Magickal Knots and Spell Work

Let’s do some knot magick! To play along you will need 4 lengths of cord or thin rope each 2 ft. in length and a pair or sharp scissors. That's it. I like to use 27" lengths sometimes because 3 x 9 is extra magickal. Cotton shoestrings come in 27" lengths. Complete with the aglets they are perfect for knot magick and the cotton can be burned or buried without harm to the Earth. If you are cutting your own nylon paracord carefully melt the ends with a lighter or candle to keep it from fraying. Don't breathe the smoke.

What I love about knot spells is the simplicity. It’s all about your intention. Whatever the work is, you’re trapping that intention or joining something to you with the knots. Could be prosperity, a change in reality, love, health, whatever. The knots hold that magick infused with whatever your intention may be. You can also trap unwanted elements in the knots and thus removing them from your life.

We will focus on the tying of the knots for now. When you incorporate this type of spell work in your practice you can go full Fiber Magickian and think about the color of your cord and what it is made of. Anoint the ends with oils and pass it through smoke. On and on for many layers of intention.

Let's begin by performing the basic knot spell or witch's ladder. You may have heard the poem before but there is a pattern when tying your knots that you may or may not know about. The knots are simple but there is an order to the tying.

The knots are numbered in the order in which you tie them. As you tie each knot you recite the appropriate verse and focus your intention to be caught in the knot. Placing the knots just so takes concentration and adds to the effectiveness of the magick. You are tying these knots very intentionally.

Let's try it together and to heighten the impact let's all focus on the same intention. Pick up one of your cords and hold it in your cupped hands. As you tie each knot, I would like you to picture Lady Florida’s River of Grass. See her flowing freely down the length of the peninsula. Clean water, healthy plants and animals all thriving in the sunshine. Just sit with that a moment and visualize our intention. Imagine what that would look like. Mother Nature can work with this. Nature will always find a way. She will move us to manifest this. So Mote It Be.

Let's tie the knots and as we do allow the vision of a healthy Everglades come into focus in our minds.

By knot of one, the spell’s begun. By knot of two, the magick comes true. By knot of three, so shall it be. By knot of four, this power is stored. By knot of five, my will shall drive. By knot of six, the spell I fix. By knot of seven, the future I leaven. By knot of eight, my will be fate. By knot of nine, what is done is mine

Place this cord on your altar where it can remind you to visualize your intended outcome and move you to action so that it will manifest. So Mote It Be!

The Gordian Knot

The term “Gordian knot,” commonly used to describe a complex or unsolvable problem, can be traced back to a legendary chapter in the life of Alexander the Great. As the story goes, in 333 B.C. the Macedonian conqueror marched his army into the Phrygian capital of Gordium in modern day Turkey. Upon arriving in the city, he encountered an ancient wagon, its yoke tied with what one Roman historian later described as “several knots all so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how they were fastened.

Phrygian tradition held that the wagon had once belonged to Gordius, the father of the celebrated King Midas. An oracle had declared that any man who could unravel its elaborate knots was destined to become ruler of all of Asia.

According to the ancient chronicler Arrian, the impetuous Alexander was instantly “seized with an ardent desire” to untie the Gordian knot. After wrestling with it for a time and finding no success, he stepped back from the mass of gnarled ropes and proclaimed, “It makes no difference how they are loosed.” He then drew his sword and sliced the knot in half with a single stroke.

That same night, Gordium was rocked by a thunder and lightning storm, which Alexander and his men took as a sign that he had pleased the gods. True to the prophecy, he went on to conquer Egypt and large parts of Asia before his death at age 32.

Thanks to the enduring popularity of the Alexander fable, the phrase “Gordian knot” has entered the lexicon as shorthand for an intricate or intractable obstacle. Likewise, the saying “cutting the Gordian knot” is now commonly used to describe a creative or decisive solution to a seemingly insurmountable problem.

Knot Spell to Cut Ties

Meditate on a situation that no longer serves you. Be specific as to the person, place, or thing you want to remove from your life. Do this in a way that reflects the greatest good and harms none if possible.

1 - Cut a length of cord 27" long

2 - Hold the cord in your cupped hands and set your intention.

3 - While reciting the knot magick spell tie your 9 knots on top of each other. Really pull the ends of the cord. Make this mega knot impossible to untie.

4 – When finish hold this seemingly impossible to untie knot up before you and declare "It makes no difference how they are loosed!"

5 – Cut through the knot with your scissors and let the pieces fall to the ground.

6 – If the cord you used is a natural fiber you may want to burn or bury the cord to completely get rid of the menace.

Knot magick is simple but very powerful. We need a knot that will replenish our energies.

The Knot of Hercules

The Knot of Hercules is also called the love knot, marriage knot, reef knot, and square knot. It is a strong knot created by entwining two ropes. It originated as a charm used for healing in ancient Egypt but became most known in ancient Rome as a protective amulet. I use this knot to tie handfasting cords, simple yet meaningful.

According to the Roman writer Pliny, the decorative device of the Hercules knot could cure wounds, and its popularity in Hellenistic jewelry suggests that it was thought to have the power to avert evil. The symbolism of the knot survived well beyond its religious use and was a very common symbol in medieval and Renaissance love tokens.

In Greece, the Hercules knot is still used extensively in medicine. The practice of using this simple binding knot came from the ancient belief that wounds heal faster when bound with the Hercules knot.

Pick up another length of cord. Cup it in your hands and imagine cool healing energy pouring down from above us like a gentle rain. Soak it in and send it into the cord. Now tie the square knot with the ends. Right over Left, Left over Right. Place the resulting necklace over your head so that the knot falls at your heart chakra. Breath and accept the healing.

Celtic Knot

In the folklore of various cultures, knots themselves signify vows that cannot be broken so they are used in wedding rituals. An intended agrees to the marriage proposal if they accept the knot.

Celtic Knots are tied in many variations. Some look like hearts or baskets, or clovers. A hobby of mine is to watch knot tying videos and some of my favorites are done by Tying It All Together on YouTube.

If you are up for a challenge the series has a Triple Goddess Knot that could be used in our magickal practice as a focal point for meditation or candle dressing.

TyingItAllTogether - YouTube

I used the following imagery to make sense of the steps:

*Rabbit ear, Rabbit ear, Triangle

*Right end up through the rabbit ear

*Left end down through the rabbit ear

*Pretzel Check*

*Left end up through the triangle, down through the right bottom

*Pretzel Check again*

*Right end up through the left top, down through the triangle, up through the left bottom *Snug*

I hope you have enjoyed this taste of knot magick and will think of ways to include knotwork in your magick. Thanks for playing with me.

Stay Crafty, Opal Luna

Fibermagick.com