A witch ball for capturing evil spirits

The gold ball was colorful but un-enticing there among the cataloged items on the auction table, looking too much like an oversized Christmas ornament. Nothing interesting about something to hang on a tree for a holiday five months away and 50 degrees cooler.

It also reminded me of the gazing balls that I’d seen at home and garden shops. Those had never really captured my attention, either.

But when I made another round of the room, I decided to linger at the table with the ball, which was among items that the auctioneer/owner said had belonged to an architect who had cataloged everything in her home. This time, I picked up the ball.

It was round, about 5 inches in diameter, with a reflective metallic color that looked like a mix of gold and copper. On top was a small carved cap with a loop for hanging and a slender piece of wood inside holding it in place. It was not as opaque as it seemed because when I looked inside I could see that it was hollow.

Turning it to the other side, I found a label indicating that this was not some old holiday ornament. Printed in black marker was:

80A Gold Witches Ball

Now that was intriguing. I had never heard of a witches ball before, so I pulled out my Droid and Googled. What I found was even more mysterious: The ball was surrounded by legends and folklore.

The witch ball – as it was called – dated back to 18th-century England, according to several sites, apparently repeating each other. They were hung in cottage windows to scare off evil spirits, witches’ spells or other misfortunes. The word was that the dark spirits would be attracted to the beautiful colors of the ball, touch it and then be absorbed inside where they would be trapped behind strands of glass. The balls made it to the United States in the 19th century, according to wikipedia, citing no sources.

The balls – hung in a window or resting on a pillow – could also capture any type of negative energy in a home or workplace, and prevent it from affecting you, according to witchball.net. Several sites were selling newly crafted ones for decoration. One site noted that they even made “cool gifts” for those who don’t believe in spirits.

I also found a site that guided you on how to use them (meditate, cast a healing spell, send a message telepathically to someone), and noted that the antique ones were rare and hard to find.

When the gold ball came up for auction, the auctioneer pronounced it a kugel. New to me, I Googled, and found out that a kugel ball was like a witch ball in its shape but not its function. A kugel ball was a symbol of friendship that first originated in Germany in the early 19th century and made its way to the United States later in the century, according to the website Iron Elegance.

I didn’t bid on the ball because I don’t have any negative spirits or energy in my home that need to be held captive. The ball was not especially popular; it sold for only $12.50.

Two days later, I came across three other witch balls – all a little smaller – at another auction house. A coincidence?