“The beginning and end are set. What’s in between is yours. Nothing is in vain, all is remembered.”
Perthro - “Per-throw” – Literally: unknown – Esoteric: The Norns, Fate, Lot-Cup
Rune of fate and the unmanifest. Rune of probability and the role of luck in the evolutionary process of the all things. Universe at play.
Psi: co-incidence, living with the unknown, the art and magic of guessing, pattern recognition, prophecy
Energy: evolutionary force, luck, nothingness, the unborn, the unmanifest
Mundane: gambling, random occurrences, guessing
Divinations: Good omen, knowledge of örlög, fellowship and joy, evolutionary change; or doom*, psychological or emotional addictions, stagnation, loneliness, delusion, fantasy, unknowability.
*Doom is the way in which the uncontrolled aspects of our self conspire in our destiny. It does not necessarily mean death.
Governs:
Perception of the layers of örlög and wyrd
Manipulation of cause and effect
Placing runic forces in the stream of Nornic law
Alteration of probability and dependence on luck
The creation of favorable circumstances
Chance, gambling, divination and the art of guessing
My Notes:
It is important to remember that the true meaning of Perthro is unknown to scholars, as it is not a recognized word, and though many have agreed that the idea of a ‘lot cup’ seems fitting, I think that this ‘unknown’ or ‘nameless’ quality is extremely significant.
A ‘lot cup’ is an ancient dice box from which ‘lots’ were cast by warriors seeking knowledge of their fate before a battle. Perthro represents orlog, a concept of the larger matrix of the universal law of cause and effect. It encompasses the fixed and unalterable law of action and reaction. Wyrd is the working out of the law of cause and effect on a personal level. It is not unalterably fixed, like orglog is. A person can move about within the web of their wyrd in accordance with their degree of conscious development (and using the rune Nauthiz).
There is a large portion of our unmanifest future that rests on an element of chance. This awareness must be incorporated into the lore of Perthro and divination is a way to discern the parameters of that element of chance. Divination through casting of lots using dice or runes provides conscious indicators of unconscious ‘lay’ or pattern of cause and effect as it pertains to any specific future happening.
Of all the runes, this one is the most mysterious, perhaps next to Eihwaz before it, because Perthro deals with the mysteries within the runes themselves and the birth of the universe. On one hand this allows you to intuit original knowledge about the runes that may have been suppressed, destroyed or incompletely passed on over the centuries. On the other hand, the ‘how to’ techniques are less defined than with other runes, for we are dealing with fundamental mysteries of the universe. Orlog plays out as the consequences of the cosmic and primal laws themselves unfold from beginning of the universe until the end. All patterns are interdependent and interwoven, throughout all existence.
The proper relationship between Perthro and Nauthiz is that Perthro allows you to become aware of the hidden and relatively fixed workings of the deep law of cause and effect, which in turn give us the ability to see into the unmanifest and peer into the unknown. This is wyrd, and lay within our influence if we have knowledge of how our personal fate can be manipulated. Nauthiz helps you get around the workings of orlog, using the forces of resistance to change direction of the flow of wyrd. Together, these two runes govern the magic of ‘the Wyrding Way’.
All the records of all events are stored here, so Perthro’s power helps the recollection of knowledge that is hidden within the collective unconscious of humankind, especially human lore lost over the course of the centuries. The same process is responsible for prophecy. Perthro will assist the birthing of a great idea into your environment by raising awareness of the forces arrayed against its manifestation. Co-incidence and deja vu play an enormous role in the recognition of the fundamentals of this rune.
Other topics: quantum probability, Akashic records.
For more in-depth exploration, read Perthro – Rune Meaning Analysis.
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this rune called to me/was cast upon me by fate/chance several times. a friend who was learning to read runes said she didnt understand that one, and it kept being thrown in my reading and so it threw her off… it was given to me by a friend as a keepsake for our friendship out of his set of runes once, i pulled it from a quarter machine that gave out rune necklaceses.. none of the times did i choose it or pick it.. it picked me. i now wear the quarter machine one on my glasses strap and thus it is constantly on the back of my neck… ive had all these experiences through the past… oh fifteen years, before it even seemed like it might be something i should consider significant (well in the last five i did such) and i am considering getting it as a tattoo on my wrist now. as i read your description, i consider it ironic that i have always had the ability (even before the rune found me that i am aware of) to discern events by examining the surroundings of the situation… in ways i considered simple, but everyone else around me seemed blind to. i feel literally like it has helped me become more aware of myself, since ive accepted it. … i guess this isnt a question, any more than.. does this make sense to you? thank you for your input.
Makes great sense, Dustin.
I’m curious, did your friend have a ‘blank rune’ in her set? It’s my belief that adding a blank rune will confuse the meaning of Perthro, because so much of Perthro is the same as a blank rune would be… but so much more.
I believe if you go to http://runesecrets.com/rune-meanings/perthro-rune-meaning-analysis I’ve written even more down about Perthro that might be helpful. I’ve taken a really good look at it, glad you find this helpful and THANK YOU for commenting :)
Dustin:
I do think that we are drawn to (certain runes) come to us as particulalry meaningful for us in this lifetime. It would seem that Pertho is definitely one for you. You might want to just hold off on doing the tatoo for a while though – at least until you feel certain of what the rune means for you.
Pertho–”The Cave” To enter The Unknown/The Cave for the Wyrding Way of Growth,in so-called “hibernation”.To have the courage to go into Cave and ask questions that may or may not be answered! But will grow you for Spring.Pertho does kind of resemble Cave/uterus—-both dark to our vision or is it? Munsey
Great imagery again Munsey. Definitely some room for pondering on this one.
And what about Perthro reversed? I often find meanings and readings related to excess, addiction, self destruction, delusion, mutism… Is that the most accepted meaning? Opinions… Thanks! :)
In divination I interpret reversed Perthro as ‘Stop asking. It’s currently unknowable.’ But we could explore that further. I’m generally against arbitrary ‘meanings’. For instance: excess? You’d have to explain to me how Perthro reversed has to do with excess. I would never take someone’s word for it, if it didn’t first make enough sense to me.
I would say, “NOT NOW” instead of “UNKNOWABLE”, that could be expressed as “I/WE DON’T KNOW”, in its TURN. :) I am smiling as real meaning of this expression – “Don’t [Ki] now…” see, “Don’t asK-Now”… And don’t even ask me what sounds [ki] could mean… :) In one language it means “yes”, in other one – “clue”, if not just “key” :) “NOT NOW”. Just it :)
p.s. And sure, I am not correcting in no way :), I am just telling my feeling/vision.
How does pertho affect the other runes around it. Does it make it more of a destiny kind of thing for the other rune? Also I have seen it written that pertho is destiny, wyrd, but then I have read that decision making, but if this is destiny what does it have to do about making decisions and being in control of the things you do in your life. In that sense I do believe in trying to make the right decisions but also there is a point where destiny and fate just take over. I feel like that now, like I am just floating down the river.
I think it wise to make the distinction between destiny and doom, wyrd and fate.
Our future is unseen to us. It is from the patterns in our life now that will guide us. Our decisions do matter, but so do the decisions of others, and elements completely outside the control of humankind. Together, that makes a weave… a ‘web’ of wyrd.
So decision-making is vitally important, because powerful decisions, exercises of the will, do make a difference. However, they are not the only things at work. The other things at work may be entirely unknown, may have yet to manifest, and this whole process works into Perthro.
Making a decision is half-guess. We can’t know the outcome ahead of time, yet to avoid paralysis, we have to make one. I’ve shown how ‘guessing’ is a fundamental magic of Perthro.
Doom is when your destiny is outside of your control, when some kind of unchangeable factor in your web, in the pattern of your life, is eventually gonna get you.
So, Perthro can be a powerful shaper of your own fate, or it can be exquisitely harsh — in keeping with all the runes on the 2nd Aett.
Thank you tyriel, I can understand and work with that. I had that kind of feeling about decisions, making good ones and having to make them regardless. That makes so much sense. Then there is the just fate part that no matter what decision you make you will get to something also.
Excess, as in addiction. I found that meaning in one of Fabiana Daversa’s books and I saw that you also include that idea in the possible meaning of reversed Perthro. Fabiana is a Brasilian/Argentinian rune expert, and basically, the author I’ve followed, ever since I started studying this oracle, and tool of self knowledge. The rest has been an intuitive and spiritual discovery. There is not a lot of information on runes, here, in Ecuador, Latin America. The little I’ve learned has been through Fabiana’s books and sites like yours, so I like to talk about it as often as I can, that way I can learn a lot more. Now, returning to the initial subject, your interpretation (‘Stop asking. It’s currently unknowable.’) makes a lot of sense. I also think that an interpretation related to something that’s “not meant to be” could work. Anyway, thank you for your answer.
Paulina
I don’t mean any offense, and I’m not ruling out the possibility, if it makes sense to you, but I am quite certain I haven’t used the words excess or addiction in the two Perthro articles I’ve published on the site. I suppose a gambling or game-playing addiction might be indicated by reversed Perthro, in a very mundane interpretation.
“Not meant to be” works in some contexts no doubt, because reversed, it could indicate that it cannot manifest, or that something is counter-manifesting… that something is prohibiting manifestation. This might indicate that something in your pattern is preventing a certain outcome or occurrence from existing. This would be a common problem in all our lives, to some degree or another, and reversed Perthro could indicate it.
Hope that helps but bear in mind that divination can be very complex and iffy from the start. The rune system I am trying to build here is more of a psychology, exploring energies in the world, and how to gain personal power and deeper insight into the mysteries of our world. Divination plays a part, and Perthro is the rune of divination. Paradoxically, it’s also the rune of “No mortal knows the future.”
I don’t mean any offense either, and maybe there is something I haven’t looked at hardly enough, I don’t know… but in this very article, in Divinations, you use the word addiction:
“Divinations: Good omen, knowledge of örlög, fellowship and joy, evolutionary change; or addiction, stagnation, loneliness, malaise, delusion, fantasy”
I take it that the meanings after “or” are applied to the reversed position of the rune, which is, in this case, Perthro. Your thoughts on my “Not meant to be” option really help. Thank you. And, please, do know that I’m aware of the complexity of the divination process, and that I also seek a deeper understanding of myself and the world around me in every “encounter” I have with this “set of keys”, as you wisely refer to them, and that they have also “served me so well in unlocking this life’s secrets and miracles”.
Well how about that, I could have sworn I was going nuts… I even used the find tool to comb through the document for it.
Now that’s a little embarrassing to miss that in my own notes. My apologies.
I’ve been going through these notes for a couple of years as I compile something more substantial out of them, and they’re not perfect yet, or crystal clear.
The divination section on ALL the runes could use a lot of improvement. In some cases I’ve taken meanings that several authors seem to agree on, but which I can’t explain for myself. In this case, addiction would be an example of that.
Maybe you can post a little more from what Fabiana Daversa says about Perthro and addiction and ‘excess’ and I’ll order her books from the local library, as I’ve not looked over that author’s work at all. That would be a big help!
And I’m honored that you are putting these notes to good use in your studies and that you can forgive some of my work’s flaws at this point. Please don’t hesitate to comment wherever you have questions or insight, even if it’s only a few words.
Ah… after reflecting a few minutes on this ‘addiction’ part, I think I’ve connected it usefully to the rest.
In this context, addiction refers to the parts of ourselves we can’t quit, that shape our destiny. These are things like bad habits, conditioning, anything that we seem to repeat in our pattern. If for instance we have an emotional addiction to abuse… a pretty serious scenario… that addiction, and any other we have, will shape our future.
So in this case, addiction, excess connects with DOOM. Doom is a destiny in which parts of us which we cannot control, or which we are addicted to, or parts of our personality that are excessive, conspire to shape our future in such a way that we meet our end because of it.
I have added doom to the interpretations… thanks for drawing this to my attention, it’s an important thing to discuss when talking about Perthro, Wyrd, Orlog, etc.
Exactly! That’s how addicton is related to Perthro, and that is why, as you say, some authors include this term. Because, we all are, or have been, addicted to somehting, that is why we repeat, as you well say, patterns, relationships, mistakes, lives… the samsara. From that point of view, doom can also be understood as Karma, or at least that’s the way I see that this Rune is related to my specific reading. How interesting… This was useful!!! And, Tyriel, your notes ARE perfect, there is nothing to forgive. I would love to post some of Fabiana Daversa´s thoughts on Runes. Promise that, as soon as I have some time, I will. Thanks again, and have a great day (well, here, the day has just begun).
Paulina
Hello,
I have been reading your notes and discussion about Perthro and doom and samsara, etcetera and I found it very interesting because lately I am using runes quite often, not very often… it is like if something would let me know when I can read them. By the way it is interesting this “control” over an oracule, in other time of my life I would have been addicted to it but something tells me that runes work a bit like that -and it is an impression because this is really the first time I read something about them-. Well, as I was saying, you were talking about this enlightening -for me- concept of “doom” and I felt very attracted to it because I feel that “conditioning” you refer to very absurd if there is no way to overcome it. So, what I missed in your notes was how actually Perthro helps you in this situation, I mean, when you are conscient of it but the pattern keeps manifesting itself and mess you and your life up. Sorry for my English.
I believe people have Pertho wrong. The symbol resembles a hearth, forge, or oven. It would be a place for warmth or creation. A full Inguz rune would fit perfectly in the gap left in Pertho. Pertho also shares the same position as Kenaz and Inguz in their own aetts. I guess the concept of Pertho being a gaming piece comes from some verse where people sound as if they are having fun in its presence. Would not people have fun gathered around the hearth or women around an oven socializing as they worked?
You’re free to assume people have a rune ‘wrong’, if that is of course possible. However, my research has led me to the position that the symbols are not pictographic (as in they do not ‘represent’ visually the objects they refer to). Also, I have the strong inclination to suggest to you that Kenaz represents the contained fire and kinship of the hearth, the craftsmen of the forge, or the central oven of the home, as well as the torches of the keep or castle. Ken and Kin are old phonemes that have essentially meant the same thing for a very long time amongst Germanic and Scandinavian people, thus an etymological study is your best bet.
An etymological study of Perthro, however, reveals little or nothing. I propose that Perthro’s meaning is not merely unknown, but literally ‘the unknowable’, or luck/chance and the unmanifest. This is where we find the basis of the ‘game’ or gambling. And don’t think of Perthro as necessarily representing ‘fun’. Could it not be the universe ‘at play’ in an uncompromisingly playful sense. It’s a game, perhaps a high stakes game, even if you don’t want to play along. This is in keeping with the ‘inimical’ nature of each of the second Aett’s runes.
Inguz also has two forms, an elder and a younger version. Which do you mean?
This is an interesting discussion on the mystery of Perthro. You are both right! Perthro when viewed from a male perspective is different from a female one.Perthro is the witches cauldron and the warriors game cup and the deeper mysterybehind both. Same, but different.Often we confuse the “practical” use of the rune with that practicalities deeper meaning. Often we do not consider our sex when trying to read the web of eyed, and this is a fatal flaw when divining what ” should come about. How a man interprets a mystery will be different than how a woman interprets the same mystery. This is a great clue to the deeper mystery of Perthro!
Ok so I had this rune on a reading and I’m trying to understand it better. Thank you so much for all the information…now I have a question….how does this really work??….is it just coincidence that I would have to also have nauthiz in the same reading in order to have it help change whatever is going wrong in my life pretty much? I just want to know what to be prepared for to happen in the near future…I’m not sure its still in my hands or if its too late and out of my control….this is what confuses me….Nauthiz helps you get around the workings of orlog using the forces of resistance to change direction of the flow of wyrd…so if I didn’t get nauthiz in my reading I won’t get that help?we’ll I hope It makes sense to you and thank you so much for your time.
>A person can move about within the web of their wyrd in accordance with their degree of conscious development (and using the rune Nauthiz). <
Hi :)
I would use instead of “and” the word “by” in this sentence. As sounding of the Russian word “LEARN!” (for example :) ) is ingenuous “CO-IN-CI-DENCE and déjà vy play” of the word “Nauthiz” as a verb in imperative mode. :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
I had this rune in my dream once. I tried to understand what it was about…but…I had this dream with these runes in them about two or three months ago. It was curious, suffice to say. Thank you very much for this website, I really appreciate it. :)