How to light a candle with small amounts of safe to use chemicals?
Safety and ability to light a fire, as far as I understand, directly contradict each other. What starts a fire on your wish, would occasionally start a fire against your wish. The glycerol/sulfuric acid/permanganate recipe, like it or not, is probably the safest of all.

Others include:


White phosphorus, not only flammable but also severely toxic by itself.
Butyllithium and many other organometallic compounds that would ignite instantly on air; that's not quite what you want, anyway.
Hydrogen against platinum black (danger of explosion).


I definitely would not try any of these at home.