It seems like spells in containers are all the witchy rage these days. Maybe you’ve even tried one. Maybe it worked out? Or maybe it didn’t. There’s a couple tricks that I’ve learned when making magic in a jar. Here I’ll teach you how to cast powerful jar spells, and provide a few of my favorite protection, love and money spell jar recipes.

Why Are Jar Spells So Popular? PLUS The Basics

Seemingly just as popular as crystal magick and bath rituals, jar spells have come up on the witchy charts lately. My theory is two-fold: they’re simple to make and powerful when done right. Their origins may be traced to American folk magic traditions, to a degree, but they also mimic the old school European witch bottles. Witch bottles are essentially protective spells in a bottle the likes of which have been found buried in the earth, in house foundations and under fireplaces throughout the British Isles and the U.S. This form of magick dates to at least the early modern period and, I believe, knows no real cultural boundaries. Read more about traditional witch bottles here.

Sure, there are jar spells or “workings” that originate in the folk magic tradition Hoodoo. Particularly workings like honey “sweetening” jars and vinegar “souring” jars. But if you’d like to steer clear of cultural practices outside of your own, you’re not breaking any rules by making your own personal spell jars. For our intents and purposes, I am not teaching how to make jars of the Hoodoo variety in this article because I don’t practice Hoodoo. I’m a solitary pagan witch of 20+ years and do my own thing. You can do your own thing too.

The Essential Parts of a Jar Spell

So what do you need to cast a jar spell? A jar with a lid, obviously. But you also need ingredients to match your intentions. I’ve made quite a few spell jars and found the best ingredients are non-perishable and dry. If you add fresh ingredients to your jar, you’ll run into mold issues. It’ll get funky in there, promise you that. Plant material that hasn’t been completely dried out will also cause mold. So choose ingredients like the following.

1. Options for Jar Spell Ingredients:

• A jar with a lid (obviously)
• Dried Herbs (from your herb cabinet OR spice drawer): lavender, rosemary, thyme, mugwort, chamomile, mint, roses, cinnamon etc. We say dried herbs because if they are fresh, there is moisture, which means it will grow microorganisms when put in a jar.
• Flowers/flower petals: make sure they are completely dried out
• Salt: regular salt from your kitchen cabinet OR witch’s black salt. Salt is powerful in protection and cleansing rituals
• Sugar: great ingredient in love and money jars
• Rice: this is a particularly powerful ingredient to draw luck and prosperity and is traditional in Asian cultures. It is also used in cleansing rituals.
• Coins and dollar bills: effective in money jars
• Stones and crystals: smaller pieces are best, especially if you want to shake the jar once completed (big chunks might crack the jar!)
• Feathers, acorns, other items from nature like small pinecones, pine needles, and hagstones
• Sand: ingredient used in fertility, abundance, and ocean spells in general
• Pins and needles: particularly effective in protection jars, similar to traditional witch’s bottles
• Paper with intention: write your intention on a piece of paper and put it in the jar
• Roots, nuts, bark
• Dirt/soil: from various places that fuel your intention (a pinch is best) like graveyard dirt, church dirt, backyard dirt, etc
• Anything you feel feeds your intention and fits in the jar!

2. How to Cast Your Jar Spell, Successfully!

Throw the ingredients in the jar, seal it up, shake it. You’re done. Right? WRONG. Yes, the steps are basically that, in a nutshell. But if you put no effort and no thought into the process, often your jar spell will fall flat. I speak from experience. Mindlessly doing any ritual will yield little to no results.

The Right Ingredients

First, be sure you have the right ingredients. Ingredients that match and fuel your intention (and won’t chemically react and explore in the jar overnight). Select a jar that is sturdy with a lid. Air tight if possible! Recycled jars from your kitchen are great, too. Clean them thoroughly and cleanse them spiritually before use.

Timing

Then, consider the TIMING of your jar spell. For example, go by moon phase. Waxing moon = jar spells for spiritual growth, beauty, attracting love, friendship, growing your bank account, etc. Full moon = quick and powerful manifestation. Waning moon = banishing, binding, ridding yourself of unwanted things/people. Other appropriate mods of spell timing include days of the week, hours and times of the day. You can ignore the timing aspect, but your spell might not be as powerful. Auspicious times bring strong results.

Mindful Casting

Third, put your mind, heart and body into the process of creating your jar. Don’t just move through the steps. Change your environment and get yourself into a relaxed, open and focused state of mind. Visualize, sing, speak your intentions out loud. Do what you have to do to really focus on your intention. When you place each ingredient into the jar, speak it’s job out loud. Then seal the jar with the lid when you feel it’s whole.

Feed Your Jar Spell

Last, and maybe the most important part, FEED your spell jar. Feed it with more energy. Do this by either shaking your jar and speaking/praying your intentions over it. And/or burning a candle on top of the jar. Select a number of days to burn candles on top and correspond your burning times with auspicious spell timing (as mentioned above in the section on timing). For example, burn a candle on top of your jar for 6 days in a row for attracting new love. 3 days for a new creative venture. At the very least, hold your spell jar and speak your intentions over it.

Money Spell Jar Recipe

I’ve been particularly successful with my money spell jars in the past few years. Here’s one of my favorite personal recipes.

What You’ll Need:

• a jar with a lid: a mason jar is best but a glass jar with a metal lid is required
• 3 coins
• paper and pen: I rip pieces off of brown paper bags OR parchment paper
• Herbs that draw money (3): examples are mint, basil, rosemary, chamomile, calendula
• Herb that breaks through blockages: examples are john the conqueror root or cayenne pepper
• Sugar

How To Cast the Money Jar Spell:

1. Cleanse all of your money jar spell supplies by whatever method you prefer.
2. Set the mood. Light candles, light incense, etc.
3. Write your intention on the piece of paper. I write mine three times but you can do this however you’d like.
4. Roll the paper towards you. Place in the jar.
5. With each herb, gently blow on it and put it into the jar. Visualize money flowing to you freely throughout the process.
6. Then put the 3 coins in the jar and say, “by three times three, for the highest good of all, money flow freely to me.”
7. Pour the sugar over the herbs, coins, and paper almost to the top of the jar. I leave a little room at the top to allow room to shake the contents when I’m done.
8. Cap the jar with the lid.
9. Shake the jar gently and say this money spell chant, “The roads are open, no blocks shall there be, by the power of three times three, money flow to me. So mote it be.”
10. Burn a candle on top of the jar. NEVER LEAVE UNATTENDED! SAFETY FIRST!
11. I like to burn a candle on my jars daily for 7 or 9 days and in between I shake the jar everyday and pray the same prayer.

Love Spell Jar Recipe

This love spell jar is intended to attract the right kind of love to you. This way you’re leaving it up to the fates and/or the universe to find the right match for you instead of forcing it.

What You’ll Need:

• a jar with a lid
• Herbs that draw love (choose 3): examples are lavender, rose, hibiscus, jasmine (you’ll want enough herb matter to layer in your jar and fill to the top)
• One small crystal/stone that draws love: examples are rose quartz and jade
• 6 Drops of Essential Oil with love properties: rose, ylang ylang, orange, bergamot
• Paper and pen

How to Make Your Love Jar:

1. Cleanse all of your love jar spell supplies by whatever method you prefer.
2. Set the mood. Light candles, light incense, etc.
3. Write your intention on the piece of paper. I write mine six times but you can do this however you’d like.
4. Roll the paper towards you. Place in the jar.
5. First speak your intention over the crystal and place it in the jar.
6. Then with each herb, blow on it and put it into the jar. Visualize the right lover coming to you throughout the process. I do this in layers: first I pour lavender one third of the way, then roses, and finally jasmine almost to the top of the jar.
7. Then drip your essential oil over the ingredients in the jar and say, “by three times three, for the highest good of all, the right romantic love will come freely to me.”
8. Cap the jar with the lid.
9. Hold the jar and say this love spell chant, “I’m ready for love. I am love. The right love will come to me. By the power of three times three. So mote it be.”
10. Burn a pink or red candle on top of the jar. NEVER LEAVE UNATTENDED! SAFETY FIRST!
11. I like to burn a candle on my jars daily for 6 days and leave the jar in your bedroom if its romantic love you’re seeking.

Home Protection Spell Jar

I think we can all admit protection is something we all need. That need never goes away. So here’s my home protection spell jar recipe:

What You’ll Need:

• a jar with lid
• photo(s) of people/pets you want to protect
• pen/marker
• 3 herbs with protective properties: rosemary, thorns, pepper
• salt or witch’s black salt
• cotton fluff: you can find cotton or bedding at a fabric store or pull it from an old stuffed animal no longer in use. If you can’t find this, a piece of soft fabric from an old t-shirt or blanket works too!

What To Do:

1. Cleanse all of your protection jar spell supplies by whatever method you prefer.
2. Set the mood. Light candles, light incense, etc.
3. Write your intention on the back of your photo(s). I also draw protective runes or symbols.
4. Take your cotton fluff or piece of fabric and wrap it around the photo(s), envisioning a blanket of divine white protective light around yourself and/or your family members. Then place in the jar.
5. With each herb, gently blow on it and put it into the jar. Continue visualizing or stating your intentions to protect the person(s) in the jar from all harm, physical or spiritual.
6. Then add the salt and say, “by the power of three times three, guides and guardians protect me and my family. From all foes physically and spiritually. So mote it be.”
7. Cap the jar with the lid.
8. Hold the jar in your hands and repeat the protective prayer from above.
9. Burn a white or red candle on top of the jar. NEVER LEAVE UNATTENDED! SAFETY FIRST!
10. Then place the protection spell jar somewhere in your home in a commonplace if you included your family members (dining room, living room, etc.)

How to Dispose of Spell Jar Remnants

What do you do with the jar once your spell has manifested? It truly depends on the intention. I use my logic to figure out how to dispose of my spell jar remnants. For example, if I cast a money jar spell and the money came in, but I don’t want the money to necessarily stop coming in, I typically bury the jar remnants in the East of my property. I literally open the jar and pour the remnants into the ground. You can bury the full jar if you’d like, but at some point you’ll run out of room if you have a small yard and you’re just putting a ton of glass and metal into the ground.

That being said, if you made a spell jar for more “gray” purposes, you don’t ever want to open the jar itself. And it’s not a good idea to bury it anywhere near you. I’d dispose of the full jar (unopened) somewhere far away (i.e. a dumpster on the other side of town, at a crossroads far from human life, etc.)

If you feel like your jar spell didn’t work and you just want to start over completely, bury the remnants in the west of your property. Then clean and thoroughly cleanse your jar and lid to re-use, if you’d like. Read more about how to dispose of spell remnants here.