It is customary to identify sparse matrices with the corresponding adjacency or incidence graph. For the solution of linear systems of equations using Gaussian elimination, the representation by its adjacency graph allows a symbolic computation that can be used to predict memory footprints and enables the determination of near-optimal elimination orderings based on heuristics. The Hermitian eigenvalue problem on the other hand seems to evade such treatment at first glance due to its inherent iterative nature. In this paper we prove this assertion wrong by showing the equivalence of the Hermitian eigenvalue problem with a symbolic edge elimination procedure. A symbolic calculation based on the incidence graph of the matrix can be used in analogy to the symbolic phase of Gaussian elimination to develop heuristics which reduce memory footprint and computations. Yet, we also show that the question of an optimal elimination strategy remains NP-hard, in analogy to the linear systems case.