A love charm popular among the English Gypsies is mentioned in Charles Godfrey Leland’s book of Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling. It calls for an onion or a tulip bulb to be planted in a clean and previously unused pot, while the name of one’s beloved is recited. Every day at both sunrise and sunset, the following incantation should be said over the pot:

   “As this root grows
   And as this blossom blows,
   May his [or her] heart be
   Turned unto me!”

As each day passes, “the one whom you love will be more and more inclined to you, till you get your heart’s desire.”

There is an old belief among Gypsies that willow-knots (willow twigs that have naturally grown into a knot) are twined by fairy-folk, and to undo one invites bad luck. To recover stolen goods, a Gypsy man will often tie a string around a willow-knot and say: “With this string I bind the thief ’s luck!” But if it is the love of a particular woman that he desires, he will cut the willow-knot and hold it in his mouth while, at the same time, turning his thoughts to the woman and reciting the following spoken charm: