Study › Runes & Norse › Eihwaz
Eihwaz (ᛇ) is the thirteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. Its meaning is transformation by growth: slow change from one state into another, the rune of personal, magical and spiritual evolution. It is often linked to the yew tree. It cannot be reversed.
Keywords: transformation, growth, evolution, mutation, change
What does the Eihwaz rune mean?
Eihwaz is the thirteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. It comes after Yera, and Perthro comes after it.
It is transformation through gradual change, a meaning its shape suggests. Where Hagalaz transforms by destruction, Eihwaz works quietly, by slow mutation from one state into another. It is the rune of personal growth and of magical and spiritual evolution, and any positive process of becoming can fall under it — including magick itself, which is change made deliberate. It is worth noting that Yera and Eihwaz sit at the centre of the futhark, the twelfth and thirteenth of the twenty-four, a placement that hints at a single idea: sound action brings good results, and good results ripen into self-transformation. That is one of the core ideas behind the runes and magick.
Eihwaz is a non-reversible rune, and a subtle one that often needs a second rune to be read clearly. On its own it means change — a transformation of the situation — and the rune beside it tells you what the change actually is. In a purely magical sense, Eihwaz can mean magick itself: the process of transformation, of change worked through the craft, of magical evolution.
Its fast opposite is Hagalaz, change by destruction.
Eihwaz in a reading
Eihwaz in love
The relationship transforms. Growing together. Love evolves. The bond takes a new form. Change brings you closer.
Eihwaz and money
A shift in how you earn. Slow, steady growth. Business evolves. New forms of income. Changes in finances.
Eihwaz and health
The body transforms. Steady growth in strength. Health improves gradually. The body adapts. Change for the better.
Eihwaz on the spiritual path
Inner transformation. Spiritual growth. Evolving consciousness. Becoming someone new. Deep change within.
Can Eihwaz be reversed?
No. Eihwaz looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning: it reads the same however it falls.
Eihwaz in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Eihwaz, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Ýr er vetrgrønstr viða;
vænt er, er brennr, at sviða.Yew is the greenest of trees in winter;
it is wont to crackle when it burns.
Icelandic Rune Poem
Ýr er bendr bogi
ok brotgjarnt járn
ok fífu fárbauti.
arcus ynglingr.Bent bow
and brittle iron
and giant of the arrow.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Eoh byþ utan unsmeþe treow,
heard hrusan fæst, hyrde fyres,
wyrtrumun underwreþyd, wyn on eþle.The yew is a tree with rough bark,
hard and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
a guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
Questions
How do you pronounce Eihwaz?
Say it "AY-wahz".
What does the Eihwaz rune look like?
Eihwaz (ᛇ) is an upright line with a short hook at the top to the right and at the bottom to the left.
Can Eihwaz be reversed?
No. Eihwaz looks the same either way up, so it has no reversed meaning.