Written by Personal Rainbow reader Kalyn Anderson/@kaleidoscoperitual
Color magic is one of our favorite recommendations for beginner witches because it's SO intuitive (and fun) to work with! It's not some sort of woo-woo secret that color has the ability to alter our mood/energy...in fact, there have been plenty of scientific studies on the matter! The best part about it? Color is ALL around us, and there are basically infinite ways to use color magic! From the decor in your home, to the clothes that adorn your body, to the crystals you choose to work with... color magic can show up anywhere we decide to use color INTENTIONALLY in order to call in or amplify a certain energy.
One of the easiest and most budget-friendly ways to get started with color magic is with candle magic! In fact, I used candle magic for the first spell I ever (intentionally) cast as a baby witch... burning a yellow candle to call joy towards a friend who'd been feeling down! Most books/articles about candle magic will at least include a table of candle colors and their magical associations...but you don't have to stop there! We find that our magic works best when it's PERSONAL, so feel free to use tables/guides (like the one we provide below) as a jumping-off point, but if pale blue feels more energizing than calming to you, go ahead and use a pale blue candle for a spell for motivation! Your magic is YOUR magic!
Here are a few common candle colors and their magical associations to get you started:
Red: Red is a POWERFUL color. It's the color of blood, so it can be used to represent passion, love, lust, life force, rage, or sensuality...think anything that gets your blood pumping!
Orange: Orange tends to be an energizing and revitalizing color. It has a lot of the intensity + drive of red, but tempered by the joyful + playful energy of yellow! Orange candles can be burned to inspire creativity, motivation, and confidence!
Yellow: Yellow is the color of the Sun, and the energy of this hue feels just like The Sun card in Tarot to us! Perfect for inspiring joy, optimism, playfulness, innocence, and renewal!
Green: More color alchemy here! Shades of green combine the soothing, clarifying energy of blue with the optimistic energy of yellow! Use green candles to connect to the grounding + nourishing element of Earth! Of course, money-green shades are perfect for calling in abundance, while softer or more yellow-based shades of green are beautiful for encouraging new growth and a sense of rebirth!
Blue: Blue tends to be a shade for relaxation. Think of the tranquility of sitting next to a body of water and soaking up all that water and sky! Blue can help calm turbulent emotions and soothe our nerves. This color is also associated with insight + communication...try burning a blue candle and visualizing your ideas flowing out of you with ease and clarity! I find that darker shades of blue tend to be more calming while light or vibrant shades of blue feel revitalizing and inspiring!
Purple: Purple has long had an association with royalty + mystics...and candle magic is no exception! It's common to burn purple candles for intuition, working with the divine, connection to spirit, and inner wisdom. As one of my all-time favorite color magicians, Sarah Potter, has pointed out--our eyes actually perceive purple things to be further away in space than they really are...maybe this feeds into the color's "out of this world" reputation!
Pink: Pink--whether you love it or hate it (we love it, obvs), this color can invoke a wide range of feelings! Softer shades of powdery pink are perfect for working with the energies of self-love, community care, gentleness, and peace. Hot pinks and magentas borrow a little heat from red, and are excellent shades for encouraging self-lust, confidence, playfulness, romance, and creative inspiration!
Black: Black is the perfect color candle to burn for protection + security. This color has a deep grounding effect, and can help to banish/deflect negative energy. I also find that black is a powerful color for working with the energy of mystery and "the void" or liminal space--excellent to use when we're in a time of transition or feeling anxiety about the unknown.
White: White candles are also excellent for banishing negative energy, or whenever we want to wipe the slate clean. White has the open energy of a blank page and the clean feeling of freshly-washed sheets. Use white in color magic when you want to call in clarity, clear out stagnant energy, or get a fresh start!
Brown: Brown is a deep, earthy color to call on when you need to get out of your head and back into your body! I'm definitely partial to warm tones of brown like terra-cotta for inspiring a warm and generous connection to Earth energy, but more cool-toned browns could be great for inspiring a feeling of grounded neutrality when we feel like we've lost perspective!
Silver: Metallic silver is one of my favorite colors for working with Lunar energy. Burn silver candles to honor the Moon, or to tap into your own cyclical nature more deeply. Think of the way the silvery light of the moon can never quite be captured accurately on film...then use a silver candle to tap into your own undefinable, shimmering multitudes!
Gold: Of course, if metallic silver is friends with the Moon, then metallic gold is a friend of the Sun! I also enjoy using non-metallic candles with a deep honey hue for this purpose (especially pure beeswax candles)! Gold feels like yellow all grown up...use for attracting abundance, success, confidence, and inner strength.
Now What?
Now that you've picked your candle color, it's time to create your ritual! Of course, you could simply light your colorful candle and focus your intentions, perhaps speaking them aloud as you light it! You can choose a smaller candle and burn it all at once, or choose a larger taper and burn it or meditate with it daily or as needed!
You could also gather objects from around your home or nature of the same color and create a "color altar" for your intentions!
Finally, some people like to enhance their spell candles by carving them or dressing them with oils and herbs! Feel free to carve a word or sigil that matches your intention into the side of your candle, or look up (or intuit) herbs that match your magical intentions to sprinkle onto or around your candle before lighting!
Plenty of people go even deeper with their candle magic, incorporating magical timing, incantations, elaborate altar set-ups, and ascribing different intentions to different shapes of candles, direction of motion when dressing candles, and more...but those are all for another post! The point is...candle magic can be as simple or complex as you want to make it! Use your intuition, seek out further resources (there are LOTS on candle magic) if you're looking to deepen or expand your practice, and most of all stick with what feels powerful for you personally...then watch the magic happen!
