The Use of Color in Magic – updated

©2001 By Arwynn MacFeylnnd and Moondancer (Ashleigh McSidhe); revised and expanded ©2016 Ashleigh McSidhe

“Color is one of the most powerful of elements. It has tremendous expressive qualities. Understanding the uses of color is crucial to effective composition in design and the fine arts.

The word color is the general term which applies to the whole subject – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, black and white and all possible combinations thereof. Hue is the correct word to use to refer to just the pure spectrum colors. Any given color can be described in terms of its value and hue. In addition, the various physical phenomena and psychological effects combine to affect our perceptions of a color.”[1]

In magic, colors represent certain energies, goals, people and non-physical beings, such as deities or spiritual forces. For this reason, you should include candles, gemstones, cords and other objects of differing colors in your magic rituals. Colors often have personal meanings for us. Anytime a person employs the symbolism inherent in colors, they are in effect using magic. Common examples of this can be found in such phrases as “green with envy”, “black with rage”, “feeling blue”, “in the pink” and many more.

The particular symbolism of any given color may vary widely from source to source, and depending upon whether you are burning a candle, knotting a cord, draping an altar or creating a talisman. You will find that many books, such as Buckland’s Practical Candle Burning, or even Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft offer different suggestions for colors when used in magic.

In addition, there are colors for astrological signs and planetary or elemental magic.

Some magical systems use “flashing colors” – those that are complimentary, such as red and green – to create an optical illusion that appears to flash when placed together. Such “flashing colors” are said to have great power in attracting the corresponding magical forces. “Flashing colors” can be used in almost any type of ritual or spell work where you will be using colors, particularly when the visual aspect of the color is important.

A few words about colored candles: While the use of colored cords has a long use in magic, the use of colored candles is a recent development, dating only to the 19^th century when mass produced paraffin candles became inexpensive enough to be used in the average person’s home.

Most early Western cultures relied primarily on candles rendered from animal fat (tallow). A major improvement came in the Middle Ages, when beeswax candles were introduced in Europe. Unlike animal-based tallow, beeswax burned pure and cleanly, without producing a smoky flame. It also emitted a pleasant sweet smell rather than the foul, acrid odor of tallow. Beeswax candles were widely used for church ceremonies, but because they were expensive, few individuals other than the wealthy could afford to burn them in the home.

Paraffin wax was introduced in the 1850s, after chemists learned how to efficiently separate the naturally-occurring waxy substance from petroleum and refine it. Odorless and bluish-white in color, paraffin was a boon to candlemaking because it burned cleanly, consistently and was more economical to produce than any other candle fuel. Its only disadvantage was a low melting point. This was soon overcome by adding the harder stearic acid, which had become widely available.[2][3]

Astrological Candle Colors

Each sign of the zodiac has its own colors and although there may be slight differences between various schools of thought, the generally accepted versions are as follows[4]:

• Aries (March 21 – April 19): Ruling Planet – Mars – Candle colors – Shades of red, usually the darker hues of scarlet or crimson.
• Taurus (April 20 – May 20): Ruling Planet – Venus – Candle colors – Green, ranging from the palest of apple greens to the dark olive of the Earth forces.
• Gemini (May 21 – June 21): Ruling Planet – Mercury – Candle colors – Yellow is the color for this sign.
• Cancer (June 22 – July 22): Ruing Planet – the Moon – Candle colors – Pale blue and silver are the colors of the crab.
• Leo (July 23 – August 22): Ruing Planet – the Sun – Candle colors – Gold, orange and sometimes red.
• Virgo (August 23 – September 22): Ruing Planet – Mercury – Candle colors – Rich browns of the newly tilled earth and the russet hues of autumn leaves.
• Libra (September 23 – October 22): Ruing Planet – Venus – Candle colors – Royal blue and rose pink.
• Scorpio (October 23 – November 21): Ruing Planet – Pluto – Candle colors – Black, silvery grey and dark red.
• Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – December 21): Ruing Planet – Jupiter – Candle colors – Purple and dark blue.
• Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19): Ruing Planet – Saturn – Candle colors – Dark brown, greys and black.
• Aquarius (January 20 – February 18): Ruing Planet – Uranus – Candle colors – All colors of the spectrum.
• Pisces (February 19 – March 20): Ruing Planet – Neptune – Candle colors – Sea Green and mauve.

Elemental/Quarter Colors & Uses^[5]

ELEMENT	QUARTER	ARCHANGEL	SEASON	COLOR	USE
Air	East	Raphael	Spring	Yellow	Mental Pursuits, Inspiration, Plans
Fire	South	Michael	Summer	Red	Energy, Will, Action,Love
Water	West	Gabriel	Autumn	Blue	Emotions, Happiness,Healing
Earth	North	Auriel	Winter	Green	Manifested Wealth, Success

 

There are color associations for nearly every aspect of magical practice, from knot magic, to candle magic, to visualizing energies at the quarters, for the chakras (of which there are so many different systems that they are vastly beyond the scope of this article. The following is only a general guide, based on training and practice of the authors, and the traditions in which they were originally taught.[6] Experiment with magic and ritual and let your feelings about it determine your color choices. For instance, Green may represent money or prosperity for many, but for you it may be something else entirely.

White: A balance of all colors; Spiritual enlightenment, cleansing, purity, consecration, healing, truth seeking. Used in Rituals involving lunar energy (represents the Maiden). May be substituted for any color candle.

• Magical Purpose: Purity, protection, the moon
• Personality: Spiritual, devoted, psychic, protective, open spaces, neatness
• Magical Uses: Moon magic, divination, spirituality, protection, psychic powers, healing, truth, peace

Silver: Removes negativity and encourages stability; dispels evil or negative influences; helps develop psychic abilities; attracts the influence of the Mother Goddess.

• Magical Purpose: Purity, Protection, Ice, Heavenly, Stars, Potential, The Cosmos.
• Personality: A person who wants attention, clean, trendy, sharp with soft edges, glitter
• Magical uses: Moon magic, clairvoyance, divination(scrying), Astral travel, repelling spells.

Grey: Neutral color useful when pondering complex issues during meditation; in magic, this color often sparks confusion; it also negates or neutralizes a negative influence.

• Magical Purpose: Neutral, calm, peace, darkness with light.
• Personality: A balanced type that stays out of conflict, introverted, a loner, likes solitude, peace and quiet.
• Magical Uses: Water Magic, Moon magic, balance, peace, patience, vision quests.

Pink: Promotes romance and true love, friendship; standard color for rituals to draw affections; a color of femininity, honor, service, brings friendly, lively conversation to the dinner table.

• Magical Purpose: The hearts emotions, creativity, marriage, friendship, beauty, compassion, relationships, kinder, gentler then red
• Personality: This person is a romantic at heart. Likes candlelight dinners and movies, always tries to find the good in everything and everybody, very friendly.
• Magical Uses: Love, beauty, friendships, partnerships, romance, attraction.

Red: Spells for physical desire and passion, courage, victory, and physical strength. Stimulates energy and vitality.

• Magical Purpose: Fire, passion, life, birth, stimulating, intense, highly-charged, will, ego, potential, anger, aggression, lust, war, courage, strength, fear. Its use in magic must be cautiously guarded as it can be very wild and unpredictable, as a candle color, it should be used with caution.
• The Personality: Bold, assertive, impulsive, extroverted, passionate, aggressive. There is no in-between for this person, they go from one extreme to the other. But it can be a fantasy ride for anyone who joins them!
• Magical Uses: Energy, passion in love, courage, lust, power, transformation, loyalty, force, sexuality, blood. May be used with black candles.

Purple: Power, success, idealism, psychic manifestations; ideal for rituals to secure ambitions, independence, financial rewards, or to make contact with the spiritual other world; increases Neptune energy.

• Magical Purpose: Justice, royalty, the psychic, meditation, idealism, mysticism, guidance, divination.
• Personality: Proud, independent, mystical arts, religious nature. This Person will not turn a blind eye, if they feel a cause of action is wrong, no matter the side they take.
• Magical Uses: Protection, justice power, spirit contact, breaking of bad luck, drive away evil, divination, spiritual and psychic powers, Astral Projection. This color is good to use when you don`t have a white candle.

Brown: Rituals of material increase, justice and retribution; eliminates indecisiveness; improves powers of concentration, study, telepathy; increases financial success; locates objects that have been lost, Animal Healing

• Magical Purpose: properties and associations for magic, dreams, witch craft and divination Mental, business, legal problems, ambition
• Personality: Agreeable, extroverted, excitable, sociable
• Magical Uses: Personal creativity, career, legal issues, business

Blue: Healing, Primary spiritual color; for rituals to obtain wisdom, harmony, inner light, or peace; confers truth and guidance.

Royal Blue: Healing, promotes laughter and joviality; loyalty; use to attract Jupiter energy, or whenever an influence needs to be increased.

Light Blue: Healing, Spiritual color; helpful in devotional or inspirational meditations; brings peace and tranquility to the home; radiates Aquarius energy; employ where a situation must be synthesized.

Dark blue: Healing, Spells for creativity, peace and communication. Also for deep meditation and karma work.

• Magical Purpose: Emotion, healing, mental, calming, tranquility, sleep peace, loyalty, good will, purifying and protection, hope, sincerity, truth and patience, Poet or Bard, communication mental, written and oral skills Sleep, twilight
• The Personality: Sensitivity, introspection, communication. This person has the sensitivity of a poet or an artist. Loves family and home. Is loyal, conscientious and observant. Also, may be a little more psychic than he/she believes themselves to be.
• Magical Uses: Water magic. Balance, healing, peace and patience, communications, health friendships, dreams, sleep, inspiration, harmony in the home, meditations

Green: Promotes prosperity, fertility, success; stimulates rituals for good luck, money, harmony, and rejuvenation.

Dark Green: Color of ambition, greed, and jealousy; counteracts these influences in a ritual.

Light Green: Relieving stress, aiding manifestation of desires, balancing of extremes.

• Magical Purpose: Nature, growth, prosperity, luck, fertility, changes, rejuvenation, jealousy, envy.
• Personality: Extroverted, happy, optimistic, status, possessive, direct
• Magical Uses: Earth magic, Faerie magic, money, luck, fertility, faerie contact, guide contact

Yellow: Spells to enhance knowledge, communication skills and to give confidence and aid in visualization. Aids in repelling negative energy.

• Magical Purpose: Intellect, thought, mental, analysis sun, sunlight, memory and creativity
• Personality: Intellectual, learn, introvert, creative, light-hearted and outgoing.
• Magical Uses: Concentration, creativity, learning, intellectual, knowledge, understanding, astral projection, telepathy, mental abilities, thoughts. Good for students.

Gold: Promotes understanding; Rituals to enhance energy and power, & vitality, and to bring success and luck or in rituals needing solar energy.

• Magical Purpose: Intellect, thought, mental, analysis sun, sunlight, memory and creativity
• Personality: Intellectual, learned, introvert, creative, imaginative.
• Magical Uses: Concentration, creativity, learning, intellectual, knowledge, understanding, astral projection, telepathy, mental abilities, thoughts. Good for students.

Black: Use in rituals to induce a deep meditative state, or to banish evil or negativity as in uncrossing rituals; attracts Saturn energy.

• Magical Purpose: Absorption, why it is used for funerals. The void of all colors, it has the ability to absorb Quiet power, self-control, restriction, depression sickness, but new changes, rebirth. Wisdom, Control, Resilience, Discipline.
• Personality: Someone who often dwells in his own dark recesses. A loner, but through choice. A strong silent type but someone you don’t want to deal with if crossed. A night person as the darkness seems to be their safe place, their solace and quiet space. The things that make the “black” person unique, has also the tendency to dwell on things and has more bouts of depression than most others. This person tends to keep a lot of secrets.
• Magical Uses: Banishing negative thoughts and situations, reversing, uncrossing, binding negative forces, releasing, removing confusion, contact with spirits, dark magic, defensive spells (can be used with RED to increase intent).

These are only Guides to use for reference, as we each are individuals, so are our choices, experiment with colors and find what and how it works best for you!

Further reading:

• Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
• Color Casting for Wiccans: Correspondences for More Powerful Spells by Sister Moon
• Color Magick: Unleash Your Inner Powers by Raymond Buckland
• Advanced Candle Magick: More Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose by Raymond Buckland
• Exploring Candle Magick: Candle Spells, Charms, Rituals, and Divinations by Patricia Telesco
• The Dark Book Of Shadows – A Grimoire of Sorcery and Dark Witchcraft by S. M. Brennan

Authors Note: This article was originally published as “The Basics of Magick: Color Magick” in the November 2001 issue of Echoed Voices e-magazine (now defunct). After submission by Arwynn (who is now deceased), Lady Badria chose to add to each color section a series of information without the authors’ permission. This revised article removes those sections added by Lady Badria and expands upon the original work. The late Arwynn MacFeylynnd’s name is retained as a co-author in recognition of her contribution to the original article. ~Ashleigh McSidhe (Moondancer), 16 Feb 2016

 

Notes:

[1] http://char.txa.cornell.edu/language/element/color/color.htm – Please, go and read the full article.

[2] http://candles.org/history/

[3] For further reading on the history of candle making, see http://www.candlemakingsupplies.net/candle-making/candles-history.php

[4] Michael Howard, Candle Burning and its Occult Significance, Thorsons, 1975

[5] This table uses the common associations of the Western Magickal Tradition, not those of the NECTW.

[6] Moondancer was originally initiated and trained in the Georgian Tradition of Wicca, has also worked with initiates of the Brittic, 1734, Roebuck, and other traditions, and is an Elder in the New England Covens of Traditionalist Witches (NECTW), as well as being an initiate of both NROOGD and Gardnerian Traditions. Arwynn was originally trained in the Alexandrian tradition of Wicca and has studied in several Druidic Orders, in addition to being an Elder in the NECTW.