Out of the Broomcloset.
‘Tis true that busy hands are happy hands, and my own hands learned so many ways to stay busy during my years as a Boy Scout. I am referring, of course, to mastering the skill of knot tying (what else did you think I was talking about)? Oh, the glories of the taut-line, or the sheet bend, and how about whipping those ends? The author of “Fifty Shades of Grey”, if ever involved in Scouting, soon took knot tying in an unintended direction: so did I, exploring the wide variety of threads, ropes and cords used in various sorts of spell-work.
Representations of powerful Deities or spirits were once bound, in order to restrain their powers, or to keep them in place as a protection. In Rome, the images of Saturn were fettered to keep him docile; and it was believed that the various barbarian tribes would not be able to pass on mountain roads into the Empire, due to bound figures of powerful creatures being buried there (and they appeared to work, until the Empire went Christian, and they were dug up). This has fallen out of fashion.
Nowadays, we tend to treat the statuary with a bit more respect (excepting statues of St. Joseph, which are buried on the property to sell a house; if it doesn’t sell quickly, one digs it up and reburies it, upside down).
Such is not the case with individuals. A variety of threads, ropes and cords are used in spell-working to bind or restrain the target of the spell. This can involve the process braiding a cord out of thread, incorporating in it hair or strips torn from their clothing or sheets, thus claiming some control over them. This is a popular method in Hoodoo, Southern “rootwork”, as in this “Broke Dick” spell:
When he’s stepping out, but still dirtying your sheets, this will fix him. When he’s sleeping, measure his love machine with a cotton or linen wick, thread, cord, and get a few body hairs while you’re “down there”. Tie a series of seven knots in the cord, while considering that if he won’t sleep with you anymore, there’s no reason for him to be any good to anyone else. (You see where this is going).
Take a blue candle, warm it up in your hands so it softens, then press the cord into it. Anoint with Crossing Oil (Olive oil, Cayenne Pepper, Wormwood, Myrrh, some dust from a grave) and fire it up. Someone else (not you) will have to break the spell, and Viagra won’t help.
Or some object can stand in for the person; even a copy of their signature or a photograph will suffice. Some of you may recall a scene in “The Craft”, where a photo of one of the characters is wrapped in ribbon, while Neve Cambell intones; “I bind you (name of Person) from doing harm, harm against other people, harm against yourself”. This, like many little occurrences in the movie, are actually taken from magical practice. You might also use something along the lines of “I cover you, I cross you, I command and compel you”.
Sometimes, you may wish to employ a more elaborate form of binding, treating a thread as a stand-in for a person who you wish to hinder in some way, creating a tangle that mimics the intended results.
I weave, I do not weave with thread, I weave with
My intention, so that (person’s name)
Is hindered; may their (speech, motion, whatever action you are interfering with)
Be as tangled as this I weave.
Careful not to get your knickers in a twist! Have a safe Valentine’s Day (and a safe word).
Out of the Broomcloset.
‘Tis true that busy hands are happy hands, and my own hands learned so many ways to stay busy during my years as a Boy Scout. I am referring, of course, to mastering the skill of knot tying (what else did you think I was talking about)? Oh, the glories of the taut-line, or the sheet bend, and how about whipping those ends? The author of “Fifty Shades of Grey”, if ever involved in Scouting, soon took knot tying in an unintended direction: so did I, exploring the wide variety of threads, ropes and cords used in various sorts of spell-work.
