what is the connection between Runes and wicca?

Question

Hi,

Are runes and wicca connected?
i divinate using runes but i'm note sure if im wiccan because of it. Are they connected or can they be seperate?

Thanks :)

So, if i were to draw a pentogram on the back of each rune cards it wouldn really matter if i were wiccan or not?

Answer 1

not really.

Most Wiccans are British in their flavor, and strongly influenced by Celts. Most Runes are Germanic, including Saxon.

Runes are ancient, and Wicca is new.

But Wicca isn't against runes, and some traditions, like Raymond Buckland's "Seax-Wicca" use runes all the time.

Edit: If you're Wiccan, you know it. If you're not sure if you're Wiccan, then you are not. Ask yourself: Do I believe in the gods Wiccans do? Do I follow Wiccan Ethics? Do I belong to a tradition or coven or am I a dedicated solitary? Is Wicca my religion or is it just something I am calling myself because I do some metaphysical/occult stuff?

Edit redux (in response to additional data): While Wiccans use the pentagram, the pentagram is not Wiccan. Some Wiccans are football players...is a football a Wiccan symbol?

Answer 2

They are not connected. I am a witch, not Wiccan and have been using the Runes as one of my many divination tools for over 30 years (some of my tools I have been using for over 40). But one need not be Wiccan or a witch to use and understand Runes. The same goes for pentagrams. It boils down to you as a person, if you choose to follow a Wiccan path or a witch path or just a pagan path. I even know a couple of Christians who read Runes.

Answer 3

Runes are not necessarily Wiccan, but a lot of Wiccans like them. Wiccans also tend to like to use the Tarot (that is my preferred method, personally). Runes can be used, not only for Divination, but also for Magick -- protection, blessing, etc.

So, no, you don't have to be Wiccan to use the Runes. There are other Pagan paths, that also use Runes. Runes are Norse. People who worship the Norse Gods call themselves Asatru, Heathens, or Odinists. Odin (Wodin, or Wotan), the chief God of the Norse Pantheon, had to make a sacrifice to learn the secret of the Runes. He hung on the World Tree, Yggdrasil, for several days, and then sacrificed one of his eyes to a well. Odin is considered the God of Wisdom, and like other Wisdom Gods (Thoth, for example) he is the discoverer of writing -- Runes are an alphabet, as much as a magickal system.

So Runes can be a part of your Wiccan practice. There are Wiccans who worship (or honor) Norse Gods -- Ray Buckland wrote a book or two about that, I believe it was something about "Seax-Wicca." Don't limit yourself to Wicca, though. If you're interested in the Runes, look into Asatru, Heathenry, or the Norse gods in general. Wicca is a fine religious and magickal path, but it is not the only one. Neopaganism is a Big Family! :-)

Answer 4

Runes are a technique, not a religion. :-)

Some Wiccans use runes -- sometimes for divination, sometimes as symbols of power on candles, amulets, and so forth. But runes are Norse in origin, and Wicca is a modern syncretization of Romantic era ideas about Classical religions and various techniques of Ceremonial magic. The two are only peripherally connected, and are usually quite separate.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions about what actually constitutes Wiccan practice, please feel free to contact me.

Answer 5

The runes are of Norse origin, and there is a very interesting story of how Odin got them and learned to understand the future.

Wicca is a religion (mostly considered of Celtic origin and not Norse), not a form of divination. Although Wiccans do preform divination anyone who does preform divination is not automatically Wiccan.

If you have to ask if you are Wiccan then you are not. You might share some of our views (which is nice) but there are no contracts or rules that say anyone who does something is automatically Wiccan. You can decide your own faith (and I encourage you to do just that).

Bright Blessings )O(

Answer 6

Runes are just an alphabet.

If you learn the alphabet, then you must also learn the languages, which can be Gothic, Old Norse, and other ancient Germanic, Nordic, Celtic and old northern, central, and eastern european languages.

Simply knowing a few symbols is not enough to gain a significant opening to the knowledge of the gods and goddesses.

Why not study the Book of Kells? Why not seek out the knowledge brought from the Gospels by Patrick to Ireland? Why not learn about Bacon, Anselm, Boethius, and others?

Answer 7

Runes can be used by Wiccans, but not everyone who reads runes is Wiccan. Nor do all Wiccans use runes.

http://paganwiccan.about.com/cs/whatiswicca/a/wiccanwitch.htm

Answer 8

I also use runes and belive they can be used with any belief system . if your call to the runes then they are ment for you . I see no reson to connect them with anything other than your self.

Answer 9

I use runes and I'm no longer Wiccan. I'm Buddhist with shamanic tendencies, so don't sweat it. If it's what you feel most comfortable with, why worry?

_()_