What is the spiritual meaning of the 7-colored candles in Santeria?

The candle, candle or candle of 7 colors It is an extremely powerful element destined for rituals, its esoteric and religious uses are many, reaching various spiritual meanings.

In Santeria or the Rule of Osha, are used mainly to invoke the Seven African Powers, composed of orishas major representatives of the Yoruba pantheon.

These Yoruba deities are the same representations of the Divinity, which are revered in Santeria, and each one of them has its syncretism with a Catholic saint.

The names of the Seven African Powers with their syncretism:

Obatala the father of all is the Virgen de las Mercedes
Shango the king of fire is Santa Barbara
Oshun the owner of the fresh waters is La Virgen de la Caridad
Elegua the owner and protector of the roads is the holy child of Atocha
Oggun the owner of the iron and the mountain is San Pedro
Orula or Orunmilá the fortune teller is Saint Francis of Assisi
Yemaya the owner of the sea is the Virgin of Regla

Yoruba devotees turn to the 7 African powers to request health, money, employment, love, and success, being able to make a request to all the deities, or one in particular for each one.

Meaning of the colors of the 7 African Powers:

Although in union this candle is powerful we must always respect and know the representative color of each Orisha separately:

To Obatalá, the white color of purity and clarity
Yemaya, the color blue in all its shades, by the sea and its depths.
To Oshún, the color yellow or orange, for gold, luxury and wealth.
The red color to Shango, by fire, passion and courage,
Eleggua, the red of fortune, although it can also be related to black in the eternal balance between good and evil.
To Oggún, the green color of the mountain that alternates with the black color of iron.
orula It can be green in combination with yellow, or purple, representing wisdom and divination.

How can we use the candle or candle of the 7 powers?

To venerate the powers of each of the seven powers, we use the 7-color candle.

This can be placed on a ceramic or clay plate next to the offerings that we wish to offer such as the favorite dishes of each deity, flowers, fruits, or attributes associated with nature, such as those related to the sea for the goddess Yemayá.

And when the 7-color candle is lit, the prayer that all devotees know is recited to invoke the combined forces of the 7 African powers, which we leave below.

Prayer to the 7 powers for fortune, happiness and health:

Representation of Catholic Saints of the Seven Powers

Oh, 7 Powers that are around the Holy One among the holy ones! I humbly kneel before your miraculous painting, to implore your intercession before God, loving father who protects all creation, animate and inanimate.
I ask you, in the name of the most sacred and sweet name of Jesus, that you agree to my request and give me back my peace of mind and material prosperity, moving away from my house and removing from me the obstacles that are the cause of my ills, so they can never haunt me again.
My heart tells me that my request is just, and if you agree to it, añaYou will say more glory to the blessed name of God, Our Lord, from whom we have received the promise to ask and it will be given to you. So be it in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
Listen to me, Chango! Listen to me, Oshún! Attend to me Yemayá! Look at me with good eyes, Obatala! Don't abandon me, Oggún! Be auspicious, Orula! Intercede for me Eleggúa! Grant me what I ask of you, through the intercession of the Seven African Powers! Oh, Holy Christ of Olofín! Blessed are you forever and ever.
Ashe.

The candle according to its color and day of the week

The 7-color candle It is a powerful element that also has great energy and mysticism, this allows to establish a strong link to work with desires and intention.

These candles are also associated with the seven days of the week and seven divine gifts..

SAccording to its color, its meaning is centered on:

peace (white)
Red love)
protection (blue)
prosperity (orange)
health (green)
wealth (yellow)
wisdom (violet)

The shape of this type of candle can vary, it can also be a pyramid, and each shape has a different meaning.

The order of the colors it is also random in the candles, some may start with a white stripe and others with a red or other colored segment.

Day the ritual should start:

In some esoteric practices it is believed that the ritual should be started depending on the first strip of the candle.

white (Monday)
red (Tuesday)
yellow (Wednesday)
violet (Thursday)
blue (friday)
green (saturday)
orange (sunday)

Candles of the 7 colors How to use in rituals?

There are different types of rituals designed to work with the 7-color candle.

The best known is the invocation to the 7 African powers to ask for peace, love, protection, prosperity, health, wealth and wisdom, depending on our respective situation.

We light the candle and using the prayer to the 7 deities, we ask for their help.
Many people write their wishes on a sheet of paper, fold it, and place it under the candle saucer.
When lighting a strip of the 7-color candle, a small visualization of desire should be made, related to the energy that you want to invoke.

This is because the 7 color candle works in rituals to attract positive energies, connecting with the energy that represents the color of the stripe and enunciating our requests in a positive way.