Witch-Bottles
I love using Witch-bottles, I always have a couple on the go in my house for protection, clearing out negative energies and bringing happiness to the home.
Again these are so easy to make, you don’t need special pretty bottles you can just use old clean jam jars. Mine are in old jam jars so I tuck them away under furniture, but if you do have some pretty bottles you could decorate them and make them a feature.
Generally speaking, the modern day Witch-bottles are very similar to historical Witch-bottles in their basic structure, even though their intended purpose has changed. The most common purpose for constructing a Witch-bottle today is capturing negative energies targeted at the constructor of the bottle, her family or her home. Some Witch-bottles are intended to change negative energy into positive energy and then release it into the surrounding area.
The basic structure of Witch-bottles can be used for purposes other than protective: for financial gain, for helping with artistic creativity, to call forth positive energy, for improving health, etc.
Basically a Witch-bottle is a container of some sort, usually a jar or a bottle, which is filled with objects that fulfil a given magical purpose. The person making the Witch-bottle or, in other words, the one casting the bottled spell, can charge the objects magically beforehand and build the bottle to work on this charging until the need of renewing the spell arises. Witch- bottles can also be built to recharge themselves by the energy they ‘capture’ for as long as the bottle stays unbroken, whether it is years or centuries.
The typical contents of the basic protective Witch-bottle today are quite similar to that of the traditional one: nails, sand or different coloured sands, crystals, stones, knotted threads, herbs, spices, resin, flowers, candle wax, incense, votive candles, salt, vinegar, oil, coins, saw dust, ashes etc. Actually, everything used in ‘normal spells’ can be used in this bottled version of a spell, the Witch-bottle.
Original witch bottles were used to keep witches away. They also used to contain all sorts of bodily fluids, hair and finger nail clippings – you can still use these if you wish.
Basically, start with your jar or bottle, then charge each item before you add it, layering up the ingredients as you go.
It really is up to you what you put in. I like to put in three nails to attract negativity and for protection. I also put in a piece of string with three knots in, knotting in my intent with each tie. If it is for prosperity I often drop in a silver coin. I usually put salt in for protection, cleansing and purification. I also like to add some kind of dried pulse – lentils or beans to soak up any negative energy. Garlic is good for protection too. Then add any herbs, spices and flowers that correspond with your intent—rose petals for love, cinnamon for success, mint and basil for prosperity, etc. Keep filling the jar of bottle up until you reach the top then put the lid on. If I am using a jam jar I like to draw a pentacle on the lid. If I am using a bottle with a cork I like to seal the cork lid with dripped wax.
If you are making the Witch-bottle for protection for your own home you might like to put in a pebble from the garden, a couple of fallen leaves from the tree in your yard and a bit of cobweb from inside the house, it makes it all more personal and ties the bottle to the energies of the home. This also gives me a good excuse for having cobwebs in the house. I need them for the Witch-bottles…
A twist on the Witch-bottle is a money jar.
Use a clean, cleansed jar and half fill it with rice or seeds (fenugreek seeds are good). As you half fill the jar visualize prosperity and abundance. Then every day add two more seeds to the jar, visualising prosperity as you do. When the jar is full bury the seeds whilst sending up a request to deity that your desire will be fulfilled.
You can also do this with a jar and your loose change, each time you drop a couple of coins in the jar visualize prosperity, every so often sprinkle in a few herbs that correspond with prosperity such as basil or mint. When the jar is full you can count it up and use it for something special. You can also decorate the jar with runes that symbolise prosperity and abundance.
Source
Pagan Portals – Kitchen Witchcraft: Crafts of a Kitchen Witch
Rachel Patterson
Witches Of The Craft® 