Bottle Spells
A spell bottle is a bottle into which a magical spell has been cast in the form of physical items used to ensure that the spell results in the desired outcome.
A bottle spell is a magical spell that is contained within a bottle, and which, when finished, is expected to work for the ends one desires.
There are many types of bottle spells used in folk magic traditions from around the world. Almost every culture that uses bottles (or gourds, or animal horns) as containers also has developed ways to use those containers to hold works of magical spell craft.
The painted bottle spells shown at the top of this page were made in America from small medical bottles. They come in both hoodoo and Catholic styles, as described below.
ENGLISH AND ANGLO-AMERICAN WITCH BOTTLES
Among the earliest spell bottles known are those called "Witch Bottles." They are buried under the threshold or hidden up in a chimney to keep witches or evil-intentioned people away from your home. Examples of glazed clay witch bottles have been found in England that date back to the 1600s at least. A typical witch bottle contains sharp, jagged items like bent pins, shards of glass, nails, or even broken razor blades, a hair, and the urine of the person who wishes to be protected. Some of the ancient witch bottles found sealed by archaeologists in England have been opened and all of them that still contained liquids tested positive for the presence of urine.
In more recent times, the witch bottles of England and Anglo-America have been made from cobalt blue glass and they are often kept on a window sill "for pretty" as well as to keep away witches and the evil eye. Because they function as "fascinators" and spirit traps, they are typically filled with shiny and sparkly things. The empty cobalt blue glass bottle shown here is typical of the style used. It has a rolled rim and is stoppered with a cork, adding to its old-fashioned look and charm. Its shape has led folks to call it a "potion bottle," and of course it can also be used for storing magical liquids.
This is a small, short, squat style of jar made from very pale green recycled glass. The shape is what used to be called a "Cream Cup" in restaurants -- a tiny container for coffee cream. Made of glass and outfitted with a cork stopper, it serves beautifully as a Spice or Herb Jar, or a diminutive container for a special Bottle Spell.
Order Cobalt Blue and Recycled Glass Bottles from the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
In Central and South America, spell bottles are generally filled with lucky and protective amulets and curios and are then filled with oil and sealed. These bottle spells come in many sizes, from medical ampules to whiskey flasks. Some beautiful examples of such bottle spells from Peru, Bolivia, and Guatemala can be found on the page of charm vials and charm flasks.
One of the oldest bottle spells that is not a witch-bottle or protective spell is the Break Up bottle. These are most commonly found in African American hoodoo magic, but their contents are related to similar "divorce from demons" spells inscribed in bowls that are found in ancient Jewish ruins.
Break Up bottles typically contain the hair of a black dog and the hair of a black cat -- so the people you want to break up will "fight like cats and dogs" -- plus red cayenne pepper powder, to make then angry, and a group of 9 needles, 9 pins, and 9 nails to cause them to hurt one another. Vinegar may be added to "sour" their relationship. A black candle inscribed with the people's names written back-to-back (to separate them) may be burned in the mouth of the bottle before it is sealed. After it is prepared it can be buried at their home where they will step over it or it can be shaken up daily as you name them and call down curses on their relationship.
Bottle spells may also be used for helpful magic. A honey jar spell -- in which in two people's names are written criss-cross and folded around some personal items and kept in a jar of honey to create sweet conditions between the two -- is also a form of bottle spell. Honey jar spells may be used for love magic, for court cases, to succeed on the job, to get a bank loan, or anywhere that you want someone to be sweet to you or those on whose behalf you are working.
Special bottle spells are made for various conditions.
A Compelling bottle to make someone keep a promise may be made by writing their name on paper, crossed by your command, folding the paper with herbs such as Licorice and Calamus that are used to rule and control people, and inserting everything in the bottle. A small purple candle is then stuck in the neck of the bottle and burned. It may be dressed with Compelling brand dressing oil, all-purpose Special Oil No. 20, or plain Olive Oil.
A Fast Luck bottle spell to get luck in a hurry is made the same way -- only in this case one writes the command first and crosses it with one's own name written out 9 times. A red candle for a love spell or a green candle for money magic or gambling luck dressed with Fast Luck brand anointing oil is burned with this bottle.
Come To Me, Reconciliation, Peaceful Home, Lavender Love, Prosperity and other bottle spells are all created in a similar way: If there are two people in the case, appropriate herbs and minerals are placed in the bottle and when the petition paper is written out, your name goes on top of the name of the other party, to rule them. If there is only one party and the petition is for success, wealth, or luck, the petition is written first, crossed and covered by your name. Dress the candle with an appropriate formula oil or an all-purpose anointing oil such as Special Oil No. 20, or, in a pinch, use plain Olive oil.
RELIGIOUS PAINTED BOTTLE SPELLS
Religious bottle spells are a special form of prayer-in-a-bottle. They are made to hold your wish or petition, written on paper, along with herbs and minerals deemed relevant to the case, such as Rose buds if calling upon the Virgin, two Balm of Gilead buds if petitioning to mend a broken relationship, or Frankincense and Myrrh in making a petition to the Infant Jesus. There are patron saints for almost every human occupation, location, or condition, and some of the popular saints who appear in painted bottle spells include Saint Expedite for fast results, Saint Christopher for the safety of travellers, the Seven African Powers for devotion to the Orishas, and the Infant of Atocha for political prisoners and missing victims of kidnapping.
Once the relevant items are put in the spell bottle, a candle of the appropriate colour for that patron saint is inserted in the neck of the bottle and dressed with oil -- either a named Saint or Holy oil or simply pure Olive Oil -- and then lit.
One candle alone may be sufficient, but some people burn several, one per day, until they achieve satisfaction.
