Knot Magick ---
A Brief History
Eliza Fegley.
Knot magick has been in use since ancient antiquity and can be found in the art and literature of all ancient cultures, from ancient Mesopotamia onwards. It is also found in all the religions of the world.
It was a practice among Catholics to tie a knot when invoking saints to bind the saints to them until they have done their bidding.
Mohammed, founder of Islam, was cursed by a knot and, had it not been found and untied, it is said that Mohammed would have died. Some male followers of the Islam religion will tie a knot in their beard to protect them from the evil eye. When at sea, they might tie several knots in their clothing to put an end to violent winds, but when going to Mecca they must not have any knots in their clothing.
In Hinduism, knot tying is often associated with the death gods.
Buddhists refer to the untying of knots as a "process of liberation." [5]
Knot tying was common in Roman magic as images of lovers were sometimes tied together to keep the couple bound to each other. Solemn oaths were also made to their deities while tying a knot.
In mythology, we have the Fates who wove, knotted, and cut the strings of life. We also have the famous Gordian Knot which Alexander was said to have cut in two with his sword.
In not so long ago times, there were men and women who were called blowers of knots. They would recite incantations while tying knots. The most famous of these incantations were done for wind knots.
Wind knots were three knots made in a string, rope, or rag and sold to sailors. If a sailor were to untie one knot, he would get a moderate wind. If he should untie 2 knots, the wind would blow half a gale. To untie all 3 knots would have caused a hurricane. [2]
Knots are prevailent in wedding lore, where two people are united in marriage which is also known as "tying the knot." From the Dark Ages to the 18th century, it was forbidden to tie a knot at someone's wedding for fear that it would prevent a true union between the bride and groom. Another form of knot magic associated with weddings is the wearing of a net over the bride's head. Today, brides often wear a veil, originally meant to protect them from the evil eye and evil sorcery during their wedding day.
During a woman's labor it was custom in many cultures worldwide to undo all knots within the house. In black magic, knots can be used to hinder or stop the birth of a child, killing both the mother and infant. It was also believed that a knot can cause a painful and difficult delivery.
To knot a cloth that had touched a man's penis was believed to bring about his impotence. The same was held true to tying a knot into a man's pubic hair and burying it in the earth.
When someone was dying, it was once a common practice to untie all knots within the room so as to not keep the dying person bound to life and suffering.
In Russia, knot magick was once very common. There are written accounts of the many types of knot spells including an 8 double-knot curse to use against an enemy in which wool yarn was used. As each double-knot was made, these words were spoken:
"1. I go out onto the road, 2. I throw into the open field, 3. into the distance, 4. between the homesteads, 5. into the fields, 6. into the seas, 7. into the forest, 8. into the quaking bag." [4]
This cord was then left in a place where its intended victim would step on it.
For protection from harm by a gun or other weapon, 5 knots were tied in a cord and kept about the body.
Red wool thread with nine knots was sometimes worn by children to protect them from fever.
A cord with 40 knots might be kept as an amulet for protection against thieves.
In todays world, knot magic continues to have its place. Examples of this would be in the dream catchers made by the Lakota's, the "Eye of God", and shell decorated nets that are hung in homes and businesses.
Select Bibliography:
1. Amulets and Superstitions by E. A. Wallis Budge. Dover Publications. 1978.
2. The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer. Collier Books. 1963.
3. Taboo, Magic, Spirits: A Study of Primitive Elements In Roman Religion by Eli Edward Burriss. Greenwood Press. 1972.
4. The Bathhouse at Midnight: Magic In Russia by W. F. Ryan. The Pennsylvania State University Press. 1999.
5. The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols by Jean Chevalier and Alain Gheerbrant. Translated by John Buchanan-Brown. 1996.
Knot Magick Spells
To Bind From Harm
Use this spell to prevent someone from harming themselves and others. Tie nine knots in a cord while saying each time, "I bind you, (name), from harming yourself and from harming others." When you are finished say, "Three times three, I bind you, (name), from harming yourself and from harming others." Then burn the cord so that the knots may never come undone.
Healing
Tie nine knots in a length of thread and then tie the cord around the afflicted body part. Wear for a few minutes, visualizing what ails you, and then untie all the knots, releasing the ailment, and throw the thread into running water. (Please, please, please use a natural fiber.)
To Prevent Nightmares
Suspend from the ceiling or hang on the wall above your bed a holed stoned on a cord containing nine knots.
Love/Binding Spell
Take 3 cords or string of the colour(S) which symbolize your need. Knot one end to represent your self. Braid the cord/string until you reach the other end. Knot that end to represent the one you love. Visualize the two of you coming together as one and knot the center of the braid. Keep the braid in a safe place if it is a binding spell. If you are using this to attract love, keep it on your person or wear it as a necklace, bracelet, or anklet until love is found.
To Ensure A Happy Marriage
Take an article of your clothing and one of his/hers; something that won't be missed, such as a sock. Tie them together and hide in a place where they won't be found.
Healing Knot
Tie nine knots in a piece of red string and wear around your neck to help cure a headache.
Releasing Hate/Anger
Focus on all of your hate and anger and then tie a knot. Visualize your anger tied up in that knot. Then undo the knot, releasing your anger and then throw the cord into the fire.
Protection
Tie nine knots in a cord while visualizing a protective image such as a shield or a circle of white light around you or your home. Carry the cord with you for personal protection or hang inside your home.
Simple Needs Knot
Take a cord in the appropriate colour and visualize/feel your need. Once you've built up as much emotion as you can, knot the cord firmly once. Keep the cord in a safe place until your need is met.
To Rid Of Troubles
Concentrate on something that is troubling you. When you are full of emotion, firmly tie a knot in the cord and then leave the room and the cord behind for awhile. Later on, after you're relaxed and focused, go back into the room and untie the knot, releasing what has been troubling you. Visualize it disappearing.
There are three things that you may do with the cord after your need is met:
1. Burn it so that the knot may never come undone.
2. Keep it in a safe place where it won't be disturbed.
3. Bury it in the earth.
Undo Knot Magic
Simply undo the knot. This doesn't always work so always be sure that what you are doing follows the Wiccan Rede.
Knot Charming
Author: Wren "
The bee bounces/Through the knots/Of grass." As I was writing that line of poetry, my mind started to wander, as it is quite prone to do while I am writing poetry. That is actually the method by which I
write poetry as well as how I write just about anything else. My stream of consciousness starts chugging away and I've trained my fingers over the years to just type along as my thoughts go streaming. I never know ahead of time where I might end up. Hence the subject of this week's column. It isn't about bees (did that one already) or grass (either kind) or even bouncing (although that sounds like fun). It's about knots. Magickal knots. So, thank you, Ms. Bee for bouncing into my brain carrying your little buzz of inspiration.
Now, I generally use the term 'Witch' to describe my spiritual path and for the most part that is accurate enough. Sometimes I'll use 'Pagan' -- usually as a point of common reference if I am talking with groups whose members may be involved in many or various Pagan paths -- and on rare occasions. I'll toss a Neo- in there somewhere. But I almost never identify myself by the classic term for my particular magickal niche. You'll understand why in a second or two. You see, I am a "Charmer". (You can stop giggling now.) Yep, that's the name for what I do: I work magic(k) via various sorts of
marks and charms.
Now one really can't go around in this day and age blurting out, "Why, I'm a Charmer" every time someone asks, "So, what do
you do?" Even before those 92-pound (And I suspect that's total weight) three sisters got their own 'Charmed' television series, it was hard enough to explain the workings of t he Charmer. I mean, the term just begs for that 'So...just how 'charming' are you?' dripping with sarcasm comeback. Heck, I'd say it myself. Which rather proves the point that all Charmers
are not necessarily 'charming' under all circumstances.
Historically, Charmers -- much like Witches -- could be deemed as either good or bad and often those value judgments were in the eyes of the beholder --or of the bewitched. Indeed in some places, such as on the Isle of Man, a 'witch' was the bad egg and the 'charmer' was the good guy or gal. (Just like me to attempt some reclamation of both words during this lifetime, he? Well, everyone needs a hobby.) But Charmers can charm no matter where they are. And that is how we (finally) get back to the subject of knots.
The symbolism of the knot is probably a universally understood one. Knots bind and knots loosen. Things are tied and untied, fastened and unfastened. I could probably stop right there and you would still have the general idea of how knots can be used in the magickal sense. But when you think about it a little bit more, you come to realize that knots are really neither here nor there. A knot can either be in the process of being tied or untied, tightened or loosened. A knot can therefore be simply one moment in an ongoing series of moments. It holds potential as often as it holds finality. Knots can be either a 'done deal' (left tied) or a means in which what is done can be undone (untied).
Knots can also bring two (or more) separate pieces together in unity. Hence the 'handfasting' knot. 'Cutting the ties that bind' denotes freedom and separation from unity again. Weaving also has a relationship with knotwork and many Charmers are also
weavers of some sort.
In weavi ng, the warp is the vertical plane. The warp is static (stationary and tied down) and thus denotes what is and what is 'fixed' in time and space and reality. The weft (woof) is the horizontal plane, the variable and changing element. The warp and the weft form a cross at each thread and symbolize the union of opposites. By alternating colors and tensions, new
patterns emerge. In the magickal realm, things change, but it is a planned and orderly change. Such changes can be both very beautiful (gauzy threads) and very practical (strong threads) and given the right materials (such as silk or love) can even be both. The warp can be construed as the foundations of a thing, idea or religion and the weft can denote then the explanations, rituals or interpretations of those things. And you thought knots were just for tying sneakers!
While most Charmers will not divulge just how and why they ply their magicks (and I am one of those) some things are pretty well reported in
folklore and occult literature. The number 'three' (and its combinations) really is used in magickal knotwork quite extensively. Television got that right, more's the pity. The Witches or Charmers of the Isle of Lewis (in the Highlands of Scotland) once made themselves quite a good living 'selling the wind' to sailors. Untying the first knot would unleash a fine breeze, the second would bring up a high stiff wind and the third would produce a gale. I doubt many sailors undid that last knot and I'm sure most prayed that no pissed off Charmer on the shore would either. But that is another tale...
Knotted threads were used for cures as well as for curses. Loosening knots were cures for headaches and congestion. Binding knots were used to cure warts (when buried in the ground) or for stopping noseblee ds. One Charmer of my acquaintance braids her hair whenever she has a headache and then slowly unravels the locks with her fingers. She swears that by the time her last braid is undone that her headache is gone. I tend to reach for the ibuprofen myself. But I may try it someday if I find myself in a wasteland with no drug store nearby.
And, of course, while threads and
strings and yarns are the traditional tools of the Weaver-Charmer, anything pliable will do in a pinch. Hair, I have mentioned (Don't pluck and run. It's rude and somewhat dangerous. Use your own.), but one can also use long blades of grass, pine needles, flower stalks (Hello, daisy chains!) gum wrappers (Rent the movie '28 Days' for instructions and you'll get to drool over Viggo Mortensen as 'not Aragorn' while you braid.) and -yes, I have actually done this- stray threads from your skirt hem (Always check a Charmer for a hanging skirt hem!) or from the frayed bottom of your jeans. You can use a contemporary
color correspondence chart if you wish, but many don't bother and just use whatever is available.
The lowly and simple knot has probably hexed and/or cured more folks over the centuries than any other single magickal device. Think about that the next time that you knot up your Nikes or take a spider to lunch. And watch out for those Charmers with the hanging hems. Although such simple and traditional methods -- and the philosophies behind them -- would never make for hefty 'Craft' book sales, there are some who still believe that the weaving of some very serous magic(k) doesn't have to be done via a flashy and complicated production number.
And indeed, most often, that it's knot...
