Yule Colors: Meanings, Candle Colors and How to Use Them

Red berries in the snow, dark green pine, white frost and a thin gold sun on the horizon: the colors of Yule come straight from the winter landscape.

Every sabbat has its colors, and Yule's are some of the best loved, partly because so many of them were taken up by Christmas. Our Yule guide lists them in a sentence. Here we look at each Yule color properly: what it means, where you'll see it in nature, how to use it in candles and decorations, and a simple spell for each. If you enjoyed our guide to Samhain colors, this is its winter partner.

Yule Colors and Their Meanings at a Glance

Color	Meaning at Yule	Use it for	Natural symbols
Red	The newborn sun, the life force, warmth	Courage, vitality, love, family	Holly berries, cranberries, rose hips
Green	Evergreen life, growth, abundance	Prosperity, health, hope	Pine, fir, holly leaves, ivy
White	Snow, purity, the new light	Cleansing, peace, new beginnings	Snow, frost, mistletoe berries, birch bark
Gold	The sun reborn, the God, success	Success, prosperity, joy	Winter sunlight, oranges, candle flames
Silver	The moon, the Goddess, starlight	Intuition, dreams, reflection	Moonlight on snow, ice, stars

Red: The Newborn Sun

Red is the warmth at the heart of winter. In Wicca, Yule celebrates the birth of the Sun God, and red is the color of that tiny new flame, of blood and life, and of the hearth fire that keeps a family going through the cold. You see it in holly berries, cranberries and rose hips, bright spots of life in a bare landscape.

• Use red for: courage, energy, love, passion, family warmth and protection.
• At Yule: a red candle on the altar for the newborn sun, red ribbon on the Yule log, cranberries on the table.
• A quick red spell: on a cold evening, light a red candle and hold your hands toward it. Say: Fire of life, warm my heart and my home until the spring. Picture the warmth spreading through every room.

Green: Life That Endures

When every other tree is bare, the evergreens keep their color, and for that reason people have brought them indoors in midwinter for a very long time. Green is the promise that life goes on and spring will return. It's also the color of growth, health and money.

• Use green for: prosperity, abundance, health, hope and growth.
• At Yule: a green altar cloth, a wreath on the door, a Yule tree or a vase of evergreen branches.
• A quick green spell: hang a small bundle of pine or fir on your front door and say: Green that never fails, keep this house in health and plenty through the dark. Read about pine and holly in the Witch's Cabinet.

White: Snow and the New Light

White is the snow that blankets the sleeping earth and the first pale light after the longest night. It stands for purity, peace and a clean start. Birch, with its white bark, is a tree of new beginnings, which is why it's a favorite wood for a Yule log.

• Use white for: cleansing, peace, protection, new beginnings and any intention (white can stand in for any color).
• At Yule: white candles, snowflakes, white birch branches, a bowl of snow on the altar (or salt as a stand-in).
• A quick white spell: bring in a bowl of fresh snow. As it melts, say: As the snow melts, let the old year go. I welcome the light, clean and new. Pour the water on a houseplant.

Gold: The Sun Reborn

Gold is the sun itself, and Yule is the sun's birthday. After the solstice, the days begin to lengthen again, and gold is the color of that return. It's also linked with the God, with success and with wealth.

• Use gold for: success, prosperity, confidence, joy and honoring the God.
• At Yule: a gold candle at the center of the altar, a sun disc, oranges, gold ribbon and the glow of candlelight.
• A quick gold spell: on the morning after the solstice, light a gold candle at sunrise and say: Welcome back, sun. Grow stronger each day, and let my hopes grow with you.

Silver: The Moon and the Stars

Silver is the light of the long winter nights: moonlight on snow, frost on a windowpane, stars in a clear cold sky. It belongs to the Goddess and to intuition, dreams and quiet reflection. Many witches pair silver with gold at Yule, the Goddess who gives birth and the God who is born.

• Use silver for: intuition, dreams, reflection and honoring the Goddess.
• At Yule: silver candles or bells, a small mirror on the altar, silver stars hung in a window.
• A quick silver spell: on the longest night, look at the moon or stars for a few minutes and ask what the dark has to teach you. Check the moon's phase on our Moon and Magick Calendar.

Other Colors Some Witches Use at Yule

• Deep blue or indigo: the longest night itself, rest and stillness.
• Brown: the sleeping earth, the Yule log and the stag of the forest.
• Black: the darkness before the light returns, often used for the first, unlit part of a solstice ritual.

There's no rule here. If a color feels like winter to you, it belongs on your altar.

A Five-Candle Yule Color Spell

This spell uses all five Yule colors to call in a balanced, hopeful new year. It's perfect for the night of the solstice, which in 2026 falls on December 21.

You will need:

• Five candles: red, green, white, silver and gold (chime candles or tea lights in colored holders are fine)
• A fireproof plate and a few evergreen needles or a sprig of rosemary
• A lighter or matches

Steps:

1. Arrange the red, green, white and silver candles in a circle, and place the gold candle in the middle.
2. Sit in the dark for a moment and think about the year that's ending.
3. Light the white candle: I clear away the old.
4. Light the silver candle: I honor the dark and what it taught me.
5. Light the red candle: I keep the fire of life burning.
6. Light the green candle: I welcome growth and plenty.
7. Finally, light the gold candle in the center from one of the others: The sun is born again, and so am I. Blessed be.
8. Sit with the candles for a while. Snuff them out (don't blow) when you're done, or let small candles burn down while you stay in the room.

Want to go deeper into choosing candle colors for any spell? Our full guide to candle color meanings covers every color, and the Basic Magick and Advanced Spells course teaches candle magick step by step.

Bringing Yule Colors Into Your Home

• On the door: a green wreath with red berries or a gold ribbon.
• On the table: red cranberries, green herbs, white cream and golden glazes. See our Yule recipes.
• On the altar: a green cloth with red and white candles and a gold sun in the middle. Our Yule altar ideas walk you through it.
• On you: a red scarf, a green sweater or a piece of gold jewelry is a quiet way to carry Yule's energy through the day.
• In gifts: wrap presents in Yule colors and choose the color by your wish for the person. Our guide to witchy holiday gift ideas has more.

Safety Notes

• Keep candles away from dry evergreens, ribbon and paper, and never leave them unattended.
• Holly berries, mistletoe and ivy are poisonous to people and pets; keep them out of reach.
• If you bring snow indoors, use clean snow and pour it outside or on a plant afterward. Don't drink it.

Final Thoughts

The colors of Yule tell the whole story of the season: the dark and the silver moon, the white snow, the green that never dies, the red spark of new life and the gold of the returning sun. Use one or all of them, and let them remind you that even the longest night ends. For the full story of the sabbat, read our Yule guide and the Yule page in the Witch's Cabinet.

Which Yule color feels most like winter to you? Tell us in the comments!

Sources

Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Llewellyn, 1988).
Ray Buckland, Practical Candleburning Rituals (Llewellyn, 1970).
Edain McCoy, The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways (Llewellyn, 1994).
Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (Oxford University Press, 1996).

Check out our other articles:
Yule: The Pagan Winter Solstice and How to Celebrate It
Samhain Colors: Meanings, Candle Colors and Symbols
Candle Color Meanings
Yule Altar Ideas
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