The rune
Ehwaz.
The horse. Two moving together, with neither one on top.
I put the word under letters, under emails, at the bottom of this site. Not as a sign for insiders. As a sentence I need myself.
It's pronounced EH-vahz. The sign is ᛖ.
What it is
A horse. Not a slogan.
Ehwaz is a rune of the Elder Futhark. The name comes from Proto-Germanic and means horse. The same root is in the Latin word equus.
In the Old English rune poem, the horse is a joy to the one who keeps it. Proud in its hooves. A comfort to the restless. It's not about winning. It's about a being that walks with you.
The shape is often read as two horses facing each other. Or as horse and rider. Two forces. One movement.
Why I write it so often
Because that's how the work goes, or it doesn't go at all.
You can't explain things to a horse. It feels whether the hand is honest. So does a man in a circle. If I stand in front and he's meant to follow, that's not riding. That's giving orders. Ehwaz reminds me to sit beside him.
The body is the horse. The head wants to plan the route. The body already knows the ground. In somatic work I don't start by asking why you became this way. I ask where it sits. Chest, jaw, belly. The horse speaks first. The story comes after.
For me, progress isn't a leap. A weekend can open the ground. Then everyday life comes back, and everyday life has a different pace. Ehwaz is that pace. Not the ride that changes everything at once. The next step that both of you take. That's why there are nine weeks after the Men's Intensive. That's why the circle keeps coming back. That's why my emails don't end with a promise, but with this word.
And it's a partnership. I hold the space. You bring yourself. Neither of us is the guru. If the trust isn't there, the horse stops. That's not weakness. It's the signal that we're not riding yet.
What I don't mean by it
Ehwaz isn't a talisman. I don't put it on you to make something happen. I don't sell runes, or readings of your life from a symbol.
The rune is old. The way I use it is mine. It doesn't replace therapy or medicine.
When you see the word under a message from me, it means: I'm here, and I don't stand above you.