November:

Protective Witch Bottles

It’s November, and that veil be thinnin’. We’re going to ask our ancestors to help us turn a simple spice jar into a protective powerhouse… we’re making SPELL JARRRRRRRRS!

Also I’m watching a cooking competition show so I’m feeling very hyperbolic and announcey.

In the box:

Spice jar

Black sealing wax

Creosote 

Saguaro cactus spines

Prickly pear cactus skeleton

Rusty nails

Thai chile peppers

Black diamond “Prophecy Stone” 

Tranquility Tube

Tree of Life glass gem

First let’s talk about the Tranquility Tubes. The traditional “American” holiday season is stressful for everyone, whether you participate in them or not. If you’ve ever heard of box breathing (and by now probably all of us have), you have heard how controlling your breathing can help you self-regulate during times of stress or anxiety. Similar to breathing into a paper bag, if you breathe in through your nose and out through the tube, you are forced to control and slow your breathing. The tube provides resistance to your exhalation so you have to breathe out more slowly. Slowing your breathing can help activate your parasympathetic nervous system, which is one of your body’s unconscious ways of pulling you out of fight or flight. In testing, I also noticed my personal tendency to bite the tube. If you were like me as a kid, and your pens, pencils, and straws were constantly covered in bite marks, the silicone cover will help keep you from biting the copper tube. I also made it with a honeycomb design and a tiny bee, to remind you that you have an entire Hive of people who are here to help you get through this stress. When you are done with whatever stressful bullshit that is happening, come in the Marco group, join us on Discord, or visit the Hive House facebook group and tell us all about it. Let us support you! 

Now for the spell. With the exception of the chiles, the plant material all came from the Sonoran desert around my house. It came from deadfall, including the Saguaro spines- they are from the gorgeous Saguaro I had in my back yard that fell during a windstorm. I considered her to be a guardian of the back yard and of this space in general. Even after she fell, she provides shelter and protection for the little animals and insects still living in the shell. Use Saguaro as a big, ancient guardian.

Creosote grows naturally out here in the desert. They’re incredibly hard to kill, and very determined. If you’ve heard of juglone from walnut trees, creosote does something similar. It produces a chemical that acts as a deterrent to keep other plant life from growing beneath it. Use creosote as a deterrent, and for determination to keep the spell going no matter what.

Prickly pears are hospitable to some creatures, but the ones in my yard (where I gathered the skeleton) have huge 1-2” spines, plus a lot of tiny little barbed “hairs” called glochids that are a complete nightmare. If something gets through the longer spines, they will get a face full of tiny, hairlike glochids that are essentially natural fiberglass. Use prickly pear for straight-up defense! 

Rusty nails can be used to “nail down” the intention of the spell. We’re using the nails both as defense, thinking about tetanus and rust being jammed into whatever the nail “bites”, but also to “nail down” the idea that the intention of this spell jar is to protect the place it’s in.

The thai chiles are another deterrent. They’re super frikken hot, and are naturally covered in a protective coating of capsaicin, which is what makes chiles hot. So be CAREFUL when you use them! Try to avoid touching them with your bare hands, and wash well with a degreasing dish soap when you’re finished. 

Choose the moon phase you want to work with. I like to do protective warding on a dark moon. Then I ask the spell and the spirits of the plants and objects in the jar to grow and expand like the moon. Or you could do it on a full moon, when it’s at “full power”. This decision depends on you and your relationship with the moon and your environment, so do whatever feels right to you. You’re going to call in your spirit team as well. This is the classic time for communicating with our Beloved Dead.

I will light a candle and ask my guides and the spirits of the land to help me protect this area. My guides because they are helping protect me, and the land spirits because they “live” here too, so why not work together? I will probably put out some sort of offering as well, whether it’s a glass of water (because I’m in the desert), a cup of coffee, a snack, or some incense.

You can cleanse the jar with moon water, Florida water, smoke, sound, or even just salt. Then add each ingredient, asking it to help you in whatever way makes sense to you (see the suggestions above as to how I plan on using each ingredient).  I don’t generally put liquids in these because ew, but if you get better results doing so, or if you have a specific intention with a certain ingredient, go for it. You could write out a petition to the spirits on a bay leaf and burn it and add the ashes to the jar. Or write a word, sigil, or rune for protection on a little slip of paper and add that. Then close the jar, and use the black sealing wax to make sure it stays shut. 

I tend to put my protection jars under the “heart” of the house, and if that’s too complicated, as close to the front doorstep as possible. Dig a hole under the stairs, go into the basement and tuck it into the rafters, or put it into or behind a statue next to your front door. I don’t usually speak aloud when I work, but if you come up with a phrase or spoken spell you want to share, that would be great! Or just use it for yourself. 

That’s it for this month. Stay safe, and remember that you have a group of people who are willing to help give you a spell boost if you need one. Just ask!