Hail and welcome! I am McKenzie, the sole owner, artist, and creator behind WitchRunes. There have been many roads which have led me to where I am at now, all of them interconnected and essential. To begin my story, let me share the origins of my artistry.
Art is something that has always had many different emotions attached to it for me. I’ve always appreciated experiencing art, but when it comes to the actual creation of it I’ve tended to have some hesitation. I’ve never been skilled in making art that is meant to look like something specific, whether that be a landscape, animals, cartoons, or anything of that nature. Abstract has always been what I resonated with because it’s something I feel comfortable creating. I also feel a deep connection with the different symbolism and interpretations that come with it.
When I was younger, I would make abstract paintings by folding paper into random shapes, unfolding the paper, and then painting within the sections of the creases. It felt unique, creative, and brought me joy. I would gift this artwork to my family and I felt a sense of pride seeing something that, to me, felt one of a kind and different. I reconnected with painting when I was attending college for my Music Therapy degree. My friends and I went to a paint night hosted by the Art Therapy department. I initially felt intimidated, but as soon as I got started I was instantly reconnected with the joy and freedom that abstract painting brought me as a child.
Right around this time of reconnecting with painting, I was also beginning to discover and follow my pagan path. From the very beginning, I felt connected to the Norse beliefs, and, in particular, Norse Runes. In fact, my very first set of runes were the first pagan tools I ever purchased for myself, and I still hold them incredibly dear.
Over the next few years, my life continued to change. I graduated from college with my music therapy degree and deepened my pagan path. I met my husband and I landed my dream job working as a music therapist at a mental health clinic. A couple years later my husband and I got married. We had a Viking themed wedding (of course, right?) at my childhood home. While preparing and creating the decor, I began experimenting with using runes outside of the realm of divination. My husband and I created a bindrune to symbolize our marriage. I painted this bindrune along with the standard runes onto our centerpieces. My husband and I even chose to tattoo our bindrune onto our wedding fingers instead of getting wedding bands. Through this incredible experience, I felt my connection to runes deepen even further.
Shortly after our incredible wedding, we decided to embark on another huge change: moving to my childhood home. Moving here was something that was always anticipated. My parents bought the beautiful 20 acres that the home sits on before I was even born. My father built most of the house himself. Being an only child, the plan had always been for me to inherit the house.
Moving here posed a big change for many reasons. We would be going from living in an apartment in the city to living in a house in the country. Our work commutes which were previously 10-20 minutes would now be an hour. We would be living with my father who had been living by himself for nearly 10 years and struggled to keep up with the demands of the property. The financial situation we had been led to anticipate was drastically different from the reality. Above all, I don’t think anyone can truly convey the challenges of living with your parent(s) as an adult, especially when the dynamic of the relationship is being roommates and not simply living with your parents while you get back on your feet. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of stress on my shoulders.
As this stress continued, I knew I needed to do something for myself. So, I decided to dive back into painting. At this point, I already had many of my paintings around the house. I knew if I was going to continue to paint, I needed to find homes for my new artwork. Then it dawned on me - what if I painted runes? And not simply painting runes, what if I enhanced the energy of them through color? Thus, the iconic WitchRunes color associations were born. By choosing colors with meanings that matched the meaning of the runes, I could amplify the energies of the runes and breathe color into these ancient, mystic symbols. Not only that, I could also share them with the world and make some extra money to improve my family’s quality of life.
So, in the spring of 2022, I made my Etsy shop WitchRunes. I took pictures of the all the paintings I was so proud of. I created my shop logo and chose my branding colors, paying homage to my husband and my marriage by using our wedding colors and even using our bindrune as part of my logo. I was so excited and could feel all of the love and effort I put into everything when I launched my shop. And then… nothing. No sales, hardly any views, I was devastated. I knew that what I made was unique. I rarely saw paintings of singular runes and I had never seen the use of color associations with runes. What was I to do?
That summer, I decided to connect with my local pagan community. I’d known about them for well over a year, I would just make excuses not to go. The big push was attending the Magical Market craft fair that they hosted each month over the summer. I got talking with the proverbial leader and Crone of the group, an incredible woman who shared similar Norse beliefs as myself, and she convinced me to come to the next monthly gathering. At this monthly gathering, I casually mentioned that I made rune artwork. I showed her my work, and she insisted that I vend at the next market, so I did.
It was here that I finally started making some sales! People saw what I did, found it unique, and appreciated it. I felt reinvigorated in my business, I just needed the right group of people to help give me that extra push. With that, I began expanding my creativity. I branched into offering my artwork through print on demand T-shirts, bags, and mugs. After an amulet and talisman workshop led by my Crone, I got the idea to create rune pendants and sets using polymer clay. I began expanding my social media presence by posting a Daily Rune Reading each day, which people can follow on my Facebook @WitchRunes, Instagram @witchrunes1, or TikTok @witchrunes1
Now to flash forward to late summer of 2023. While running WitchRunes, I was still working my job as a full-time music therapist, which was quickly becoming toxic. I loved the work I was doing, but the organization that I worked for was going through rapid changes, many of which I felt were unethical to employee wellbeing and patient care. I’d been thinking for some time that I wanted to branch into wellness based music therapy in the community and that I wanted to invest even more fully into WitchRunes. By doing these things, I would be following my passions and I would also have more time to care for my home and family. I wanted both of these passions to be in a more financially stable position before leaving my job, but I could no longer bear the strain on my mental health. So I took a huge leap of faith, and I quit my job that September.
My life has had its ups and downs since then, but I’m incredibly grateful for my decision and I also recognize how fortunate I’ve been. Through my connections in my local pagan community, I found a shop to run my community music wellness groups. If you are in the Waukesha WI area or would like music wellness tips, you can follow my music wellness page on Facebook @Music Wellness with McKenzie, Instagram @musicwellnesswithmckenzie, and TikTok @musicwellnesswith. Through some positive peer pressure, I was also pushed to offer rune reading services, which I quickly discovered that I have an intense passion for. I’m lucky enough to be able to offer rune reading services at the same shop I run my music wellness groups. I’ve also been given several opportunities to vend and offer readings at various wellness and spiritual fairs. I’ve made some incredible connections with people. These people have also reaffirmed what I do by sharing the positive energy they can feel from me and my artwork and by sharing their appreciation of color being brought to runes.
Because of my Etsy shop, I was able to leave a job that was quickly sucking the life out of me. I’ve been able to pursue my passions and regain a sense of freedom that I haven’t felt in years. I’ve been able to care for my family and home more than ever before. I hope to continue to grow my business to provide myself and my family with a sense of financial security that we’ve been longing to return to. Above all, I hope to be able to make a positive difference for people through the Norse Runes. Thank you so much for being a part of my story.
Art is something that has always had many different emotions attached to it for me. I’ve always appreciated experiencing art, but when it comes to the actual creation of it I’ve tended to have some hesitation. I’ve never been skilled in making art that is meant to look like something specific, whether that be a landscape, animals, cartoons, or anything of that nature. Abstract has always been what I resonated with because it’s something I feel comfortable creating. I also feel a deep connection with the different symbolism and interpretations that come with it.
When I was younger, I would make abstract paintings by folding paper into random shapes, unfolding the paper, and then painting within the sections of the creases. It felt unique, creative, and brought me joy. I would gift this artwork to my family and I felt a sense of pride seeing something that, to me, felt one of a kind and different. I reconnected with painting when I was attending college for my Music Therapy degree. My friends and I went to a paint night hosted by the Art Therapy department. I initially felt intimidated, but as soon as I got started I was instantly reconnected with the joy and freedom that abstract painting brought me as a child.
Right around this time of reconnecting with painting, I was also beginning to discover and follow my pagan path. From the very beginning, I felt connected to the Norse beliefs, and, in particular, Norse Runes. In fact, my very first set of runes were the first pagan tools I ever purchased for myself, and I still hold them incredibly dear.
Over the next few years, my life continued to change. I graduated from college with my music therapy degree and deepened my pagan path. I met my husband and I landed my dream job working as a music therapist at a mental health clinic. A couple years later my husband and I got married. We had a Viking themed wedding (of course, right?) at my childhood home. While preparing and creating the decor, I began experimenting with using runes outside of the realm of divination. My husband and I created a bindrune to symbolize our marriage. I painted this bindrune along with the standard runes onto our centerpieces. My husband and I even chose to tattoo our bindrune onto our wedding fingers instead of getting wedding bands. Through this incredible experience, I felt my connection to runes deepen even further.
Shortly after our incredible wedding, we decided to embark on another huge change: moving to my childhood home. Moving here was something that was always anticipated. My parents bought the beautiful 20 acres that the home sits on before I was even born. My father built most of the house himself. Being an only child, the plan had always been for me to inherit the house.
Moving here posed a big change for many reasons. We would be going from living in an apartment in the city to living in a house in the country. Our work commutes which were previously 10-20 minutes would now be an hour. We would be living with my father who had been living by himself for nearly 10 years and struggled to keep up with the demands of the property. The financial situation we had been led to anticipate was drastically different from the reality. Above all, I don’t think anyone can truly convey the challenges of living with your parent(s) as an adult, especially when the dynamic of the relationship is being roommates and not simply living with your parents while you get back on your feet. Needless to say, there was quite a bit of stress on my shoulders.
As this stress continued, I knew I needed to do something for myself. So, I decided to dive back into painting. At this point, I already had many of my paintings around the house. I knew if I was going to continue to paint, I needed to find homes for my new artwork. Then it dawned on me - what if I painted runes? And not simply painting runes, what if I enhanced the energy of them through color? Thus, the iconic WitchRunes color associations were born. By choosing colors with meanings that matched the meaning of the runes, I could amplify the energies of the runes and breathe color into these ancient, mystic symbols. Not only that, I could also share them with the world and make some extra money to improve my family’s quality of life.
So, in the spring of 2022, I made my Etsy shop WitchRunes. I took pictures of the all the paintings I was so proud of. I created my shop logo and chose my branding colors, paying homage to my husband and my marriage by using our wedding colors and even using our bindrune as part of my logo. I was so excited and could feel all of the love and effort I put into everything when I launched my shop. And then… nothing. No sales, hardly any views, I was devastated. I knew that what I made was unique. I rarely saw paintings of singular runes and I had never seen the use of color associations with runes. What was I to do?
That summer, I decided to connect with my local pagan community. I’d known about them for well over a year, I would just make excuses not to go. The big push was attending the Magical Market craft fair that they hosted each month over the summer. I got talking with the proverbial leader and Crone of the group, an incredible woman who shared similar Norse beliefs as myself, and she convinced me to come to the next monthly gathering. At this monthly gathering, I casually mentioned that I made rune artwork. I showed her my work, and she insisted that I vend at the next market, so I did.
It was here that I finally started making some sales! People saw what I did, found it unique, and appreciated it. I felt reinvigorated in my business, I just needed the right group of people to help give me that extra push. With that, I began expanding my creativity. I branched into offering my artwork through print on demand T-shirts, bags, and mugs. After an amulet and talisman workshop led by my Crone, I got the idea to create rune pendants and sets using polymer clay. I began expanding my social media presence by posting a Daily Rune Reading each day, which people can follow on my Facebook @WitchRunes, Instagram @witchrunes1, or TikTok @witchrunes1
Now to flash forward to late summer of 2023. While running WitchRunes, I was still working my job as a full-time music therapist, which was quickly becoming toxic. I loved the work I was doing, but the organization that I worked for was going through rapid changes, many of which I felt were unethical to employee wellbeing and patient care. I’d been thinking for some time that I wanted to branch into wellness based music therapy in the community and that I wanted to invest even more fully into WitchRunes. By doing these things, I would be following my passions and I would also have more time to care for my home and family. I wanted both of these passions to be in a more financially stable position before leaving my job, but I could no longer bear the strain on my mental health. So I took a huge leap of faith, and I quit my job that September.
My life has had its ups and downs since then, but I’m incredibly grateful for my decision and I also recognize how fortunate I’ve been. Through my connections in my local pagan community, I found a shop to run my community music wellness groups. If you are in the Waukesha WI area or would like music wellness tips, you can follow my music wellness page on Facebook @Music Wellness with McKenzie, Instagram @musicwellnesswithmckenzie, and TikTok @musicwellnesswith. Through some positive peer pressure, I was also pushed to offer rune reading services, which I quickly discovered that I have an intense passion for. I’m lucky enough to be able to offer rune reading services at the same shop I run my music wellness groups. I’ve also been given several opportunities to vend and offer readings at various wellness and spiritual fairs. I’ve made some incredible connections with people. These people have also reaffirmed what I do by sharing the positive energy they can feel from me and my artwork and by sharing their appreciation of color being brought to runes.
Because of my Etsy shop, I was able to leave a job that was quickly sucking the life out of me. I’ve been able to pursue my passions and regain a sense of freedom that I haven’t felt in years. I’ve been able to care for my family and home more than ever before. I hope to continue to grow my business to provide myself and my family with a sense of financial security that we’ve been longing to return to. Above all, I hope to be able to make a positive difference for people through the Norse Runes. Thank you so much for being a part of my story.