A witches bottle has been used for centuries to ward off or trap evil or malevolent spirits, hexes or curses. They originated in the UK around the 1500's and the practice was brought over to the states with immigration. Some old witches bottles have been found in Greenwich, Worcestershire and Pershore, England some dating back to the 17th century. The original witches bottles were made during the witch hunts and were used to protect against "witches" and their magic. They were seen to reflect the evil magic back to its sender.
A witches bottle is basically a glass jar with a tight lid that has sharp objects as well as liquids and other items placed into it. The bottle is then sealed with wax and usually buried. One of the main ingredients in the old witches bottles was urine or menstrual blood, although if you don't feel comfortable using bodily liquids feel free to use a magically charged oil or other personal item that identifies with you. The purpose for using these liquids was to personally attach oneself to the bottle. Although the original witches bottles were used to ward off evil magic, modern ones can also be used for protection, prosperity among other things. I will be giving instructions one how to craft the original witches bottle.
Supplies:
- One glass jar with a tight fitting lid
- Nails, pins, glass, thorns (some call for bent or rusty nails)
- Liquid such as water, magically charged oil, vinegar, wine, urine, menstrual blood
- Sea salt or regular salt
- Candle wax
- Any other personal item you would like to add
You may choose to use one of each ingredient or however many you wish. Take your bottle and place the sharp objects inside first, fill it about halfway. Then pour in your salt to match up with your sharp objects. Now fill up the bottle halfway with whichever liquid you wish to use. If you don't feel comfortable using urine (which is understandable!) you may spit into the bottle once its filled to personally connect your body with it, or place a very personal item in it. Keep in mind though that this bottle should not be re-opened once sealed to retrieve your personal item if you decide to do that.
After your bottle is filled, close the lid tightly and take a lit candle and pour wax around the lid and seal to secure it. You may correspond the color of the wax with whatever magical purpose you want the bottle to serve. For example black for negativity, green for prosperity, etc. When your bottle is completely finished, charge it and cleanse it with sage. Now traditionally the bottles are buried but not all of us have a yard and some of us live in apartments. If this is the case you may bury it in a flower pot and place it by your front door or patio, or it can also be hid in a closet.
I hope you enjoy crafting your very own witches bottle!
Picture courtesy of Tumblr
I love to make witches bottles. I like the idea of using spit instead of urine. I make them for all sorts of purposes. Some can be quite beautiful.
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