Witch Balls

Magical or Craft Tools are merely the extension of the power and prowess of the witch.  Without the honing of talents to bring about the desired effect, tools are merely objects with no 'otherworldly' use. 

One of my favorite tools is a witch ball, which is actually the corruption of the term 'watch' ball. A hollow sphere of plain or colored glass created by a glassblower for the purpose of hanging in a cottage window.  They can measure as large as 7 inches (18 cm) in diameter, and can vary widely in color.

The custom of hanging witch balls in windows dates back to 18th century England where they were, and still are, used to ward off evil spirits. Making their way to America in the 19th century, they were popular decorations in windows, nestled on the rim of a vase or perched on a base in the garden.  The latter gave birth to today's gazing ball; however, gazing balls have vacant interiors.  

Witch balls magical power is not due to its color or placement alone.  Hung in windows they are used to imprison evil sprites who have entered your home with malintent. Their curiosity, equivalent only to our whiskered feline friends, succumb to the glint of intricate strands haphazardly configured within. Once tiny fingers, often dipped in foxglove juice, rest upon the glass surface, they're tiny bodies are sucked within.  Their fate is simple, doomed to remain within their pretty prison for eternity, or until the ball is deliberately or accidently broken. 

Many witches choose to hang a witch ball near the door most frequently used to enter the house.  Whispered over with protective charms, the balls keep general bad-luck from finding its way into living quarters.  Ill-wishes from nosy neighbors breezing in and chattering uninvited advice, are dissolved and prevented from inhabiting the house.

Glass balls with cord knotted around their girth were used by fisherman to keep their nets afloat.  Duel purposed and associated with sea superstitions and legends, they were thought to protect the fisherman from being caught in the large nets, dragged overboard and drowned by mermaids. Traditionally green or blue glass with imperfections and inclusions, they can still be found in antique shops and flea markets.  In some parts of the world, glass floats once made in Japan and no longer used, have been found to wash up on beaches from time to time.