| The Cord or Cingulum |
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| Otherwise known as the girdle, cingulim, or cable tow. The latter name derives from its use in various initiation rituals. The cord is used basically to measure the radius of your circles. To make the cord, you should ideally spin your own flax or gather your owen river rushes. Never mind, thought; do as most urban witches do and buy your cording. Use black cotton or natural fiber cord. Buy 24 feet of cord and cut into one 16 foot piece and one 8 foot piece. Lay the 8 foot piece out straight and around it lay the 16 foot piece, so you end up with three lengths. When the mood is waxing, exorcise these with water and fire, and knotting the three ends together at the top, start braiding them, chanting the following jingle, binding in the magical light with each twist: "Made to measure, wrought to bind, blessed be thou cord entwined." When you finish, make a large firm knot so as to prevent them from unraveling, and repeat your sealing words, "So mote it be!" Then put in away for future magical use. |
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