About ritual candle-making (II)

The second part of this post about candle-making in stregoneria is about colors. In the previous post I discussed why beeswax seems to be the most suitable material for making ritual candles. It is natural, it burns well and it is an amazingly powerful and versatile magic tool.
When it comes to colours and candles, I try to maintain a simple approach. Let's forget for a second the incredible choice of candle color and nuances available on the market, and let's see what meaningful colours we can use that can be reproduced in a natural way.

White should be ruled out immediately. I know of no method of whitening beeswax which effectively does the job, and they all involve the use of chemicals which are from mildly to seriously toxic when they burn (avoid chlorine)! The natural beeswax colour works fine for everything for which you would use a white or 'neutral' colour. In fact, using the natural beeswax colour reinforces the idea that the candle is a vessel, and that the crafting of it is the crafting of the intent of the practitioner. This is the base to start from, without which colouring is just useless theatre.

If you want to buy charcoal-coloured candles
make sure they do not shine as these ones

The basic colour you can reproduce on beeswax is black. If you have a fireplace, you are lucky. Pick up big chunks of charcoal (active charcoal, not the blocks of ash) and make them into powder (you can use a blender, or you can do part of the work by hand and the refine it in the blender). Make sure the powder is well refined, as any remaining chunk of charcoal will eventually burn with the candle - it can be quite pyrotechnic, so be safe! Pour the powder into the melted wax, and then stir till it reach the desired texture and colour. Then use the wax to produce candles by stamp or immersion as usual. If you want to buy beeswax charcoal-coloured candles (in case you really can't make them and no witch-friend can make some for you) look out for the dark-grey ones, not the black shiny ones: it is
very difficult to get that black shiny look with charcoal.

Red is also easily made using beetroot juice. Beetroot juice is a powerful colorant. Do not use drinking beetroot juice, but get some beetroot and juice them yourself. Add the juice to the melted wax and proceed as usual.

Now, this leaves us with a black, a white and a black candle we have enough to cover a wide range of possibilities and ritual needs. The black candles will be used to perform rituals of banishment, binding, aggression and for some forms of divination. The red candles for passion, love, and some martial rituals. The 'white' candle will be used for all other purpose, and for service. Of course, another important step in the making of the ritual candle is its 'coating' (what in Italian we call vestire) with oil.

I have seen around so-called 'natural' food colorants. I have never been able to assess what they are made of, and that is why I have never used them. Moreover, I find the basic three-color system
effective enough not to feel the need of green or blue candles. However, is some reader have tried it out I am curious to know how natural food colorants work with beeswax, and if they are happy with the results.