Eihwaz
Yew Tree
About Eihwaz
Eihwaz is the rune of the yew tree (Yggdrasil, the World Tree) and represents the axis between worlds — the connection between life and death, above and below, the conscious and unconscious. The yew is evergreen, surviving through millennia, simultaneously producing deadly poison and life-sustaining medicine. Eihwaz carries this dual nature: transformation through death, endurance through change.
Upright Meaning
A passage between worlds. Eihwaz is the yew tree — the wood of bows and coffins, the tree that stands in graveyards and lives for millennia. Something is dying and something is being born, and you stand at the threshold between them. This is not comfortable, but it is necessary. Trust the passage. What lies on the other side is worth the crossing.
No Reversed Meaning
Eihwaz has no reversed meaning in most traditions. In challenging positions, it can indicate resistance to necessary transformation, fear of death (literal or metaphorical), or being stuck between two states — unable to return to what was and unwilling to step into what is becoming.