The Cord That Grows Heavy is a prosperity knot spell in which nine knots tied along an oiled green thread bind steady increase to the rhythm of your labour and the turning of the moon. There is an hour when the moon leans toward fullness and every growing thing strains upward toward the light, and in that hour a cord tied with intent begins to gather what it has been told to gather. This is money magic for wealth that stays: not the sudden windfall that scatters like sparks, but the slow tightening of a purse-string around what is earned and kept.
Correspondences for This Spell
- Colours: green for money, gold for wealth — the shades to dress your thread and candle in.
- Herbs: basil, cinnamon and mint, the drawing herbs of a full purse.
- Crystal: citrine, or green aventurine or pyrite if you prefer.
- Day: Thursday, the day of open-handed fortune.
- Planet: Jupiter, ruler of expansion and honest gain.
- Element: Earth, which grounds abundance in the material world.
- Moon: the waxing moon, to grow abundance as the light itself grows.
For a fuller table of colours, herbs, and planetary hours, see the correspondences guide.
What You Will Need
- A length of green thread, cord, or embroidery floss, long enough to hold nine knots.
- An anointing oil — olive, almond, or a dressed prosperity oil scented with cinnamon or basil.
- A small bell to ring once over the finished cord.
- A single candle, green or gold, to stand as your only witness.
- Optional: a citrine chip or a pinch of dried mint to coil inside the cord.
The Best Time to Cast
Cast on a waxing moon, when the lunar light swells fuller night by night — knot magic for increase should always be worked as the moon grows, so your fortune swells with it. Choose a Thursday if you can, the day ruled by Jupiter, planet of luck, expansion, and fair gain. A waxing Thursday after dark, once the house has gone quiet, is the strongest hour for this working.
The Working
- Wait until the moon is waxing and the house has gone quiet, and kindle one small flame to stand as your only witness.
- Draw a length of green thread slowly through oiled fingers, end to end, until it darkens like a thing well-fed.
- At one end tie the first knot, and name aloud a true source of your keeping: work, harvest, gift, or fair trade.
- Move down the cord until nine knots are tied, and with each speak a coin’s worth of what you mean to draw toward you.
- Ring a bell once above the finished cord, that the vow be heard in the quiet and answered.
- Coil it and lay it where your money passes, in a drawer, a purse, or upon the threshold shelf, and leave it untouched until the moon stands full.
- On each waxing night between, take it up and feel the nine knots beneath your thumb, that the working stay warm.
Wear the cord near where your coin gathers, and when the knots have done their slow work, bury it at a crossroads with thanks and tie another in its place.
The Incantation
Nine knots I tie, nine words I keep,
let nothing loosen while I sleep.
Cord grow heavy, purse grow deep,
gather the harvest I mean to reap.
By waxing moon and steady hand,
let increase come, and let it stand.
Variations & Substitutions
- No green thread? Any natural fibre in a prosperity colour will serve — gold ribbon, brown twine, or undyed wool you have coloured with intent.
- No bell? Clap once, chime a glass with a spoon, or strike any resonant metal to seal the vow in sound.
- Deepen the draw by anointing the thread with cinnamon or basil oil; use plain olive oil if you keep no dressed oils.
A Word on Intent
Wiccan prosperity magic follows the Rede: an it harm none, do what ye will. Knot your cord toward increase that is earned, given, or fairly traded — never toward another’s loss, and never to pull away what belongs to someone else. Ask for a full purse, not an empty one beside you. Money magic works best as a partner to honest effort: tie your knots, then walk the road that lets fortune find you.
Related Prosperity Spells
Copy this working into your own Book of Shadows, and explore more knot, candle, and herb magic in the Grimoire.