How to Make a Witch's Bottle

To Keep the Nasties Out!

I don’t post a lot of protection spells, because it takes a lot of focus to create and then cast a spell. And all that focus is often on the “problem” you’re trying to get rid of. And as we know, what we focus on grows and attaches more firmly to us.

To be rid of a problem, any problem, the best magic of all is to solve it. The problem only comes to inspire the solution, after all. That’s its whole purpose. It shows up, gets our attention, and makes us want the solution, which is how the solution is born. We create it (the idea of it) the moment the desire for it is born.

Then we turn our attention more to the solution than the problem, and it becomes a part of our physical reality. And there we are.

I’m not spending enough time these days dreaming about the solution to my country’s current problem. (Read catastrophe.) It certainly has the attention of the entire world, doesn’t it? It has my attention too. Mostly I’m feeling outraged, infuriated, disgusted, embarrassed, ashamed, angry.

I need to work through these things, obviously. Our feelings are supposed to be felt. So I’m raging a bit, and that’s okay. All the better to fuel my activism, dearie.

However, I have been starting more and more to think about how I felt before the election. The work we did, the hope we had, the excitement of those Harris rallies.

The first time I heard Beyoncé’s Freedom after the election, I wept. But now I hear it and I get fired up. I get excited. I am reminded that we will overcome this. We have to. We need to get our focus back on the environment.

Get fired up. Feel your anger and channel it into action for your cause, and also into positive actions for your life. Let it fuel your workouts, your cooking, all your toughest projects. Make it work for you instead of against you.

Take all that pent up fury, transmute it into pure energy, and guide it toward where it will do the most good.

And in the meantime, we must milk all the joy we can from our lives. Our being in misery will not help anyone else do better. But being in our joy raises up everyone we encounter and empowers us to do more good.

Besides, we have a limited time here in these bodies, so we should make the most of it.

Now, here’s a little bit of the “craft” part of witchcraft to play with that’ll help filter out the nasties, astral and otherwise, before they can even get inside.

The Witch’s Bottle (or Witch’s Jar)

You’ll need: 1 glass jar or bottle with lid and a black candle.

The Witch’s Jar is an old tradition with all the variations you can imagine. Some use blue or green glass, to add to the mysterious nature of what’s inside, others use clear glass because what’s inside might be quite intimidating. The jar can be large or it can be small, any size or shape, all it needs is a lid.

The traditional bottle is designed to repel and trap negativity. I give you that version here, but be sure to scroll down to see version two, for another version of the spell that uses pure positive energy without any focus on the negative.

Before you begin, clean the jar thoroughly and choose the place where it will live, near the main entrance of your home. You can hang it there, or you can bury it there, or you can stand it on a shelf or the floor.

The items in a Witch’s Bottle are entirely up to you. Use sharp things, pointy things, poison things, itchy things, unpleasant things, repulsive things, anything known to carry a repelling type of charge, and tangly knotty things.

Here are some suggestions.

• Rusty nails

• A handful of cobwebs (take the ones not currently occupied, please.)

• Broken glass shards

• Burdocks, the bristly parts

• Graveyard dirt or Patchouli

• Devil’s Dung

• Tangled string

• Urine or vinegar

• A piece of coal

• Onyx stone

• Common pins or safety pins (can take place of nails.)

• Hemlock

• Use your imagination

Once you’ve gathered all the items that will go into the jar, lay them out on your altar or workspace.

Work in the way that’s comfortable for you. For me, this is pretty strong magic, so I’ll cast a full circle, call the quarters, and invoke the assistance of the gods.

When your preparations are complete, and your mind is relaxed and in the state for magic (another benefit of casting the circle first—it gets you there) hold your hands over the items, one at a time. Beam energy from your palms into each piece.

Imagine each item growing in size, expanding from the jar in its place, and becoming a barrier that surrounds your entire home. Visualize it like the jungle of thorns around Sleeping Beauty’s castle.

Be sure you imagine this barrier as one that allows love and light to pass through, but prevents darkness or hate from getting through. Negative energies are repelled by the poisons and unpleasant items, and if any even try to get past that, they get tangled, stabbed, caught, or otherwise trapped in the jar. They can exit out the way they came, but they can come no further.

Then, one by one, as you go along, drop each item into the jar with the following words:

In power without fear or doubt

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

The light come in, the dark keep out

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

All evil does my magic rout

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

When you’ve added all the items, take the black candle and light it. As it warms, drip the candle wax along the outside rim of the jar and the inside rim of the lid. Do this quickly, not giving it time to cool. Drip, drip, smear. (If it cools, you can hold a lighter near it to re-heat.)

Put the lid onto the jar, screwing it tight so the warm wax forms a seal. (It’s as much energetic as physical so don’t worry if it’s not physically perfect.)

I seal you tight
With magic’s might
Repel the blight
Let in the light
So mote it be!

Now, finish up by thanking the deities, releasing & thanking the quarters, taking up the circle, or whatever is your way.

Then take the jar immediately to its permanent spot, and place it.

Generally, I make the jar pretty and hang it somewhere people usually pass to enter my home. (Assuming I let them in.)

You can develop the habit of winging a little magic and appreciation toward your jar every time you pass in or out of the house.

Be sure to ground after working magic. Sit on the floor or ground, or hug a tree, or hold a rock, and eat a grain-based snack.

The Witch’s Jar 2

A more Law of Attraction-empowered, pure positive energy version of the witch’s jar spells would use things that match the energy of what you want to attract, rather than repel.

This jar would be filled with beautiful things.

• Flower petals

• High vibration herbs like rosemary or sage

• Sandalwood Oil or Rose Oil

• Stones that attract, such as magnetic stones, clear quartz, amethyst

• A piece of hard candy or several

• Sprinkle in some sugar to attract blessings and love

• A little maple syrup

• Add nature’s gifts, a found feather, or found sea shell

• Gold or silver jewelry

• Gold or silver coins

• Three hairs from your own head

• Three drops of your own blood

• Add precious things, delightful things, happy things. Use your imagination

Then pump up the charm portion of the spell to a more purely positive chant for adding each item, like this:

In power based on love and light

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

Blessings surging day and night

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

Only good can here alight

I charge the Witch’s Jar!

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Three sister witches, cursed in ancient Babylon and sacrificed to a vengeful god, must find each other again in the modern day and break the curse, or all is lost.