Eihwaz: the Alpha and the Omega

Eihwaz: the World Tree

Meaning: Beginnings and Endings, Birth, Death, Endurance, Health, Life Cycles

Affirmation: As above, so below.

Associations: Reincarnation, Timelessness

Eihwaz is the rune of the World Tree or Yew. The World Tree, in Celtic and Nordic Mythology, is a mythical tree that holds the many worlds of reality together. It is my personal belief that the World Tree stands at the center of the wild wood. It is from the World Tree that we are born and will return, hopefully with a bit more wisdom than we had when we first came out. The World Tree is also said to collect all knowledge and wisdom, and is where Odin hung for nine days and nine nights to receive the knowledge of the Futhark, in the first place.

The yew, however, is a very real variety of tree. The tree itself is actually many trees, living as one, and they can live for thousands of years. As such, they are widely considered among ancient and modern human cultures alike as being as near to immortal as a tree can be. The yew, if not handled properly, can by very poisonous to humans, and its roots seek out bones and other decaying life, seeking out calcium to promote its growth. Because of the combination of these things, the yew was often associated with demons and death, and so many trees written about in ancient records have since been destroyed. Some amazing ancient yew still exist, however, my favorite (and that seeing is on my bucket list, for sure!) probably being the St. Edward's Parish, sometimes called Stow-on-the-Wold, trees. Legend has it that the saint himself planted these elder twins, who are believed to be nearly a thousand years old.

This rune embodies the timelessness and ebb and flow of the life cycle and reincarnation. It is the energy that promises that, though there may be an end, that end is only the start of a new beginning. Eihwaz also tells us that nothing truly ends, but because our lives are finite, we should make the most of things before their time has come to pass, and are returned to the timeless, ethereal realm at the heart of the World Tree to be born again.

I love Eihwaz, and it is a toss up for my very favorite rune. Eihwaz appeals to me so greatly because of its message: we will always get the chance try again. To cherish good health, and good times, so that we are not ruled by despair as our health fades, and darkness beckons.

When I look at Eihwaz, I see Isa and Kenaz. Isa provides the straight forward path that Eihwaz takes: birth, life, death. Beginning, middle, end. While much can change around these essences, even the karmic cycles we are placed into over and over again, what remains constant is the World Tree, or the space from which we all arrive and return. Isa also helps promote the unity of the oppositional forces ruled by Eihwaz.

Kenaz allows us to receive insight from the spirit world to carry with us into this one, and also leads us to carrying out insights back to the spirit world when we return. The purpose of the life cycle and karmic cycle is to help us instill and gain these insights, ever allowing the World Tree to gain and store new knowledge (one of the many things it is attributed with in lore), which is also what I believe one of the fundamental purposes of the universe is! Helping us so that we are able to properly reflect on what we learn in life while also balancing what we are gaining from spirit is another important aspect of Kenaz in Eihwaz.

The following spread is called "Past Life," and is one of several spreads utilizing the energies of Eihwaz featured in my upcoming book, Runic Wisdom. Not too surprisingly, the spread asks about a past life of ours, and gives us some important information about it. I hope you all enjoy it! There is an easily shareable version of this spread on my Instagram, where you can also tag me if you use this spread! Feel free to add the hashtags #RunicWisdom or #RunicWisdomEihwaz to make sure we all get a peep.