Ladders, Rosaries, and a bit on Weaving

Unique style of leather Witch's ladder

While the season is still under the auspices of the Black Goddess (herself a weaver of fate and magic), I thought I might like to write about a version of weaving magic that is rather central to traditional Witchcraft. I'm referring to the production of witches' ladders.

The simplest sort of ladder is a single string, thread or cord into which the Witch ties a series of knots. The magic of the Witch -- her power and intent -- is stored in each knot and can be unleashed at a later time.

The exact same type of ladder can be used as a devotional tool, a sort of Witch's rosary, in which she plans the steps on the ladder to lead to a devotional goal.

Of course, witchcraft isn't at all about doing things in the simplest manner, and we ARE a crafty lot. We enjoy weaving together numeric and color symbolism, and so our ladders tend to have more than one strand -- and often more than one color -- braided and knotted together. We include charms, beads, bone, feathers, and more to add oomph to our magic.

To the right is a picture of a drawing that was included in the "1734 Letters" that I printed from Joe Wilson's website in early 2000. While all of the writing is still available, I am a little dismayed that most of the pictures have entirely disappeared from the Internet. (The text at the bottom of each page clearly said, "Not to be sold under any circumstances for any purpose. Must be freely distributed.")

At any rate, this picture (labeled "THE KNOTS") shows three possible placements for "GIRDLES" -- or ladders. In Robert Cochrane's writing "On Cords," he describes the use of both devotional and magical cords:

"When worked up properly they should contain many different parts--herbs, feathers and impedimenta of the particular  harm. They are generally referred to in the trade as "ladders," or in some cases as "garlands," and have much the same meaning as the three crosses. That is they can contain three blessings, three curses, or three wishes. A witch also possesses a devotional ladder, by which she may climb to meditational heights, knotted to similar pattern as the Catholic rosary."

Three colors, three braids in each color, three knots

This rhyme is often seen accompanying Witches' Ladder spells:

By knot of one, the spell's begun.
By knot of two, the magic comes true.
By knot of three, so it shall be.
By knot of four, this power is stored.
By knot of five, my will shall drive.
By knot of six, the spell I fix.
By knot of seven, the future I leaven.
By knot of eight, my will be fate.
By knot of nine, what is done is mine.

When making a ladder, you will typically work from the outsides toward the middle. So, your first knot is on one end of the cord, your second knot is on the other end, and your third knot is in the middle. If you have more than three knots (as in the rhyme above), you place new knots between established ones, still alternating sides. So, for instance, the fourth knot would be between knots 1 and 3. In this way, the placement of knots becomes an act of weaving, as well.

Requirements for Admission

After years of working this path, tweaking it, living with it, and loving it, we have decided to open ourselves up to those who would like to walk the crooked path with us locally (within the South-Central Indiana area).  Here, then, are our requirements for admission.


Greening – green cord

• For children of the family at the age of reason, and for potential new members to the coven.
  
• Creates an informal bond between teacher and student.
  
• Before Greening the student should :
  
  • formally request to join the coven
  • obtain a binder for handouts and personal research notes
  • obtain a flash drive
• During Greening the student should:
  
  • learn to raise, form, move, and ground energy
  • create or obtain a stone bowl
  • begin their personal crane bag
  • choose a coven symbol
  • begin a personal home altar
  • attend at least 2 rituals (Sabbats or Esbats)
  • obtain a ritual robe (either white or black, depending on the time of year)
• Greening lasts through a 6 – 12 month period, or until the age of puberty.
  
  

Adoption – red cord, bone ring

• For children of the family at the age of puberty, and for formally joining members to the coven.
  
• Creates a formal bond – the Red Thread – between the student and all members of the coven.
  
• During Adoption the student should:
  
  • Memorize the year wheel
  • Obtain the three knives
  • Read:
    
    • The Robert Cochrane letters
    • The White Goddess by Robert Graves
  • Read two of the following:
    
    • Masks of Misrule, Call of the Horned Piper, & Pillars of Tubal Cain by Nigel Jackson
    • Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson
    • The Witches’ Bible by the Farrars
    • Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones
    • The Roebuck in the Thicket by Robert Cochrane and EJ Jones
    • Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed by Valiente and Jones
    • The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
    • The Witching Way of Hollow Hill by Robin Artisson
  • Perform a link cutting
  • Write a statement of personal ethics
  • obtain an ancestor skull
  • create a staff
  • obtain a cauldron
  • make an incense
  • make and amulet and talisman
  • make a scrying mirror
  • design and make a Witches’ Glove
  • become proficient in three forms of divination
  • create a totemic fetch
  • acquire a familiar (plant, animal, or spirit)
  • perform contact and possession with a Deity
  • lead a ritual
  • complete red cord checklist
• Adoption lasts a minimum of a year and a day, or until the age of majority.
  
  

Raising – red/white/black cord, witches mark

• For children of the family at the age of majority, and for naming the student as a witch.
  
• Marks the student as a fully-fledged witch.
  
• During Raising the witch should:
  
  • obtain tools, weapons, and other paraphernalia related to the compass
  • read and study as suits their interest

Cords as Markers of Admission

One of the Robert Cochrane (Roy Bowers) "writings" that  you'll want to read is titled "On Cords." It first appeared in issue 3 of The Pentagram in March 1965. In it, he discusses two aspects or uses of the traditional Witch's Ladder.

The first is the piece of magical craft that we'll be covering soon. It involves using the cord for spellwork.

The second use of cords is that of the devotional ladder. While many of us will make and use multiple devotional ladders for trance and meditation work related to a variety of focal objects, a great many Witches receive their first ladder as a cord (or set of braided cords) that marks their admission to a curveen.

The cords are usually a length of silk or wool rope, braided yarn, or upholstery cord, whose thickness, length and color vary by tradition. They are versatile, as they are used for cinching ritual robes, indicating rank or degree, measuring the circle, and sometimes for binding blood flow in certain circumstances. When used to control blood flow, they may also be called the cingulum.

Cords used as a cingulum help alter consciousness and they are often employed in initiation rites. There are a few different ways to tie the cords to act in this capacity, but the most common is shown below. However they are used, a cingulum should be administered with care to avoid causing damage or harm.

Cords can also be used as a meditational or trance tool in much the same way as a Catholic rosary. Because they are usually braided and knotted, often with multi-colored fibers, they bind together symbols and imagery that is important to the Witch who wears them. Meditating on a particular knot, strand, or other element of the cord will produce a focused experience on the symbol set contained therein, while working through all the knots (climbing the ladder) produces a transcendent state.

The Spiral Castle Tradition uses a specific progression of cords as markers of admission to the curveen. Each strand of cording that we use is made of a 3 hand-braided strands of wool yarn.

Greening -- single green cord -- This cord represents new growth, the beginning of the learning process and the budding interest of the green Witch in the curveen and Tradition. The purpose of the ritual is to form a magical link with loose bonds between student and cuveen and to establish the beginning of a learning period of at least three months. The Green Cord serves as a physical reminder of that link. Aside from interested adults coming to the Tradition, children of the curveen are eligible to wear the Green Cord (and thereby to acknowledge their relationship to the Craft of the Family) at the Age of Reason. This cord is cut and burned at the time that a Witch progresses to Adoption.

Adoption -- single red cord -- This cord represents the umbilical cord, the blood of birth, and the fire of Tubal Cain. It is a manifestation of the Red Thread. The purpose of the Adoption Rite is to forge a formal magical link between the student and the coven and to establish a formal training period of at least a year and a day. Again, the Red Cord serves as a physical reminder of the link between the Witch and the curveen, but it also reminds her of her link to all Children of Qayin. Children of the Family may be adopted within the Craft at the Age of Puberty.

Raising -- single black and single white cord braided together with existing red cord -- This set of cords is the final set that a Witch within our Tradition will use. The cords are fashioned so that there is a loop on one end, and a long set of tails on the other where the cords remain unbraided. The knot that hold the loop fast is the White Goddess knot. The knot closest to the tails (which somewhat resemble three flails of a scourge) is the Black Goddess knot. A knot is tied in the middle of the braided section -- the Tubal Cain knot. A Raised Witch is a full member of the curveen and Trad, and she wears the most potent symbols of our Craft when she dons her cords. Children of the Family are eligible for Raising, provided that theire knowledge and practice of the Craft is sound, at the Age of Majority.

Links and Link Cutting

Magical links are threads of energy fed through the astral that connect each of us and affect us in diverse ways. Links can be formed through repetitive action, great emotion, or an act of Will or magic.

While we were in the womb the first link, the umbilical cord, was formed. At birth that first cord is cut, and we become an independent life. As children we have other links, such as those to our parents and our parents to us. As we develop the links are broken or cut and new links form. As we grow into adults our links with our parents evolve into a basic heart link. As we form relationships new links form, and if they are heart links they are almost always healthy. Heart links make us more caring and give us a feeling of connection.

Some kinds of links are not as healthy. In most people there is often a tangled mess of links weighing them down,  hindering them from life. Links to our hands and feet prevent us from acting of our free will. Links to the back, knees elbows, and navel are some of the links that remain from over protective or manipulative parents. There are links from lovers past and present, If these are heart links they are good but most are there to control or manipulate us. We can and do form links to the people we fear or dislike most either by accident or in misplaced efforts to control them. Remember that all links go both ways. Negative links are draining on us and can hold us back from our potential. Link cutting is a powerful and transformational ritual in which we dispose of all negative or unnecessary links.

Every time we do spell craft or send a thought form we are connected to the work by a link. It is through this link that magical returns travel, be they good or ill. These links can be formed purposefully to weave fate.

A blood link is permanent and cannot be cut. Blood links cannot be created without your knowledge and consent. They are used for some handfasting rites and for initiation into the lineage of certain traditions of the Craft. The blood link, or red thread, connects a witch to the ancestors, gods, and mighty dead of the tradition.

The Rite of Link Cutting

You will need: The black handled knife, salt and water, a besom.  You must be skyclad.  It is best to do this ritual with a partner, who can assist you with hard-to-reach links, and act as a second set of eyes for any lingering links.

To begin cast a lay the compass and cast a circle.  Sit quietly and breathe deeply.  Sense your etheric body.  Feel and/or see the links in your energy field.  Some links may be heavy cables, others may be as fine as spider webbing.

When you are open to sensing the links, you may begin by taking up the athame and dragging it like a razor just over the surface of your skin.  Imagine you are shaving away the links.  When the athame gets too full of psychic sludge, simply shake it off and rinse it in the salt water.

You may find that certain links are too thick to cut through cleanly.  These will require you to pull them out by the root, just as you would pull a stubborn garden weed.  If after pulling a deep link you feel a psychic tear in your energy field, simply cleanse the area with salt water. This will patch up any holes in your aura left by links.

Link cutting can be stressful and emotional work.  Remember, each of these links is there for a reason!  Some of them may have been draining you for years.  You may feel a great catharsis after cutting a particularly deep link.  This is another reason it is best to perform this ritual with a trusted partner. They may be able to help you through your potential emotional upheaval.

The final link to be cut is the one leading out of the mouth and down into the digestive tract.  This link is kept for last as it is a very painful and exhausting link to remove.  Gagging and nausea are common side effects.

After you have completed the business of link cutting you will notice that the circle you are in is filled with psychic sludge that you have cast off.  Take up the broom and sweep up the sludge.  You will notice that, remarkably, the sludge does not adhere to the besom. Sweep it right through the boundaries of the circle and though your home out the back door.  Toss the salt water after it.  Return to the ritual area and take the circle down.  Rest.  The ritual is complete.

Note: After this ritual you will want to do immediate blade care on your athame, as the salt water can damage the blade.

The Eight Ways of Making Magic

Symbol for the Eight Ways of Making Magic

In the Gardnerian tradition of witchcraft (Wicca) there are said to be eight ways of raising power for magical purposes.  They are as follows.

1. Meditation or concentration
2. Chants, Spells, Invocations.
3. Projection of the Astral Body, or Trance
4. Incense, Drugs, Wine, etc.
5. Dancing
6. Use of the Cords
7. The Scourge
8. The Great Rite

You can combine many of these ways to produce more power.

To succeed in magic it is said you need the following five things:

1. Intention. You must have the absolute will to succeed, the firm belief that you can do so and the determination to win through against all obstacles.
2. Preparation. You must be properly prepared.
3. Invocation. The Mighty Ones must be invoked.
4. Consecration. The Circle must be properly cast and consecrated and you must have properly consecrated tools.
5. Purification. You must be purified.

Note that just as there are eight ways of making magic, so are there eight sabbats in the wheel of the year, and just as there are five steps to magical success, so are there five points on the pentagram.  Eight and five are reoccurring sacred numbers in the Craft, and eight times five is forty, a number used in many magical applications.  For example, the scourge is often used in counts of forty.

Although I was trained and raised in a Gardnerian coven, and I value the insights and experiences I gained there I am now walking a different crooked path.  Let's analyze the eight ways of making magic and the five steps to success from an AFW point of view.

Fachan

1. Meditation or concentration
Concentration on a subject is the most basic form of raising and sending energy.  The evil eye is nothing more than negative thoughts clarified through intent and projected through the sense of sight. Meditation is a deeper form of concentration, and can be enhanced through specific postures and gestures.  These postures can be compared to eastern yogic traditions although they have roots in Celtic forms of magic, such as the one-legged one-eyed stance which emulates the posture of the crane and the fachan for battle magic.  Fergus Kelly in The Guide To Early Irish Law makes a statement that helps define it as a magic that kills. Kelly writes:

"...some of their sorcery was effected through córrguinech, a term which seems to mean 'heron (or crane) killing', and apparently involved the recitation of a satire standing on one leg with one arm raised and one eye shut."

2. Chants, Spells, Invocations
This way of raising energy encompasses many different techniques, all of which have to do with the spoken word.  Chanting is the original idea behind "enchantment".  The words of a chant can reinforce the intent of the magic, or they can be seemingly nonsensical words with traditional meaning.  An example of this kind of chant is the popular so-called "Basque Witches Chant".

Eko, eko, Azarak

Eko, eko, Zomelak

Bazabi lacha bachabe

Lamac cahi achababe

Karrellyos

Lamac lamac Bachalyas

Cabahagy sabalyos

Baryolos

Lagoz atha cabyolas

Samahac atha famolas

Hurrahya!

Spells, just as they sound, were once written or "spelled" documents detailing the results desired. This form of magic was especially popular in ancient Rome, when "spells" would be written on lead tablets and given to one of the elements. (burning, tossing into water, burying, etc.)  Nowadays a spell is any set of actions that brings about change through an act of magic.  They often utilize components with specific correspondences to the desired outcome.  Hoodoo uses its own traditional recipes and spell components to work magic. 

Invocation is a special kind of vocalization used to invite the presence of the Old Ones.  Also included in this is the concept of evocation.  Invocation is the inviting of a spirit into oneself. Evocation is the inviting of a spirit to be present in local space.  Invocation is a carefully learned skill in many traditions.  It demands trust and an understanding of the other realms.  The spirits that we work with in our tradition are ancient and powerful.  Safety and discipline are paramount during an invocation.

3. Projection of the Astral Body, or Trance

Projection of the astral body is a technique taught in several ways in our tradition.  One can "fly" out on a broomstick or other gandreigh by use of an ointment, potion, or shamanic training.  The fetch is an etheric construct used for projecting the astral body into that it may wander in that form.

In truth, all of the ways of making magic seek to bring the magician into a form of trance, even if it is very light.  Through trance we perceive other realms and can manipulate the energy links that connect all things as one. Drumming and guided meditation are two ways that trance can a achieved. Many of the following ways of making magic also assist in achieving trance.

Amanita Muscaria

4. Incense, Drugs, Wine, etc.
Entheogens have a long and storied history in the Craft, particularly the Solanaceae. They have been used in flying ointments, transformation elixirs, herbal incenses, smokes, anointing oils, washes, and any mixture you can think of.  Also popular in certain circles are amanita muscaria, wormwood, damiana, hashish, syrian rue, and countless others. Wine, of course, is central to the Red Meal, and also serves as a gentle way to let slip our egos and find ourselves outside of consensus reality when used in moderation.  All of these substances are dangerous, and several of them are also illegal.  This is certainly one of the ways of magic that should not be attempted by the untrained witch.

5. Dancing
Dancing may be the oldest form of celebration and communication.  It is central of the raising of power through the treading of the mill.  The mill is tread by moving widdershins with a lamed step over ground where the compass has been laid.  More vigorous treading of the mill can happen in large groups where the spiral is danced inward and outward in a kind of follow-the-leader procession.  Dancing in circles around a bonfire is an ancient and pan-cultural tradition.  This form of raising power can be witnessed at many sabbats and festivals around the world.

Warricking in preparation for scourging

6. Use of the Cords
7.  The Scourge
These, also known as warricking and stropping, are often used in combination to produce the desired trance state.  The cords are used to slightly restrict blood flow to certain areas of the body while the person being bound is made to stand or sit in uncomfortable positions also used to restrict circulation.

The cords are also used in knot magic, and as a symbol for the magical link.  Through the contemplation of certain knots, plaits, and other features of the cord a trance state can be achieved much like in the use of a rosary or prayer beads.

The scourge is used almost always in a light stroking motion to encourage blood flow into certain areas.  Only in extreme circumstances is the scourge used in anger or with force. Light, rhythmic application of the scourge can produce trance just as would a steady drumbeat, or the use of the lamed step.

8. The Great Rite
The Great Rite in full is the act of sexual congress between two individuals who have each invoked a God or Goddess.  Another term for this act is the hieros gamos. What Gardner was actually getting at by including this as one of the ways of making magic was the ideal of sexual energy being used as a conduit for magic.  Anyone can do this, partnered or not, invoked or not. It is quite popular in modern chaos magic circles, particularly those influenced by the work of A.O. Spare.  In our tradition we refer to the use of sex magic as drewery.