The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I am looking to dispose of my old "beginner" set of runes that have been lying around my house for ages. They were cheap, and unfortunately several of them were printed incorrectly and I get bad vibes from even picking up the bag.

Other charms I've disposed were "returned to nature" one way or another but I don't want to do that in this case, because they're made of plastic (yeah, I admit - I bought the cheapest set I could find. Don't be cheapskates when it comes to magic tools, it's a bad idea...). But at the same time, I feel iffy about simply throwing a set of symbols that are holy to my religion in the trashcan, even if some were incorrectly portrayed in this case. After all, I work with these symbols regularly - I've long since acquired a new set of physical tiles, but rune magic is never about that tangible item you can hold in your hand.

How do you like to dispose of your religious items? Charms, runes, idols, food or other perishable offerings.. whatever the case may be. Do you have any rules or guidelines that you personally like to follow?

 
I have done tarot swaps with friends before (or just offered up decks that don't resonate with me for anyone who wanted them), same with books (though rarely do I get rid of books lol).  

For spellwork things that have done their work and I now need to dispose of, I typically give thanks for their work and then put them in the trashcan.  I will try to release them to nature if they are natural, but if not, I don't find it disrespectful to use the trash.  For me, it would be more disrespectful to release something harmful back to the earth.  If it were something that could be recycled, I would definitely recycle it.

I could also see donating things to goodwill or other places like that.  Especially something that is still usable to other people.  In that case, for like an old tool, I would do a ritual to release my connection to it, thanking it for working with me and offering a blessing to anyone who used it in the future.

I have had things that I have held on to, that I don't find particularly useful, just because I don't want that information to be given to someone who may not realize just how bad it is.  Specifically with books (although if I were in your shoes this might apply too...I am not sure I would want someone just starting out to have an inaccurate set of runes) I find that I don't want to just recycle them as junk, so I just keep them.

I feel iffy about simply throwing a set of symbols that are holy to my religion in the trashcan, even if some were incorrectly portrayed in this case.

 
I know that in some traditions, ritual items that are going to be discarded are "killed" first, usually by defacing them in some way. That way, any energy in them is released and the object that's left is no longer considered special.