The Witches' Ladder

Knots, cords, beads feathers, bones, sticks, and stones - the Witches' Ladder is made up of any combination of these things. Simple and effective, the Witches' Ladder incorporates basic knot magic with elemental correspondences to create a distinctive and powerful talisman that you can hang in your home for protection or give as a gift to your friends for one of the sabbats.

A Witches' Ladder is a length of cord that is knotted to hold feathers or other objects. It is used in multiple-part spell or consecration practice that takes place over the span of a lunar month, though you could construct one based on planetary hours, or tie it at the same time each day, or link it to a certain sabbat or Full Moon etc.

The important thing is to remain consistent and to repeat the same procedure each time so that you keep charging the ladder the same way each time. This is part of the power of this particular charm, as it is a highly charged and potent reservoir for certain very specific energies reinforced by selected correspondences.

Thus, you can make a Witches' Ladder for home protection, fertility, prosperity, and so on. To make a Witches' Ladder, first cut a length of stout cord. Colored silk cords are attractive, but leather strips or macramé? can also be used. Be sure to pick a color that corresponds to your goal, such as green for prosperity, blue for healing, and white for protection.

I prefer to keep things manageable, so I recommend that you cut the cord at about eighteen inches or thereabouts. Cut as many lengths as you plan to make your ladders with. If you are planning on braiding your ladder, you'll need as many lengths as you care to braid together. Whether you want three, five, seven, or more is up to you, though I'd stick with three or five. You might want to seal the ends with candle wax.

Loosely roll up each length of your cord and use a small piece of scrap cord to tie into a bundle. Fumigate the little bundles with incense smoke and ritually cleanse them with the elements. Then place each set of cords into a black fabric sack, or wrap them in a square of cloth or handkerchief. If you like, you can add a few pieces of a gemstone, some herbs, or whatever other purification or blessing materials you care to include at this time.

Store the unfinished ladder components in this bag, a cloth, or somewhere dark and safe until it's time to work on the ladder. When the time is right, take your packet of cords into sacred space and begin tying them onto rings or tie a loop into the top part.

Select the objects you intend to incorporate into your ladder -feathers, shells, beads, crystals, etc. Be sure to pick objects that relate best to your goals, like tiny brass bells for a ladder of protection or small scraps of hand-made paper on which you've sketched a sigil or set of runes, rolled up and tied into the ladder.

You might like to try using feathers that you braid into the ladder; much like is done for a prayer stick. Use your imagination and creativity.

Tie one object - such as a feather or a piece of rock crystal – into the cord, or braid the cord a bit, and then insert the object. As you do this, you may wish to use a chant of visualize your intentions as vividly as possible and thus embed them to seal in the power. If working with a group, you could have the group raise power to charge the ladder and then complete the whole piece in one session.

If you're on your own, you'll probably want to do a section at a time. There's something to be said for slowly accumulating power and letting something like this develop and grow over a period of time.

If you are doing the ladder in stages, be sure to clamp or twist-tie the braid and return it to the bag or cloth. Repeat this every night for a month, or whenever the timing is right, whether that's once a month, once a year, to every odd-numbered day - select the scheme that worked best for you and stick with it.

Basic Witches' Ladder Chant

By knot of ONE, the spell's begun *--------

By knot of TWO, it cometh true *-------*

By knot of THREE, so mote it be *---*---*

By knot of FOUR, this power I store *-*-*---*

By knot of FIVE, the spell's alive *-*-*-*-*

By knot of SIX, this spell I fix ***-*-*-*

By knot of SEVEN, events I'll leaven ***-*-***

By knot of EIGHT, it will be Fate *****-***

By knot of NINE, what's done is mine *********

https://www.thegypsythread.org/witchs-ladder-talisman/
“Red for strength, good fortune in life, & physical vitality
Blue for acute mental abilities, peace, and protection
White for purity, hope, spirituality, peace, and moon blessings
Yellow for alertness, financial gain, and prosperity
Green for growth, health, and fertility
Brown for grounding, stability, and respect from your peers
Black for mystical wisdom

Orange for success, energy, and attraction of others
Iridescent Black for mystical insight
Mixed Black and White for protection and union
Barred Black, Gray, or White for hope, balance, and harmony
Feathers with “eyes” such as peacock for protection against the “evil eye” and inner clairvoyant vision
Black, White, and Blue mixed for a desire to change something”

At the tying of the last (ninth) 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.

Why would you want to store a spell? For some magick, the time for it to happen is important. Suppose, for example, that you want something constructive to happen but the most propitious time for it to do so happens to be close to the New Moon. Do you do your constructive magick during the Waxing Moon? No. You do it early on, at the Full Moon, using a cord.

Now the power is there, properly raised, but stored for use. You have nine knots. Although they are all tied in one ritual, these must be released one at a time - one a day - for nine consecutive days. Release them in the same order in which they were tied, NOT the reverse order.

In other words, on the first day untie the knot that was first tied (to know which end you started with, when making the cord, braid in a small wooden bead at one end and always start with this end); on the second day, the second knot tied; and so on.

In this fashion, the last knot untied, on the ninth day, is the ninth knot that was tied at the climax of the tying ritual - the time of greatest power. Each day, before you actually untie, do your concentration on what is to happen, rocking and again building power.

Then, as you release the knot, release the power also with a shout.

Witches Ladder for Comfort and Blessing If you want to do a spell to comfort [a sick friend], try making a witch's ladder. Take a long blue cord or ribbon, and collect seven symbols to hang from it -- things like Grey feathers for protection during sleep, sprigs of healing herbs, garlic for healing and protection, small talismans, conjure bags, charms you get the idea.

The important thing is that the symbols should represent comfort, protection, and healing. Tie them to the cord and charge it with comforting power.

https://www.thegypsythread.org/witchs-ladder-talisman/
A Witch’s Ladder is a charm or talisman that is constructed from a length of braided cord with magickal objects and feathers woven or knotted into it.  The original use of the charm is unknown, but over time it’s been integrated into modern Witchcraft. 

At the time of its discovery, it was equated to a much older item known as a Witches Garland, which was used by Witches from Italy to cast a death curse.  The Garland consisted of a knotted cord with black chicken feathers caught in the knots. 

It was buried in the earth, and as the cord decayed, the cursed person would waste away until finally perishing.   This connection gave the Witch’s Ladder an immediate and dangerous reputation among the English. 

Another and more current belief was that it was used as a counting device for repetitive chanting during spell-work; similar to how rosary beads are used by Catholics in reciting their repetitive prayers. 

This “counter” would be seen as very valuable as it allowed the Witch to focus more of their energies on spells or chants instead of trying to keep track of the number of iterations each line was spoken.

There are only a few examples of old Witch’s Ladders.  At the time of this piece, the oldest known and original specimen dates back to 1878.  It was discovered in an old house in Wellington, Somerset, in Southwest England. 

Workers discovered the object hanging in a secluded attic while the structure itself was being razed.  The cord was about five feet long with cock feathers inserted through the cord at equal position lengths and a hanging loop at one end. 

Adjacent to the hung cord was a stool and six brooms.  The woman who had owned the house was always suspected of being a Witch.  These superstitious workers proclaimed the find to be objects used by a Witch; thus “proving” the suspicions of the locals. 

It was decided that the brooms were used for flying, the stool for sitting, and the cord would serve as a rope (or ladder) to allow her and other Witches to cross the roof.  The latter understanding was concluded since there was no other way to access this particular attic space other than from outside the home, from the rooftop.  It has been known as a Witch’s Ladder ever since.