Protection Magic Basics

Protection magic is right up there with love magic and money magic, as far as Stuff People Ask About the Most. I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite basic protection magic workings. Play around with them and see which works best for you!

Witch Bottle or Witch Bag

The idea behind this is to not only protect yourself but also send back the negative to who or whatever is being sent at you. To make a witch bottle, get a small glass jar with a lid. Fill it halfway with sharp rusty objects like nails or razor blades, pins, needles. When it is halfway full, there are two things you can do, depending on whether or not you are easily repulsed or not. One is to fill the remainder of your bottle with your own urine. Some folks are grossed out by that, and if you’re one of them, whatevs—fill it with salt or vinegar instead of urine. Sea salt works best, but in a pinch regular old table salt is fine. Cap the jar, and seal with melted wax. I like red wax best but you could probably use black, because it’s good for banishing negativity. Dig a hole in the ground, at least six inches deep, more if you have time, and bury the jar. The further away from your home the better ~~ maybe even drive out in the country to bury it somewhere isolated.

The witch bag is similar, only you wear it on your person (so don’t pee in it!). Use a small cloth pouch, and instead of sharp objects, put small items such as stones (lodestone is good for drawing positive energy to you) or agates, which bring good luck to a home, or turquoise. Fossils are great too if you can find a small one. Also include some dried herbs such as rosemary, basil, or dill which have protective properties. Tie the bag shut (preferably with red yarn) and either carry it in your pocket or wear around your neck.

House Protection: Stake Out Your Turf

Get a handful of iron stakes, like railroad spikes or something similar, and engrave or write messages on them. Make the messages something to the effect of “this is my turf and nasty things will happen if you do not respect my boundaries,” although you should capture this in words, runes, or sigils of your own design. Drive these into the earth along the perimeter of your property.

Amulets

Amulets are protective devices that can either be worn on your person or placed in your home. I like to make amulets out of Sculpy clay, carve symbols in them, and then bake them. You can use protective runes as symbols, or create sigils of your own design. This is nice for kids, because they look cool. In the absence of clay, you can use stones with naturally made holes, which are considered magical anyway. You can use hazelnuts strung on a cord, or pieces of hazel wood with holes drilled in them. Also, around your home, mistletoe can be used to guard against hostile spirits.

Shell Powder

Shell powder is stupid easy to get your hands on. YOU CAN MAKE IT IN YOUR KITCHEN YOU GUYS. In addition to being super easy to make, it’s also handily versatile, and can be incorporated into multiple magical workings of various types for protection, cleansing, and purification. Read up on how to make it here: Eggshell Powder for Protection

Spells to Protect Kids

Believe it or not, teddy bears are considered luck-bringing talismans for kids. You can increase a bear’s influence by saying a protective chant over it before tucking the kid into bed at night. The one I used when my kids were little was a bit silly but they seemed to like it: “Power in this teddy bear, chase the bad things out of there.” Sounds goofy, I know, but guys, it’s effective.

Another ideal spell with kids is a kite spell. If it’s windy out, buy or make a kite with the child. Have the child tell the kite what is bothering him, or what makes him anxious. Take the kite out and fly it, and as the kite dips and sways it will release the child’s problems to the element of Air, which will carry them far away.

Finally, a perennial favorite in our household—back before my offspring became adults, and feral—was the Sweet Dreams Pillow, which came in handy for keeping away nightmares, or Things That Go Bump in the Night.

You will need:

• Soft cloth (flannel, fleece, etc)
• Polyfil or other stuffing
• Lavender
• Thyme
• Allspice berries
• Yarn or thread for stitching
• Decorative trim or ribbons (optional)

Cut out two pieces of cloth, the same size, to make your pillow. It can be any shape you like, although I prefer round ones. Place the pieces right side together, and begin stitching around the edges. As you stitch, envision wonderful and happy things to dream about. If this is for a young child, have her sit with you as you sew, and ask her to tell you things that qualify as “good dreams” (with my youngest daughter, it was usually butterflies and candy). Stop before you have sewn all the way around so that you can leave a spot for stuffing the pillow. Turn the pillow right side out. Fill it with polyfil, to the desired firmness. Add the lavender, thyme and allspice berries. As you are adding the herbs, have the child say something to let the intentions be known, such as “In this pillow, sweet dreams take flight, and come to me in my sleep at night.” Stitch the opening shut, and decorate with trim or ribbons if you like, perhaps with something blue for peace and happiness. Each night at bedtime, have the child make sure her sweet dreams pillow is beside her.

Note:  This same technique can be used to make a Sweet Dreams Dolly, simply make a poppet out of felt instead of a pillow.