The Eight Witch's Runes
Posted by Michelle Gruben on
The Witch’s Runes are a set of magic symbols used as an oracle. (They’re unrelated to the Norse runes and other archaic alphabets.) While the exact age of this symbol set is unknown, it draws upon familiar images that will be instantly recognizable to the unconscious mind. Over time, Witch’s Runes have gained a reputation as an easy-to-learn, no-frills method for divining the past, present, and future.
Author Dana Corby published an article in the Crystal Well magazine in the 1970s outlining a traditional divination method using 13 runic symbols. (It has since been expanded and re-released as a paperback and e-book.) The Witchs Runes system later got the book treatment from Susan Sheppard in 1998 with A Witch's Runes: How to Make and Use Your Own Magick Stones.
Since we are dealing with an evolving, folk magick system, there are no authoritative texts on the Witch's Runes. There are a few different versions of the Runes on the market—sets may contain eight, 10, or 13 tiles. (Meanings vary too, depending on who you ask.) Thirteen is an excellent witchy number, but the eight-rune set wins points for its symmetry and simplicity. A set of eight Witch's Runes corresponds to the eight Wiccan Sabbats, providing a built-in mechanism for answering questions of timing.
Occasionally, Grove and Grotto offers handcrafted Witches' Runes sets. Or, you can make your own from wood or stone tiles. Check out the suggested meanings and correspondences:
The Moon (Midwinter)
Inner thoughts, intuition, contemplation, solitude, change.
The Birds (Imbolc)
News, business matters, communication, inspiration and beginnings.
The Leaf (Ostara)
Growth, abundance, promise of harvest, good fortune. A strong "maybe".
The Rings (Beltane)
Love, passion, partnership, harmonious union, joy and pleasure. In readings, means "probably".
The Sun (Midsummer)
Success, pride, and power. Progress, stability. A definite “yes.”
The Wave (Lammas)
Close family and friends, privacy, secrecy. Rest and withdrawal.
The Crossed Spears (Mabon)
Opposite viewpoints. Conflict, arguments, negativity. A stalemate or pause in action. In readings, "probably not."
The Black Rune (Samhain)
Endings and departures. Scarcity, pain and loss. A definite "no."
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