Quick Specs
- Brand: Weiser
- Author: Loren Morris
- Subtitle: The Art of Braiding and Knotting Spell Cords
- Format: Paperback, 176 pages
- Dimensions: 6 x 9 in
- ISBN-13: 9781578639199
- Published: July 6, 2026
Spell Cords Made Strand by Strand
Long braided cords hang in many metaphysical and witchcraft shops, strung with beads, shells and amulets. The publisher’s description calls them a form of magic: textiles, knots and the crafter’s intention come together as a physical form of a spell. The Crafty Witch’s Guide to Cord Magic is a how-to for making them. Loren Morris shows finished cords alongside cords in progress, so you can watch a piece take shape from loose strands to completion. The publisher describes her as a practicing witch of more than twenty-five years who pairs spiritual insight with detailed instructions for turning braiding into a tool for manifesting intentions and deepening your own magical practice. The emphasis falls on the making. You pick the intention, gather materials associated with it, and put your will into each pass of the braid. The publisher calls the process meditative, and it suits people who like to work slowly with their hands. A finished cord can be worn or set out as a talisman, which gives the intention a physical anchor you can see. The cover shows how much one cord can hold: a braid in green and gold carrying ribbons, keys, feathers, charms and tarot cards.
The book builds its toolkit before the projects. Early chapters cover braids and knots in magic, then the symbolism of bells, keys and feathers, then braiding tarot into your work, followed by runes and bindrunes, magical alphabets and sigil magic. Each is a way of loading a cord with meaning beyond color and material. The themed projects cover cords for money, sun abundance, love, wishes for a baby, the zodiac and a sea witch’s cord of salt and sea, along with reversal and binding cords and deity devotional work. A closing chapter looks at the life cycle of a spell cord. A review at PaganPages by Lynn Woike singles out the long materials lists tied to each intention, along with directions for collecting items, programming the components and assembling the cord. She also credits the black-and-white illustrations and diagrams, along with the cautions and tips scattered through the text. Fiber arts author Opal Luna says the step-by-step instructions give you enough knowledge to create cords of your own. That balance of structure and room to adapt is what makes the book useful project after project.
Practical Ritual Applications
Choose one intention before you buy anything, then read the matching project from start to finish so you know what the cord requires. Beads are a natural place to begin, since beads, shells and amulets are common materials in spell cords, and my creativity and beads collection is a good place to look for them. Set aside a quiet stretch of time for braiding, since the work is slow and rewards your full attention. Finished cords can hang from a high shelf, a doorway or an altar, the way shop cords do. A seasonal cord can mark a Sabbat, and a zodiac or abundance cord makes a personal gift for someone whose sign or goals it reflects. Keep a small notebook of what you used in each cord and when you made it, so a favorite combination is easy to repeat.
How to Work Through a Spell Cord Project
Use this sequence to take a cord from first idea to finished piece.
- Choose the Intention and Collect the Materials
Decide what the cord is for, in a sentence you can say aloud, and pick the project that matches it. Read that project through, then gather the listed items before you begin. Having every strand, bead and charm on the table first lets you braid in one unbroken sitting, which suits the focused, meditative pace of cord work.
- Program the Components and Braid
Follow the directions for programming each component with your intention before it goes into the cord, whether that's a bead, a ribbon, a charm or a feather. Then braid slowly, keeping your attention on the purpose. Tie each knot as a deliberate act, since the book treats knots as the points where intention is secured.
- Activate the Cord and Give It a Place
Complete the activation step the project describes, then decide where the cord will live: an altar, a doorway or a high shelf where you'll see it. The final chapter, on the life cycle of a spell cord, picks up from there, so read it before you finish your first cord and you'll know what to expect.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock The Crafty Witch’s Guide to Cord Magic because cord work is a hands-on branch of witchcraft, and a book built around clear projects gives you a way into the craft. It fits my spellcraft, witchcraft and magic books, where a single cord can draw on tarot, runes, herbs and charms at once. If you already braid, bead or work with fiber, it gives those skills a magical framework. If you’ve never made a cord, it gives you a place to start. It also pairs well with a tarot deck or a set of runes, since the book shows how to work both into a cord.
Frequently Asked Questions
It builds in stages, which helps if you're new. Early chapters explain how braids and knots work in magic, and a chapter on braiding a simple spell cord comes before the themed projects. The publisher calls the instructions clear and detailed, and a PaganPages reviewer says the book inspired her first spell cord. Expect a hands-on craft: you'll be gathering materials, braiding and tying knots, so basic comfort with cord or thread is useful even if you've never worked magic with it.
Each project lists its own materials, so you gather what the cord you've chosen requires. The publisher mentions textiles, beads, shells and amulets worked into the cords, and the review and endorsements add herbs, crystals, ribbons, feathers, cinnamon sticks and tarot cards. The reviewer's Lughnasadh cord used sunflowers, ribbons, tarot cards, corn, oak leaves and rosemary. Read your chosen project first, since the list changes with the intention, and gather everything before you start braiding.
The names overlap. Cord magic, knot magic and string magic all describe working intention into cord through knots or braids. A witch's ladder is a folk form of the practice: a knotted cord or braid with feathers or charms worked in, and the first one documented in England turned up in Somerset in 1878. A PaganPages review describes the decorative spell cords in this book as witches' ladders, and the publisher's description centers on braided and knotted cords with beads, shells and amulets, so the book sits in that family of practice.
The publisher describes the book as combining ancient wisdom with modern practice, and an early chapter looks at the roles braids and knots have held in magical and spiritual practice across many cultures. Cord magic here is a craft you shape around your own intention, and the publisher's description ends by leaving the intention up to you. You can bring the methods into whatever practice you already follow.
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