Binding magic, spells or rituals have been used throughout time for positive, negative and even selfish reasons; they were used by the early Romans to stop theft, attraction and love. The ancient Greeks first used binding magic which they called katadesmos, these were found on either curse or spell tablets made from parchment or engraved into clay and were used in sporting events to ensure victory and for revenge. Binding magic can also be found in the New Testament Mathew 16.19.
In witchcraft there are also many forms of binding and varying degrees of difficulty that can be either used as a spell, ritual or ceremonial. Most commonly used today by witches is to restrain somebody preventing them from doing something or to keep an individual from causing harm to themselves or to others. Handfasting ceremonies are also quite common where two people are bound together magically through the use of a symbolic cord (a witches wedding if you like).
Witches have always been known to make their own amulets for protection against any form of binding. Poppets, candles, runes, photos and paper are used when binding a person.
Binding magic should be left to the most experienced of witches as this type of magic can be complex and can be dangerous, more often than none it uses a form black magic which some witches today still choose not to use. As an old example of binding magic, witches were asked to bind ghosts to their graves by inscribing there name onto a piece of lead and nailing it to the grave. This idea still remains today by the use of a tombstone or headstone.
