A sacral knot is a strip of cloth, a scarf or shawl, knotted to form a noose with free-hanging ends. It is depicted in various scenes in Minoan iconography, often attached to the garments of figures apparently participating in ceremonies. The motif conventionally termed a “sacral knot” is therefore believed to represent a garment of symbolic significance which may have signalled the content of religious ceremonies and/or have been a distinguishing mark of the priestesses who took part in them. It appears as an element of female dress in frescoes, the best-known being “La Parisienne”, on seals and in vase-painting together with other religious symbols such as the double axe or figure-of-eight shield, and on inlays of bone and faience attached to various small objects. In other civilisations of the East, the symbol of the sacral knot has apotropaic properties or is associated with magical practices.