witch ladder

English

Alternative forms
  • witch's ladder

Noun

witch ladder (plural witch ladders)

  1. (folk magic) A charm or talisman in the form of knotted or plaited cord, twine, hair, etc.
    • 1892, Charles Godfrey Leland, Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition, page 353:
      The next day I showed the woman the engraving of the witch-ladder in the Folk-Lore Journal. She was astonished, and said, "Why that is la guirlanda delle strege which I described yesterday."
    • 1970, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle, published 1984, page xi. 144:
      Next he tied nine knots in a short length of string, and sprinkled some dead flies into the fire. "Take thou a mandrake [...] Bind the root, with a witch ladder," he held up the knotted string.
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