A witch ball is a hollow glass sphere made with either plain or coloured glass. Witch balls can vary tremendously in both size and shape. The origins of the witch ball are thought to date back to the 18th century. It is understood that glassblowers made witch balls from whatever glass was left at the end of the day to supplement their wages. The word witch ball may be a corruption of watch ball as it was said to ward of evil spirits. A witch ball will usually contain glass strands within, that are said to trap the negative energy or evil spirits.

It was the Victorians that refined the look of the witch ball, using higher quality glass. The witch balls you see today are beautiful works of art that enhance the look of any home or garden. They have become the perfect home warming gift and are given as gifts for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the biggest appeal is the way they subtly change their appearance during the day as the light changes. The inner glass strands are quite mesmerizing and vary dramatically in appearance.

 What Is A Witch Ball For?

A witch ball is said to protect the home against evil spells and spirits, negativity, illness and witches. They were traditionally hung in an east facing window. These days they are hung in any window, porch or from garden structures.

According to The Bad Witch Blog the glass baubles we hang on our Yule trees might seem just pretty ornaments, but they hark back to a magical tradition to ward off ill-doers and evil spirits as well as to predict the happiness of the household.

According to Cambridgeshire Customs and Folklore by Enid Porter, witch balls were balls of coloured glass, usually blue, red or green, and were 6in-8in in circumference with a metal loop at the top so they could be hung in a window. The book states that one example in the Cambridge Folk Museum taken from a house in Gamlingay, has the date 1798 embossed on the metal top. These balls were formerly watch balls because they were closely observed, as they hung in the window, by their owners. If the bright surface remained undimmed, all was well; if it became clouded or tarnished, then sickness, death or some other disaster was thus foretold.

It is said that witch balls look similar to the glass balls used on fishing nets, that are associated with protection from evil sea spirits. Our Double Bubble Glass Scent Balls are based on the shape of the irish fishermans floats and are said to be linked with protection.

Unwanted spirits are mesmerized by the ball's colours and reflection and enter the ball, being caught inside by the inner glass strands thus protecting the home and family. We will leave to you to decide if you believe the superstitions. Whatever you decide, you cannot deny the witch ball is a beautiful piece of art glass.