Ehwaz rune meaning: history, poems and modern reading

How to read the labels Historical what the old sources say. Later tradition what later writers added. Modern modern practice and my own notes.

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Ehwaz is rune 19 of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and the third rune of the third aett. It stands for the sound e, and its reconstructed name means “horse”. Modern readers link it with partnership and trust. On this page I start with what the evidence says, then the Old English rune poem, and only then the modern meanings, so you can always see which layer you are reading.

At a glance

• Shape: like a Roman M whose middle dips only partway down: two vertical staves joined at the top by two strokes meeting in a V
• Sound: e
• Reconstructed name: *ehwaz, “horse” (secure)
• Later names: Old English eh; no Scandinavian name, because the rune was dropped from the Younger Futhark
• Position: third aett, rune 19

Reconstructed names carry an asterisk because no early source writes them out in full. Scholars work them out from the later Old English and Old Norse names and from related words in other Germanic languages. Where the reconstruction is uncertain, I say so below.

The shape

Ehwaz looks like an M made of straight lines: two upright staves joined at the top by a dip in the middle. Draw both staves, then the two sloping lines that meet in the middle. Do not confuse it with Mannaz, which comes next and has crossed lines between the staves.

A good way to learn Ehwaz is to draw it ten times in a row on scrap paper, saying its sound aloud each time. Then draw it once more beside its neighbors in the futhark, so your hand learns the differences as well as the shape.

In the record

Historical The name *ehwaz means “horse,” related to Latin equus. Interestingly, this old word for horse died out in most Germanic languages, replaced by the word that became English “horse.” The rune represented e. It was dropped from the Younger Futhark, where the i-rune covered e. In England it survived as eh. It is the first rune on the Golden Horns of Gallehus, in ek, “I”.

Do not confuse Ehwaz with Mannaz, which looks similar but has crossing strokes, or with Raidho, the riding rune. And do not confuse Old English eh, “horse,” with ēoh, “yew.”

Horses were deeply important in Germanic culture, for travel, war, farming, and status, and they had religious significance too. Tacitus, in the same chapter of the Germania that describes casting lots, says that the Germanic peoples kept sacred white horses at public expense in sacred groves. When the horses were yoked to a sacred chariot, the priest and the king or chief went with them and noted their neighing and snorting as omens. In the translation by Church and Brodribb, he says that “no species of augury is more trusted.” Like his lots, these horse omens are not linked to runes, but they show how highly horses were regarded.

The rune poems

Historical Old English (author’s rendering): Among warriors the horse is a joy for princes, a hoof-proud steed, when wealthy riders swap opinions of it; for anyone unsettled it is always a solace.

Only the Old English poem survives. It celebrates the horse as a nobleman’s pride and joy, the kind of animal rich men gather to admire and discuss, and as a solace to the unsettled, perhaps because a horse can carry an unsettled person away.

Only the Old English poem has a stanza for Ehwaz. The rune was dropped when the Younger Futhark shrank the row to sixteen runes in the Viking Age, so the Norwegian and Icelandic poets never wrote about it. That leaves us with one medieval voice, and it is worth remembering how much rests on it.

A word about these sources. The Old English poem survives only because George Hickes printed it in 1705, before the manuscript burned in 1731. The Norwegian poem was printed by Ole Worm in 1636, before its manuscript was lost in the Copenhagen fire of 1728. The Icelandic poem is usually dated to the fifteenth century. All three are medieval and Christian, so they tell us what the rune names meant to later readers, not what the first carvers believed. The renderings above are my own brief, literal ones.

Modern meanings

Modern Keywords: partnership, trust, cooperation, movement, progress, teamwork, loyalty, a vehicle for change.

Modern readers read Ehwaz as partnership and trust, often picturing the bond between horse and rider, who must work together to move forward. Many read it as cooperation, teamwork, loyal friendship, or a marriage. Others emphasize movement and progress, a change of place or circumstance, or a steady advance toward a goal. Following the English poem, a thoughtful reading includes comfort for restlessness: sometimes the right partner, or the right change, settles a restless heart.

Reversed: Often read as mistrust, disharmony in a partnership, restlessness without direction, or a change that is resisted.

Ehwaz is a rune of trust, and trust has two sides. A horse and rider succeed only when each can rely on the other. If you draw Ehwaz in a question about a partnership, it can prompt you to ask whether trust runs both ways. It cannot tell you what another person is thinking or planning.

Ehwaz in a reading

Modern Here is how Ehwaz might speak to three common kinds of question. These are examples of modern reading, not rules, and your own response to the rune comes first.

• A question about a partnership. Ehwaz points to trust between partners, like a rider and a horse. Ask what makes the partnership work, and what it needs.
• A question about movement. Ehwaz can suggest steady progress with help. Who or what carries you forward?
• A question about a team. Ehwaz can point to cooperation. It cannot tell you what another person is thinking, so ask them.

If you draw Ehwaz with other runes, read them together. Ask what Ehwaz adds to the picture, then look at its neighbors in the spread. A rune reading is a prompt for reflection. It does not predict events, and it never replaces medical, legal or financial advice.

Ehwaz in a three-rune spread

In a simple three-rune spread of situation, challenge and next step, Ehwaz changes its voice with its place. As the situation, it describes where things stand, with partnership in the foreground. As the challenge, it asks whether something about trust is missing, overdone or out of balance. As the next step, it suggests one small, practical action in the spirit of trust. Read the other two runes first, then come back to Ehwaz and ask how it changes their story.

Ehwaz as a tattoo or symbol

On its own, Ehwaz is a letter for the sound e and the name of a thing, “horse”. Anyone who reads runes will see it that way first. If you want it as a tattoo, a piece of jewelry or a mark in your journal, take your time: check the form against a reliable chart, because a small change of angle can turn one rune into another. Ehwaz is easy to confuse with Mannaz, so compare the two before you decide. Avoid combining runes into a design you have not checked, since a few rune sequences and stylized forms are used as codes by hate groups.

Reflection questions

• Whom do I trust to carry me, and who trusts me to carry them?
• Where in my life would cooperation work better than going it alone?
• Am I restless? What change might ease that restlessness?

A week with Ehwaz

Write the names of the people you work best with: at home, at work, in friendship. Next to each name, write what makes the partnership work. Choose one person to thank this week.

To get the most from the week, keep the entries short and honest. On the first day, write what Ehwaz means to you before you read anything else. On the last day, read that first note again and add one line about what changed. You do not need special tools: a notebook, a pen and the rune drawn at the top of each page are enough.

Related runes

• Berkano comes just before Ehwaz in the futhark. Modern keywords: growth, new beginnings.
• Mannaz comes just after Ehwaz. Modern keywords: humanity, self, community.

To see all twenty-four runes side by side, with their sounds and the three aettir, go to the Elder Futhark. For where the runes came from, read the history of the runes, and when you are ready to draw runes for reflection, start with how to cast runes. Everything else is on the runes hub.