Monthly Spell

November 2021

Witch Bottles

Welcome to Autumn!

Probably. It’s finally sort of starting to resemble fall; I have to wear a hoodie when I leave for work now. Is it cooling off where you are? Are the leaves crisping and changing color?

I hope everyone had a lovely Samhain and Halloween.

I celebrate a new year starting on Halloween. For a couple of decades it seems like things change and renew for me now, rather than in January.

Perhaps that’s because I’m a witch, and many consider this to be the witch’s new year.

Either way it’s time for me to renew my wards. This year I’m going to try a witch bottle- something I haven’t done before.

Included in your box is:
an empty bottle

Cactus spines, to repel invaders

Black peppercorns to heat up their backsides as they leave

Rusty, bent nails to blind and confuse (and possibly give them tetanus)

Forbidden/black rice, which devils, demons, and other nasties need are compelled to stop and count (perhaps I am actually a demon, with my stupid OCD)

Graveyard dirt, actually some I’m sharing from my Hearth Wisdom box. It was “purchased” by someone with family interred at the gravesite, who left an appropriate offering. Used to call in ancestors for protection

I’m also including tiger eye and a candle dressed in protective and defensive herbs and resins with some “harvest blessings” oil. It may flame up, so burn it outside- or at least be very careful when you light it.

For my bottle I’ll include some hair and maybe some nail clippings. You can even include menstrual blood if you have any. What I advise against is using blood that was drawn, or even saliva. For me, the personal ingredients are meant to draw in and capture the entities trying to hurt me. None of these things kept me alive. I am not going to breathe into this bottle like I do with most of my other magic. I believe that if something’s looking for me, these “dead” things will be a decoy to lure them into the bottle (where they’ll be trapped with some unpleasantness) but there’s no live connection back to me- these things didn’t keep me alive. I believe that if I used something like blood that I let (or saved from a blood draw), or water from my mouth/eyes, or my breath, could be used to affect me when I’m alive. So I don’t use those in protection work too often. If you don’t use the rice then you could also use urine- I think a bottle of urine and rice is too much for me personally though, so I won’t be.
OK I use breath in a LOT of things, but for this- I’m not trying to capture my breath in this bottle! No thank you.

First assemble the ingredients. You can “bless” them by passing them through incense smoke if you like, or light the candle and use that instead. Add the ingredients to the bottle, telling each one what its job is. You can try lightly poking your finger with the cactus spine to show yourself what it’ll be like for invaders, and imagine them being impaled. Think of the nail flaking off rust into their eyes as they’re stuck counting the damned rice. Since the rice is black, it’ll also be harder to count- which means they’ll have to frequently start over. The graveyard dirt will attract helpful spirits who will help drive the bad ones away. The peppercorns will grind against them as they’re trapped in the bottle, uncomfortably warm. Add your personal ingredients, if you plan to.

You can just tighten the lid on the bottle, or you can use the candle to pour wax over it to help keep it sealed.

I plan on going to the very edge of my property, and digging a hole just outside my gate. I’ll probably do it during the day, but won’t actually place the bottle until night. I advise doing this on a new moon for 2 reasons. 1- it’s harder for neighbors to see you since it’s dark, and 2- you want the moon to pull the spell along with it as it grows bigger.

If you can't dig or bury it near your home, look for little secrety hidey spots. Maybe a nearby park, or in some sneaky place in the basement or boiler room of your apartment or dorm. 

I don’t really use worded spells other than instructing the ingredients, so I don’t have any suggestions for you there.

Good luck and happy Samhain!