Ingwaz is the Rune of the seed and gestation.
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Ing wæs ærest mid East-Denum
gesewen secgun, oþ he siððan est
ofer wæg gewat; wæn æfter ran;
ðus Heardingas ðone hæle nemdun.
Ing was first, among the East-Danes,
seen by men until he again eastward
went over the wave; the wain followed on;
this is what the warriors called the hero.
The name Ing is connected to the West Germanic tribe of the Ingvaeones, the friends of Ing, which are already mentioned in Tacitus’ Germania. The mythological progenitor of said tribe is called Yngvy, or Yngvi-Frey. This is not much to go on but aside from the Runes connection to the God Frey, it also has an interesting shape and size. In almost all the complete Rune rows of the elder Futhark that are available to us, Ingwaz is carved considerably smaller than all the other Runes.
The God Frey is connected to fertility and, according the Poetic Edda, to rain and sunshine. These are essential in order for plants to grow and if we once more look at the small size and the shape of the Rune it makes a lot of sense to liken Ingwaz to the idea of the seed. A seed is something that is all potential that hasn’t manifested as of yet. In this regard it can be likened to Ginnungagap in the Norse Creation Myth. A seed contains everything that is needed for a plant to grow but it will lie buried in the ground until the conditions are right before it manifests its potential. This gestation period can last decades, especially for plants that grow in rather hostile environments like the desert.
Ingwaz is a very important Rune when practicing Rune Magic as well as in the quest for Self-transformation. Our wish for change is often prevented by our rationality. We truly hope to achieve or receive something but our mind immediately tells that it isn’t possible, which then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. One way to bypass our mind is to wrap the content that we want to manifest into Ingwaz and plant that seed deeply into our subconscious, where it can gestate undisturbed and manifest once conditions are right.