Binding Magic
Binding magic is the art of restriction: the weaving of limits around a person, spirit, or force to prevent harm, halt disruption, or contain danger. To bind is not to destroy, but to restrain. It is the magical equivalent of tying a knot in a cord, locking a door, or placing a vessel over a flame so it cannot spread. At its heart, binding is an act of containment — a way of saying no further when a presence threatens to overreach.
In practice, binding begins with simple acts. The novice may learn to tie knots while speaking words of intent, each loop and twist fixing the harmful force more tightly. A written name may be wrapped, sealed, or contained in a vessel so that its influence cannot wander. A poppet, carefully crafted, may be confined within protective wards, its power halted by symbolic restraint. These workings are tactile, grounding the abstract idea of limitation into visible, physical form.
As the path deepens, binding extends into more subtle acts of will. A practitioner may draw sigils of restriction, call upon elemental or guardians to hold a force in check, or layer wards that lock and overlap like iron gates. Binding can also take shape through spoken command, ritual gesture, or invocation of oath and law. At its highest refinement, it becomes less about tools and more about the sheer authority of presence: a witch whose will is steady and disciplined can establish limits without ever raising a hand.
Binding is rarely solitary. It moves in close partnership with other magical types. Protection magic often begins with binding, securing the perimeter before wards are raised. Banishing and binding are twin practices: one drives away, the other restrains. In mediumship, binding safeguards the practitioner, ensuring that wandering spirits do not cling or interfere. Within curse and hex work, binding appears in darker forms — but in the Coven of the Veiled Moon, we emphasize it as a shield, not a spear. It is a practice of prevention, not punishment.
Binding also lives in the rhythm of knot magic and cord work, where cords store intention, holding a situation in suspension until it can be resolved. In enchantment, bindings may be woven into talismans to limit specific influences, just as an amulet might bind illness or misfortune from its bearer. And in the ceremonial context of evocation, binding becomes a necessary safeguard: no spirit should be called without the means to set its limits and ensure its respectful dismissal.
Binding carries profound ethical weight. To place limits on another’s will is no small act, even when done for protection. The careless witch risks binding too broadly, stifling not only harm but also growth, or entangling themselves in unintended consequences. Worse still, some mistake binding for cursing, using it as a means of control or vengeance — but such misuse inevitably rebounds, knotting the practitioner’s own spirit into patterns of resentment and imbalance.
In the Coven of the Veiled Moon, we teach that binding is a protective act of last resort, employed when harm cannot be otherwise diverted. It is undertaken with clarity, documented with boundaries, and always accompanied by the recognition that unbinding must remain possible. Circumstances shift, intentions change, and a knot tied too tightly may suffocate rather than safeguard. For this reason, release rituals are as important as the bindings themselves: when the danger has passed, the cords are cut, the seals broken, and the confined presence respectfully dismissed.
Our coven also maintains a cursed-item vault — a hidden, warded space where dangerous objects are bound and contained until they can be cleansed, neutralized, or safely disposed of. This is binding at its most literal: not directed toward a person, but toward the lingering, disruptive energy within a thing.
Binding is, ultimately, an act of discipline: the mastery of will not only to weave the knot, but to know when and why to tie it.
Examples
- Tying nine knots in a black cord while speaking a protective binding over a harmful individual.
- Placing a poppet of an aggressor in a sealed, warded container to halt their influence.
- Inscribing a sigil of restraint over a cursed mirror before locking it in the vault.
Note: Binding is a protective act, never a weapon. It should not be entered lightly, nor wielded as a tool of control. Every binding creates a relationship of energy between binder and bound — a tether that endures until released. For this reason, bindings must be made with clarity, firm boundaries, and the understanding that release is possible when balance is restored. To bind is to assume responsibility for what is held; misuse or carelessness will bind the practitioner just as surely as the target.
