The awakening of the heart fire: A rite of snow and knot magick

In times of old one of the most important places in the home was the hearth, a space which kept a continuous fire to maintain and keep the home warm. It was very much considered to be the focal point and heart of the house as well as the common living room for all important matters with its inhabitants, not to mention the spirit of the home was believed to have resided in it. As people would clean and refuel/ reawaken their hearth fire so will we do the same with the “heart fire,” the self fire within that motivates and brings us passion towards our goals. In this Imbolc ritual today we’ll activate and refuel our heart fire using a nine knot spell so we can capture that fiery essence of this tide to remove those stagnant energies within, so that we can lock in and get it done!

So to begin you'll get a piece of snow and envision it as something unwanted, unneeded, or simply something you’ll want to remove from yourself and hold it in your hands or on top of your head. Hold the snow and name what must be gone and simply say:

This is no longer mine to carry.

As it melts into your hand, breathe slowly and evenly as it loosens up and dissolves in your hands. If it begins to sting, take a moment for yourself and let it be the last discomfort it gives you. If you feel compelled to place that snow on a specific part of your body feel free to place it there and let it melt away. 

Now with the condition now gone, wipe your hands with a paper towel and discard it where it can be left to rest, now at this time take your red cord and infuse it with what you wish to bring in and manifest throughout this year until the next Imbolc. As you hold the item in your hand you can breath what you want to see upon it, and when you have what you want to change for yourself you’ll pass your cord through the rising incense smoke and utter this simple phrase:

As the serpent awakens in the belly of the earth

So does my heart burn for change

With the cord now being blessed go ahead and tie on it 9 nines to conjure this change for yourself or a situation, with each knot being tied reaffirming your intention.

There exist many spoken charms that go along with this spell, with this one being a personal favorite of mine:

By knot of one oh serpent come,

By knot of two the spell to do,

By knot of three I conjure thee,

By knot of four ‘tis through the door,

By knot of five the spell to thrive,

By knot of six the spell to fix,

By knot of seven now I have ‘em!

By knot of eight ‘tis sealed by fate,

By knot of nine the spell I bind.

Once the spell is made you can hold onto this cord whenever you need to reaffirm your manifestation or goal you want to bring in. During this tide when you are to traditionally place ribbons or scarfs outside to be blessed by Brigid you can actually leave this cord outdoors to also be blessed as well, and if one has a corn dolly or Brigid cross this item can also be wrapped around it. 

This form of knot magick can actually be used for all sorts of purposes and petitions with my favorite way of working with it being to capture the full moon and unbinding it for specific spells.