Quick Specs
- Brand: Sonavi
- Type: Hand-rolled beeswax candles
- Wax: Natural beeswax
- Color: Purple
- Height: 4 inches
- Base: About 1 inch across
- Set: 5 candles
Deep Violet Wax for the Reading Table
Candle guides routinely link purple with divination, and this one suits a reading table on looks alone. The wax is a deep violet, close to the color of twilight, with glossy cell faces that pick up flashes of silvery blue along the honeycomb. In a dim room the candle nearly disappears into the dark until the flame lights its upper edge, and then the hexagons appear one by one like small windows. The white wick stands out against that depth, so the flame has a clean place to begin, and the candle looks finished even before it’s lit. Set one beside a deck on a dark cloth and the colors agree: violet, black, a little gold from the flame. On a pale cloth the same candle turns bold, an inky accent against the lighter ground. Hand-rolling means the candles in the set vary slightly in height and surface, and the glossy facets catch the light a little differently on each one. A row of them has something of the look of a constellation, similar but never identical, and a lit group at the far edge of a spread gives the table depth.
Guides gather purple’s meanings around the unseen. Spirituality, wisdom and devotion appear in one chart, with divination listed among its uses; another gives psychic abilities, empowerment, truth and the higher self; a third links purple with higher powers, meditation and psychic work. The lists agree more than they differ, and they differ enough that no single one should be treated as the rule. Intuition appears in some lists too. For a tarot reader the practical reading is simple: purple is a color for turning attention inward and setting the table apart from the rest of the day. Lighting one before you draw is a cue that the cards are about to be asked something. That’s all the color needs to do, and a flame at the edge of the spread is a quiet way to mark the start and the close of a sitting. If purple doesn’t carry that feeling for you, choose a color that does, since the focus you bring matters more than the shade of the flame.
Practical Ritual Applications
Light one when you sit down to read and snuff it when you stand up. For your own daily draw, set the candle to one side of your cloth and light it while you shuffle. For meditation or journaling after a spread, keep it lit while you write down what stood out. If you read for others, the candle gives the table a calm center. Five candles give you five readings across a week, with the rest kept in reserve. Keep every flame well clear of cards and paper, and read at a table that’s steady enough to hold a lit candle and a full spread. For the cards themselves and for more on divination practice, my tarot and divination books are a good next read.
How to Burn a Purple Beeswax Candle at a Reading
Three steps put a purple candle beside your cards without crowding the table.
- Place the Candle Away From the Cards
Set the candle on a heat-safe dish or in a holder on a stable surface, to one side of your reading space and at least a foot from cards, paper and cloth. A quarter-inch wick burns cleaner than a long one, so trim it first. Stand the candle straight, and check that your sleeves won't pass over the flame as you lay out the cards.
- Light It Before You Shuffle
Light the wick, then take a moment with the flame and settle the question or the spread you're about to lay. Shuffle and draw. Stay in the room throughout the reading, and glance at the flame now and then to check it's steady. If it starts to flicker or smoke, look for a draft or put the candle out.
- Snuff It When the Reading Closes
Close the reading, note what you want to remember, then put the flame out with a snuffer. Leave the wax to set before you move the candle, and record the reading in your journal while the spread is still in front of you.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I carry purple for readers. It’s the color guides most often connect with divination, and a short rolled candle sits easily on the corner of a reading cloth without taking over the table. The deck stays the center of the sitting, and the candle gives it a quiet edge. If you read in more than one setting, you may want other candle formats in your kit as well, and my candles and candle accessories range across pillars, jars, tapers and holders, so you can build the right flame for each kind of sitting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Violet is the historic liturgical color for three of the four Sundays of Advent, a season of preparation, so three of the four wreath candles are purple. The U.S. Catholic bishops' conference says the purple candles stand for prayer, penance and preparatory sacrifices. Some congregations use blue in place of purple, to coordinate with the colors used in the church during the season.
Some guides say yes. One lists spiritual protection among purple's uses, beside meditation, prayer, divination and psychic work. Most color charts place purple with spirituality, wisdom and divination and give protection to black or blue instead. One guide describes light purples as gentle and deep purples or violets as intense, so shade matters as well. Black and blue both appear in the charts for protection as well.
Less than candles made of paraffin, but not never. Beeswax candles tend to drip less than paraffin ones, and good beeswax candles are described as nearly dripless. A draft changes that: it pushes the flame to one side, one edge melts faster than the rest, and the melted wax runs over. Keeping the candle straight and out of moving air gives it the best chance of burning evenly, and a dish beneath it catches any run that escapes.
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