I simply couldn’t wait to write this blog, as I’ve always LOVED working with candles, and Yule has always been my favourite season! The use of fire, torches, lanterns, candles in the context of rituals and spirituality has very ancient origins that can be traced back to the beginnings of history. Even today, there is something magical and ancestral in lighting a candle in the warmth of our own home, and watching its flame flicker while it accompanies us like a lighthouse through the mists.
My first experience with candles was through my Grandparents, both my paternal Grandparents from Bolzano, Northern Italy, among the wonderful Christmas markets that light up the city as soon as winter approaches, but above all with my maternal Grandmother Carolina, in her home immersed in the woods of the magical Carnia region of Friuli, North East Italy. Nonna Carolina always kept a lit candle in the kitchen, the heart of the home and family: she used to say that it kept her company. And I think there is a lot of truth in this – so much so that every year at Yuletime I gave her a candle in the shape of a large pine cone, tree, pillar, so that the flame would accompany her for as long as possible.
My love for candles continued all across my travels in Scandinavia and my move to Iceland for many years. I still remember the traditional seven-candle chandeliers that adorn Icelandic houses’ windows at Jól – Yule – and the candle crowns of the choirs and processions for Sankta Lucia in Sweden, testifying to how much the ancient pagan traditions linked to this type of magic are still very much alive and felt in Northern Europe – and beyond.
But let’s get to it: candle magick is so ancestral and intuitive that the resources exploring it are limitless, and it would be impossible to condense this practice in a single blog. Here you find an article that summarises the meanings of candle colours, to guide you on which candle to choose for your intentions and rituals. And here you find an interesting resource that explains how to interpret the way your candle flame will burn. Meditation, prayer, intent, and simple contemplation: the uses of candle magick are many and in my experience very effective.
What are my suggestions for working with candles at Yule? What are the colours and meanings that I love the most during this evocative season? Let’s get comfy by the fireplace and find out together! 🙂
The colours I love working with the most at Yule are gold, silver, red, green, white, and also brown, both in combination and individually. Better still if the candle is glittered for that extra sparkle, or decorated with propitiatory herbs for the coming year.
Gold for success, also financial one, personal fulfilment, health and good luck. Silver for spiritual and psychic development, for vision through the mists. Red for strength, passion, and love. Green for prosperity, abundance, health and good luck. White for purification and as an ‘all-round’ useful colour. And finally brown, for grounding, balance, stability, and everything that is ‘home’.
We can anoint our candles and sprinkle them with magickal herbs suitable for the season, engrave our intent or symbolic meaning on the candle itself, and light it. What I love doing is pour a few drops of essential oil on the candle, aligned to the candle’s colour and to my intent, and sprinkle the herbs I feel as most useful to manifest my intent in a circle around its saucer or support. Or for a simple festive and propitiatory touch, why not try anise, cinnamon, cloves, a pine cone, and a sprig of mistletoe? Or light our candle inside a Yule log?
How do you use your candles at Yule? What do you love doing during this magical season? Where have you travelled or will be travelling to welcome the energies of winter? Contact me here, or on my social media channels!
Gleðileg Jól! ❄️
