Witch's ladder

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A witch's ladder (also known as witches' ladder, witches ladder, or witch ladder) is a fetish or talisman in folk magic or witchcraft that is made from knotted cord or hair. Charms are knotted or braided with specific magical intention into the cords. The number of knots and nature of charms varies with the intended effect (or "spell").^[1]

1 Witch's ladder types
2 Witch's ladder uses
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Witch's ladder types

A witch's ladder is a string of 40 beads or a cord with 40 knots. Sometimes feathers, bones, and other trinkets are braided into the string as symbols for a desired spell effect. An earlier version of a witch's ladder consisted of a rope or cord of three, nine, or thirteen knots.

The witch's ladder can be created a section at a time or all at once. Either way, special chants are spoken during the creation process to empower the talisman to do its creator's bidding. According to an article, The Witches' Ladder [1], an example of a witch's ladder chant and knot placement is as follows:

Basic Witches' Ladder Chant

By knot of ONE, the spell's begun *--------

By knot of TWO, it cometh true *-------*

By knot of THREE, so mote it be *---*---*

By knot of FOUR, this power I store *-*-*---*

By knot of FIVE, the spell's alive *-*-*-*-*

By knot of SIX, this spell I fix ***-*-*-*

By knot of SEVEN, events I'll leaven ***-*-***

By knot of EIGHT, it will be Fate *****-***

By knot of NINE, what's done is mine *********

According to the article, "At the tying of the last knot, all the energy is directed into the cord and its knots, with a final visualization of the object of the work. The power has been raised and is now 'stored' in these knots in the cord." This is often referred to as cord magick, knot magick or string magic.

Once finished, the beads or knots of the witch's ladder enable a witch to concentrate on repetitive chants or incantation without having to keep count. This enables the witch to focus will and energy on the desired goal.

[edit] Witch's ladder uses

It was believed that witches of old cast a death spell over a person by tying the knots and then hiding the cord, and the only way to undo the spell was to find the secreted cord and untie each knot.^[2]

Today, witch's ladders are primarily used by practitioners in healing, binding, and wish-granting rituals. They can also be used to "bind the thirteen moons of the year," purportedly to allow the witch to better work weather and nature magic, and to open the doorway to the Faery realm.

Knot magick spells are numerous and aim to achieve many different outcomes. The current view held by many wiccans is seen in this poem by wicca poet Enadus:

A knot is not a useless thing

It keeps in place with rope and string

Not all kept is hard or soft

Knots can keep wishes, hope and thoughts

Held by magick knots we make

For life and love not to forsake.

Knot spells have been created for cutting pain, binding love, and traveling safely. The string or cord can be made out of almost any material, but natural fibers such as hair, wool, hemp and cotton are preferred.