What exactly is a witch ball and what is its purpose? Is it a talisman in the witch's repertoire of magicks, or a protection to keep witches away, much like the Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs? It seems it's both.
A witch ball is a small, often handblown, glass globe. Traditionally they were hung over a door or in a widow as a protection from negative energy and malevolent spirits. Depending on belief, the sparkling beauty attracts the spirits, who, upon touching the ball become trapped inside, or the reflective surface repels the spirits away from your home.
Some witch balls have an opening at the top, enabling the insertion of bits of string, pins, broken glass and other items for entangling and entrapment.
Modern witch balls are exquisite examples of art glass, with contrasting colors of swirling glass inside a clear sphere.
The name possibly came from watch ball, a reflective sphere used by shopkeepers to peer around corners, as it were, to detect shoplifters. Modern convex mirrors are still used for such purpose today.
Another derivation is also still in use today, the garden gazing ball. Made popular in Victorian Europe, these lovely blown glass balls were attached to stakes to be driven into flower beds, or simply placed on garden walls, to catch the play of sunlight.
One more source of these fascinating orbs of glass were the deep blue and green floats used on fisherman's nets. The oldest example of a witch ball, in the National Museum of Ireland, seems to be such.
Regardless of the origination of the colorful glass balls, they came to be used as a protection from evil spirits or intent (such as an evil eye curse), and to ward witches. However, some lore said that to truly have the power to repel spirits, the ball had to be obtained from a practitioner of the craft, making it a true witch's ball.
Turn about is fair play. Modern witches, knowing we are not evil (and therefore a witch ball has no effect on us) have claimed these shiny glass talisman as our own.
Art glass witch balls can be quite costly, but you can make beautiful glass witch balls with just a few simple supplies.
I love the look of mercury glass, but not the price tag. I found an easy way to replicate it for making vintage looking witch balls, using a fine mist sprayer a can of chrome spray paint (more reflective than silver), and clear Christmas ornament balls.
First, pound a large nail into a scrap piece of wood. Remove the top from the ball and invert over the nail. Spray a light, fine mist of water on the ball. The finer the mist the better—you want the droplets of water to sit on the surface of the glass and not drip or run, Next, lightly spray the ball with the chrome paint. Again, be careful to avoid drips and runs. A light coat is all you need.
Let the water and paint dry completely. Using a soft cloth, gently wipe the surface of the ball. Paint will not adhere to the glass were there were water droplets. The mottled surface very closely resembles mercury glass. To protect the surface of your witch ball, spray with one or two coats of clear gloss acrylic sealer. Let dry, then replace the cap and hang.
You can make several of these mercury glass balls at a time, just pound as many nails as you need into a length of wood, leaving enough room in between to be able to spray all around each ball.
For a more colorful version, try using the frosted glass effect spray paint available from home stores and art/craft suppliers.
Another art glass style ball can be made by filling the clear glass ball with water then pouring it out. Using gloss acrylic craft paint, squirt a small amount of one or more colors into the ball. Turn the ball to swirl the paint for a marbled effect.
If using more than one color, keep in mind the more you turn the ball the more the colors will blend. Avoid using opposites (red/green, blue/orange, yellow/purple) that make muddy blends. Invert and place in a disposable cup— the excess paint will drip out.
Alternately, paint swirls of color on the outside of the ball, let dry and then seal with clear gloss acrylic spray.
If you're all about the glitter, thin white glue with just enough water to make in run easily. Pour a small amount into the glass ball and turn to coat. Add glitter, hold your thumb over the opening and shake. Let dry, replace cap and hang in a sunny window.
Of course, the simplest witch ball is made with a clear glass ball, adding string, pins and other bits to trap the negative energy or spirits. For added beauty (to attract the harmful energies and spirits), consider adding faceted gems, use pins with pearl heads, and metallic thread. Oh heck, throw in some glitter while you're at it.
For an added boost of magick add the bits to any of the art glass witch balls described here, and of course, don't forget a spell!
String and pins and shiny bits
into this ball, evil commit.
Spirits, curses, energies— malevolent all, be ever trapped in this witch's ball.