As a new practitioner, one of the very first things that you should research is how to protect yourself from others’ ill intentions.

One of the most accessible and widely used methods of spellcasting for protection is through the creation of witch bottles. Although this ancient practice has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, it holds deep roots that extend back through the centuries.

What Is A Witch Bottle?

Witch bottles are very similar to spell jars. They may even be considered a type of spell jar! However, while most spell jars can be customized for any intention, witch bottles are created to serve a much more specific purpose: to protect you from a witch’s ill intent and to thwart any looming curses.

Picture a witch bottle as a sacred shield, a spiritual forcefield that captures and contains all the negative energy causing chaos in your life. It acts as a definitive stop sign to any harmful intentions, keeping them locked away where they can’t harm you. They are a powerful tool for protection and peace!

Traditional Witch Bottles

Have you ever discovered a mysterious bottle of ingredients buried in your yard or somewhere around your home? It’s not unlikely that you’ve unearthed a witch bottle – a charm often made by American and European folk practitioners to protect one’s property, family, or self and to ward off evil spirits.

While witch bottles are commonly assumed to have been used solely by witches, the witch-inspired panic of the 1600s often led those who feared witches to use those magickal practices against them. As the common folk’s fear of witches became more widespread, some decided to take matters into their own hands with counter-magic.

Because witch bottles were considered an acceptable practice, there was no reason to hide their method of construction from the Church. Recipes for these protective charms can be found on pamphlets dating back to the 1600s, affording us a definitive look into the history of Colonial and European folk practices that are still carried out today.

What To Do If You Find A Witch Bottle

Witch bottles were often hidden in nooks and crannies throughout the house, tucked away beneath the floorboards, or stuffed into crevices above doorways. For this reason, it’s unlikely you’ll find a witch bottle until you’re doing some minor construction on your home. If your discovery can be dated back to the 1600s, you may have a historical artifact on your hands!

If you find a witch bottle on your property, there’s no need to worry. Whatever threat the bottle defended against likely wasn’t directed at you, and it’s not some bottled-up container of evil energy waiting to be unleashed upon you. That being said, it’s very important that you don’t open any witch bottles you come across! They are often made with nasty ingredients such as rusty nails and human waste – protect yourself physically and keep the bottles closed. If you want to dispose of the bottle, it’s generally okay to throw it away.

How To Make A Witch Bottle For Protection

Witch bottles are not only easy to create, but they also make use of ingredients that are easily available in your own home. Don’t hesitate to swap out supplies as necessary.

You Will Need

• A jar or bottle
• Vinegar or wine (or urine if you’re comfortable with that)
• Dried rosemary
• Sharp objects (pins, needles, nails, thorns, or even broken glass will do)
• Matches
• Two candles – one black and one white
• A small piece of cloth

Directions

1. Place your jar on the cloth and your white and black candles on each side of the jar. Light the candles.
2. Add your sharp objects to the jar. As you do so, imagine all the strife that has befallen you and all the negativity you wish to block out of your life. Visualize each sharp object piercing through the bubble of negativity that plagues your life, popping it and putting an end to your suffering before trapping it in the jar.
3. Next, fill your jar with the vinegar or liquid of choice. As you pour, envision the curse trapped at the bottom of the bottle, trapped in the acidic environment of the vinegar. Imagine that all the sharp objects inside are piercing and destroying the curse like a fragile little bubble.
4. Once complete, strike three matches and add them to the jar one by one. Add your dried rosemary and visualize the steam rising from the bottle as your curse dissolving away.
5. Seal the jar and blow out your candles. Wipe down any spilled liquid with the cloth. You will want to wash the cloth immediately.
6. With the bottle turned upside down, find a place where it will remain undisturbed: under the porch, tucked away in the far reaches of the cabinet under the sink, or hidden in the ceiling or floorboards. Just like that, the curse is broken, and the ancient and potent protection of a witch bottle now shields your home.

Tips For Creating Witch Bottles

• Many witch bottles are discovered to contain pins or nails that have been bent before they were added to the jar. The idea behind bending the pins is to essentially “kill” them and send them to the spiritual plane, where they will be more effective in fighting the witch’s curse.
• Always be careful when handling witch bottles. If they are not sealed properly you could be exposed to the dangerous sharp objects and bacteria within the bottle.

Alternative Protection Practices

Witch bottles weren’t the only oft-utilized form of household and spiritual protection. To ward off evil spirits and the familiars of witches who may wish to harm you, here are a few more ideas!

• Worn shoes can be hidden around the home, much like a witch bottle, as a general protective charm.
• Place a mirror in the window facing out to deflect negative energy.
• A horseshoe hung above the door with the prongs facing down will channel good luck over the doorway and prevent evil from entering the home.
• Carrying or wearing a protective charm, such as an arrowhead necklace or black tourmaline pendant, will protect you in your everyday travels.

Witch bottles are like a spiritual cease-and-desist order, bottling up all of the negativity that has been plaguing your life and trapping it somewhere that it can’t escape. While it may be scary to discover something like this at first, it is an exciting piece of magical history. Would you create one for yourself or your household?