A witch's knot, also called a witches knot or witch knot, is four pointed loops woven from one unbroken line, often with a circle running through the middle. Witches use it today as a protection charm, especially at doors and windows, and as a symbol of a spell bound tight. It's one of the most popular witch symbols for jewelry and tattoos, even though its history is harder to trace than most.
What Is a Witch's Knot?
A witch's knot is a knot design with four pointed loops, one facing each direction, drawn as a single continuous line that weaves over and under itself. Many versions add a circle that passes through all four loops, which ties the design together and gives it a center.
To draw one, start at the tip of one loop and keep your pen moving: curve down into the center, out to the next tip, and back, until you've made four loops and returned to where you started without lifting the pen. That unbroken line is the heart of the symbol's meaning.
What Does the Witch's Knot Mean?
The witch's knot stands for protection and for binding. Here's how practitioners use it today:
- Protection. Drawn over a door, a window, or a bed, it's meant to keep harm out. The idea is that a line with no beginning and no end gives unwanted energy no way in.
- Binding a spell. A knot holds something in place, so the witch's knot is used to seal an intention and keep a working from coming undone.
- The four elements or directions. Its four loops are often read as earth, air, fire, and water, or north, south, east, and west, held together by one line.
These meanings come from modern witchcraft. We couldn't find the witch's knot recorded under that name in older sources, so it's best understood as a modern symbol built on much older ideas about knots and protective marks, which the next section covers.
Is the Witch's Knot Old? What History Actually Shows
The ideas behind the witch's knot are old, even if the symbol itself is hard to date. Here's what history does record:
Witch marks. People in Britain carved protective symbols, now called apotropaic marks or witch marks, into the walls, beams, and thresholds of buildings to protect them from witchcraft and evil spirits. These "architectural spells," as JSTOR Daily calls them, were cut or burned at the places a house could be entered: doors, windows, and fireplaces. The most common design is the daisy wheel, a flower-like pattern of overlapping circles. Others include the letters VV and M for the Virgin Mary, and crisscrossing lines meant to confuse any spirits that tried to follow. Examples survive at the Bradford-on-Avon Tithe Barn in Wiltshire and on a window sill dated about 1616 at Owlpen Manor in Gloucestershire.
Knot magic. Tying a spell into knots is an old folk practice. A witch's ladder, a cord knotted with feathers, was found hidden in the roof space of a house in Wellington, Somerset, that was demolished in 1878. Each knot in a cord like that holds part of the spell.
What we couldn't find is a historical record of this exact four-looped knot carved as a witch mark, or of where the name "witch's knot" comes from. Many websites say the witch's knot was carved on medieval doors and barns, but the marks that actually survive are mostly daisy wheels, letters, and crossed lines. The witch's knot carries the same purpose as those marks, even if it isn't one of them.
Is a Witch's Knot a Celtic Knot?
A witch's knot is drawn in the style of Celtic knotwork, with lines that weave over and under, and it's often sold as a Celtic symbol. But unlike the triquetra, which appears in early Celtic manuscripts like the Book of Kells, we couldn't find the witch's knot in early Celtic art. It's fair to call it Celtic-style, but not an ancient Celtic symbol. Many witch's knot designs do weave in Celtic elements, such as small triquetras inside the loops.
The witch's knot is also different from the triskelion, which has three spirals turning from a center, and from the triquetra, which has three loops instead of four.
How to Use a Witch's Knot
Here are some common ways practitioners use the witch's knot:
- Mark your threshold. Draw the knot in chalk, oil, or salt water over a door or window, or on the underside of a doormat, and name what it keeps out as you draw.
- Carve it into a candle. Before a protection spell, carve the knot into the side of a candle and let it burn while you focus on keeping your space safe.
- Wear it. A witch's knot pendant or ring works as a protection charm you carry with you.
- Tie it into cord. In knot magic, you tie a knot for each part of your intention while saying it aloud, then keep the cord somewhere safe.
- Add it to a sigil or jar. Draw the knot on a petition paper or the lid of a protection jar. Our protection symbols guide and sigil maker can help you combine it with other marks.
If you're turning to protection magic because someone is threatening or harming you, get safe first: call 911, or reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Spellwork comes after you're safe.
Witch's Knot Tattoos, Necklaces, and Rings
The witch's knot is one of the most popular witch symbols for tattoos and jewelry, because it reads as protection at a glance and looks good in a simple line. Many people wear it as a pendant or ring to keep its protection close, or choose it as a tattoo to mark a commitment to their practice.
Our Witch's Knot Pendant Necklace is cast in pewter, with four pointed loops woven around a circle and small triquetras inside. Our witch symbols guide covers 40 more symbols.
Witches Knot FAQ
What is a witches knot?
A witches knot is four pointed loops woven from one unbroken line, often with a circle through the middle. Witches use it as a protection charm and as a symbol of a spell bound tight.
What does a witch's knot do?
Practitioners use it to protect a home or person, especially at doors and windows, and to seal or bind a spell. It's also read as the four elements held together by one line.
How do you activate a witch's knot?
There's no single rule. Many practitioners cleanse the item with smoke or moonlight, then hold it and say what they want it to protect, the same way they would with any charm.
Which hand should a witch's knot be worn on?
No tradition sets a hand. Wear a witch's knot ring or bracelet wherever you'll see it often or wherever it feels right to you.
Is a witch's knot a Celtic knot?
It's drawn in a Celtic-knotwork style and often sold as Celtic, but we couldn't find it in early Celtic art the way the triquetra is. It's best described as Celtic-style rather than an ancient Celtic symbol.
Is a witch's knot the same as a triquetra?
No. A witch's knot has four loops and a triquetra has three. Both are woven from a continuous line, which is why they're often confused.
Sources
- Apotropaic magic, Wikipedia
- Witches' Marks Protected Spaces from Evil, JSTOR Daily
- Witch's ladder, Wikipedia
