The Magic of Witch Balls
By Lou Percus

Originally printed in Raven’s Call Volume 1, Number 1

Witch balls had a number of different forms and uses. Originally, they were probably green and blue glass globes, often the same type as the old glass fishing floats, which one can still occasionally run across. This seems to be their earliest form, and so we shall look at how these could be used magically. It should be remembered that this magic could also be used for the later kinds of witch balls made differently as well. The ones originally used were about one and a half inches in diameter, and were hand blown. The green ones were the ones most used.

Witch Ball Past Life Regression For a past life regression, have the subject sit and have them hold the green witch ball in their hands. Have the room dim, with only one candle lit. The candle can be of any color, and the room should be free of drafts. Have the subject gaze at the flames reflection on the glass sphere. When it starts to change, disappear, dance, or do something have them close their eyes. Since this is a trance inducing technique, you can suggest to them that they are seeing one of their past lives. Ask them where they are, ask them to tell you whether they are male, female, etc. This is an old technique virtually forgotten.

Personal Witch Ball Spells To use the witch balls for a personal spell, have a proper colored candle ready. Use a green candle for healing, pink or coral colored candle for anything else. Light it for atmosphere, and have incense lit to take your prayers to the Gods. For a healing use pine incense, for other spells you may use a flowery incense, such as jasmine. If it is a healing spell you are casting, visualize the person first ill, then well. Maintain the well visualization. Draw in energy around you either by chanting, or seeing yourself filling with light, and let it go down your right arm (if you are right handed) into your dirk. Fill your dirk with this energy, and point it at the sphere, and see the blue flame go from the dirk into the sphere. The spell is cast. For a healing spell, use a green glass float. For a mental spell, such as telepathy, use the blue witch ball.

Elemental Invocations Using The Witch Ball To invoke the elementals using the witch balls, first chant your invocation. If you need some money, or earthly matters, invoke the earth elementals. If you need a gift from the sea, invoke the water elementals. Invoke them by singing to them in a “sing-song” voice. If you are right handed, point your wand at the globe, holding it in your left hand. The wand is used, as you want the elementals to obey you, but to love you also. The wand is a tool of request and persuasion, while the dirk is a tool of force. The left hand is the Goddess hand. The right hand is used with the dirk, as it is the God hand.

Telepathy Using The Witch Ball If you wish to send a message to someone, create a very strong impression or thought in your mind. Bring your hands up to your head and pretend you are taking the thought out of your own mind and into your hands, and then throw it into the blue witch ball. It will go to the person that you wish it to. This is an excellent way of sending thoughts or power through the witch ball.

Witch Ball Meditation For meditation, hold the witch ball in your hands as you sit. During meditation, do not close your eyes, but gaze (not hard) at the sphere and think about what you are going to meditate on. Use the blue witch ball for peace and tranquility if you are upset, also health or a job, etc. Use the witch ball as your focal point. Use green for healing, blue for soothing nerves. For mental communications, visualize as you sit with the globe in your lap, the person you wish to communicate with. Gaze at the globe, and see that person writing you a letter, etc.

After the persecutions started, it was dangerous to be seen with a witch ball, as the authorities had a pretty good idea of what they were used for. To hide them, people began to put them in their chimneys. This served two purposes. First, because of the heat of the fireplace, they were pierced and opened, so that they would not explode. This meant that salt could be put in them, and be charged by smoke and fire magic. However, if someone happened to find it in the chimney, it could be said that it was used for drying salt which had been collected from the ocean. This was a cover story, to keep you from getting executed. Because of the heat on the witch ball from the fireplace, it formed a salt glaze inside of the sphere, which gave it even more of a reflective quality. This made it even more magical, and thus it was used to reflect negativity away from the spirit world, and served to stop the chimney as being used as an entrance for some kind of magical attack. As these spheres became reflective, they came to be called Spheres of Confluence. In a sense, this was theologically important. Because of the way that witch balls had become internally reflective due to the salt glaze, and the glass itself was reflective anyway, wherever they were hung they basically reflected the whole room. As such they became symbols of enlightenment as they were “the point where all things meet”. In the center of the globe, behind the reflection, everything came to one point, just like consciousness. This idea was incredibly magical as literally then any place could be accessed, as well as anyone. Behind it was the philosophy of the Unity of all things, one of the most important philosophies of the Old Religion. Since the witch balls had become reflective, it was thought that they reflected away negativity, like a mirror. It was then thought that it was probably a good idea to hang it on the Yule tree. It was also thought that it was a good idea to hang them in the window, as it was thought to send evil spirits away, and for the same reason it was often hung in the entryway of a home, particularly in Victorian England. They were also put in the gardens in front of the house, usually on a pedestal, for much of the same reason. The witches themselves put out the stories that if a witch came to do you harm, she would be so entranced with her reflection that she would be caught staring at herself till morning, and then have to flyaway when the sun came up. Ghosts were also dealt with, but by being sucked inside and being imprisoned, unable to get out. It can thus be seen that the breaking of a witch ball was probably not considered to be a very good thing. It was often considered the “luck” of the house.

These were also hung in pubs, and were called watch balls, for two reasons. One, everyone could see the clock in it from most anywhere in the room, and the second was that you could see if someone was sneaking up behind you for some nefarious activity .

To think that these did not end up being used ritualistically by the old hereditaries would of course not be logical. The silver ones were hung in the windows to “collect” the powers of the sun and the moon, and were placed next to the altar so that their power could be drawn upon for a magical spell. Obviously the silver ones were used for lunar magic, as these spheres could also symbolize the moon. This is why most often they are found in the windows of the old witch homes. After the drapes were drawn at night, they were taken down or moved in their pedestal next to the magic rites. Thus by the old witches it was also called “The Magic Conductor”, as it facilitated the sending of magic, and the collecting of it. If there was any excess energy left after all of the magic had been done, the witch ball “collected” it again until it could be next used on the full moon. It was apparently not used on the sabbats, but was used every esbat. Since the witch balls were used for group workings, here is an old spell that addresses this use.

Witch Ball Group Protection Spell To protect yourself and your group from a psychic attack, take a witch ball (one could use a mirror, but a witch ball is better) to a dark place outside, where no light will shine upon it. Obviously this means that this is done on the dark of the moon, or very near it. Stand in a circle around it, all robed with your hoods up. Think “light” until you see light coming from yourself. All shall then point their dirks at the witch ball.

This can even be touching the witchball with the point of the dirk if need be. See a blue flame coming out of the tip of the dirk, and hitting the witch ball, reflecting back to the persons who are sending you ill will.

Invoke the goddess in her protective aspect, or her war aspect if need be just before the crescent of the moon is visible. While you are raising the power, chant:

“Let evil be returned to all who work evil. This is our will so be it.”

Do this with faces covered, because someone might be peeking in to watch you do this. This will return all the evil to those who work evil.

Witch balls came to be our Yule tree ornaments, or the silvered spheres which hang on our trees. The modern ornaments are made with the silvering on the outside, and thus are easily scratched and marred. The older witch balls always had the silvering on the inside, and often had ornamented brass caps which were placed on them, and which the balls were hung by. It is by the ornamentation of these caps that antiquarians can now date them. There were “table” models, which were flattened on the side of the hole so that they could be placed alone upon a table. Others were suspended by the brass caps as mentioned, and others were placed in a stand, often ebony, or glued into a base, often also a black glass.

Finding an antique witch ball is difficult, and when one is found, they are often prohibitively expensive as rare antiques. The philosophy behind the witch ball however, makes it so that even a modern yule tree ornament can work. I think the best way to use them is to get a candle stick that you like, and place the stem of the ornament down into the hole where the candle would go, and glue it in. Consecrate it, as you feel is appropriate, and place it in your window, to “collect” and protect your magic.