A woman sat at a typewriter in a small flat in Brighton in 1957, composing lines that would become one of the most recited texts in modern witchcraft. She was not inventing a tradition. She was giving form to something she had already lived. The Witches’ Rune is an eight-line chant of invocation and power-raising, written by Doreen Valiente for the Gardnerian Book of Shadows. It calls on the Old Gods by name, circles the coven in rhythm, and remains a living liturgy in Wiccan practice today.
Who wrote the Witches’ Rune and when?
Doreen Valiente joined Gerald Gardner’s coven in 1953, at a time when the Book of Shadows was a patchwork of Gardner’s own writing, fragments from the New Forest coven, and borrowings from Aleister Crowley. Valiente, a skilled poet and researcher, rewrote much of it. The Witches’ Rune appeared in 1957, first recorded in her own hand.
She later published it in Witchcraft for Tomorrow (1978), where she explained its purpose: a chant to raise power, not a spell in itself. The original version in the Gardnerian Book of Shadows used the names “Aradia” and “Cernunnos” for the goddess and god. Some later traditions substitute other names, but the structure remains Valiente’s.
The rune draws on older folk traditions of chanting in circles, but its specific phrasing is her own. She once said she wanted something that “sounded like a witch’s charm” and that could be chanted in a steady rhythm while dancing deosil (clockwise).
What does the Witches’ Rune actually say?
The full text runs eight lines, each ending with the refrain “Eko, Eko” followed by a divine name. The most common version:
Eko, Eko, Azarak, Eko, Eko, Zomelak Eko, Eko, Cernunnos, Eko, Eko, Aradia
Then a series of couplets:
By the power of the rune, by the light of the moon By the might of the horned one, by the strength of the sun
The chant builds in intensity, often repeated three times or more until the energy peaks. The words “Azarak” and “Zomelak” have no clear etymology. Valiente may have taken them from older grimoire traditions or invented them for sound and rhythm. They are not meant to be translated. They are meant to be felt.
How is the Witches’ Rune used in practice?
The rune is not read silently. It is chanted, usually in a circle, with participants holding hands or linking arms. The rhythm drives the pace. As the chant speeds up, so does the movement. The goal is to raise a cone of power, a focused energy that the coven then directs toward a specific purpose.
In Gardnerian tradition, the rune often follows the drawing down of the moon or the invocation of the god. It can also stand alone as a general power-raising tool. Some covens use it to open a ritual, others to close one. The key is the repetition and the physical involvement.
A concrete detail: Valiente described the chant as being done “with the voice growing louder and the movement faster until the climax is reached.” At that point, the coven releases the energy with a final shout or a gesture. The rune is not a prayer. It is a technology for generating force.
How does it differ from other Wiccan chants?
Valiente also wrote the Charge of the Goddess, a longer prose invocation that is meditative and instructional. The Witches’ Rune is its opposite: short, rhythmic, physical. The Charge speaks to the soul. The Rune moves the body.
Another comparison is the “Rune of the Witch” found in some traditional witchcraft circles outside Gardnerian Wicca. Those versions often use different names and longer lines, but the structure of a repeating chant with a refrain is the same. Valiente’s version became the standard because it was published early and adopted by influential covens.
It is also important to distinguish the Witches’ Rune from the runes of the Elder Futhark. They share a word but nothing else. The Futhark is a writing system and divinatory tool. The Witches’ Rune is a chant. The confusion arises because both are called “runes” in English, but the meaning is different. Valiente used the word in its older sense of a secret or a charm, not an alphabet.
Common misconceptions about the Witches’ Rune
That it is an ancient text. It is not. It was written in 1957 by a woman who was explicit about her authorship. Some modern pagans assume it dates to medieval witchcraft because of its archaic phrasing, but the language is deliberately styled to sound old. The content is modern.
That it is a spell for casting runestones. No. The Witches’ Rune has nothing to do with divination using inscribed stones or sticks. It is a chant for raising energy.
That there is only one correct version. Valiente herself wrote multiple variations. Different Gardnerian lineages have altered the divine names or added lines. The version in Witchcraft for Tomorrow differs slightly from the one in the original Book of Shadows. Both are valid.
That it must be performed skyclad. Gardnerian tradition often works naked, but the rune itself does not require it. Many eclectic covens chant it clothed. The power comes from the rhythm and intent, not the absence of fabric.
FAQ
Who wrote the Witches’ Rune? Doreen Valiente wrote it in 1957 for the Gardnerian Book of Shadows.
Is the Witches’ Rune the same as Norse runes? No. The Witches’ Rune is a chant. Norse runes are an alphabet used for writing and divination.
What is the purpose of the Witches’ Rune? To raise magical energy through rhythmic chanting and movement, often to power a spell or ritual.
Can I use the Witches’ Rune if I am not Gardnerian? Yes. It has been adopted by many Wiccan and pagan traditions. Some change the divine names to fit their own practice.
The Witches’ Rune is not a relic of an imagined past. It is a working text, written by a woman who understood that magic lives in the voice and the body. Doreen Valiente gave modern witchcraft a tool that is simple enough for a solitary practitioner and powerful enough for a full coven. To chant it is to join a lineage that began in a Brighton flat in 1957 and continues in circles around the world tonight.
For more on the roots of modern Wiccan liturgy, see our guide to the Charge of the Goddess. Explore the broader tradition in our witchcraft hub. And for the terms that shape this practice, visit our glossary of Wiccan symbols.