Witchcraft Exercise - Creating Your Own Runes
Okay, so I was catching up on my reading today, and came across a set of simple instructions for creating witches’ runestones in Kate West’s “The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals.” The author recommends a set of eight simple symbols painted onto pebbles or disks and cast to find the answers to questions.
Drawing from this idea, I decided to make a simple set for myself and test them out. I haven’t had much luck with tarot or oracle cards, and ogham sticks have been similarly baffling. So one Sharpie and a handful of small mirror discs later, I had my own homemade runestones.
My artistic skills are hella lacking, but I managed to make clear representations of 20 different symbols with meaning for me, and I recorded each of their meanings in my witchbook. (Keep in mind that the following associations are ENTIRELY personal to me and may not agree with or reflect the opinions of others.)
The Sun - Solar, masculine, energy, glory, favorable outlook
The Moon - Lunar, feminine, dreams, intuition, magic
The Leaf - Nature, growth, fertility, health, renewal
The Coin - Chance, wealth, opportunity, luck
The Arrow - Inspiration, Brighid, “look forward,” “forge ahead”
The Harp - Pleasure, Lugh, skill, cleverness, “be crafty”
The Hammer - Protection, Thor, courage, will, “hold strong”
The Teardrop - Choices, Freyja, a journey, “look elsewhere, “search”
The Serpent - Ambition, desire, greed, career
The Spears - Conflict, trials, suffering, illness
The Dagger - Unseen danger, betrayal, a plot, meddlers
The Rings - Unity, harmony, friendship, love, family
The Cat - Independence, serenity, secrets
The Dog - Loyalty, affection, playfulness
The Cauldron - Power, creation, wisdom
The Wand - Influence, directness, proximity, “it is near”
The Spiral - Introspection, confusion, the unknown
The Feather - Release, relief, lightness, escape
The Web - Caution, entrapment, unseen foe, complication, consequence
The Broom - “Start over,” cleanse, banish, re-evaluate
I made a simple casting board with four quadrants - Then, Now, Future, and Within. And with my cheap-o little mirror discs, I did two castings.
The results were clear as a bell and eerily accurate.
I don’t know if it’s the fact that I made the pieces myself, or if it’s the use of symbols that are my own instead of someone else’s, but this set really WORKS for me. And anyone who’s followed me for a fair length of time knows that I am utterly shite with divination.
So for all my witchlings who want to learn divination but are struggling with learning tarot or runes or what-have-you, give this a try! Pick up some discs or pebbles, something with two definite sides, grab a marker or some paints, and make your own set of runes. (Hell, if you can’t draw, you can even use stamps or stickers.)
Use symbols that have meaning for you, and record them in your witchbook or journal. Cast them how you please and read the ones that land face-up.
Have fun!
More Witchcraft Exercises Here
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I went into more detail about this exercise in Ep. 053 of Hex Positive!












