9 Important Candle Magick Questions Answered

Hello, my magical explorers and welcome to WiccaNow. I’ve been talking a lot about herbs recently, including these posts on lavender, cinnamon and rosemary along with herbs for protection and herbs for love but today I want to diverge and talk about one of our oldest, and potentially most powerful, magickal tools. Today I want to talk about candle magick.

Warning: Always practice fire safety when working with an open flame. Candles are one of the leading causes of house fires. Keep a fire extinguiser within reach and make sure not to wear billowing clothing. Always light your candles a safe distance away from anything flammable and out of reach of pets and children.

What is Candle Magick?

Candle magick is one of the oldest and simplest forms of spell casting. It works by harnessing the power of fire, which is the element of transformation, in order to help you achieve your goals and desires by bringing about change. Candle magick has been around for a long time and is even practised by people who don’t realise they are practising it.

Think about a birthday party. We have all had a birthday cake with a candle, right? We’ve all blown out that candle and made a wish? This is a very simplified form of candle magick. We light a candle, visualise what we want, then hope it comes true after blowing out the candle.

Candle magick works in the exact same way, except instead of just hoping for the wish to come true, we set our intentions on our goal and strongly visualise this goal becoming reality. We focus our energy on a specific goal and with the help of the transformative power of fire we manifest that goal for ourselves.

What is a Magic Candle?

In my opinion, every candle has the power to be a magick candle. If you intend to use a candle as a magickal tool, it becomes a magick candle. While you may want to purchase specific candles for your magickal work (I like beeswax), any candle you own has the potential to help you magickally if you want it to.

Be aware, using a candle that has already been lit will dilute its power. Candles draw energy from wherever they have been lit, so if you had a relaxing bath and lit a candle, you might not want to use that same candle as a tool in a money drawing spell. I recommend using a new candle for each spell.

Why is Fire the Element of Transformation?

Think about fire for a second. What does fire do? Fire is the ultimate transformative element. Light a candle and the wax turns from a solid state to a liquid state. Burn a log and it transforms from wood to ash. Heat water and it turns to steam. Even indirect fire, like an oven, can change the state of something. You put uncooked cake batter into the oven and heat turns it into a fluffy, delicious cake (well, hopefully anyway). 

Fire transforms darkness to light and cold to warmth. It’s one of our most revered elements and has been since humans discovered how to harness it. Think how much life changed once early humans learned to control fire. It’s said that this was one of the first turning points of civilisation, suddenly there was warmth and light in the winter. This allowed early humans to think about more than the basics of survival and changed the way they hunted, ate and lived. Fire truly is the most transformative of elements.

Our 9 Tips for Successful Candle Magick

1.  Always remember the Wiccan Rede when you are completing any magickal work. Our central tenet is “An it harm none do what ye will” so make sure that whatever goal you are aiming for isn’t harming anyone else. A good thing to keep in mind is the Threefold Law. Magick affects the world around you, and whatever energy you put out into the world, whether that be positive or negative energy, will come back to you threefold. 
2. Be as precise as possible when setting your goals and intentions. Miscommunication, as we’ve probably all experienced before, can cause major difficulties. If you are vague or unsure you may just get a result that you don’t want. Many of the storybooks I read as a child dealt with this. The protagonist would ask the faerie/genie/magical being to make them rich or something along those lines. While the wish would be fulfilled, it was always in a way that wasn’t expected because the protagonist wasn’t precise enough. Instead of getting clean and clear money, the protagonist would always end up worse off in some weird way and then have to work their way out of that situation. I guess that this was trying to moralise on the benefits of hard work over ill-gotten gains, but it still teaches us a lesson in how important it is to be clear, concise and as specific as possible.
3.  Take note of how long your ritual lasts and whether or not the candle has to burn all the way down before the ritual is completed. Pick your candle so that it coincides with the length of the ritual. You don’t want to start a ritual, use a large candle that takes days to burn and then realise the ritual isn’t complete until the candle has completely burned down. Not only is this annoying, but it is also dangerous because you can’t leave an open flame burning over 3 days unattended.
4. Make sure you are in a quiet and undisturbed place to complete your candle magick. Background noises will only distract you and prevent you from visualising your goals strongly enough.
5. If your candle magick takes place over a few days, make sure you pick a spot where you don’t have to move the candles and where they won’t be disturbed. The middle of your dining table, for example, might not be the best idea if you have a family and all want to eat there. Your altar or a small space on your desk might work better.
6. Candles can absorb the energy of wherever they were last burned. So if you were having a candlelit bath and then you use that same candle in your candle magick, you may dilute its power. For this reason, it’s always best to use a new candle for each new spell. Because the size doesn’t matter at all in candle magick, I would suggest buying smaller candles so you are able to use a new one each time and aren’t diluting the spell with other unwanted energy.
7. The colour of your candle is important. Make sure you use the colour that the spell specifies in order to have the most successful outcome. Don’t worry though, if your spell calls for a coloured candle and you don’t have the right colour on hand, you can always substitute a white candle for the colour you are missing! 
8. Don’t blow out your candles if you can avoid it! Use a candle snuffer or else wet your fingers and pinch the flame out. When you blow the candle out, there is the possibility that you blow away the power of your spell so it’s definitely better to snuff it out.
9. If you can find them, try to use beeswax candles. While all other candles will have a similar working, the fact that beeswax is a natural product will increase the potency of your candle magick.

What are the Meanings of Different Coloured Candles in Candle Magick?

The colours of the candles we use in candle magick all correspond to different things and using the correct colour will help to strengthen your spell.

Table of Candle Colour Meanings

White	Purity, truth, peace and cleansing. White represents the goddess. White can substitute any other colour during spell work.
Red	Strength, assertiveness, lust, passion and courage. Red also represents your career goals and can invigorate the forces that drive you. Red represents the fire element. Use it in spells relating to sexual love and relationships as well as to stimulate creative energies. Read more about red candles below…
Orange	Success and justice. Orange represents things to do with selling such as property deals. It can also be used in attraction and encouragement spells. Use orange candles in spells relating to intellectual pursuits and if you want to increase your concentration.
Yellow	Intelligence, clarity, happiness and memory. Use yellow candles to break mental blocks and stimulate logical imagination. You can also use yellow candles to help accelerate your learning ability. Yellow is also associated with persuasion. It represents the air element as well as the sun.
Green	Fertility, abundance, success with money and achieving personal goals or growth.  Aids in physical healing spells. Green represents the Earth mother and tree and plant magic. It corresponds to the earth element.
Blue	Wisdom, protection, good fortune and serenity. This colour can be used in spells relating to spiritual inspiration and when trying to open blocked communication channels. It corresponds to the water element. Lighter blue represents patience and understanding. You can use blue candles in spells relating to dream work.
Purple	Psychic ability and spiritual power. You can use purple candles in spells relating to the discovery of hidden knowledge and if you want to influence people in higher places. It can be used in spells to do with ambition and power.
Pink	Romance, caring, affection and nurturing. Pink represents soft love and friendship. Use this coloured candle in spells to do with the health and wellbeing of the planet.
Silver	Telepathy, intuition, dreams and clairvoyance. Silver connects to female energy and the Goddess. Us it in spells where you want to access astral energy.
Gold	Happiness. Gold is connected to the God and to male energy. Gold can be used in spells to do with success, particularly success in gambling or anything to do with chance. It brings wealth and prosperity and can be useful when completing spells to do with legal matters. Gold represents the energy of the sun, it can ease disputes and will bring you a deeper understanding of other people.
Copper	Career, money and passion. Use copper candles in spells where you want to promote career or business success or professional growth.
Brown	Abundance, friendships and family. Use in spells when you need to call in a favour. Brown corresponds with the earth and natural life so works well when used with spells to do with animals or the earth.
Grey	Use grey candles in spells to do with loneliness and invisibility. It can help you neutralise negative energies and spells and can also bring you wisdom.
Black	Protection, wisdom and self-defence. Black candles can help repel and absorb negative energies. They are used in binding spells and in spells relating to the breaking of things such as hexes, jinxes and bad habits. You can also use black candles when you are trying to call the healing power of the universe.

What are Red Candles Used for in Magick?

Red candles are used in candle magick relating to strength, lust, passion, courage and assertiveness. Red is a symbol of fire, the most potent of transformational energies. Using a red candle can help you achieve goals faster or get you through a tough time. Red candles incite passion, whether this is of a sexual nature or of a creative one.

Spells involving red candles will help to energise you so that you can achieve your goals. Remember this when casting spells, as you don’t necessarily want to use a red candle when you are trying to relax or find peace, serenity and a good nights sleep. Red candles will fill you with a lust for life and renewed and excitable energy. Red candles are perfect if you are going after something in your career and need a boost or if you are looking to ignite a new romantic relationship. Use a red candle then, because it might keep you awake but let’s be honest, you don’t normally sleep much at the start of a new relationship, do you?

What Color Candle is Used for Love?

The colour most commonly used for love spells is red, as red candles are used for spells relating to love, lust and passion. In saying this, you can also use pink candles, depending on what kind of love you are looking to influence. Pink candles are used for a softer, gentler, more nurturing love. While red candles will bring a more immediate, strong and energy-filled love, pink candles provide softer and calmer energy to your spells.

What Color Candle is for Protection?

The answer to this question really depends on what type of protection you are looking for. My go-to would be a black candle as they offer protection from negative energy. They also use the healing energy of the universe to provide you with protection from illness. Gold candles can be burned to provide you with protection in relation to your personal success. A purple candle will provide spiritual protection. As white candles can stand in for a candle of any other colour, they are seen as a great magical tool for general protection.

What Does Burning a Black Candle Mean?

Now is a good time to dispel any myths about black candles. Unfortunately, tv and media have a way of portraying a lot of witchcraft as devil worship. Did anyone recently watch Sabrina? Out of curiosity, I did, and while it might have been entertaining, it certainly didn’t do much to dispel the idea of all witches being satan worshippers.

Sure, many of us worship the horned god, and while a side of him (the winter side) does signify death, he also signifies life and rebirth. Death is a natural part of life and without it, we wouldn’t have universal balance. The idea that witches burn black candles in order to summon the devil, often to bring harm to other people is completely baseless and I wish media would stop portraying this as something that we do. 

Burning a black candle can bring powerful energy with it, but generally, this is helpful energy which helps to release negativity from our lives. Burning a black candle is a way of acknowledging and then clearing away any lingering negativity. If you feel like you have had a malevolent spell cast on you, burning a black candle can help to lift and banish this jinx. 

Use black candles in banishing spells or if you need to break a bad habit. Perform your banishing spell with the addition of a black candle and the candle will help you reach a deep state of meditation and calm while also helping you to banish whatever bad habit is plaguing you.

If you or someone you love is battling an illness, you can help by burning a black candle. While this won’t heal the illness itself (please see a doctor if you are ill!), banishing the negative energy caused by the illness and telling yourself that you need to keep a positive mindset can work wonders for the rest of the body.

How Does a Candle Get Rid of Negative Energy?

A candle has the ability to get rid of negative energy because as mentioned earlier, fire is the element of transformation. We take the negative energy which is plaguing us and we neutralise it through the flames of our candle.

Simply the act of acknowledging the negative energy, and choosing to light a candle in the hopes of changing it, makes the negative energy less powerful. We manifest what we want. By deciding that we want to change the energy around us, we have already taken the first step in the process. Lighting a candle and meditating on what it is that we want to add or remove in our lives is simply a way of increasing our own powers of manifestation. A candle flame is purifying and powerful, if you are trying to rid yourself of negativity, perform the easy candle magick ritual below.

A Short Candle Magick Ritual to Remove Negative Energy

1. Find a new black candle. Before you start, decide how long you feel you can meditate for and choose a candle that is an appropriate size. If you only have a small amount of time, choose a very small tapered candle that has a short burn time.
2. Find a calm space where you won’t be disturbed.
3. Take 5 deep breaths and slow your mind down.
4. Light your candle.
5. Focus on the flame and meditate strongly on the negativity you want to remove.
6. Observe the flame consuming the wax, and imagine that the wax is the negative energy you want to remove.
7. As the flame transforms the wax to smoke and air, imagine the negative energy within and around you transforming into smoke and leaving you and your home.
8. Continue to focus as strongly as you can until your candle has burned out. Try and think of all the good things around you and let those flow into your mind as the candle gets smaller.
9. When the candle has burned down to nothing, take the remaining wax and wick and bury it, along with the remnants of the negativity you wanted to banish in the garden or away from your home. Note, if you realise you don’t have time for the candle to burn down completely, snuff the candle and bury whatever remains.
10. Repeat this ritual every time you feel negativity overtaking you, making sure to use a new candle each time.

So my magical loves, I hope this answered all your questions about candle magick!

I’ll leave you with a candle magick prayer to help strengthen your magick, increase your focus and remove lingering negativity. Say it before starting a candle magick spell or ritual.

A Prayer to Strengthen Your Candle Magick

“Candle candle burning bright, please clear my mind with your warming light. Transform my darkness into light, lend me your magic to increase my might. So Mote it Be”

Until next time,

Blessed Be

Amaria xoxo