candle colours and their meanings - contradictions?!

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 12 Dec 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

pozt	12 Dec 2002
I've been going around the internet looking up the meanings of different candles. And I came across some confusion here: Say, for example, I want to cast a breakup spell which requires a "dark green candle". I wondered why "dark green" and the explanation given was: "Color of ambition, greed and jealousy"...but then afterwards it says, "counteracts these influences in a ritual." Here's the contradiction: if a spell is used to break something, then why use a candle that supposedly means to counteract those influences (of greed, jealousy, etc)? Or would I be more correct to say that a dark green candle CAN be used both ways: to cause the negative feelings or banish those negative feelings DEPENDING on the caster's intentions?

Laurel	12 Dec 2002
Quote: Originally posted by pozt Or would I be more correct to say that a dark green candle CAN be used both ways: to cause the negative feelings or banish those negative feelings DEPENDING on the caster's intentions? [/b] That's a good way to put it. The color green has long been associated with a lot of good or bad things, most of them very emotional/sexual/nature-based. In the back of our minds, it makes us think of Venus, Nature, sickness "green in the face", envy "green with envy" and so on. This creates a sympathetic state between all those types of ideas and the color green which is part of how magic 'works' inside the human consciousness. Laurel

tarotbear	19 Dec 2002
This is why a lot of people find it easier to use a white candle. You can them annoint it with an oil, inscribe something onto it, or do whatever you feel is right to achieve the spell you have in mind. White is the presences of all colors of light, so white can be used for anything.

Natalya	20 Dec 2002
when the candle is dark it brings bad consequences.....I once did a spell to bring a friendship back, went to a lake during full moon everything was perfect except that i used a dark blue candle when i was supposed to use a light one...The spell was reversed, and it made matters worse....real worse be careful and use the right tone

DarkElectric	20 Dec 2002
Interesting... I was taught that certain candle colours correspond to certain things too, say, orange to attract something, black to banish, etc. However, I was also taught that what the colour means to you personally, determines the outcome of the work you use it for. That in itself is a contradiction. For example, I use dark blue for healing, many people use brown or green. But dark blue FEELS like health to me. As well as protection. So I usually go with my feelings about what the colour means, and have actually achieved a modicom of success this way. For me, deeper colours signify deeper emotional states. Whereas a light red would signify passion and energy , a dark red would border on brooding passion, and an intensity level that took it out of the realm of the lighter red. Same with the other hues, but that's only what works for ME. Other people do it differently. I also agree with Tarotbear, who suggests white, with an inscription stating purpose. Whatever colour you use, if you decide to do any kind of magick at all, be prepared to face karmic reactions for whatever work you do. You need to be aware that there are consequences, and no matter you decide, you will take personal responsibility for that action. One way or another, it will happen. So, think carefully before you do anything.

tarotbear	20 Dec 2002
Well, DE, I also recommend white as the alternative for those people out there who think they have to have every single whatever a spell calls for and don't think the gods will accept substitutions. I mean, it's 11:30 p.m. and raining like hell outside with galeforce winds...must you drive to Wal*Mart because the spell demands a periwinkle blue candle?

DarkElectric	21 Dec 2002
A good point, sir. This is practical magick at it's best!

meatbox666	23 Dec 2002
Dark green is used to cause sickness.

pozt	24 Dec 2002
thanks for telling me all that! I thought before that you MUST have a particular colour candle to to the spell, and that using a white one would not achieve the exact same desirable results.

RedWood	24 Dec 2002
I think with anything..You use what feels right to you..and what you can get a hold of...The God(s) do not require elaborate things..Work with what you have..that is what matters..

The candle colours and their meanings - contradictions?! thread was originally posted on 12 Dec 2002 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.