Knot Magic or Spells...a little help ATers?

shaveling

There's a prayer for protection against this in Sura 113 of the Quran, Al-Falaq. Some commentators prefer a less literal understanding of the verse, and some translations reflect that point of view, so you might not find a reference to "those who blow on knots" in the first translations you check.
 

greatdane

Thank you Shaveling!

I just find it fascinating how long people have been using knot magic and in how many different cultures. It's like lighting a candle and so many rituals, they can span so many centuries and crossover cultures, countries, religions. So far, the link a couple post down has been my favorite site with references, as far as some good general info.
 

celticnoodle

This thread has inspired me to do a lot of googling on the subject and of course checking out the sites also provided here. I must say that it is very interesting to note that my own Catholic Faith and my favorite meditation (the rosary) falls into this category of "knot magic/knot spells".

It just goes to show you that so many of the faiths and beliefs in the world, whether you are a Catholic, a Wiccan, a Buddhist, or may of the numerous other faiths (or just because you believe in it and are of no particular faith what so ever), seem to share this similarity with the knot 'prayers'.

We are all so very similar and alike in our beliefs and practices. Its a shame we as a whole planet together can't recognize this and live in peace with each other rather then condemn each other for this.
 

Saker

I have on a flash drive (and downloaded on my MacBook) all the volumes of Hyatt's Hoodoo Rootwork and Conjuration - a collection of folkloric beliefs and practices in the southern US documented almost 100 years ago. Many of these come from African and Caribbean sources. Unfortunately it's not indexed and I'd have to look through the extensive (and I'm NOT kidding) table of contents to find knot magic, but I'm sure it's there. If you can find a printed copy of these volumes, it would cost you quite a lot of money. We have a friend who somehow got hold of it in PDF format and gave us a copy.

It's called:
HOODOO - CONJURATION - WITCHCRAFT - ROOTWORK
Beliefs Accepted by Many
Negroes and White Persons
These Being orally Recorded
Among Blacks and Whites
By
HARRY MIDDLETON HYATT
 

celticnoodle

wow, Saker. That sounds like an awesome read--if you know what you're looking for in it!
 

canid

Well, I don't know if this will help you or not, but I dug out my book, 'Scottish Witchcraft' by Raymond Buckland & there are a few things in there about knots. They're in the chapter titled Amulets & Talismans-Portable Power. I'm not typing all the pages here but I can PM you if you want.

'Another popular PectiWitan charm is the Seven Knot Talisman. This is made following the patterns of working magick described in Chapter Seve. Take a piece of cord, ribbon, or wool, about twenty-one inches long. If you like you can be guided by color symbolism, blahblahblah. Anyway, it continues with instructions. Then in 'The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer (1890) there's a cure for sprained legs or arms using knots.

Also, Pliny (when was Pliny??) wrote that some cured diseases of the groin by using thread, tying knots, etc. & gives instructions on how to do so. There's also an modern Arab cure for fever. F. Marian McNeill (The Silver Bough) talks about charms using colored thread.

Expand your Google search to include colored thread, staffs, knot charms & talismans, amulets, PectiWicans.

Hope this helps your search!
 

Milfoil

The bible and the koran both have references to 'tiers of knots' and being in Aramaic, the interpretation seems to be along the lines of knots being a metaphoric reference to difficult arguments but also the magical practice of casting spells. So there is a sort of understanding that both words and tying of knots invoke spells.

This is carried on in the practice of saying the rosary which was often a cord of knots.

Ref:

A short Commentary on the Book of Daniel - (Verses 12-20, page 104)

Sura Cx111 of the Koran, Mohammed states 'Magicians, the evil of (the women) who are blowers on knots)

Clearly it is ok to 'cast' a prayer but not a spell so depending on the God/s you worship depends on whether the act of using knots is acceptable in the biblical sense.
 
Signs... Spiritual but not religious?