Candle burning is often regarded as something to be done at night, after the fall of darkness. However, lighting a candle can also help you welcome the new day, and it especially brings cheer to dark winter mornings or overcast days. For help in starting your morning in a positive frame of mind, you might choose one of these simple candle rites:

• To give thanks for a new day, light a candle while saying:

  As I light this candle,
  I give gratitude for this new day,
  And the gift of grace
  That makes my world anew.
  
  O let the fire of enthusiasm
  And the light of clarity
  Flow now through my being.
  
  Thus do I set my mind and heart
  On a life of purpose,
  On a life of blessing.

  I think the most magical time of day is the hour before dawn. If you are able to rise early enough to watch the dawn break, you can give a special salute to the Dawn, whom many peoples have regarded as a lovely goddess. You can greet her by lighting a candle and saying:

  Lady in the form of light,
  I praise your radiant beauty.
  As you open the gates of morning,
  Your vibrant colors energize my being
  And gladden my spirit.
  You help me to love life
  And welcome change.
  You inspire me to fill my own world
  With light and color.

• If you feel pressed for time in the morning, your devotion can be as simple as lighting a candle and saying these lines from the fourth-century prayer of St. Ambrosius:

  Oh Light, shine upon our thoughts and scatter the sleep of our mind.

• For a simple ritual to connect with the world of Nature, you could light a candle as you say:

  I greet this blithe and beautiful Morning,
  As I welcome the shining Star of Day.

  Actually, you don't even need to light a candle—you can simply greet the Sun with these words; this is something nice to do when you step outdoors.
• Here is a rite you can perform by lighting three candles, in turn, to activate the power of three Suns: the Sun in the sky, the Sun that is the molten core of the Earth, and the Sun that is within you (astrologically, as well as in the "hara," or solar plexus energy center).

  I light this candle
  To honor the Sun in Heaven.
  I light this candle
  To honor the Sun within the Earth.
  I light this candle
  To honor the Sun within me.
  You remind me that I, too,
  Am a being of light
  With the power to craft my day.

  A Christian could use four candles, opening with a larger candle to honor the Son of God.

Suggestions
Morning devotions can be performed at a homemade altar, or before a window, or at your breakfast table. You could use a white candle to represent the spectrum of possibilities that the day contains (also: "white dawn" is a term used in Romance language poems, called "albas," and in the Slavic countries, one speaks of "the white day"), or use a yellow, orange, or golden candle for the Sun. For special use with dawn rites, you might first want to observe the colors of dawn, noticing the beautiful shades of yellows, oranges, reds, and pinks that bleed into the blacks, grays, purples, and indigos of the fading night sky. Then go on a candle quest to find candles in one or more of these shades. (If you wish, you could group morning-colored candles in a half circle around your breakfast or focus area.) If you can choose scented candles, or use anointing oil or incense, perky citrus scents like, orange, lemon, petitgrain, and tangerine are good for generating morning energy. Coffee-scented candles would also be delightful for awakening your mind in the morning.

Also: After performing these rites, you might drink a glass of orange, apricot, papaya, mango, or some other fruit beverage that echoes the warm tones of Dawn's palette, as a way of drinking in her power. You can assist Dawn's quickening effect by doing a dance or some graceful stretching exercises to get your body in motion and stoke your metabolism.

Excerpted from By Candlelight, by Janina Renée