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| Witch Balls |
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| Witch Balls were popular in Olde England, but their actual origin is thought to be much older (They were also popular in Victorian gardens and called gazing balls.) The hollow glass spheres are hung in windows or in a corner of a room near the ceiling to ward off witch's spells, evil spirits and ill fortune or they trapped evil before it could bring harm to the occupants of the home. As well as being hollow, they also can be reflective or have strands inside and come in a verity of colors. Reflective ones are said to reflect the "evil eye" or any negative spell back on the sender. Also, any demon seeing his face reflected in the silver ball would be frightened and flee, or maybe seeing the world reflected in a curved, distorted way was enough to confuse him. Stranded ones are created with slender threads or pillars of glass inside to catch any evil spirit that ventured within. The balls were said to tantalize and mesmerize evil spirits that might threaten the tranquility of a home. When a spirit touches the glass, it is absorbed into the ball and trapped inside by the web of glass threads. The Witch balls were also found in Victorian gardens in the form of large "gazing globes" on pedestals and are still seen occasionally today. Folklore on the gazing balls says that they were put in the gardens giving the owner a total view of the garden so no witch could hide there. They have even turned up on our modern family Christmas tree. Gold for the reborn Sun god, and silver for the Moon Goddess, whose blessings and protection we ask for the coming new year. Cleansing your Witchball: Dust it frequently to remove any negativity from its surface. You should wash your Witch Ball every now and then to cleanse it and enable it to continue catching negativity for you and so the witch could see her reflection. May also be helpful: Cleansing your Witch ball in spring or salt water and expose it to the light of a full moon. (Couldn't hurt!) The following article reflects the accounts of an old witchball that has been recently unearthed. BBC News Online, Nottingham Wednesday, 28 January, 2004 Artefact recalls witches' shadow By Greig Watson “A chilling reminder of our superstitious past has been unearthed from a rural farmhouse.” |
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