The dancing flames of candles have been used as a Witches' tool for centuries. By setting the proper atmosphere, candles are used to help increase a spell's power, or to influence a particular power. Candles absorb one's personal energy and release this energy when burned Candle colour is very important when performing magick, for each colour emits a particular vibration and attracts certain influences. The following list is meant to be used as a guide in choosing a candle colour for your personal use. Please remember that colour is another "tool" and you need choose what works best for you in your magickal workings. If you do not have the colour mentioned for a particular need, allow your intuition and the Goddess guide you in choosing one for your purposes.
The candles you use should be ones you yourself make out of beeswax, using natural dyes and essential oils, if desired. Beeswax sheets are available at most hobby stores, and are a fast and easy way to make your own candles at home. Realizing this is not always possible, you may use what is readily available to you. Prior to using any candle in your workings you should cleanse the candle and anoint it with a small amount of oil during the waxing phase of the moon. This consecrates the candle and charges it with magickal energy. You can also carve or paint appropriate magickal symbols onto your candles, to further empower the candles with those energies. The heated tip of your athame works well for this purpose. It is best to use one candle per ritual or spell, and to not use a candle that has been used previously for another purpose. It is also best to allow the candle to burn out by itself, as blowing it out may disperse the energy contained within.
First, carefully consider why you wish to do magick. You might be better off by changing your own attitudes (though, that is some of what magick does), taking time for meditation, or examining your own life. Relationships, material things, sometimes new locations, etc., won't make you happy because happiness must come from within, and you have to often change expectations that are too high, and it's unfair to expect someone to perfect, or to be something you're not that's almost impossible to be, and it places undo strain. Remind yourself that everyone is still human. You, personally, have to choose to be happy, choose to be calm, choose to be more optimistic, etc. Whether you're passively avoiding, or actively dealing with whatever comes up, you're still dealing with it in some way. Take back your personal power and self-control (which, self-control is a main tenet of Witchcraft). You can suggest things to people (and beware the power of suggestion), but you can't force them to change. Remember that what you send out comes back to you, and that magick follows the path of least resistence. If you harm someone else, you harm yourself, for we are all connected, and magick is a part of you. One should never use magick to control another, or interfere with their free will; you won't be happy with the results in the long run, if you try that, no matter how long it takes to come back to you -- it will, sometimes with more force than what you sent out. Magick is also unpredictable, which is why you must visualize exactly what you want, and think it through completely.
Find a candle of the appropriate color for your desire. For types of candles, there are tapers, pillars, votives, knob candles, male or female-figure candles, etc., and what you use is your choice, though, something like a seven-knob candle is good for wish magick, where you burn down a knob each day while thinking of your desired outcome. You can annoint a candle with an essential oil (like Gardenia, Rose, or Sandalwood, to name only a couple, but use one where its magickal properties correspond to your need), or with olive oil, if you wish, but annointing is optional. If you wish to draw something to you, rub the oil on the candle from top to middle, and bottom to middle; if you wish to send something away (whether sending something positive, or banishing negativity), rub the oil from middle to top, and middle to bottom. If you want to do both (sending and attracting), I would simply let a drop of oil run down the side of the candle, from top to bottom, but I don't know if that does anything (not that it wouldn't).
Candles can be ringed with herbs, crystals, and more, to add the energies of those things to your magick (again, check the correspondences), if you wish, and candles can be inscribed with runes, regular writing, magickal alphabet-writing, and/or various symbols, to increase the potency of the magick. One can call deities, angels, spirits, elemental spirits, fairies, and other entities to aid in their magick, however, don't call them if you're not serious, and for instance, a deity like Aphrodite would be better called for love magick, than for fixing your car. Also, learn as much as you can about a deity, and perhaps, meet and converse them in your mind, and see what they think (this is imagination and reality; and remember that for the Gods, part of Them is in You, and You are in Them), before working with them in magick.
If you wish, you can send energy into a candle (from you, or draw it through you from Spirit) to cleanse it, remove all negativity and past associations, and then, charge it/fill it. Simply visualize the energy moving out of you and into the candle (or other object) and doing its work.
For candle magick, focus on your need, as if it has already been fulfilled, before, as, and after you light the candle. Then, spend a few minutes focusing on that some more. You might wish to listen to music (any type) appropriate to the magick, while doing that. If you wish, you could dance, chant, play drums, masturbate, etc., to raise more energy. Send the energy out into the universe (perhaps, by lifting your hands above your head, palms up, and seeing the energy flow from you, out to do its work). Then, if need be, ground yourself by placing your hands on the floor or ground, and allowing any excess to flow out of you into the Earth. Extinguish the candle in some way, but many say not to blow it out. If you wish to let the candle burn out on its own, that's more than fine, too. As they say, "waste not, want not," and I would say you can reuse candles (as long as it's for the same basic purpose); or bury any remaining candle pieces On your property if you wanted to draw something to you, or Off of your property if you want to send something away.
Try not to doubt your magick, or dwell on it constantly with doubt that it will ever happen. Positive thinking is something of a cure-all. Important: when your need is fulfilled, give the credit to the magick (and any deities or entities called), and keep away all second-guessing and doubt about how it worked.
Color exercise: you can find magickal calendars with the "color of the day" listed, and each day of the week has its own colors, associated; therefore, try wearing different colors on various days (and/or for a variety of purposes) and see how it effects you, and how other people react to you. Colors definitely affect mood.
Astrological correspondences are extremely important in magick, especially Moon phases and the sign which the Moon is in. Waxing Moons (period from the New to the Full Moon) are good for attraction, increase, gain, drawing things to you, and starting new projects; Full Moons are rather all-purpose and contain quite a lot of magickal energy; and Waning Moons (period from the Full to the Dark or New Moon) are good for banishing unwanted habits and negativity, and sending things away. For example, if you want yourself or someone else to increase in love or health, use the Waxing Moon, and if you want to stop gossip, use a Waning Moon. However, if you really need to do magick, and you're no where near a correct Moon phase, simply turn the spell or magick around, i.e., if you want to banish (be rid of) fear, but it's a Waxing Moon (general increase), do magick, instead, to bring courage and understanding to you.
The following table gives a few basic correspondences; and greater meanings for the days can be found from looking up the associations for the colors and astrological factors listed with them.
Day; Ruling Planet; Astrological Signs; Colors; Influences
Sunday; the Sun; Leo; Yellow, Gold, White, Orange; happiness, wealth, success
Monday; the Moon; Cancer; White, Blue, Silver, Light Blue; spirituality, meditation, dreams, calmness, astral projection, peace, new starts
Tuesday; Mars; Aries and Scorpio; Red, Orange; passion, courage, desire
Wednesday; Mercury; Virgo and Gemini; Yellow, Orange, Purple, Blue, White -- communication, mental health, learning, documents
Thursday; Jupiter; Sagittarius and Pisces; Purple, Royal Blue; wealth, imagination, success, abundance, travel, business
Friday; Venus; Taurus and Libra; Pink, Green, Brown; love, friendships, growth, healing, patience
Saturday; Saturn; Capricorn and Aquarius; Black, Grey, Purple; karma, meditation, past lives and reincarnation, spiritual matters, banishing, neutralizing
WHITE: A balance of all colours. Symbolizes peace, purity , innocence and power of a higher nature. Promotes peace, tranquillity, purification; truth, spirituality, and sincerity. Also used for meditation, truth seeking, spiritual enlightenment, summoning spirit guides, astral travel, and to enhance psychic abilities. Can be as protective as black and may be substituted for any colour candle. Healing properties include treating broken bones, relieving dental pain and increasing milk production in nursing mothers. White is also a Goddess symbol. As far as light goes, white is the combination of all, but where color is concerned, it is the absence of all.
YELLOW: A stimulating and uplifting colour that is the colour of creativity; intelligence, confidence; movement and energy. Connects to clairvoyance, divination, wisdom, learning; imagination, and inspiration as well as the power of concentration and communication. Used in healing skin conditions as well as stomach complaints and menstrual cramps. Yellow symbolizes the element of Air.
ORANGE: Is a stimulating and energizing colour. It connects to attraction, stimulation, control, personal strength, authority, and power. Also encouragement, adaptability, luck, and sudden changes. It attracts the characteristics wanted from other tools, spells and rituals. Very good for healing coughs, colds and asthma as well as arthritis and exhaustion.
GOLD: Colour that promotes understanding and attracts the powers of cosmic influences; intuition, persuasion, charm and confidence. Beneficial in rituals intended to bring about fast luck or financial benefits, or in rituals honouring solar deities.
PINK / ROSE: A positive colour symbolic of emotional love, nurturing relationships and romance. Promotes spiritual awakening, healing of the spirit, femininity, friendships, honor and morality. It is the standard colour of rituals to draw affections and brings friendly, lively conversation to the dinner table. Excellent for treating anxiety and depression, as well as ailments of the heart.
RED: The fiery, invigorating colour of energy and life. Always connected to blood, birth and death; and sex. Connects with love, passion, fertility, physical energy and strength. Increases magnetism in rituals and is used in defensive magick. Also emotes courage and enthusiasm. Good in health, strength and vigor spells and defensive magick. Used in healing neuralgias and exhaustion. Red symbolizes the element of Fire as well as being a God Symbol.
PURPLE/VIOLET: Vibrating colour that is highly spiritual and traditionally connected to mysticism, inspiration, wisdom, idealism, purification; success, peace; and power. Aids in meditation, sensitivity and higher psychic talents; as well as connecting to idealism, ambition, power, success and household protection. Healing properties include the treatment of allergies, sleep disorders and stress-related disorders.
MAGENTA: A combination of red and violet that is a very high vibrational frequency that tends to work fast. This colour energizes rituals where immediate action and high levels of power or spiritual healing are required, such as quick changes, exorcism or spiritual healing.
BROWN: An earthy, balanced colour, used to attract money and financial success. It aids in emotional stability and balance, eliminates indecisiveness, improves powers of concentration, study, intuition, and telepathy. Also connects also to finding lost objects. Aids in the protection of familiars and household pets as well as animal healing.
INDIGO: A vitalizing colour of inertia; used to cleanse the spirit and remove fear. Used in rituals that require a deep meditative state, to neutralize another's magick, or to counteract negative energy. Healing properties include dementia, depression, and mental disorders.
BLUE: A cool colour that soothes and relaxes. Blue is a primary spiritual colour, used in rituals to obtain wisdom, tranquillity, harmony, peace, inner light and truth. Connects to inspiration, occult power, protection, understanding, good health, patience and loyalty. Aids in meditation as it connects to intellect and mind. Promotes happiness, laughter and joviality. Used in treating insomnia, high blood pressure, and minor wounds. Blue symbolizes the element of Water.
GREEN: The colour that connects to nature, fertility, and rejuvenation. Stimulates work involving financial issues and money; aids good fortune, prosperity, luck; ambition and success. Bringer of love and renewal, it is an emotional soother and balancer, used to counteract greed and jealousy. A good colour for treating headaches, colds and nervousness. Green is the colour of the Earth element and is a Goddess Symbol.
SILVER / GRAY: Neutral colour that removes negative energy or influences and encourages stability. Useful when pondering complex issues during meditation and in magick, this colour often sparks confusion; it also negates or neutralizes when needed. Helps develop psychic abilities and attracts the influence of the Goddess.
BLACK: Burned for positive purposes, this colour opens up the deeper levels of the unconscious. Black is used in rituals to induce a deep meditational state and is good for banishing evil or negativity. Connects to self control, quiet power, and resilience, as it absorbs negativity and destroys it; offers strength and support in spells; protects from retribution and is also an aid during loss.
SABBAT CANDLE COLOURS:
Samhaim : Black, orange
Yule : Red, green & white
Candlemas : Red, pink & brown.
Spring Equinox : Green, yellow & gold
Beltaine : Dark green Summer
Solstice : Green, blue
Lammas : Yellow, orange
Autumn Equinox : Orange, brown & yellow
ASTROLOGICAL CANDLE COLOURS
Aquarius (January 20 - February 18) : Light Blue or Pale Yellow
Pisces (February 19 - March 20) : Aquamarine
Aries (March 21 - April 19) : Red
Taurus (April 20 - May 20) : Green
Gemini (May 21 - June 21) : Yellow or Orange
Cancer (June 22 - July 22) : White or Dark Green
Leo (July 23 - August 22) : Gold or Yellow
Virgo (August 23 - September 22) : Gray or Marbled
Libra (September 23 - October 22) : Royal Blue
Scorpio (October 23 - November 21) : Black or Red
Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - December 21) : Dark Blue or Purple
Capricorn (Dec. 22 - Jan. 19) : Black or Dark Brown
DAY OF THE WEEK CANDLE COLOURS
Sunday : Yellow
Monday : White
Tuesday : Red
Wednesday : Purple
Thursday : Blue
Friday : Green
Saturday : Black
To Change the Color of Flame:
For Candles: add the chemicals to the wax, or soak the wicks in a solution of the chemicals using the following recipe.
To Add to a Fire: Put three level spoons of the chemical into a paper cup; fill 1/2 full with water and stir. Soak several small chips of wood in this solution overnight. The next day, remove the chips with tweezers and lay on newspaper to dry. They can now be added to the flames to produce bright colors.
Green flame: Borax or Boric acid, copper nitrates or barium nitrates
Orange flame: calcium chloride
Red flame: stronium nitrate
Yellow flame: Sodium Chlorate or Potassium Nitrate
Purple flame: Lithium Chlorate
