Rune 13 of 24 · Hagal's aett
Eihwaz
“yew” · sound: a vowel between e and i (uncertain)
Looks the same either way up: never reversed.
Historical evidence
Old English eoh, the yew tree: rough-barked, firm in the earth, a guardian of fire. The yew lives very long and stays green in winter.
The name Eihwaz is a modern reconstruction of the Proto-Germanic name; the Elder Futhark’s own names are not recorded.
In the rune poems
Original
Eoh byþ utan unsmeþe treow,
heard hrusan fæst, hyrde fyres,
wyrtrumun underwreþyd, wyn on eþle.English
The yew is a tree rough on the outside, hard and firm in the earth, a keeper of fire, underpinned by roots, a joy on the homestead.
Original texts as printed in Bruce Dickins, Runic and Heroic Poems of the Old Teutonic Peoples, Cambridge University Press, 1915. Public domain. The English translations are Scryway’s own, made line by line from these texts; square brackets mark uncertain or added words. No published translation is reproduced.
Modern interpretation
From 20th-century and later divinatory practice, written for Scryway. Not a historical meaning.
Keywords: endurance, steadfastness, passage
Upright
Endurance and steadiness through change. Deep roots let you stand through hard seasons.