Before a spell becomes action, it is breath.
Before the candle changes, before incense crosses the circle and before the blade rises, words give the hidden current a rhythm. Spoken alone, they gather the mind. Spoken by many voices, they make the room answer.
The Witch’s Song—also known here as the Witches’ Rune—calls the four directions, awakens the ritual tools, invokes the Queen of Heaven and the Horned Hunter, then closes the working beneath moon and sun.
Its language is commanding, ceremonial and meant to be heard aloud.
The Complete Witch’s Song
Darksome night and shining moon.
Hearken to the Witches' Rune.
East and South, West and North
Hear me now, I call thee forth.
By all the powers of land and sea
Be obedient unto me.
Wand and pentacle, cup and sword
Hearken ye unto my word.Cord and censer, totem and knife
Waken ye all into life.
By all the powers of the Witches' blade
Come ye now as the charge is made.Queen of Heaven, Queen of Hell
Send your aid unto my spell.
Horned Hunter of the Night
Work my will by magick rite.By all the powers of Land and Sea
As I will, so mote it be.
By all the might of moon and sun
As I say, it shall be done.
What the Witches’ Rune Does
The song moves through a complete ritual sequence.
It begins beneath night and moonlight, establishing the atmosphere of the working. It then turns toward East, South, West and North, calling the powers surrounding the circle.
The ritual tools are awakened next: wand, pentacle, cup, sword, cord, censer, totem and knife. They are no longer silent objects resting upon an altar. Each is called into its magical function.
The final verses invoke the Queen of Heaven, the Queen of Hell and the Horned Hunter before sealing the declared will beneath land, sea, moon and sun.
The song does not merely accompany the ritual.
It becomes the ritual’s rising current.
When to Use the Witch’s Song
The Rune may be spoken:
- After casting a magic circle
- Before a spell or invocation
- While awakening ritual tools
- During a full-moon gathering
- At the opening of coven work
- Before raising magical energy
- When consecrating a new altar
- During solitary practice
Its strongest atmosphere belongs to the night.
Moonlight, candle flame and incense give physical form to the powers named within the words.
Preparing the Ritual Space
Place the altar at the center of the working area.
Arrange four candles around the circle:
- Yellow or white in the East
- Red in the South
- Blue in the West
- Green or black in the North
Set the ritual tools upon the altar in the order they appear within the song.
The wand and pentacle may rest together. Place the cup beside the sword or athame. Keep the cord coiled and the censer ready with incense.
The arrangement allows each object to be touched or raised as it is called.
The Censer and Incense
Incense is integral to the Witch’s Song because the censer is one of the tools explicitly awakened within it.
Choose a fragrance that can fill the entire circle:
- Frankincense for invocation
- Myrrh for solemn rites
- Sandalwood for sustained ritual
- Jasmine for moonlit work
- Cedar for elemental and forest magic
Light the incense before beginning the Rune.
Let smoke gather around the tools while the circle remains silent. When the censer is named, lift it and draw a slow spiral through the air.
The smoke gives the spoken words a visible path.
Casting the Circle First
The Rune is most powerful inside a prepared boundary.
Walk clockwise around the ritual space, tracing the circle with a wand, athame or extended hand.
At each direction, pause and acknowledge the element that waits there.
When the boundary is complete, stand before the altar and allow the silence to deepen.
The guide to casting a magic circle contains a complete method for opening and closing the sacred space.
Beginning beneath the Moon
Speak the opening lines slowly.
Do not begin at full volume. Let the first words emerge from the darkness as though the circle itself were remembering them.
Look toward the moon if it is visible. If the ritual is indoors, look toward a silver or white candle representing lunar light.
The contrast between darkness and the shining moon establishes the Rune’s first mystery: opposing forces present within the same night.
Calling the Four Directions
Turn toward each direction as it is named.
Face East first, then South, West and North.
At East, feel the movement of Air and the awakening mind.
At South, see Fire rising behind the words.
At West, hear the unseen movement of Water.
At North, feel the weight and silence of Earth.
The directions are not merely listed. The voice travels around the circle, gathering each quarter into the working.
Land and Sea
When the powers of land and sea are called, place one hand toward the ground and lift the other toward the cup.
Land gives the ritual foundation, boundary and physical form.
Sea gives it movement, memory and depth.
Together they join what remains firm with what cannot be held still.
Speak this part with authority. The working has moved beyond preparation and begun to command the forces already present.
Awakening the Wand and Pentacle
Lift the wand when it is named.
Feel it become an extension of directed intention rather than a piece of wood resting upon the altar.
Touch or raise the pentacle next. Its circle and five points gather the elements into one ordered form.
The guide to choosing and consecrating a Wiccan wand explains how the wand receives and directs magical will.
The guide to Wiccan symbols explores the pentacle and its elemental meanings.
Awakening the Cup and Sword
Raise the cup and imagine it receiving the unseen current gathered within the circle.
It is the vessel—the place where power, memory and emotion may be held.
The sword or athame carries the opposite movement. It defines, separates and directs.
One receives.
The other commands.
When both are named within the same verse, the ritual establishes balance between containment and action.
Cord, Censer, Totem and Knife
Touch the cord and imagine every knot it may one day hold.
Lift the censer so incense moves visibly through the circle.
Acknowledge the totem as the presence of an animal, ancestor, spirit or private symbol connected with the working.
Finally, raise the knife.
The tools are called to awaken into life—not physical life, but the magical identity given to them through repeated use.
The guide to the Wiccan athame explores the ritual blade in greater depth.
The Witches’ Blade
The blade marks the moment when the Rune becomes a charge.
Hold it upright or direct it toward the center of the circle.
The voice should become stronger here.
Everything previously named—the directions, elements and tools—has gathered around the declared intention. The blade gives that gathered force a single path.
It is no longer preparation.
The spell has begun.
The Queen of Heaven and Queen of Hell
The Queen appears in two forms: celestial and hidden, radiant and chthonic.
Heaven carries stars, moonlight and the divine presence above.
Hell here is the deep, secret realm beneath appearances—the underworld, the ancestral dark and the place where transformation waits.
The two titles belong to one vast presence stretching above and below the circle.
Raise both hands as this invocation is spoken.
Imagine a crowned figure whose upper face is touched by moonlight while her lower robes disappear into the earth.
The Horned Hunter
The Horned Hunter enters with the darkness of forest, animal movement and untamed will.
He is not still like the crowned Queen. His presence moves around the edge of the circle.
Antlers pass between branches. Hooves or footsteps disturb the unseen ground. The night becomes alert.
When the Hunter is called, face outward for a moment.
Then turn back toward the altar, bringing that wild force into the magical rite.
Moon and Sun
The closing verse joins moon and sun.
The moon carries mystery, intuition and the hidden stages through which a spell grows.
The sun gives declaration, visibility and completion.
Invoking both places the working beneath the full cycle of darkness and light.
What was spoken at night is given a path toward manifestation beneath day.
“So Mote It Be”
The traditional closing phrase seals the declared will.
Speak it without haste.
The words should fall into the circle like the final drop of wax upon an envelope. Nothing further needs to be added or explained.
Pause afterward.
Let the silence receive the song.
The spell remains active even though the chanting has ended.
Finding the Chanting Rhythm
The Witch’s Song works best with a steady pulse.
Tap a finger against the wand, strike a small drum or move gently from one foot to the other. The rhythm should support the words without overwhelming them.
Begin slowly.
Allow the pace and volume to rise through the verses. The invocations of the Queen and Hunter may become the strongest point.
The final lines should remain powerful but measured, closing the current rather than scattering it.
Speaking the Rune Alone
A solitary practitioner may move around the circle while chanting.
Face each direction, then return to the altar for the verses naming the tools. Lift each object as it appears.
During the divine invocations, stand at the center.
The single voice may sound small at first. Let the room’s silence become the second voice answering it.
Incense, flame and movement will give the Rune a presence larger than volume alone.
Chanting with a Coven
In group work, one person may speak the opening while the others repeat the final words of each section.
Another method divides the directions among four voices.
The tools can be raised by different participants, allowing the Rune to move physically around the altar.
For the final verse, all voices should join.
The circle then speaks as one body.
The guide to singing and musical instruments in Wicca contains further ideas for rhythm and ritual sound.
Using the Song to Consecrate Tools
Place a newly acquired tool upon the altar before beginning.
When its type is named in the Rune, lift it for the first time within the circle.
Let the complete song pass around and through it.
After the final words, hold the tool above the incense and say:
You have heard the Rune.
You have entered the circle.
Wake when called and rest when still.
The object has now been introduced to the other tools and powers of the ritual space.
Recording the Rune
Copy the complete Witch’s Song into your Book of Shadows.
Preserve its full order and lineation. Leave space beside the verses to record:
- Gestures
- Directions faced
- Tools raised
- Incense used
- Musical rhythm
- Moon phase
- Experiences during chanting
- Changes made for group practice
The written page becomes a ritual map.
The spoken Rune remains the journey.
Closing the Circle
After the spell or rite is complete, thank the Queen, Horned Hunter, directions and elements.
Lower each tool and return it to the altar.
Carry the incense once around the circle, then let the smoke drift toward the open room.
Release the directions in reverse order, beginning with North and ending with East.
Say:
The Rune is silent.
The work remains.
The circle opens
without breaking.
Step beyond the boundary.
When the Last Voice Fades
The tools return to stillness.
The blade lies beside the cup. The cord is coiled, and incense moves in pale layers above the censer.
Nothing upon the altar appears alive.
Yet the circle remembers each direction turning toward it. The room remembers the Queen’s two kingdoms and the unseen Hunter moving beyond the candles.
The final voice fades.
The words do not.