Quick Specs
- Brand: Sonavi
- Type: Hand-rolled beeswax candles
- Wax: Natural beeswax
- Color: White
- Height: 4 inches
- Base: About 1 inch across
- Set: 5 candles
Creamy White Wax and a Quiet Honeycomb Pattern
In pale wax the honeycomb shows as shading: fine, shadowed lines, a pale lattice around the body of the candle that rewards a second look. The shade is a soft, creamy white, close to ivory, and the white wick nearly disappears into it, leaving the flame as the only point of contrast. A pale candle takes the glow of the flame and holds it, so the whole candle seems to carry a little light of its own. Set one on a dark cloth and it becomes a clear focal point; set it on a pale cloth and it blends into the setting. Hand-rolling gives each candle small variations in height and finish, and in a color this pale the shading makes them easy to see. That makes a set of white candles a good way to see how a rolled candle is built: the cells line up in rows, and the place where the sheet ends may show as a soft line down one side. The candle stands 4 inches tall, a size that sits easily on a desk, a shelf or the front of an altar.
White is the color guides use when they want to leave the choice open. Lists tie it to purity, peace, clarity and illumination, and to new beginnings, and several treat it as the default for any working. Guides also say white can stand in for any other color when you bring a clear intention to it. One author compares it to soap: you use it to get the job done. That attitude suits a plain candle. It makes white the sensible first set for anyone starting out, and the sensible spare for anyone who already has a shelf of colors. It also carries a clean-slate feeling, a sense of the page before anything is written on it: a new notebook, a new home, the first day of a practice. Authors differ on the details, and white’s chief virtue is that it asks little of you. Light one and your attention can go where it belongs, on the work, and the flame does the quiet job of marking that the work has begun.
Practical Ritual Applications
White suits beginnings, markers and quiet work. Light one on the first day of a new practice, a new journal or a new home, and say what you’re starting. Use one on a table when you want a plain, unmarked light for reading or journaling. Keep a set on hand for the days when you’d rather not choose a color, and let one stand at the center of an altar while colored candles ring it. A set of five lets you mark five beginnings, or give each member of a household a candle for a shared occasion. White sits well in a holder of any color, and the holder can supply the accent. My pillar holders collection has options if you’d like a dedicated holder.
How to Light a White Beeswax Candle for Any Working
A white candle asks for little, and three steps are enough.
- Pick the Holder and the Surface
Choose a holder or dish that keeps the candle upright, on a flat, heat-safe surface. If you want a color accent, let the holder, a cloth or a flower supply it. Take the white wick down to a quarter inch, and keep curtains and paper clear of the flame, with no fan or open window blowing across it.
- State the Purpose Aloud and Light the Wick
Say what the candle is for, even if it's only a new beginning or quiet light for your reading, then light the wick. White carries whatever purpose you give it, so naming one matters. Stay in the room while it burns, and never leave a lit candle alone, even for a few minutes.
- Snuff It and Let It Cool
Snuff the flame once you're done, and never walk away from a lit candle or go to bed with one burning. Don't touch or move the candle until the wax has cooled and set. Store the remaining candles in a cool, shaded spot, where the wax won't soften or pick up damage before you need it.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
If you’re building a candle kit and can buy only one color, I’d make it white. Guides agree on its role, and a short rolled candle makes a good everyday flame for readings, journaling and small ceremonies, where one plain light is all the setup you need. White keeps working as your practice changes: it suits a first reading as well as a tenth year of ritual. For other candles to round out the shelf, from jar candles to pillars and tapers, see my candle collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, according to guides that list substitutes. One names white, dark blue or dark purple as stand-ins for black, and says white can replace any color when you bring a clear intention to it. Another says white candles can be used for anything and everything. Banishing is the work guides give black, so pair a white candle with a clear statement of what you're sending away.
Beeswax is the long-standing church candle wax. A 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia entry says the candles used at Mass were to be made largely of beeswax, and it explains the symbolism: the pure wax gathered by bees stands for the purity of Christ's flesh, the wick for his soul, and the flame for his divinity. Eastern Orthodox churches also favor beeswax for their candles.
Yes. The U.S. Catholic bishops' conference describes the ideal wreath as three purple candles and one rose candle, and adds that white candles can also be used. A United Methodist guide notes that home Advent wreaths originally used candles of every color, with no standard. If you use white throughout, light one more each Sunday across the four weeks.
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