witch ladder

A form of witch's ladder — In folk magic, a charm or talisman made from knotted or plaited cord or hair, with various things like feathers braided or knotted into it.

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Meanings

nounwitch ladder (plural witch ladders)

plural witch ladders

  1. alternativeAlternative form of witch's ladder.

    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."

    1892, Charles Godfrey Leland, Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition, page 353
    1 more example

    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.

    1970, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle, published 1984, page xi. 144
Cite this entry
APA

witch ladder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witch%20ladder

MLA

“witch ladder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witch%20ladder. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “witch ladder,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/witch%20ladder.

Source: witch ladder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.