Understanding the Universal Connection

Yew, outwardly
a rugged tree,
firmly rooted in the earth,
guardian of fire,
anchored by its roots,
the homestead’s delight.
The thirteenth rune of the Elder Futhark in its neutrality unites life and death as a single whole.

The rune Eihwaz (Yew) embodies the continuity of the cosmos as a single flow, including the union of higher and lower realms and actual and potential existence.

Mythologically this rune corresponds to the World Tree — Yggdrasil, the ash tree — in its aspect of affirming the unity of the worlds.

This is the axis that unites the heavens, the earth, and the underworld (Hel).

Moreover, Eihwaz views this axis as a way from above downward, that is, a transition from life to death, from the upper world to the lower; however, it also pertains to time in general, especially as movement from birth to death.

The wisdom of Yggdrasil lies in an understanding of universal connection, but not in the sense of cause and effect (as with Jera), but in the sense of co-existence, of all things reflecting one another.

Another aspect of the rune Eihwaz is the notion of the hunt (the best bows are made from yew) in the broadest sense — both as procuring sustenance and as tracking down problems, shortcomings, and enemies (external and internal), and also as the hunt for power. In this aspect Eihwaz corresponds to the god Ullr and the huntress Skaði, who correspond to Hœnir and Heimdall.

We have already noted that the pagan worldview regards the Way of the Magus not as a route to “self-improvement” or the “true Self”, but as the Way toward harmony of one’s nature. It is precisely this aspect — the hunt for power — that the World Tree signifies (not coincidentally, Yggdrasil means “the Steed of the Terrible One”, i.e., Odin’s horse; the World Tree also symbolizes a world journey).

The idea of death in the aspect of Eihwaz includes abandoning the obsolete and the unnecessary (although it does not yet imply rebirth). In particular, within its semantic field is the so-called “social death of the Magus” — the Magus withdraws from the social sphere, is dead to the world.

The magical application of the rune Eihwaz naturally includes its protective influence, as well as insight into the mysteries of time, life, and death. Furthermore, Eihwaz (according to Sigrdrifa) adorned the ‘blood-red wings’ (i.e., the bow), so using this rune to aid the hunter (again, in the broadest sense) can be useful. In this connection, Eihwaz can also be counted among the ‘Birthing’ runes, since it eases the transition between worlds.

Graphically Eihwaz is linked not only with Jera (in fact, Eihwaz is a closed Jera, i.e., polarities meet in which its polarities have touched), but also with Tiwaz (in the context of the hunt), and with Ansuz (in the context of travel between worlds).

At the same time, unskilled use can replace transition with departure, lead to destruction, and to journeys that dissolve into the World Tree. Moreover, instead of opening the way, it can close it.

In this aspect Eihwaz corresponds to the völva Heid, a sorceress who, although she knows everything about the cosmos, lies in a deathlike sleep in Hel.