In this spiritual tradition, the violet flame is a violet-coloured light invoked with the intention of transmuting — of turning what is heavy into something lighter. It is associated with the seventh ray and with the master Saint Germain. It is a practice of prayer and visualisation, not a proven procedure, and here I will tell you how it is done and what not to expect from it.
What transmutation means
The word comes from alchemy, and that root explains almost everything. The alchemist did not throw the lead away. He transformed it.
In this teaching, to transmute is not to erase. It is not "cleansing" yourself of something the way you remove a stain. It is taking what weighs on you — an old guilt, a resentment, a scene that replays in your head at three in the morning — and offering it up so that it changes shape.
What changes, in my experience, is almost never the fact. What changes is your relationship with the fact. It is still there, but it stops governing you.
I prefer to say it plainly, because I have watched people expect the violet flame to erase a divorce or an illness. It does not do that. It has never done that.
Where the practice comes from
Worth knowing. It takes nothing away; it adds.
The violet flame as we know it today appears in the I AM Activity, the movement led by Guy Ballard and Edna Ballard in the United States in the 1930s. Ballard described encounters with Saint Germain, and the first decrees come from there.
Behind it lies the ground: late nineteenth-century theosophy, with its idea of the seven rays, places violet in the seventh position, associated with freedom and ceremonial order. I wrote about that architecture in ascended masters and the seven rays.
From 1958 onward, The Summit Lighthouse — founded by Mark L. Prophet and later led by Elizabeth Clare Prophet — spread violet flame decrees widely. That is largely how the practice reached Colombia and the rest of Latin America.
And Saint Germain: there was a real historical figure, the Count of Saint Germain, a courtier, musician and traveller in eighteenth-century Europe, about whom all kinds of stories circulated even in his lifetime. In these currents he is recognised as the ascended master of the seventh ray. That the historical man and the spiritual figure are one and the same is a belief of the tradition, not a matter of record.
Is this science?
No. And it does not claim to be.
There are no studies supporting the violet flame, no way to measure it, and no known mechanism to explain it. It is not something science studies or could verify.
What I can honestly tell you is what I observe: sitting in silence, breathing slowly, naming what weighs on you and holding a kind intention for a few minutes does most people good. If someone wants to read that as breathing and attention, that seems perfectly reasonable to me. If someone experiences it as the presence of a light that answers, I am closer to that second reading. Neither cancels the other.
What it is used for — and what it is not
| It is used for | It does not do |
|---|---|
| Accompanying forgiveness, of others and of yourself | Bringing money, a job or a partner |
| Letting go of rumination and old guilt | "Removing bad luck" or breaking "curses" |
| Settling yourself before a difficult conversation | Replacing psychological therapy or medical treatment |
| Closing the day, before sleep | Changing another person who has not asked |
| Accompanying grief, alongside professional support | Diagnosing anything, in anyone |
The second column matters as much as the first. If someone offers you a violet flame cleansing to "open your money paths" for a fee, walk away. That is not this practice.
A simple exercise you can do at home
This is the one I teach. You need to buy nothing, you need no training, and you do not need my permission.
1. Choose a quiet moment. Five minutes is enough. The end of the day usually works well.
2. Sit comfortably, with your back supported. Feet on the floor. Close your eyes if that feels natural; if not, lower your gaze.
3. Breathe three times, slowly, letting the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath. Without forcing. Just until the body understands it may soften.
4. Name one single thing. Not a list. One. It might be a scene, a person, a sentence you said to yourself. Name it inwardly, as simply as you can: "this thing with my brother", "the guilt about not being there".
5. Ask. In this tradition one asks; one does not command. Use your own words. The traditional wording is: "I AM the violet flame in action in me now." If that language is not yours, change it. "Lord, transform this in me" is a perfectly good request too.
6. Visualise without effort. Picture a soft violet light rising from your feet and surrounding you, like warm water. Do not force it. If you see nothing, nothing is wrong: most people do not "see", and the exercise works just the same.
7. Stay there two or three minutes. When the mind wanders — it will — come back to the breath and continue.
8. Close with gratitude. One word is enough. Open your eyes slowly and drink some water.
You can repeat it daily if it suits you. If one day you do not want to, do not. This is not an obligation or a contract with anyone: in this teaching, free will comes before the practice.
About decrees
Decrees are formulas repeated aloud, sometimes many times over. They are widely used in the tradition and they do a great deal of good for some people.
I have one reservation and I will state it: when a decree asks for a specific outcome — a sum of money, someone coming back, an exam going well — it stops being prayer and becomes an order with an invoice attached. Something is lost there. I prefer decrees that ask for qualities: freedom, forgiveness, peace, clarity.
One practical note: repeating something a hundred times at speed can make you light-headed. If that happens, stop, breathe and drink water. There is no merit in forcing yourself.
What I see in the consulting room
In Medellín the violet flame is one of the things I am asked about most. It arrives through videos, WhatsApp groups, and friends who recommend it as though it were a remedy.
What I see most is people using it anxiously: repeating decrees for twenty minutes with a tense body, in a hurry, as if a result had to be wrung out of it. That strikes me as the exact opposite of the practice. When someone arrives like that, the first thing we do is breathe, and sometimes that is the whole session.
I have also sat with people carrying something very old, from years back, who after a while in silence with this practice began to cry without quite knowing why. I cannot explain it to you any better than that. I will not claim to know what caused it. I do know what I saw.
And one thing I always say, warmly and firmly: if what weighs on you is depression, trauma or a situation of violence, this accompanies but it is not enough. A mental health professional is needed there, and asking for one is not letting anybody down.
How I integrate it with Reiki
In my practice, Reiki and the violet flame are not the same thing and they are not stirred together carelessly.
Reiki comes from the lineage of Mikao Usui and works through the laying on of hands. The violet flame comes from another tradition and is prayer and visualisation. When I use them together, the second enters as intention, not as an extra technique: I ask for accompaniment and go on channelling.
If you would rather have a session with no spiritual language at all, that is simply what happens. Each person's belief system is respected here, including that of someone who believes nothing.
For working on your own at home there is also the self-healing guide. And if what you want to harmonise is your home rather than yourself, see energy clearing and harmonising of spaces.
Frequently asked questions
Does the violet flame burn or cause harm? No. In this tradition it is understood as light, not physical fire, and the practice consists of sitting, breathing and asking. There is no risk. The only thing I occasionally see is light-headedness from repeating decrees very fast for a long time, and that resolves by stopping, breathing slowly and drinking water.
How many times a day should I do it? There is no required number, though some currents propose long routines. I suggest five steady minutes a day rather than hour-long sessions you abandon within a week. Gentle regularity does more than intense effort, as in any other contemplative practice.
Can I do it for someone else? You can ask on someone's behalf, as people have prayed for others forever. What does not seem right to me is intervening on someone who has not asked, with the idea of changing them. Free will is central to this teaching. Ask for their good, and leave the outcome open.
Is it compatible with being Catholic or evangelical? Some Christians experience it as a form of prayer; others conclude they should not go near it. Both positions seem respectable to me and it is not mine to arbitrate. If you are in doubt, talk to your spiritual guide before you talk to me. I go into this in Reiki and Christian faith.
Do I need violet candles, crystals or any object? You need nothing. A candle can help you mark the moment, as can silence or an open window, but it is a support, not a requirement. Be wary of anyone who tells you the practice will not work without a particular object — which they happen to sell.
Disclaimer
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace diagnosis, treatment or follow-up by a healthcare professional. Reiki is a complementary practice: it accompanies, it does not substitute. If you are under medical or psychological care, continue it and talk to your treating professional before adding any complementary therapy.
If you would like company as you begin, or simply to tell me how the exercise went, write to me on WhatsApp at +57 314 811 7561 or through the contact page. No hurry, no commitment.
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Written by
Sananda Reiki
Spiritual support and Reiki therapies in Medellín and online.
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