160 Candle Quotes About Shining Bright And Bringing The Light

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There is something so powerful about watching a tiny candle flame illuminate the space around you, or holding that flame in the palm of your hand.

Candles are often used to symbolize light shining in the darkness that often accompanies life, and it is easy to see why.

Reading a candle quote from Anne Frank, about how a candle can define and defy the darkness, drives home the idea that even those who have seen the darkest of moments have been able to find a light that leads them out.

That light also acts as a beacon for others and shows them the way.

It is not surprising that candles are also used in religion and have religious symbolism.

Many of these candle quotes from spiritual teachers like Buddha or religious figures like St. Francis remind us to search for truth and enlightenment.

A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that reading positive affirmations can help increase feelings of self-worth and self-esteem, leading to greater happiness and success.

Candle quotes that encourage us to shine bright and bring light can be a powerful tool to help us embrace positivity and believe in ourselves.

A candle is also lit when people die to symbolize finding light in the afterlife.

It is also meant as a physical representation of Jesus Christ, who is often described as “the light.”

A candle is a symbol of purification and cleansing, which explains why the candle is used in many religious and spiritual ceremonies.

It is so much more than that though, so keep reading to find out why a candle is just life.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

If you enjoy this collection, check out our inspirational quotes category page.

Short Candle Quotes That Are Perfect For Instagram

A study by the University of Manchester found that positive affirmations improve mood and emotional well-being.

The study points out that candle quotes that promote positivity and optimism can help us find joy and meaning in our daily lives.

1. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ― Edith Wharton

2. “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” ― James Keller

3. “To light a candle is to cast a shadow.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

4. “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.” ― William Arthur Ward

5. “Man loves company – even if it is only that of a small burning candle.” ― Georg C. Lichtenberg

6. “Burn not thy fingers to snuff another man’s candle.” ― James Howell

7. “Live as intensely as possible, burn your candle of life from both ends.” ― Osho

8. “Carry a candle in the dark, be a candle in the dark, know that you’re a flame in the dark.” ― Ivan Illich

9. “There is a candle in your heart, ready to be kindled.” ― Rumi

10. “It is not necessary to light a candle to the sun.” ― Algernon Sidney

You will also enjoy our article on lighthouse quotes.

Candle Light Quotes From Buddha And Others That Seek To Lead Us To Enlightenment

According to a study by the University of California, reading positive affirmations can help increase motivation and lead to more incredible achievement.

Candle quotes that inspire us to shine bright and reach for our dreams can help us find the strength and drive to accomplish our goals.

11. “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ― Buddha

12. “Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” ― Buddha

You will also enjoy our article on shadow quotes.

13. “Do not give them a candle to light the way, teach them how to make fire instead. That is the meaning of enlightenment.” ― Kamand Kojouri

You will also enjoy our article on sacrifice quotes.

14. “Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die. We have the spark that starts the fire.” ― Rumi

You will also enjoy our article on cake quotes.

15. “A candle is at its brightest in the dark.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

You will also enjoy our article on steven wright quotes.

16. “To see a candle’s light one must take it into a dark place.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin

You will also enjoy our article on John Wick quotes.

17. “Nirvana is not the blowing out of the candle. It is the extinguishing of the flame because day is come.” ― Rabindranath Tagore

You will also enjoy our article on The 100 quotes.

18. “I prize every candle in the darkness of the universe, even if it is not a supernova of blinding illumination.” ― Thomas Flanagan

You will also enjoy our article on time flies quotes.

19. “Don’t be like a candle! Because the candle dies while making others happy! Clever is the one who finds a way to make others happy without sacrificing himself!” ― Mehmet Murad Ildan

20. “The teacher is like the candle which lights others in consuming itself.” ― Giovanni Ruffini

Funny candle quotes that will make you laugh

21. “You know you’re getting old when you get that one candle on the cake. It’s like, ‘See if you can blow this out.’” ― Jerry Seinfeld

22. “I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing ‘Happy Birthday.’” ― Steven Wright

23. “I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn’t have one. So I got a cake.” ― Mitch Hedberg

24. “Be able to blow out a dinner candle without sending wax flying across the table.” ― Marilyn Vos Savant

25. “I’m the least spiritual person in the world. I can’t even abide a smelly candle. I know it’s meant to make me relax, and that immediately makes my hackles rise.” ― Jenny Eclair

26. “Electricity is a wonderful thing. Do you realize that if we didn’t have electricity, we’d be watching television by candlelight?” ― Tommy Cooper

27. “When Thomas Edison worked late into the night on the electric light, he had to do it by gas lamp or candle. I’m sure it made the work seem that much more urgent.” ― George Carlin

28. “The reason there’s no modern-day Shakespeare is because he didn’t have anything to do except sit in a room with a candle and think.” ― Chris Cornell

29. “Who needs a candle snuffer? You have air to blow out a candle. I don’t need a snuffer to put it out.” ― Georgia Toffolo

30. “I like my candles like I like my people; non-toxic!” ― Unknown

Religious And Symbolic Candle Quotes

31. “Christians should never fail to sense the operation of an angelic glory. It forever eclipses the world of demonic powers, as the sun does a candle’s light.” ― Billy Graham

32. “The gospel needs to be preached all over the world. You cannot light a candle and put it under a roof.” ― T. B. Joshua

33. “Why would anyone walk through life satisfied with the light from the candle of their own understanding when, by reaching out to our Heavenly Father, they could experience the bright sun of spiritual knowledge that would expand their minds with wisdom and fill their souls with joy?” ― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

34. “When God comes into your life, He lights a candle in your soul.” ― Anita Bryant

35. “To light one candle to God and another to the Devil is the principle of wisdom.” ― Jose Bergamin

36. “We say God and the imagination are one… How high that highest candle lights the dark.” ― Wallace Stevens

37. “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” ― Francis of Assisi

38. “The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason, the morning daylight appears planer when you put out your candle.” ― Benjamin Franklin

39. “No wonder God chose this dark land to send prophets to, for a candle only shines in the dark.” ― Rami Ollaik

40. “The candles were adored and worshipped like idols, for, after all, they invoked the gods of light.” ― Dean F. Wilson, Lifemaker

Inspirational Candle Quotes That Will Warm Your Heart

41. “Sometimes I light incense and a candle. It’s so peaceful and quiet. The steadiness of the energy and the reliability of the warmth have a calming effect.” ― Cindy Williams

42. “We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.” ― John F. Kennedy

43. “Wisdom holds a candle to experience, but you’ve got to take the candle and walk alone.” ― Lauren Kate

44. “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” ― Anne Frank

45. “Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” ― George Bernard Shaw

46. “I think there’s something in the human psyche that we’re titillated by the person who flies too close to the candle and their wings get singed.” ― Jeffrey Combs

47. “Absence diminishes mediocre passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and fans fires.” ― François de La Rochefoucauld

48. “It is a great pity but tis certain from every day’s observation of man, that he may be set on fire like a candle, at either end, provided there is a sufficient wick standing out.” ― Laurence Sterne

49. “How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world.” ― William Shakespeare

50. “Reputation is only a candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out, but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit.” ― James Russell Lowell

Candle Quotes That Symbolize Life

51. “Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile.” -Brandon Sanderson

52. “Each time a person passes by you and you say ‘hello’, imagine that person turning into a candle. The more positivity, love and light you reflect, the more light is mirrored your way.” -Suzy Kassem

53. “In regards to the candle that burns at both ends- how brilliant the light is for the beholder!” -Maddy Kobar

54. “Sometimes you have to be like a candle! What is the mission? To illuminate the darkness? So, no questions asked, just do the job, burn in silence! Set your mission and be like a candle, do your job, quietly, calmly, without complaining, without speaking, in silence!”  -Mehmet Murat ildan 

55. “At some point your candle will go out, so make use of the light.”  -Shaun Hick 

56. “Simple is her aim; to be a candle that lightens the world with the name of the Beloved.”  -Mahrukh Memon

57. “I was a candle that had never known a flame, and now that the flame was lit, I softened and glowed in a way I had not known was possible.”  -Danielle Teller

58. “Your happiness shouldn’t come with victims. It’s possible to split the light. Your candle can light mine. What is happiness if it doesn’t make another smile?”  -Nesta Jojoe Erskine

59. “I am a candle in a world full of flashlights.”  -Rainbow Harvest 

60. “The candle is the light of life that is constantly thriving to hang on and light up the darkness of life.”  -Enock Maregesi

More Candle Quotes To Give You A Glimmer Of Hope

61. “Stars are the universe’s candles.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

62. “A candle, a book and a peaceful person mean three candles for the world!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

63. “Our life here is but one burning candle in time – why do we worry so much?” ― Bert McCoy

64. “Kind people never live for themselves; they are like a candle. A candle never stops lighting up for others even when it melts.” ― Bruce Mbanzabugabo

65. “A friend is the wax that keeps the flame lit, an enemy is the wind that blows it out.” ― Anthony Liccione

66. “May the people walking in darkness see the dawn of a glorious light.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

67. “Leadership is like candlelight. It helps bring forth light in the darkness.” ― Gift Gugu Mona

68. “Just as one candle lights another and can light thousands of other candles, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of other hearts.” ― Leo Tolstoy

69. “Blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter.” ― Jacqueline Vance

70. “If you have the knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” ― Margaret Fuller

Candle Quotes To Help Light The Flame Of Others

71. “Everybody is a candle, true. But not everybody is lit.” -Harbhajan Singh

72. “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

73. “Mums are like candles, they light the way.” -Author Unknown

74. “In a night full of pain and darkness, be a candle spreading the light until dawn.” -Rumi

75. “A candle in the wind is as valiant as a star in the sky.” -Author Unknown

76. “Learn to light a candle in the darkest moments of someone’s life. Be the light that helps others see; it is what gives life its deepest significance.” -Roy Bennett

77. “I believe that it’s better to light one candle than to promise a million light bulbs.” -Stephen Harper

78. “If the night is dark, share the candle.” -Kitty Von Tastique

79. “Enthusiasm is the match that lights the candle of achievement.” -William Arthur Ward

80. “If you have a candle, the light won’t glow any dimmer if I light yours off mine.” -Steven Tyler 

Candle Quotes That Are Full Of Wisdom

81. “I want to shine like a little candle before His altar.” ― Therese of Lisieux

82. “As one candle is lit from the flame of another, so is faith kindled by faith.” ― Romano Guardini

83. “In the very darkness of a stupid society, even a little candle deserves a great honour!”― Mehmet Murat ildan

84. “A restaurant with candles and flowers evokes more reveries than the Isle of Bali does.” ― Mason Cooley

85. “A candle may burn with a desire for light just as wood may burn with a desire for warmth.” ― Anthony T. Hincks

86. “I am volatile for one, rigid for another, angular as an icicle in silver, or voluptuous as a candle flame in gold.” ― Virginia Woolf

87. “If you melt while looking at a melting candle, then you are a true romantic!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

88. “The candle is not lit To give light, but to testify to the night.” ― Robert Bly

89. “Maybe there is another who sees life not as a flickering candle but as a torch that can illuminate an undiscovered world.” ― Jimmy Buffett

90. “A scholar is a candle which the love and desire of all men will light.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Candle Quotes To Illuminate Light

91. “I’m very romantic when I masturbate. Sometimes I light a candle…then I try and shoot it out. It’s like a carnival.” — Dave Attell

92. “My heroes have always been the hardworking and unflappable. Those who light a candle rather than curse the darkness.” — Matthew Gray Gubler

93. “The best match in the world will not light a candle unless the wick be first suitably prepared.” — Algernon Blackwood

94. “The old faiths light their candles all about, but burly Truth comes by and puts them out.” — Lizette Woodworth Reese

95. “Life is no brief candle but a splendid torch made to burn ever more brightly.” — Edward Dunlop

96. “One begins to realize that one is getting old when the birthday candles weigh more than the cake.” — Bette Davis

97. “For love – I would split open your head and put a candle in behind the eyes.” — Robert Creeley

98. “If God lights the candle, none can blow it out.” — Charles Spurgeon

99. “Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.” — Jane Hirshfield

100. “You can blow out a candle, but you can’t blow out a fire.” — Peter Gabriel

Candle Quotes To Connect With Your Soul

101. “Logic ignores the almost, just as the sun ignores the candle.” — Victor Hugo

102. “Meditate.  Look at the candle flame – or whatever object you have chosen to gaze upon – with intensity.” — Frederick Lenz

103. “I have lost my faith, but I gained the truth! It is not important at all to lose your candle as long as you find a torch!” — Mehmet Murat Ildan

104. “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir.” — Carl Sagan

105. “One candle is enough. Its gentle light will be more suitable, will be more gracious when the Shades arrive, the Shades of Love.” — C.P. Cavafy

106. “Every night I bring home flowers and burn candles. And I have a real sense that home is what starts everything inside of you.” — Evangeline Lilly

107. “My home is my castle, and I spend a lot of time nurturing it, redecorating – moving this and adjusting that, adding flowers and candles.” — Evangeline Lilly

108. “Absence abates a moderate passion and intensifies a great one – as the wind blows out a candle but fans fire into flame.” — Francois de La Rochefoucauld

109. “Thinking that God wants something from us is like showing a candle to the sun.” — Mata Amritanandamayi

110. “If I could just walk around and light the candles with my finger, that would be kind of cool.” — Gwyneth Paltrow

Candle Quotes To Lift Your Spirits

111. “Stick a lighted candle up your backside to give yourself that inner glow.” ― Frank Delaney

112. “In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king. In the darkness the man with a candle is an easy target.” ― Michael  Grant

113. Youth must be wanton, youth must be quick, Dance to the candle while lasteth the wick.” ― Tennessee Williams

114. “It is good to be helpful and kindly, but don’t give yourself to be melted into candle grease for the benefit of the tallow trade.” ― George Eliot

115. “Darkness is not chased away with sticks, not even cannons. One simply lights a small candle and the darkness flees before it.” ― Israel Meir Kagan

116. “Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save it for a special occasion; today is special.” ― John Spence

117. “Enticing hope is like lighting candle in the dark room.” ― Aftab Alam

118. “The wind which snuffs the candle fans the fire.” ― Francois de La Rochefoucauld

119. “The past is a candle at great distance: too close to let you quit, too far to comfort you.” ― Amy Bloom

120. “He who lights his [candle] at mine receives light without darkening me.” ― Thomas Jefferson

Candle Quotes To Illuminate Your Way

121. “But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.” ― William Blake

122. “She only felt that the candle would burn better, the packing go easier, the world be happier, if she could give and receive some human love.” ― E. M. Forster

123. “A million candles burnt in him without his being at the trouble of lighting a single one.” ― Virginia Woolf

124. “God will have the body partake with the soul-as in matters of grief, so in matters of joy; the lanthorn shines in the light of the candle within.” ― Richard Sibbes

125. “Our lives are like a candle in the wind.” ― Carl Sandburg

126. “It is better to burn the candle at both ends, and in the middle, too, than to put it away in the closet and let the mice eat it.” ― Henry Van Dyke

127. “A candle throws its light into the darkness, in a nasty world so shines a good deed. Make sure the fortune that you seek is the fortune that you need.” ― Ben Harper

128. “Shams, my body is a candle touched with fire.” ― Rumi

129. “Take my hand and grow young with me. Don’t rush. Don’t sleep. Be a beginner. Light the candles. Keep the fire. Dare to love someone. Tell yourself the truth. Stay inside the rapture.” ― Marlena De Blasi

130. “We must view young people not as empty bottles to be filled, but as candles to be lit.” ― Robert H. Shaffer

131. “Now we have lit a candle to the power Of atoms; now we know we’re heirs of light Itself.” ― Philip Jose Farmer

Finding Inspiration And Reflection In Candle Quotes

132. “If we hearken to counsel, we shall be the best people in the world; we shall be as a bright light set upon a hill, that cannot be hid, or like a candle upon a candlestick.” ― Brigham Young

133. “Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle for where we’re going. There’s something ahead worth fighting for.” ― Neil Young

134. “How beautiful to look at When my prayer Lights a candle of hope In my heart.” ― Sri Chinmoy

135. “If I had my life to live over I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.” ― Erma Bombeck

136. “I love having candles, especially when you get downtime. I could just pass out seeing the flame flicker with the lights off.” ― Kellan Lutz

137. “Tonight we light these candles to honor the value and the work of Jyoti Singh’s short, promising life, she was India’s daughter. Tonight she’s our daughter too.” ― Meryl Streep

138. “I raised my three teens with love, perseverance, tenacity, sweat, tears, prayers, lighting candles, and the list could go on.” ― Ana Monnar

139. “Absence cools moderate passions, and inflames violent ones; just as the wind blows out candles, but kindles fires.” ― Francois de La Rochefoucauld

140. “Let us be happy too when we see a happy man, because happiness is a candle light in this dark universe!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan

Candle Quotes To Illuminate Your Life

141. “You can always meet stupid people in your life journey; you should treat them like the way candle treats darkness: Illuminate them!” ― Mehmet Murat Ildan

142. “Nature made the day for exercise, work and seeing to one’s business; and … it provides us with a candle, which is to say the bright and joyous light of the sun.” ― Francois Rabelais

143. “The flame of inspiration needs to be encouraged. Put a glass around that small candle and protect it from discouragement or ridicule.” ― Mary Higgins Clark

144. “I’m looking for someone who will light candles, not just curse the darkness.” ― Joshua Harris

145. “I wish I were a candle in the darkness.” ― Mahmoud Darwish

146. When the candles are out all women are fair.” ― Plutarch

147. “As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation.” ― William Bradford

148. “It’s like a woman’s birthright to knit. It’s primal. It’s timeless. You don’t need electricity to knit. You can do it with a candle, girls!” ― Tracey Ullman

149. “There is this church that I go to a lot in New York. I’m not religious but I love lighting candles and stuff. I find it useful.” ― Rufus Wainwright

150. “I’m a candle flame that sways in currents of air you can’t see. You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.” ― Nadine Gordimer

Candle Quotes For Instagram

151. “Sometimes the candle dreams of a strong wind, so that it does not melt completely!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

152. “As one who would rather light a candle than curse the darkness.” ― Richard Paul Evans

153. “When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.” ― George R.R. Martin

154. “You’re like a candle in a dark room, throwing light backwards and forwards.” ― Christopher Barzak

155. “Being a candle is difficult because one must first burn in order to emit light.” ― Shree Shambav

156. “A candle doesn’t have to look for light, no matter how small it is.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo

157. “If someone lit a candle for you and you put it out right away, then you are a slave to darkness!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

158. “I am here to electrify those have only been using a candle.” ― Jeffrey G. Duarte

159. “What distinguishes candle from other lights is that it appeals to our soul, not our eyes!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

160. “You can blow out a candle but you can’t blow out a fire.” ― Peter Gabriel

What Did You Learn From These Candle Quotes?

So, you know a candle is often used to symbolize life but just what is it about a candle that reminds us of life?

Well, there are actually a few things. For starters, the candle has a finite amount of time that it can be lit.

When it reaches the point where it can no longer remain lit, it “goes out.”

This is symbolic of our lifespans. We can share and spread our light with the world for just a short period of time before our candles eventually stop burning.

Sometimes, our candles are left to burn to the very end, and other times they are blown out while there is much of the candlestick remaining.

These are those tragic moments in life, which Elton John so eloquently referred to with his Candle in the Wind lyric, “Your candle burned out long before your legend ever will.”

Most of us hope to live a life where our legends continue burning in the hearts of others, in some way, long after we are gone.

This is one way that we strive for life to be more like the candle.

A candle burns brightly the whole time it burns, it doesn’t matter if it was just lit, or has been burning for a while.

Not enough of us in this world find the thing that makes us burn the brightest.

We tend to burn and then go out for a little while before burning again.

Others might get a little closer and manage to stay lit, except for a few periods where they flicker and come back.

Imagine what your life would look like if you stayed lit and were the brightest candle you could be for all of your life?

What do you think that would look like for you?

What’s your biggest takeaway from these candle quotes and sayings?

Let us know how you think life is like a candle or vice versa in the comment section below.