The Ehwaz rune

Sound «Э», image: horse.

Meaning of the Ehwaz rune

Horse and rider: movement, trust, a pair that works as one. Ehwaz is true partnership and the kind of change that carries you forward. When two move together, the road lays itself down in front of them. It asks for trust running both ways, since neither horse nor rider gets anywhere pulling against the other.

Ehwaz reversed

The pair has fallen out of step: mistrust, discord, movement gone sluggish. The horse bolted the wrong way, or the rider lost the common language with it. Ehwaz reversed points at a partnership that needs talking through, and at a journey that stays stuck until someone starts that conversation.

Ehwaz in a spread

If it comes up upright, read it by the meaning above. If it falls upside down, read the reversed meaning: the rune's force goes backwards or turns harmful. A single rune gives you the leaning, and for an answer with a thread through it you draw three: what is behind, what is now, what comes ahead.

Ehwaz as a talisman

Ehwaz is carried on the road and in a pair, the rune of horse and rider moving as one. As a talisman it draws true partnership, trust between two people and changes that carry you forward. As a charm it guards from discord in a couple, from stalling and from a false turn. Worn by two, whether spouses, work partners or allies.

FAQ

Is the Ehwaz rune a good sign or a bad one?

Runes do not split into good ones and bad ones. Ehwaz speaks of horse, and in a spread it hints at where the force is leaning. It is no final sentence, and a lot depends on which runes fall beside it.

What does the Ehwaz rune mean reversed?

When Ehwaz falls upside down its force turns around and either goes backwards or does harm. The reversed meaning is spelled out above.

Which aett does Ehwaz belong to?

The aett of Tyr, one of the three groups of the Elder Futhark, eight runes each. The aett tells you which octave the rune sits in and which runes it neighbours.

The rune said its piece in short. The arcana tell it more slowly.

✦ The Major Arcana