Vincent van Gogh, Café Terrace At Night, 1888, oil on canvas, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo

(Gif not mine, ya’ll.)

“Here, put this on. It will protect you. It’s made from the threads your friends wove together.”

I’ve seen some Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli spells but not anything for this, so I took a crack at it. This spell is based on the scene where Zeniba, No Face, Bo, and Yubaba’s bird make Chihiro a new hair tie. But instead of a hair tie, you’re gonna be making a bracelet.

What you need:

Purple thread* and 4 or 5 other colored threads that match (or dont) purple.

Beads and charms (optional)

Picture of your loved one

Candle (tea light works)

*I say purple because in the movie, it’s a purple hair tie and some sources cite purple as being used to drive away evil and negative energy. But you can change it to any colors you want!

What you’re gonna do:

Gather up all your supplies and sit somewhere comfortable.

Light the candle (any color, but if you’ve got a color candle that you use for protection, go ahead and use that one) and place the picture next to the candle and gather up some energy with the intent of protecting this person.

Start making your friendship bracelet. Here’s a tutorial for a traditional friendship bracelet (link). This is one for a twister bracelet (link), this is one for a square knotted bracelet (link), this is for a Chevron bracelet (link). Choose whichever tickles your fancy and start braiding. While you braid the threads, think about your loved one and protecting them. Let every braid carry that protective and loving energy.

Add a bead/charm, or a few, in there if you’d like. Let every bead you add heighten that protection.

When you’re finishing it and knotting it up, use the knots to fasten the protection into the bracelet.

Blow/snuff your candle off or let it burn all the way down.