The Witch's Knot. Celtic origin, symbolism and spells.
The witch's knot is similar to the witch's ladder, but they are not the same. The ladder is a spell with knots, while the witch's knot is a symbol and a magical tool. The witch's knot has become popular among Wiccans, however it was already known in neopaganism for its influence in the Celtic world, although its origin goes back even further.
Magic with knots
Magic with knots could go back and even to prehistory. The knot has always been understood as a symbolic bond: tying up the loved one, chaining a demon or an illness, tying up a goal or immaterial things such as prosperity and health, etc. There are traces of these intentions in some cave paintings (S. Giedion, E. Ripoll) where intertwined hands appear, and also in relation to braided jewellery for talismatic purposes. In ancient Egypt and the Greco-Roman world, ribbons were tied to trees or statues to achieve a purpose, and many healing spells consisted of tying a knot around the injured limb or making several knots in a rope that had been in contact with the sick person. In the Greco-Roman world, knots also had a conjuring function even in human gestures, such as crossing the legs or arms, or certain dance movements. Something that has evolved into our crossing of fingers to hold on to luck, or wearing a blacksmith's head or a figurine of jet around our neck to ward off the evil eye.
But knots are not something exclusively classical. In Slavic folklore, the deceased are prevented from wearing any kind of knotted garment so as not to be tied to this world, and literature explains how sorcerers control the winds depending on the intensity with which they tie knots. The Koran warns against people who tie knots (Frazer, J.G.). In Japan, the legend of the red thread of destiny that unites lovers, or the omikuji (papers that predict luck, and if it is bad, it must be tied to a tree so that it does not haunt you) is well known. Among the Yanka of Central Africa, the knot, made or drawn, is a powerful protective amulet, and we cannot forget the Afro-Caribbean knots. And so on and so forth in homeopathic magic.
Celtic knots
The witch's knot is clearly inspired by Celtic knots. Celtic knots were mainly decorative motifs, which continued to be used in the Christian world. However, several studies have emphasized the importance of the number 3 and interlacing in the Iron Age, so knots would have had a meaning beyond the aesthetic. The two Celtic symbols that most resemble the witch's knot are the triquetra and the Serch Bythol. On the other hand, we have the Celtic wheels, which mainly represented the sun.
The triquetra is a representation of the world as an interconnection, as well as a simple knot. Sometimes the triquetra itself is called the witch's knot, due to confusion and its similarity. Due to its appearance in the Book of Kells (6th century), it has been related to the trinity (it is also called the Trinity Knot). But since the number 3 was already important among the Celts, it has been linked to the family Trinity (two parents and the son), to the three stages of life (birth, life, death, in an eternal cycle), or to the three spaces of the world (sky, earth and sea, or Heaven, Earth and Underworld). For many Wiccans and Neopagans, it represents Hecate, the Moon or the Goddess, in its different facets and bases. For this reason it is still called the witches' knot or witches' seal, because there are believers who use it.
The Serch Bythol is less well known. It is a variation of the triquetra, with only two loops and a circle to join them, hence despite the little information, it has been taken as a symbol of love and eternity (it really does resemble the symbol of infinity). The key to the association of the Serch Bythol with the witch's knot is because it has the circle and two of its arms: the witch's knot would be the superposition of two Serch Bythol.
The Celtic solar wheels symbolised not only the solar cycle, but also sacred time (Eliade, M.), movement and eternity. The different radii or arms that emerge from the central point of the circumference are the different energies and powers that flow from the centre, that is, from the creative entity or divinity. In the case of solar wheels, the sun is the giver of life and the cause of our counting the days, just like the moon.
Most Celtic wheels have four arms, hence the idea that the witch's knot is a reinterpretation of these Celtic symbols.
All of these are hypotheses made a posteriori, based on the preserved Celtic knots. There are isolated and little-catalogued cases of "witch's knots", but none as such, due to the theme of the crosses and solar wheels mentioned above.
Symbolism
The common element of both symbols mentioned is the crossing of two circles to form what is known as vesica piscis. (). This form can only be obtained from the crossing of two circles of the same radius, hence it is understood as the sum from which two sacred figures are formed and which represent the world, time, infinity... It was a sacred figure for the Pythagoreans. At the same time, the vesica piscis was identified by its shape with the female vulva, and therefore with birth, generation, procreation, fertility, life. It also symbolizes the encounter and balanced fusion.
It is a symbol that also appears in Christian art, where we can see it in the backgrounds of the Pantocrator, for example. It is also used in sacred geometry, mandalas, and the flower of life...
Thus, the witch's knot consists of a circle on which four outer circles have converged to form four vesicae piscis. The four vesicae join at the same point, which adds meaning to the union of four things: four elements, four cardinal points, four seasons, four lunar phases, etc. Sometimes the vesicae do not join and form a rhombus in the center of the circle. This rhombus was considered the firm and stable center of the outer circle. There were a few who interpreted the witch's knot as having that shape to conceal it, resembling a cross. Although it is not far-fetched to think of Christian Ireland, for most historians such concealment would simply not have been necessary, because in the Celtic world there were already both four-armed "sun wheels" and decorated Christian crosses.
In addition to the vesicae piscis or the four elements, it has been emphasized that the witch's knot can be made by interlacing a single cord, that is, by making a quadruple shape out of a single strip. Indeed, it is easy to obtain the shape of the cross with a single cord, by winding it around a circle. For some people this implies even more importance in the cosmic conception.
Witch Knot Spells
Although the symbolism is already interesting enough, in the so-called New Age the witch knot has recovered, as we indicated at the beginning of this article, its value as a knot itself, that is, its value as a spell.
There are two main ways to perform spells with the witch knot:
The first is to prepare the talisman to be carried by the person who needs it. The purpose of this talisman is to balance the circumstances, protect the individual and attract the positive.
The amulet can be ritualized in all the usual ways: moonlight, salt, water, incense smoke, passing it through a flame... The physical or psychological manifestation of what is desired by carrying it is the basis of the entire consecration ritual.
There are various prayers and words to purify and enchant the witch knot, to prepare it as a talisman. They are varied and most refer to the four elements or the four cardinal points. There is a lot of emphasis on creating a personal prayer.
The second way is to understand that the witch's knot is a knot after all. Therefore, painting it, tattooing it or going over the silhouette or amulet within a ritual, would be the equivalent of performing a traditional binding or knotting - for example, a spell can be made by making the shape with the fingers or through visualization techniques, making a real knot or even dancing, etc.
So you can ask for bindings of all kinds while visualizing, making or drawing the witch's knot; if you draw it, it should preferably be done in one stroke.
The witch's knot is an amulet in itself, since it is considered to be protective against bad energies and the evil eye. It is also believed that it attracts positive things because it symbolizes the ordered world through its geometric and united shapes. It is an excellent ornament to attract stability and protection to a home as well as a successful decoration in ritual celebrations.
It is considered an auxiliary tool in the development of spells and incantations. Carrying it or visualizing it enhances and distributes the energy that one wishes to send. The four arms of the witch's knot distribute the energy equally in the four directions, while the center, especially if it is a rhombus, gathers and channels the magic. Sometimes a precious stone is inserted here in relation to the desired objective, or to the taste of the wearer.
Scott Cunnigham considered the witch's knot to be a protection rune, like the triquetra, which was enough to visualize to obtain benefits. Another example of how although the origin of the witch's knot may be confusing, its importance lies in what the image conveys.
Pietro V. Carracedo Ahumada - pietrocarracedo@gmail.com
Bibliography:
- Cunnigham, S. Wicca. Una guía para el practicante solitario. Arkano books. Madrid. 2016.
- Day, C. L. Quipus and Witches' Knots The Role of the Knot in Primitive and Ancient Culture, with a Translation and Analysis of Oribasius de Lacheis. University Press of Kansas. 2021
-Nelson, F.H. Talismans and amulets. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. 2008
Related Articles:
> Witch's Ladder: Curse, Pendulum, Rosary, and Amulet.
> Celtic magic (II). Natural magic and divination.
