When it comes to old forms of folk magic, knot magic is one that holds a lot of interest. Our recent and ancient ancestors used various forms of knot magic to cure headaches, release sickness, and attract love. Interestingly enough, knot magic was also used to tie up the winds. It has been recorded that old women would tie up the winds in a scrap of cloth and sell the cloth to sailors who, when they needed some wind, would unknot a knot and release the wind for the sails.
Here is an account of tying up the winds in an article from 1902.
Selling the Wind
It seems incredible, but it is nevertheless a fact, that as late as the year 1814 an old woman named Bessie Millie, of Pomona, in the Orkney Islands, sold favorable winds to seamen at the small price of 6d. a vessel. For many years witches were supposed to sell the wind. The Finlanders and Laplanders made quite a trade by selling winds. The old women, after being well paid by the credulous sailors, used to knit three magical knots; the buyer was told he would have a good gale when he untied the first knot, the second knot would bring a strong wind, and the third a severe tempest. At one time winds were sold at Mont St. Michael in Normandy, and arrows were sold at the same time to charm away bad storms. Source
