Witch bottles have been used for centuries by witches and those who wanted to ward off witches. Traditionally, they were used to protect the individual against dark magic and evil spirits. Today they are used for protection, love, healing and much more.

Today, I decided to make one with the intention of protection. Having started my journey as a Fire Witch a little under a year ago, most of my time has been spent studying the Craft and my particular elemental correspondences. Yes, I’ve done several small spells (such as mediation and candle magick) but never something this intense before.

So, what made me make a witch bottle? Well, I was in the garden one morning admiring our prickly pear cactus. It was here I noticed how many needles the cactus was producing and remember reading somewhere that the needles were good for protection in a witch bottle. And so started my project.

The original intention was to just to make a fire witch bottle but the more ingredients I put inside the bottle, the more I realised it suited it better as a protection bottle. I proceeded to add my ingredients into the bottle with the help of Green Witches Den who had some ingredients I didn’t.

So, what did I add to my witch bottle, you may ask? Given that the cactus needles were the inspiration for the bottle, they were the first ingredient I put in there. Other ingredients are as follows:

• Rosemary leaves
• Stinging nettle leaves
• Gold glitter (for reflection)
• Sandalwood ash (fire and banishment)
• Black stones
• Cayenne pepper grounds
• Gold jewellery findings (in place of nails)
• Mirror fragments (for reflection)
• My own fingernails (personal tag)

I then sealed it with black candle wax and hid it in a safe place.