Southern Spirit Catchers with African Roots
It used to
be that you could see bottle trees scattered all over the Southern
landscape. Usually in the country or along the bayous of Louisiana,
Mississippi, Tennesee, and Alabama, bottle trees are a colorful folk
tradition with the purpose of warding off evil spirits, while at the
same time recycling colorful bottles.
My mother and grandmother made bottle trees and proudly displayed them in their yards. Not surprisingly, I have taken up the practice, too. I find it to be a wonderful way of displaying all of the those cool vintage bottles I have collected over the years that tend to gather dust in boxes or on the windowsills. On a bottle tree, they now work for me by keeping evil spirits out of the house. The spirits become mesmerized with their dancing colors in the sun, and are drawn into the bottles only to be trapped for all eternity. At least, that's the way the story goes.
Are you ready to go green and contribute to a dying Southern tradition by making your own bottle tree? Then read on, because I am going to tell you how to make several variations of the Southern spirit bottle tree.
My mother and grandmother made bottle trees and proudly displayed them in their yards. Not surprisingly, I have taken up the practice, too. I find it to be a wonderful way of displaying all of the those cool vintage bottles I have collected over the years that tend to gather dust in boxes or on the windowsills. On a bottle tree, they now work for me by keeping evil spirits out of the house. The spirits become mesmerized with their dancing colors in the sun, and are drawn into the bottles only to be trapped for all eternity. At least, that's the way the story goes.
Are you ready to go green and contribute to a dying Southern tradition by making your own bottle tree? Then read on, because I am going to tell you how to make several variations of the Southern spirit bottle tree.
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