I often get the question: What’s the Wiccan symbol for protection/love/luck and so on?
This article will give both Wiccan symbols and Gaelic runes for as many things as I can think of.
Remember: symbols are what you make of them. Not every idea has an exact, single symbol agreed on by everyone.
Oftentimes, making up your own symbols can be the best for a truly personal spell. You can also combine other symbols to make a new one. You can even make your own sigils.
Wicca should not be a dogmatic religion. Get creative!
Basic Wiccan Symbols Chart
This section will give the basic common symbols.
The Pentagram
This is probably the most well-known symbol in Wicca. Many people see it and grow afraid. They think it has something to do with devil worship.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. The pentagram dates back to the Greeks. The reason we use it as the main symbol of our religion is that the five points represent the five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit.
A perfect shape unifies the five points: the circle.
This symbol can be used in pretty much any ritual, rite, or spell to add focus and power. Many of us wear the pentagram to identify ourselves.
You can learn more about elemental magic here.
The Triquetra Symbol
This symbol is used frequently in Wicca, but it technically dates to the Celtic pagans.
The knot has three loops all made from a single, unbroken line. It, again, has a perfect circle through it.
The leaves of the knot represent the three aspects of the Goddess: mother, maiden, and crone.
It’s most common to use this symbol to focus on the Goddess through devotional rituals.
The Triple Moon
The triple moon is similar to the triquetra, as it represents the same general principle.
The Goddess has a threefold nature: mother, maiden, and crone.
It has the additional benefit of showing the ever-changing phases of the moon (the new moon is there but invisible).
Many people inscribe the pentagram into the middle full moon to give it a more distinctive Wiccan look.
The triple moon can be used almost anywhere and is one of the most common Wiccan symbols, especially for Wiccan symbol tattoos.
Pagan Symbols
This section will cover some of the common Pagan symbols I use that aren’t specifically Wiccan in nature.
The Ankh
The Ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol that has been making a comeback recently. It is most commonly used to symbolize life.
It can be used in air magick when focusing on the “breath of life.” But don’t get bogged down in one interpretation of the symbol. It has also been used to mean mortality, afterlife, and everlasting life.
Context is important when using symbols!
Thor’s Hammer
Thor’s hammer is a symbol of Norse mythology. It is also called Mjollnir. You’ll be able to find this symbol fleshed out in many different levels of detail. The one above is the simplest and easiest to use.
According to legend, this hammer could call down lightning and always return to Thor after being thrown.
The symbol is classically used in landmark ceremonies like weddings and funerals. But it can also be used in storm magick due to the lightning associations, power magick due to the symbol of strength, and in seasonal rites due to the cyclic returning of the hammer.
Symbols for Specific Magic
I’ll give several of the symbols I’ve learned and used in my own Wiccan journey here. They mostly come from Celtic rune traditions and Egyptian symbols.
Protection Symbols
Here are some symbols for protection.
The Eye of Horus
The Eye of Horus comes to neo-Pagan traditions from Egypt.
It represents protection, but I’ll admit I’ve never worked this one into any of my own magic.
The symbol I use for protection is:
Algiz
The algiz rune represents protection. I even gave you one way to use it in my charm bag for protection.
Both of these symbols will work great as a Wiccan symbol for protection.
Wiccan Love Symbols
It may seem obvious, but the heart is a commonly used symbol in modern Wicca to represent love.
Many love magick, especially concerning romantic love, still calls for the drawing of a heart.
If you’re interested in a more esoteric symbol:
This is a rune often used to represent love. It can be used in all forms of love.
For instance, you could use it in a spell to increase family bonds or to strengthen a loving friendship.
If you want to see how this symbol can be incorporated into a real spell, I gave a love spell that uses it in my article on charm bags.
Wiccan Luck Symbols
This is the rune Fehu. It can be used in any luck-related magic.
It is often also used for prosperity and wealth spells. This is one of the standard Elder Futhark Runes if you’re curious about learning their history and uses.
Wiccan Strength Symbols
This is the symbol of the Horned God. It can be thought of as the dual nature of the Goddess’s energy.
It represents strength and virility. This is one of the classic Wiccan symbols for strength, but I waited to put it here since it is so often used in magic surrounding strength.
There are many runes that are commonly used for strength: thurisaz and ewyas being two of them.
I tend to use the following because the jagged edges speak to me as strength and power:
Wiccan Healing Symbols
The Rod of Asclepius is well-known as a symbol of healing as it gets used in a lot of medical fields these days.
But this symbol has ancient origins and fits perfectly into modern Wicca. It comes from the Greek god Asclepius.
There is also the rune that represents health:
Elemental Symbols
The place I use symbols the most is in elemental magic. These are the ones I most often use for each of the elements.
Notice how these basic symbols have an orientation that tells you how it relates to the other symbols. Water and fire are opposite elements and so the symbols are reversed from each other. Fire needs air to survive, and so the symbols are similar.
These versions of the elemental symbols are sometimes called the common alchemy symbols.
Solar Cross
The solar cross is a great symbol to encapsulate all elements at once. I’ve used it in consecration rituals and in magick that requires all four elements.
If you want to learn more symbols associated with each element, check out my individual articles on each element: earth, air, fire, and water.
How to Draw Wiccan Symbols
There are tons of ways to draw your symbols. It’s not just a matter of taking out a pen and paper.
Depending on the purpose, you can enhance the power of a symbol by using items that relate to the symbol.
For earth symbols, you can draw with charcoal onto a stone. For luck, you can use a feather and green ink you made from bayberry.
The possibilities are endless.
I highly recommend getting creative in how you draw the symbols and maybe even learning to make your own ink to enhance the power.
Final Recommendations
Here are some ideas for more permanent forms of the symbols. You can turn the symbols into jewelry or accessories so that the symbols can always be near you.
This is ideal if you use a protection Wiccan symbol or if you have you use a love symbol near someone you want it to work on.
Click on the pictures for more information. Here is a necklace with all of the runes on it.
Necklace with the triquetra and all of the runes.
I also recommend getting a full set of rune stones. This way you have a clean and professional set of runes at your disposal whenever you work magick that deals with them.
Other people have a very strong connection to a form of the Goddess symbol and get a tattoo in their devotion.
References
- Embleton, M. L. (2022). Viking Tattoos (Global Edition): Nordic and Norse Pagan Symbols of Spirituality.
- Cunningham, S. (2002). Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic (Llewellyn’s Practical Magick) (1st ed.). Llewellyn Publications.
- Belief Beyond Boundaries: Wicca, Celtic Spirituality and the New Age. (2005). Nova Religio, 9(2), 106–107. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2005.9.2.106
