If you have spent any time around the Elder Futhark, the witch’s runes can feel like a breath of fresh air. There are fewer of them, the pictures tell you most of what you need, and you can learn to read a cast in an afternoon. This is a modern divination set, popularized in the 20th century by writers such as Nigel Jackson and Nigel Pennick, and it works differently from the old Norse alphabet.
I want to be honest with you from the first line. These are not ancient Viking artifacts, and no two makers will hand you exactly the same set. What they offer instead is a warm, intuitive, beginner-friendly way to sit with a question and let a few simple images do the talking.
Below you will find the classic thirteen symbols, what each one tends to mean, and how a reading actually flows. If you want the historical alphabet with its letters and sound values, our guide to rune meanings covers the Elder Futhark in depth, and types of runes maps out every system side by side.
What Are the Witch’s Runes?
The witch’s runes are a set of roughly thirteen pictorial symbols used for quick, intuitive divination. Each stone or card carries an image rather than a letter. You will see a Sun, a Moon, a Star, a pair of Rings, a Scythe, and so on. The picture is the meaning, which is why beginners take to the set so easily.
This is where honesty matters. The witch’s runes are a modern creation, not a survival from the Norse world. They grew out of the 20th-century revival of paganism and folk witchcraft, and authors like Nigel Jackson and Nigel Pennick helped shape the version most readers use today. The number thirteen was chosen for its own resonance: thirteen lunar cycles in a year, thirteen members in a traditional coven.
Because there is no single ancient source, sets vary. One maker might include an Eye where another leaves a Blank stone, or swap a Heart for a Ring. That flexibility is part of the tradition rather than a flaw in it. When you buy or make a set, you learn its particular symbols and trust them.
So think of these as a folk tool with a short, traceable history and a lot of practical charm. They ask you to look, feel, and respond, which suits how many witches and diviners already work.
The 13 Witch’s Runes and Their Meanings
Here is a common thirteen-symbol set with the meanings most readers agree on. Keep this table beside you while you practice, and let the images sink in over a few weeks.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sun | Success, energy, vitality, healing, and good news. A yes in most castings. |
| Moon | Intuition, dreams, the hidden and unspoken. Trust your instincts here. |
| Flight (Bird) | News, messages, and travel. Something is on its way to you. |
| Rings | Commitment, union, partnership, and marriage. A binding agreement. |
| Romance (Heart) | Love, attraction, and close relationships. Emotional connection. |
| Woman | The feminine, or a specific woman in your life and her influence. |
| Man | The masculine, or a specific man in your life and his influence. |
| Harvest | Results, reward, and fruition. Your effort is ripening into something real. |
| Crossroads | A choice or decision. Two paths open, and you must pick one. |
| Star | Hope, guidance, and wishes. A hopeful sign that you are on course. |
| Waves (Water) | Emotions, change, and the unconscious. Feelings in motion. |
| Scythe | Endings, cutting away, and sudden change. Something is being cleared. |
| Eye (or Blank) | The unknown, fate, and mystery. Look within for the answer. |
A few notes will save you confusion later. The Sun often carries active, outward energy, while the Moon leans inward and reflective. The Woman and Man rarely mean gender in a literal sense; they usually point to a person or a quality showing up in your situation. The Scythe sounds ominous, yet it tends to describe a needed clearing rather than disaster, the way a farmer cuts the wheat so the field can rest.
If your set uses a Blank stone in place of the Eye, read it the same way: an unknown you cannot force, a moment to pause and let time answer.
How to Read the Witch’s Runes
Reading the witch’s runes is simpler than working the Futhark, and that simplicity is the whole appeal. You are not translating letters or checking rune poems. You are looking at a handful of pictures and asking what story they tell together.
Most readers cast rather than draw. Hold the stones in your cupped hands, breathe, and settle on your question. Then toss them gently onto a cloth or into a shallow circle you have drawn or laid out. Where they land, how they cluster, and which ones face up all feed the reading.
A few practical habits help:
- Read the ones closest to the center first. Stones that land near the middle of your cloth usually speak most directly to the question.
- Notice pairs. Rings beside Romance reads very differently from Rings beside the Scythe. Let neighbors color each other.
- Watch for stones that land off the cloth or face down. Many readers treat these as background energy or influences that are not yet active.
- Trust your first impression. The set rewards instinct. Your gut reaction to an image is usually the message.
You can also lay a simple line of three for past, present, and future, or draw a single stone for a daily focus. There is no rigid rule book, so start with a method that feels natural and refine it as you go. If you want a fuller grounding in casting technique, spreads, and interpretation, our walkthrough on how to read runes applies here too.
One gentle reminder. These stones are a mirror for reflection, so read them as guidance you can act on. They point at patterns and choices. What you do next is always yours.
Witch’s Runes vs Elder Futhark Runes
People often assume these two systems are the same thing under different names. They are cousins at best. Knowing the difference helps you choose the right tool and avoid mixing up their meanings.
The Elder Futhark is a historical writing system, an alphabet of twenty-four runes used by Germanic and Norse peoples from roughly the 2nd to the 8th century. Each rune is a letter with a sound value, a name, and layers of meaning drawn from surviving rune poems and Norse culture. It carries genuine ancient weight, and it takes real study to use well. Our Elder Futhark guide covers all twenty-four in order.
The witch’s runes are modern and pictorial. There are about thirteen, they are images rather than letters, and they were designed in the 20th century for intuitive divination. No ancient text lies behind them, and the meanings shift a little from maker to maker.
Here is the honest trade-off. The Futhark gives you depth, tradition, and a connection to real history, at the cost of a steeper learning curve. The witch’s runes give you speed, simplicity, and a friendly on-ramp, at the cost of that historical grounding.
Which should you choose? If you are drawn to Norse spirituality and want a system with roots you can trace, start with the Futhark. If you want something you can read tonight with almost no memorization, the witch’s runes are a lovely place to begin. Plenty of readers keep both on the shelf and reach for whichever fits the moment.
Witch’s Runes FAQ
What are the witch’s runes?
The witch’s runes are a modern set of about thirteen pictorial symbols used for divination, including the Sun, Moon, Star, Rings, and Scythe. Popularized in the 20th century within folk witchcraft and pagan revival, they are read quickly and intuitively. They are distinct from the historical Elder Futhark alphabet.
How many witch’s runes are there?
Most sets contain thirteen symbols, a number tied to the thirteen lunar cycles in a year and the traditional size of a coven. That said, you will also find sets of eight or ten. Because the system is modern and has no single source, the exact count and symbols vary between makers.
Are witch’s runes the same as Norse runes?
No. Norse runes, such as the Elder Futhark, are an ancient alphabet where each rune is a letter with a sound value and historical meaning. The witch’s runes are a modern, pictorial divination set with no letters and no ancient text behind them. They share the word rune, yet they are separate tools with different origins.
How do you read witch’s runes?
You focus on your question, cast the stones onto a cloth, and read the images where they land. Stones near the center speak most directly, neighboring pairs color each other, and your first instinct usually carries the message. It is a faster, more intuitive process than working through the Elder Futhark.