before it drops off. Soul lanterns go the other way and sit at 10, which is dim enough to be decorative and bright enough to walk by.
Hanging is a placement, not a recipe
There is no separate hanging lantern item. Aim at the underside of a block, or at the bottom of a chain, and the same lantern hangs instead of standing. That means a single stack can light a floor and a ceiling in the same room, and you can pull a lantern down a shaft on a run of chains without ever crafting a second thing.
Why iron nuggets and not ingots
Eight nuggets is under one ingot, so a lantern is cheaper than it looks: a single ingot in the crafting grid gives you nine nuggets, enough for one lantern with a nugget left over. If you are lighting a large build, smelt for the torch first and count ingots, not lanterns, because the torch supply runs out long before the iron does.
