There’s something ancient and comforting about sealing intention into a jar.
We witches have done it for centuries. Whether we called them witch bottles, honey jars, bottle spells, or charm containers—it’s always been about gathering energy, sealing it tight, and letting the universe listen.
So where do spell jars actually come from?
Long before Pinterest witchcraft, our ancestors in Europe used a form of jar magic to protect themselves from curses, spirits, and “evil eyes.” In 1600s England, a witch bottle might be filled with rusty nails, pins, and even urine (yes, really) and then buried under the doorstep to ward off dark magic.
Not pretty. But powerful.
Over in the American South, African and Indigenous traditions blended into what we now know as Hoodoo and rootwork. There, bottle spells and mojo bags carried herbs, coins, honey, and sometimes hair or photos to draw in love, protect families, or sweeten the energy around you.
Witch bottles weren’t for show. They were messy, serious, and deeply spiritual. They still are.
Why jars though?
Because a jar holds things. It contains. It keeps energy from scattering. It’s a vessel, a womb, a protective circle in glass form.
A spell jar is a little universe.
And maybe that’s why so many of us are drawn to them today. Because they give us something to do with our hands. Because they let us weave intention into the physical world. Because they are beautiful.
You can layer herbs for joy. Add a crystal for clarity. Choose your color, your wax, your rune. Whisper your spell. Seal it with string. Keep it close.
And this is why I love making them
When I make a spell jar—whether it’s for joy, for protection, for grief—I feel like I’m participating in something timeless. Something soft but real. The practice of gathering nature, magic, and willpower and giving it a shape.
Spell jars aren’t just decoration. They are tools. Anchors. Prayers in a bottle.
And when I create them for Mistwillow, I do so with the deepest respect for every tradition they’ve passed through—and every hand that’s ever sealed one shut.
If you ever hold one of mine, know this: it was made with care, with intention, and with the whispers of many witches before me.
Thanks for reading,
— Kaelari