You ever hear about knot magic or a witch's ladder? There’s a couple different ways it can play out, so here’s a few example purposes.
binding something (negative energy, feelings, etc) with a series of knots and burning the string to cleanse it from you
binding something's abilities until you undo the knots
storing energy within a knot and then untying it when you need the specific energy contained within
Honestly, go look up some of the examples here on Tumblr if you haven’t heard of it already. But, the general gist is the energy of the spell is contained within a knotted piece of string, to either maintain or store a spell's workings until such time as the knot is undone. This is a great and subtle way to do magic as most people don't think much about a knotted piece of string lying around.
Along those same lines, most people don't think too much about a zipped (compressed) file folder on your computer. When reading about knot magic I thought “hmm, wouldn’t this work well with zip files on a computer?”
Gather the contents for the zip file. It doesn't have to be one file, mind you. I try to think of a couple different things that can help with my intent. For example, if I am storing energy and motivation, I'll include a file that is the core of my spell, sure... but I'll also add in a motivational gif, a quote that inspires me, a song that makes me happy, an animal picture, whatever I think will make me motivated.
If you are making multiple zip files at once, remember that each needs its own energy. Copy-paste is tempting on the computer but it can dilute the magic.
Decide what sort of ritual you wish to do while compressing the files. For me, most of tech magic is about front-loading intent so that, when you go to enact the magic, it's already charged and loaded with power. You might want to have a small spell to recite or something in mind to visualize. Decide on a specific name for the file archive that is both protective and binding to hold the energy for you, while also being nondescript enough that no one will question it.
Do the thing and compress the files! How you do this and what file type it will save as will depend on your device's OS and software. Remember to follow through on the ritual you planned.
And there you go! If this is a spell that requires "burning" the "knots," then you'll want to release the energy by deleting the zip file. If this is the sort of spell you open at a later date, put the compressed file in a safe place. Put it in a folder somewhere that you'll remember. If you have a good flash drive to store these things in that you won't lose, that's a great option. If you want it for use on a different device, move it now. Be careful with cloud storage.
When the time comes, unzip the file. There are methods to do this on phones as well as desktops, so go for what works for you. As the files extract from the archive, embrace what you stored within. Consume/enact any magical elements you stored. View/enjoy any mundane elements you stored.
If you want to save any element of an unzipped file for your spell work for later reference, put them in a "magically used up files" folder somewhere, like storing incense ash in the physical world. They've done their piece, so let them rest.
