Eihwaz (ᛇ): meaning of the yew rune, endurance and connection

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Eihwaz, ᛇ, the thirteenth rune of the Elder Futhark, is named after the yew. Its phonetic value remains debated. Runic poems, the yew in history and modern reading.

Key points

Rune	ᛇ (Eihwaz)
Phonetic value	ï (value debated: vowel or consonant according to specialists)
Reconstructed name	īhaz or īwaz (reconstructed)
Meaning of the name	yew (tree)
Family (aett)	Second, 5th rune of the family
Position in the futhark	13 of 24
Reversed reading	No: the rune is symmetrical

Who is Eihwaz?

Eihwaz is written ᛇ: a vertical stave with a hook pointing up to the right and a hook pointing down to the left, like a double fishhook. It is the thirteenth rune of the Elder Futhark.

Its reconstructed name *īhaz or *īwaz (the spelling “eihwaz” blends the two) refers to the yew, a conifer with dark foliage that can live for several centuries. Its phonetic value, however, is uncertain: it is conventionally noted ï, but this choice is arbitrary.

The name of the rune and its meaning

Specialists propose several possible pronunciations for this rune: a long vowel close to an open “e”, a central vowel, a consonant sound close to the German “ch” in ich, or even a group of two sounds. It is therefore honest to say that we do not know exactly how it was read.

The name, on the other hand, is better established: Old English ēoh designates the yew, and the Scandinavian rune ýr takes up this name. Among Germanic tree names, the yew holds a special place, because its wood is both hard and elastic.

What the runic poems say

Poem	What it says (summary)
Anglo-Saxon runic poem	The yew is a tree rough on the outside, hard, firmly rooted in the earth, keeper of fire and joy of the estate.
Norwegian runic poem	The yew is the greenest of trees in winter; when it burns, it crackles (rune named ýr in the Younger Futhark).
Icelandic runic poem	The yew is a tensed bow, a fragile iron, the giant of the arrow.

The images of fire, bow and evergreen green show that the yew was known for its practical uses as much as for its longevity.

Inscriptions and ancient uses

The yew played an important role in the history of weapons and tools: the bow of the Iceman (Ötzi, around 3300 BCE) was made of yew, and the medieval longbow was for a long time made of it too. This reputation is no doubt the source of the image in the Icelandic poem.

In inscriptions, the rune is rare and its exact function remains debated. It appears in complete series, such as the Kylver Stone (around 400), but we do not always know which sound it noted in texts.

A word of caution, outside the runes: the yew is a poisonous plant in almost all its parts (the needles and seeds especially). Do not use it for objects that go in the mouth, and keep it away from children and animals.

Eihwaz in a modern reading: upright

A reminder: rune casting is a modern practice. Here is how contemporary books read Eihwaz.

Eihwaz is associated with endurance, resistance over time, and persistence through the seasons. Some authors also see in it a link between what is below (the roots) and what is above, or between life and death, because the yew is a cemetery tree in many European cultures.

In the Nordic world, the cosmic tree Yggdrasil is an ash tree according to medieval texts; some modern authors nonetheless link it with the yew, which is a personal reading. In a spread, Eihwaz can simply ask the question: what holds in you, despite everything?

A rune with no reversal

Eihwaz is symmetrical by rotation: turned half a turn, it keeps the same form. It is therefore not read reversed.

Some authors retain the image of the tree that connects top and bottom: the reversal is already built into the form. You can use this as a way to ask yourself what is anchored and what rises.

A reflection exercise with Eihwaz

Look for an old tree near your home (a yew in a cemetery or a park, or any other tree). Observe its bark, its roots, its shape. Note what it must have gone through to still be standing: storms, pruning, seasons.

Then write down three things that helped you hold on during difficult periods. What is your own “root”?

Eihwaz’s place in the futhark

Eihwaz is rune no. 13 of 24. It occupies place 5 in the second family (aett), sometimes called the family of Hagal. It follows Jera and precedes Perthro.

Eihwaz sits just after the midpoint of the futhark (13th place of 24). It has a special status in the futhark: its pronunciation is uncertain and its form is closer to a symbol than to a letter. The sources do not allow us to say more.

To see all the runes in relation to one another, consult the rune guide and the page the Elder Futhark: history and reading of the 24 runes.