Read Online A Witch's World of Magick by Melanie Marquis - Free Book Online
Authors: Melanie Marquis
Tags: Witchcraft, witch, World, wicca, paganism, world paganism, melanie marquis, folk magic, world magic
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description of the knots of the sacred girdle, a cord tied around the waist that was worn to help a worshiper of Ahura Mazda, the Zoroastrian supreme deity of light and wisdom, follow prescribed spiritual principles:
And those four knots with which they tie it on, are on this account, that it may give four attestations. The first knot is that which preserves constancy ( qarâr ), and gives attestation as to the existence, unity, purity, and matchlessness of the sacred being, the good and propitious. The second knot is that which gives attestation that it is the good religion of the Mazda-worshippers which is the word of the sacred being. The third knot is that which gives attestation as to the apostleship and mission ( rasûlî ) in the just ( ‘haqq ) Zaratust, the Spitamân. The fourth knot is that which adduces more pleasantly, gives assurance ( iqrâr ), and openly accepts that I should think of good, speak of good, and do good. And from the whole I become established; and the pure, good religion is this, that I persist in those views. 54
We see in the Zoroastrian sacred girdle the use of a knot for restraint: the first knot described “preserves constancy,” ensuring faithfulness to the deity and to the religion. We see also the use of knots for safekeeping ideas and intentions. The second, third, and fourth knots are all described as “giving attestation,” serving as symbols of one’s dedication to certain important spiritual principles and goals. By housing the essence of these ideals within the girdle’s knots and then encircling the waist of the Zoroastrian with this magickal energy, a charm is created that helps the adherent remain within the bounds of the Zoroastrian spiritual recommendations—“And from the whole I become established,” the text states. We find here that not only can the magickal art of tying knots be used to bind outside energies like enemies and forces of nature, but it can also be used to bind the self, restricting behavior into desired or recommended boundaries.
The Roma also made use of knot magick, incorporating both naturally occurring knots as well as man-made knots into a variety of spells and charms. In Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling , Charles Godfrey Leland includes a Roma charm that makes use of both a natural knot and an artificial knot to catch a thief:
If a man who is seeking for stolen goods finds willow twigs grown into a knot, he ties it up and says:
“Me avri pçándáv čoreskro báçht!”
“I tie up the thief’s luck!” 55
The naturally occurring willow knot, believed by the Roma to be fairy-made and thus naturally lucky, acts in this charm as a symbol of the unknown thief’s good fortune. Through the act of tying up that knot within another knot, the energies therein symbolized are restricted, and the thief’s luck becomes bound and contained within the artificial man-made knot. The Roma also held a belief that a person’s luck could be undone by untying a willow knot while focusing on the foe in question; 56 here we find that instead of being untied, the willow knot turned symbol of the thief is made to affect bad luck by being further bound and contained within an additional knot. As usual in the arts of magick, there’s more than one way to stir a cauldron.
Willow knots weren’t only used to bind up the luck of thieves and foes; sometimes, they were used in the optimistic hope of bringing lovers closer together. Leland describes how the Roma make use of the naturally occurring willow knot to sway the affections:
These willow-knots are much used in love-charms.
To win the love of a maid, a man cuts one of them,
puts it into his mouth, and says:—
“T’re báçt me çáv,
T’re baçt me piyáv,
Dáv tute m’re baçt,
Káná tu mánge sál.
I eat thy luck,
I drink thy luck
Give me that luck of thine,
Then thou shalt be mine.”
Then the lover, if he can, secretly hides
this knot in the bed of the wished-for bride. 57
By placing
And those four knots with which they tie it on, are on this account, that it may give four attestations. The first knot is that which preserves constancy ( qarâr ), and gives attestation as to the existence, unity, purity, and matchlessness of the sacred being, the good and propitious. The second knot is that which gives attestation that it is the good religion of the Mazda-worshippers which is the word of the sacred being. The third knot is that which gives attestation as to the apostleship and mission ( rasûlî ) in the just ( ‘haqq ) Zaratust, the Spitamân. The fourth knot is that which adduces more pleasantly, gives assurance ( iqrâr ), and openly accepts that I should think of good, speak of good, and do good. And from the whole I become established; and the pure, good religion is this, that I persist in those views. 54
We see in the Zoroastrian sacred girdle the use of a knot for restraint: the first knot described “preserves constancy,” ensuring faithfulness to the deity and to the religion. We see also the use of knots for safekeeping ideas and intentions. The second, third, and fourth knots are all described as “giving attestation,” serving as symbols of one’s dedication to certain important spiritual principles and goals. By housing the essence of these ideals within the girdle’s knots and then encircling the waist of the Zoroastrian with this magickal energy, a charm is created that helps the adherent remain within the bounds of the Zoroastrian spiritual recommendations—“And from the whole I become established,” the text states. We find here that not only can the magickal art of tying knots be used to bind outside energies like enemies and forces of nature, but it can also be used to bind the self, restricting behavior into desired or recommended boundaries.
The Roma also made use of knot magick, incorporating both naturally occurring knots as well as man-made knots into a variety of spells and charms. In Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling , Charles Godfrey Leland includes a Roma charm that makes use of both a natural knot and an artificial knot to catch a thief:
If a man who is seeking for stolen goods finds willow twigs grown into a knot, he ties it up and says:
“Me avri pçándáv čoreskro báçht!”
“I tie up the thief’s luck!” 55
The naturally occurring willow knot, believed by the Roma to be fairy-made and thus naturally lucky, acts in this charm as a symbol of the unknown thief’s good fortune. Through the act of tying up that knot within another knot, the energies therein symbolized are restricted, and the thief’s luck becomes bound and contained within the artificial man-made knot. The Roma also held a belief that a person’s luck could be undone by untying a willow knot while focusing on the foe in question; 56 here we find that instead of being untied, the willow knot turned symbol of the thief is made to affect bad luck by being further bound and contained within an additional knot. As usual in the arts of magick, there’s more than one way to stir a cauldron.
Willow knots weren’t only used to bind up the luck of thieves and foes; sometimes, they were used in the optimistic hope of bringing lovers closer together. Leland describes how the Roma make use of the naturally occurring willow knot to sway the affections:
These willow-knots are much used in love-charms.
To win the love of a maid, a man cuts one of them,
puts it into his mouth, and says:—
“T’re báçt me çáv,
T’re baçt me piyáv,
Dáv tute m’re baçt,
Káná tu mánge sál.
I eat thy luck,
I drink thy luck
Give me that luck of thine,
Then thou shalt be mine.”
Then the lover, if he can, secretly hides
this knot in the bed of the wished-for bride. 57
By placing
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