Appalachian Witch's Ball

Appalachian Witch's Ball

While these were originally designed to be used to ward off witches, I see no reason why they couldn't be used to ward negative energies (i.e. protection) in general. I found this in the book, Kentucky Superstions by Daniel Lindsey Thomas & Lucy Blayney Thomas. Living on the outer edges of the Appalachia Mountains, and being a rootworker, I find these superstitions to be interesting and have actually found a few that I consider to have some merit - such as this one that I am sharing here. So, have fun!

Materials:

Mass of hair from any one of the following:

Cow (this might be a bit difficult, unless you locate a butcher)

Horse (if you don't have a horse, asking at a stable might be your best bet)

Squirrel (not sure how you'd get this, as I don't think too many people have access to that many squirrels)

Instructions:

Begin rolling some of the hair into a ball, keep rolling it and adding more.

Roll it into a tight, hard ball.

Once it is the size you want, keep it with you for protection or place it in a location near your front (or main) door to your house.


Notes:
Mine, pictured above, is made from horse tail hair from 2 of our horses. I started with about 50 hairs that were about 5" long. I would suggest fewer hairs, maybe as few as 10 hairs.


I first tied the hairs in a loose knot, then began rolling between my hands.


Once these were well bound together in a small ball I added a considerably smaller grouping of hairs. 


I tucked them into the ball a bit, then began rolling.


This gathering of a group of hairs and rolling continued until the ball was the size and density I was happy with.


The entire process took less than 10 minutes. Making them for others is simple and quick.