Witch Bottles

Witch-bottles are probably quite familiar to many Pagans, at least as a concept. Witch-bottle isn't a poor little Witch in a bottle, or hold something Witches drink in their gatherings. They are more akin to a "bottled spell". The tradition originates from British folklore, traveling with British immigrants to the Americas, if not further. Many modern Pagans have included Witch-bottles in their collection of spells, widening and diversifying this old tradition - and making it more comparable with their personal ethics.

The history of Witch-bottles goes back hundreds of years. The origins of this tradition has been dated to the 1500's. They were used most actively for a couple of hundred years. This is the same time when the Witch-hunts were going on. After this period, the tradition slowly waned. The last historical Witch-bottle was found in a cabin built in mid 19th century, in Pershore, Worcestershire (UK).

The actual bottle of a traditional Witch-bottle during the 16th and 17th century was a German stone bottle called "bartmann" or "bellermine" bottle. Similar bottles of stone material were manufactured in Holland and Belgium. The technique wasn't mastered in England before the 1660's and bartmann bottle manufacturing was rare in Britain.

The bottle got its name from a cardinal called Bellarmino only after the Witch-bottle tradition had already begun. These bottles had a round belly and they were decorated with a facial image of a grim looking bearded man and a medallion of stylized floral or natural imagery.

Even though these bottles were being manufactured actively in Germany long before the time of Bellarmino - who was against the Reformation - these bottles were given their familiar name as a satirical comment on the Cardinal. His bearded figure resembled the typical bearded man depicted on these bottles.[1] Later on, the bearded image was taken to represent the Devil, which suited well for Witch-bottles, after all -- witches were considered as people allied with the Devil.

Glass bottles were also used, but according to my sources they were never as popular as Witch-bottles as were the bartmann ones.

Old Witch-bottles contained things like bent iron nails, human hair (head hair and pubic hair) and urine. Urine as an important ingredient of a Witch-bottle has been long known in folk traditions, but actual findings with the bottle still containing urine have been rare. However, all of the Witch-bottles found in England which were tested for urine, did prove positive. Other traditional items contained in Witch-bottles include small bones, thorns, needles, pieces of wood and in some cases heart-shaped pieces of cloth.

The bottles were most often found buried under the fireplace. Other sites include under the floor, buried in the ground there, and plastered inside walls. The fireplace is, from a magical point of view, a security risk as it has a straight connection with the open skies above. It was believed that the curse of a Witch or even a Witch herself in a shape-shifted form could get into a house through the fireplace. Another security risk was the doorway, as doors are opened and closed several times throughout the day. In addition to the fireplace, the bottles were often hidden near the doorway.

On the Original Uses

The most active period of Witch-bottle usage and the Witch-hunts don't coincide by accident. The fear of Witches produced ways of protecting oneself against them during times when slightest misfortune was easily interpreted as being caused by a curse put on one or another member of the family. From the point of view of a present day Witch, the original purpose for building a Witch-bottle wasn't that pleasant: they were intended to keep Witches and Witches' curses away. The contents of a Witch-bottle was designed to not only divert an attacking Witch, but also to cause her to suffer the agonies brought on by all the nasty things inside the bottle. To put it simply: to turn the curse back to the curser.

The urine in the bottle symbolizes the target of the curse. The curser and the target of the curse were believed to have a strong connection and the curse was believed to target not only its intended victim, but also the bodily fluids of the target. When the bottle was placed in a way that made it easier for the curse to meet with the urine (in the Witch-bottle) before the actual target, the curse hit the bottle and not its intended victim. This is why the bottles were usually hidden where they were. The importance of pubic hair and hair was similar to that of the urine.

Witch-bottles are very much a part of age-old traditions of sympathetic magic with its intentions of causing pain for the Witch with the contents of the Witch-bottle. According to folk beliefs, the use of Witch-bottles sometimes brought the Witch herself, writhing in agony, knocking on the door - begging for somebody to break the Witch-bottle and promising to revearse the curse.

The Witch-bottle was believed to be active as long as the bottle remained hidden and unbroken. People did go though a lot of trouble in hiding their Witch-bottles. Those buried underneath fireplaces have been found only after the rest of the building has been torn down or otherwise disappeared.

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İlk Satır:


Witch-bottles are probably quite familiar to many Pagans, at least as a concept. Witch-bottle isn't a poor little Witch in a bottle, or hold something Witches drink in their gatherings. They are more akin to a "bottled spell". The tradition originates from British folklore, traveling with British immigrants to the Americas, if not further. Many modern Pagans have included Witch-bottles in their collection of spells, widening and diversifying this old tradition - and making it more comparable with their personal ethics.
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Cadı Şişeleri büyük ihtimalle Paganlara tanıdık gelecektir, en azından konsept olarak. Cadı şişesi, zavallı küçük bir cadının şişede olması veya cadıların içmek için bir şeylerini muhafaza ettikleri bir şişe değildir. Daha çok ''şişelenmiş tılsımdır''. Eğer daha ötesi yoksa, bu gelenek İngiliz göçmenlerinin Amerika'ya getirdiği İngiliz folkloründen gelir. Bir çok modern Paganın tılsım koleksiyonları, bu eski geleneği yaymak, çeşitlendirmek ve kişisel etiklerine benzerliği sebebiyle cadı şişesi barındırır.

İkinci Satır:

The history of Witch-bottles goes back hundreds of years. The origins of this tradition has been dated to the 1500's. They were used most actively for a couple of hundred years. This is the same time when the Witch-hunts were going on. After this period, the tradition slowly waned. The last historical Witch-bottle was found in a cabin built in mid 19th century, in Pershore, Worcestershire (UK).
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Cadı Şişelerinin hikayesi yüz yıllarca yıl öteye dayanır. Bu geleneğin kökeni 1500'lere dayandırılır. Bir kaç yüz yıl daha çok aktif olarak kullanılagelmiştir. Bu da cadı avlarının sürdüğü aynı zamandır. Bu dönemden sonra, gelenek yavaşça azalmıştır. En son bulunan tarihi cadı şişesi, 19. yüz yılda bir kabin(kulübe) inşasında, Worcestershire-Pershore (Birleşik Krallık)'da buşunmuştur.

Bartmann jug/Bartman şişesi,/ Bellermine şişesi de denilen cadı şişeleri taştan yapılırdı ve üzerinde sakallı bir adam(şeytan) ve doğa ya da çiçek resmi nakşedilirdi.
Bellermine adı,reformlara karşı çıkmasıyla tanınan kardinal Bellarmino'dan geliyor, o zamanlar (16 ve 17.yy) taş şişeler daha çok Almanya,Hollanda ve Belçika'da üretilirdi, ve üretimi her kadar kardinalden öncesine dayansada, daha sonraları reform karsıtı gorusleri nedeniyle kardinal şeytanla benzeştirilmişti.

bu şişelerin içine bükülmüş demir çiviler,insan saçı (saç ve özel bölge kılları) ve idrar konurdu. yerel geleneklere göre idrar en önemli malzemeydi. Ayrıca küçük kemikler,dikenler,ağaç parçacıkları ve kalp şeklinde kesilmiş kumaş parcacıkları da (niyete bağlı olarak) içine konmaktaydı.

bu şişeler daha çok ocak altına gönülürdü. ayrıca yer döşemesinin altına, toprağa veya duvarların içine gömüldüğü de olurdu. ocak yerine gömmek büyüel anlamda güvenlik içindi,cünkü bacanın dogrudan acıkhava ve gökyüzü ile ilişkisi vardı ve cadının lanetinin hatta cadının kendisinin biçim değiştirerek bacadan içeri girmesi olasılığı vardı. diğer güvenlik riski ise kapı grişi ile ilgiliydi,kapılar gun içinde surekli açılıp kapanıyordu, o yuzden ocak yeri haricinde sıklıkla saklandıkları bir diger yerde kapı girişleri yakınlarıydı.

On the Original Uses kısmına kadar +