Brandy Williams - Cord Magic: Tapping Into the Power of String, Yarn, Twists & Knots

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Cord Magic: Tapping into the Power of String, Yarn, Twists & Knots 2021 by Brandy Williams.

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First e-book edition 2021

E-book ISBN: 9780738766782

Book design by Samantha Peterson

Cover design by Shannon McKuhen

Editing by Laura Kurtz

Illustrations by Wen Hsu

Illustrations on pages by Llewellyn Art Department

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Williams, Brandy, author.

Title: Cord magic : tapping into the power of string, yarn, twists & knots

Description: First edition. | Woodbury, Minnesota : Llewellyn Publications,

2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: About

cord magic and knot magic; includes making a cord, numerology (of knots,

threads, etc.), color symbolism, various fabrics, weaving/cord goddesses

of different cultures, special projects, etc Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020057835 (print) | LCCN 2020057836 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738766058 (paperback) | ISBN 9780738766782 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Magic. | Ritual. | CordageReligious aspects. | Knots and

splicesReligious aspects.

Classification: LCC BF1623.C66 W66 2021 (print) | LCC BF1623.C66 (ebook)

| DDC 133.4/3--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057835

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020057836

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

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Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

: Cord Magic Basics

: What Is Cord Magic?

: Making a Cord

: Unmaking a Cord

: Cord Magic Design

: Number

: Color

: Fiber

: Purpose

: Knot Magic

: Cord Magic Projects

: Cord Magic Kit

: Cords for Specific Places and Times

: Cord Magic Projects

Preface

I learned how to twist cord from Rhea Loader. She knows the simple method used to make rope and taught a group of my friends together. For years, we all held classes and workshops showing other people the technique. We made cords for every possible magical purpose and wore them to every Pagan party.

That was just the start of our teaching careers; many of us went on to accept apprentices and lead magical groups. After a decade of teaching a beginners class, I was ready to dive into more in-depth work. I wrote Practical Magic for Beginners to capture the material I give people just starting on their adventures in magic. When newcomers asked me to teach them, I could hand them the book!

Since then, Ive been heads-down in creating new ways of thinking about the magics that we do. Ive made space for women and other not-male genders in Ceremonial Magic, which was largely built by and for men. Ive connected our current practice to the Pagan teachers of the past who built philosophical and religious frameworks as sophisticated and life-affirming as any of the major religions on the planet. Ive linked up with other people working on these ideas too, and we write together and talk on podcasts and teach at conferences.

Practical magic never goes out of fashion. However lofty our spiritual goals, as long as we are physical beings well need to have a place to stay and food to eat, good health, and companionship and love. Magic helps us to get and keep those things. Ive continued to do the candle spells of practical magic and the cord spells my young friends and I created together.

One day I was packaging a birthday present for a friend. It had a nice notebook and a fancy pen for jotting down ideas. It needed something else though. I grabbed some embroidery floss from my collection and picked green for health, yellow for happiness, and red for protection. The coven was gathering to meet that night so I had a houseful of people. I grabbed one of my coven mates and asked him to help me twist the cord. It was the first time hed seen the technique and he instantly fell in love with it. Hey, he said, you could write about this!

That was how I came to write this book. It brought me back to the fun I had making cords with my friends. One summer, three of my friends and I drove to California to attend a Pagan conference. We drove all day and night into the next day. We didnt stop until we reached the ocean. We tumbled out of the car, happy to stretch our legs. Hey, I said, lets make a cord to remember this. We each picked a color: blue-green for the ocean, beige for the sand, light blue for the sky, and yellow for our happiness. We made it together and cut it into sections for each of us to carry away.

Later at the conference, I taught a cord magic workshop. Sitting on a grassy field, I talked about the building blocks of magic, color, and number and simple affirmations. Then I broke out the bags of yarn and tossed them to the crowd. The field exploded with color as people measured out lengths and twisted them together, laughing and making magic with each other.

I hope cord magic brings you happy fun as well.