Learning Knot Magick

I was feeling a bit depressed after a doctor visit, so I went to the book store to cheer myself up. I don't think you can buy happiness, but you can buy books and that's pretty much the same thing.

I bought 'What Knot?' I used to have a knot book. I loved it, but I never tried to tie any of the knots. Since I never used it, I donated the book to the library. When I started looking for ways to incorporate magick into my sewing I regretted that. I like What Knot because it has clear photos, simple directions, and a bit of history.

I had a nice picture of my book, my journal, my cords, and my Tarot card box. My phone sent me a blank email. Stupid technology. Here's the way I set up my work space with some links to the knot I tied, along with a few notes on spell applications.

The way I see it, knots can be used either for negative or positive spells. I believe this all boils down to intent. I used a pendulum to figure out which knot I should start with. I got a yes answer on the West Country Whipping Knot This is a knot used to prevent a rope from fraying. When I think of frayed ropes, I always think of something that has been under stress. I think the positive uses of this knot would involve spells to protect a person from stressful situations, to keep from breaking under pressure, or to help heal when going through a difficult illness like cancer, or to help recover from an addiction. In a positive spell, I would use a smooth rope and I would tie the knot with bright colored string or ribbon. For a negative spell, this knot would suit obsession, keeping a person tied to problems, or causing an addiction. I would use an old, dirty, rough rope and dark colored thread. How I would release the spell would depend on my intentions. Some ideas might be burning the knot for a quick release, burying it to keep the situation contained for a long time, throwing the knot into water for a flood of emotions, or leaving it exposed to the weather so that the person's thoughts stay on one subject.

I decided to work a positive spell. My husband doesn't like his job and he worries about money. I decided I didn't want him to get too frayed at work.

I used cord left over from a bag that I made for him. I ran the cord through my fingers several times while thinking about money. When I had a firm idea of our money situation in mind, I tied a knot in one end. I measured seven inches from that knot and cut the cord. I spent a few more minutes thinking about the times we have had abundance. I chose 7 inches because 7 is a very lucky number. Using white string, because white is a good, positive color, I tied my West Country Whipping Knot. I then placed the knotted cord on my scales with some stones that I felt would help us. I put a quartz crystal with the cord to purify the worry out of our money. On the opposite side of the scale I used tiger's eye for strength and pyrite for wealth. Despite the quartz being the larger of the stones, the scales tipped with the other two so I believe this is a sign we will have abundance in our future. I could place the cord and stones in a bag for my husband to carry or I could leave them on the family altar since we all affected by how much he earns at his job.

As it turns out, I didn't need Tarot for this spell. I thought the cards could give me a clue if I asked the pendulum if there were other uses for the knot that I hadn't thought of.

Stay tuned, there are many more knots I want to try.