A 'witch's ladder' is a form of knot magic that originates from many years ago. The first known witch's ladder to record was found in an old house in Somerset, England, among six brooms. This was in the year 1878.
The ladder is composed out of three pieces string, yarn, wool or rope, however when used in cursing especially, some like to weave hair into the ladder. Trinkets such as charms, feathers, beads, bones are braided into the ladder.
Nowadays, the witch's ladder is primarily used for binding, healing, cursing, protection, wish spells and healing. 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 hidden cord and untie each knot.
Of course, the witch's ladder is not limited to those uses. It is said variation in the colour of the string/yarn/etc used represents a different use for the ladder. Some common ones are:
Green for money,
Red for passion,
White for creativity,
Black to stop bad habits,
Brown for balance,
Yellow for happiness,
Orange for health,
Blue for peace,
Purple for wisdom.
Frequently when I am travelling, I carry my own ladder with me as they are said to encourage safe travel.
Although ladders are often created for as part of a particular spell, in other cases, the knots or beads are used to attain track of repetition in a spell or incantation, somewhat alike to Rosary beads.
Incantations are spoken during the creation process to empower the talisman to do its creator's bidding. According to an article, The Witches' Ladder, an example of a witch's ladder chant and knot placement is as follows:
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."
Often the number of knots represent a specific intent. For example, seven is said to represent safety and security. If one wanted to have a witch's ladder specifically for the intention of such, seven knots would be tied into the ladder.
Here is an example of an incantation used when creating a typical 9 knot ladder:
By knot of one, my spell has begun.
By knot of two, it will come true.
By knot of three, so mote it be.
By knot of four, this power I store.
By knot of five, my spell is alive.
By knot of six, the spell I fix.
By knot of seven, events I'll leaven.
By knot of eight, it will be fate.
By knot of nine, what is done is mine.
The power has been raised and is now 'stored' in these knots, beads, feathers and in the cord.
You can tie the ends of the ladder together and use it as a necklace for protection on your person or hang it somewhere close to where it is needed such as your bed head or chair.
If you want to use it for healing you untie and release the items in the knots like this:
You must release the knots one at a time, one a day, for nine consecutive days. Release them in the same order in which they were tied. As the knots are released the energy that was put into them releases and is used for the purpose that the ladder was made for. You can either bury the beads etc or keep them in a safe place.
may need to look into this ritual, i rather enjoy the clarity of your mind. had a little flashbacks unrelated to a horror film where I saw a large number of Witches Ladders strung up in a house. very creepy
