Glass Bottle Trees

The old methods of repelling evil that still commonly exist are mostly found in yard art or yard shows. Surrounding any living plant or tree with rocks, a discarded tire, or small wire fencing acts as an encircling charm of protection. Similarly, encircling herbs planted around the home serve as a botanical protection. “Swept” yards containing no grass were thought to prevent the devil (i.e., snakes) from having protective cover. But the most dramatic of all art objects designed to repel evil has all but disappeared from the Southern landscape: the bottle tree. In this belief, reaching back to the Congo of the 9th century, colorful bottles (traditionally cobalt blue) are placed on branch ends to catch the sunlight. When an evil spirit sees the play of light, it enters the bottle and, like a wasp, is thereby entrapped.

Remnants of African culture and religion are woven into the fabric of American culture in so many ways, they often remain hidden in plain sight. Hoodoo is alive and well, both in the rural South and in the urban North, evincing the resilience of these beliefs to survive in the face of continued prejudice and misunderstanding. Like the blues, Hoodoo and other belief systems of African derivation will never die but will continue to adapt for survival into the 21st century.

Glass bottle trees are no longer just a Mississippi thing - the popularity has grown into a national interest. Everyone wants a bottle tree to protect their garden. 

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