He was born in Vienna.
After World War I, he performed as a Neopagan and began claiming to have a clairvoyant recollection of the early history of Germany.
In 1933 he met Himmler for the first time, who appointed Wiligut to the "SS Race and Settlement Main Department". He designed the "Totenkopf" ring, which Himmler personally awarded to prestigious SS officers.
Due to his advice, Himmler in 1934 chose Wewelsburg to be the ritual headquarters of the SS.
In 1938 he became the head of the "Departement for Pre- and Early History" in Himmler's personal staff.
In 1939 his career was permanently damaged when records were unearthed that he had been spent time in a mental institution in Salzburg, Austria. He was forced to resign from the SS.
He died in Arolsen.