When White Will Do, Why Bother With Colored Candles?

On one of the forums which I frequent a question was asked which brings up a good point that somehow gets lost in translation today in much of the occult materials that one encounters.

The specific question was about the use of colored candles for spellwork, but the same idea extends to any spell ingredients that one uses - herbs, oils, curios, etc.

The question was basically if a white candle can be used for any purpose, then why bother using colored candles of traditional magical associations? Isn't it simply aesthetics since all the power ultimately comes from the practitioner?

The answer is NO, it is not just aesthetics, there are real reasons behind different colors being used for specific purposes. And all the power does NOT ultimately come from the practitioner, otherwise why would you be using any one object over another? In folk magic all the herbs, roots, etc are believed to have divinely innate powers that skilled practitioners can tap into and direct to their needs. The practitioner doesn't create that power, they simply set it working for a specific task. I talked more about this principal in my entry on Making Mojo Bags.

Spellwork is all about building up a large amount of energy resonating/vibrating with that of your intent. Every symbol, every appropriate herb, oil and root, every prayer, every candle, every powder, etc all creates a strong harmonious "picture" of what you are looking to manifest. Like-attracts-like, so if you can create an altar that just pours forth and seethes with the energy that you are trying to attract to yourself, it will be an astral magnet for those same forces.

Colored candles burn with a specific vibration, dictated in large part by the color of the wax (the coloring changes the vibration of the wax, hence why you see one color and not another - it has been changed to fit within a certain vibrational spectrum). So you can pick a candle that adds an extra layer of energy/vibration resonant with your intent. It adds an extra bit of push.

You can also work with white, because white contains all colors, and so it will not detract away from your work in any way, and can aid in any type of work due to it's flexibility. However, a colored candle is a bit more fine-tuned. So if you are able to use that extra bit of tuning - great! If you cannot, then you will not detract from your work by using a plain white candle.

And this doesn't even start to get into the topic of color psychology and how looking at a colored burning candle triggers different emotional/mental/spiritual effects within your brain. Colors affect your physiological make up and can alter your brain waves. Using certain colors for certain magical acts helps to tune your MIND-BODY-SPIRIT into what you are doing, too.

SO - Is the dye important?

Yes. It has changed the candle to hold a certain vibrational pattern.

Yes. It changes your brain waves and primes your mind-body-spirit to hold a certain energy.

Can you do without it?

Yes. Use white as it is neutral. However, you can always use all the help you can get.

Every little bit helps!