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Perthro – Rune Meaning Analysis

The meaning of the word ‘PERTHRO‘ is unknown to the scholars, as it seems to have no other origin outside the runes. Rather than suppose that the word is lost, I treat this as intentional, as I must with all the names and their positions in the Aetts. Therefor, the reason that Perthro is unknown is because of all the runes it represents the unknown: Fate, the unmanifest, the unknowable and the nature of chance. Together all of these suggests Wyrd (the manipulation of chance and fate).

Image by Thunderchild

A Note on Using the ‘Blank Rune’

The rune meaning of Perthro includes Wyrd, Fate, the mysteries of the unknown and unknowable. Most agree that it represents a ‘lot-cup’. It is the rune of the runes. Because this is so, we can immediately see why a ‘blank rune’ is an unnecessary addition to the 24 elder futhark runes. Typically, the ‘blank rune’ represents exactly those things that can be discovered and explored through Perthro — adding a blank rune into the strictly ordered futhark is at best redundant, and at worst a confusing impediment to genuine understanding (at least in the context of the system described by Rune Secrets.)

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Laguz – Rune Meaning Analysis

This post is the first example of my 24 ‘Rune Meaning Analysis’ series, which will be posted to the RuneSecrets.Com website over the next 16 weeks. If you’re interested, why not subscribe via e-mail (on the left of the page) so that you can experience these insights in your inbox as soon as they become available? Remember to leave your own comments, questions and wisdom for others to benefit from when they visit, later!

The Laguz rune meaning is “Water”.

Image by Cristian Bortes

Water is the ancient mirror — the first surface that the evolving ego had to identify itself was the calm surface of a body of water.

We all have this surface identity of conceptual associations, this “I” or “Me” experience. While ISA is concerned with the totality of that ego experience, Laguz is concerned with transcending the ego in order to experience the unity of all Life and the collective unconscious.

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Fehu – Extended Rune Meaning (by Mahryan)

FEHU – reformatted for clarity April 2009

Alternate Names: Feoh, Fe, Feh
Elements: Fire, Earth
Sex: Feminine

Basic rune meaning: Cattle, Wealth

Continue reading Fehu – Extended Rune Meaning (by Mahryan)

Othala – Rune Meaning

“We inherit ourselves.”

Othala – “Oh-thall-ah” – Literally: “Homeland” or “Ancestral Lot” – Esoteric: Inheritance, estate, noble

Rune of anscetral spiritual power, divine inheritance and earthly estate.

Psi: ancestral spiritual power

Energy: ancestral spiritual power, inheritance, heaven on earth, “The gift of Ing”, paradise, utopia

Mundane: household, estate, inheritance

Divinations: A home or estate, group prosperity, group order, freedom, productive interaction; or lack of customary order, totalitarianism, slavery, poverty, homelessness, xenophobia, racism, genocide.

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Dagaz – Rune Meaning

“Time is an illusion that once realized, is lovingly embraced, none the less.”

Dagaz – “Day-gahz” – Literally: “Day” or Dawn – Esoteric: Awakening

Rune of the hyper-consciousness. The process of concept becoming realized.

Psi: paradoxical truth, incommunicable experience, conceptual realization, Enlightenment, satori

Energy: twilight/dawn polarity, non-dual reality, unity, synthesis, transmutation

Mundane: another day, daylight, the inevitability of dawn

Divinations: Awakening, awareness, hope-happiness, the ideal, paradigm shift; or lack of vision, sleep, blindness, hopelessness, cataclysmic change.

Governs:

Attaining the mystical moment through penetration of the secret of paradox or non-duality
Reception of mystical inspiration – the gift of Odin.
Disappearance and the act of becoming the invisible
Invisibility as an organizing principle of Higher Consciousness
Synthesis of right-left brain dynamics.
Transformation of one thing into its opposite
Integration of female and male into complete being

My Notes:

Dagaz is the counterpart to the rune Jera. Both refer to time, Jera on an annual cycle and Dagaz on a daily cycle. Both are runes of change – Jera is a rune of gentle change, Dagaz is a rune of bold change, for example, the burst of light at the moment of illumination. It contains within its energies the experience called ‘satori’, a spiritual awakening experience common in all cultures.

Archaeological evidence proves that Dagaz has been used as a symbol of Light for more than four thousand years. It is the rune of hyper-consciousness. Achievement of this state of mind SEEMS to be a relatively rare occurrence in human life at this stage of evolution. When chronicled, it marks the beginnings of the mission of a World Savior on Earth.

Much has been written on the psychology and metaphysics of uniting left and right brain functions. Dagaz holds dominion over this union and is a tool that gives you great potency for present awareness and future growth. It is reminiscent of the lemniscate, the symbol of infinity, and the moebius strip, timelessness and illimitable potential, as well as an overturned hourglass.

The ‘point of poise’ entails balancing polarities so that all mystery is revealed to consciousness. The transformation of paradox into non-dual awareness occurs with Dagaz energies. It is to find the center between two extremes and maintaining a state of mind undisturbed by any mental or emotional storm. At the center, all power is to be found and equilibrium is a desirable attainment. This practice eventually leads to the practitioner no longer requiring a single right or wrong answer to the mysteries and many truths can exist complimentary to one another. No one single belief or viewpoint is sufficient and so all beliefs and viewpoints can be progressively abandoned. In the stillness and silent questioning of the mind that is left behind, all truth resounds.

Dagaz can be used to gain absolute stillness. It is invisible transforming power. The vibrational patterns of the self, or an object can be dampened so that the perception of material things to the human eye grow faint. Finding this point of poise takes great skill and practice with Dagaz but mastery of this rune of enlightenment leads down the path of disappearance. Mastery of invisibility leads to the understanding of existence through its opposite: non-existence.

An interesting thing to keep in mind is that the futhark has no rune for the night or for the moon. These are absences, not things. Darkness is not darkness, it is a quality of the light. The sun is always ‘there’, it is our world that spins around and causes the illusion that it is not. As well, the light of the moon is a reflection of the sun’s light. There is little reason to think that the ancients were not aware of this, even mathematically. “Darkness is not darkness” is a wonderful saying to meditate upon, and will reveal to the seeker that there is no true opposites as we are often convinced of, but only polarities within the supreme mystery of existence.

Inguz – Rune Meaning

“Only when we know our solitude to be different from our loneliness
can we be whole enough to honor another’s place.”

Inguz – “Ing-guz” – Literally: “Seed” or “The god, Ing” – Esoteric: Process, space

Rune of isolation or separation in order to create a space or place where the process of transformation into higher states of being can occur. Rune of gestation and internal growth.

Psi: internal growth, personal development, the power of suggestion, the inner-child, wholeness

Energy: earth-god, stored energy, gestation process, male mysteries, subtlety, planned bursts

Mundane: male sexuality, agriculture

Divinations: Resting, gestation, internal growth, expectation, time for oneself; or impotence, scattering, movement without change, frivolity, immaturity.

Governs:

Storage and transformation of power for ritual use.
Stored Energy
Passive meditation and centering of energy and thought
Sudden release of energy
All forms of subtle, creative action

My Notes:

Represented by the very ancient god image Ing, Inguz is a rune of male fertility. The English language participle “-ing” adds to any verb the idea of acton. Do-ing, Be-ing, See-ing, etc. The addition of “ing” represents action in the actual process of activity (rather than an object). Thus, even common elements within our most common language use “ing” to infer the process of creation.

Inguz is that potential energy that must accumulate gradually in storage before being released as a single surge of energy. It represents the process of a mental ‘seed’ desire implanted by the conscious mind into the subconscious for incubation and gestation, later to emerge as a new creation in your life affairs. Inguz governs the process of seed into catalyst, and the self-sacrifice of one form to bring into being a new form, and the characteristics inherited because of this transformation.

Thus, Inguz contains within its lore the true meaning of sacrifice. Such sacrifice occurs when one form is called upon to die so that a newly evolved form may begin to grow. This is one of the cornerstone concepts in what is known as the ‘male mysteries’. To die for something, such as a cause or an ideal such as freedom, a universal theme in warrior traditions, is thus connected to the energies of Inguz.

There is great wisdom in creating an analogy between this fundamental act of nature and the mystical act of generation. The failure of a magical operation is often caused by the lack of the operator ‘letting go’ of some past form of manifestation so that a newly desired form can be born. All humans live in the past to some degree or another, but one must apply the laws of nature which call for death of the old in order to bring about transformation into new energies and new forms. This sounds simple to do on an intellectual level, but in practice it is requires masterful artistry.

Inguz signals the integration of the four selves: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. It is the drive toward completion and totality and acts as the catalyst for movement toward wholeness. Where Berkano signifies the outer child, hidden within the wisdom of Inguz is the activation of one’s inner-child.

Laguz – Rune Meaning

“Our future selves call us from infinite pasts, and each night are eroded with our dreams.”

Laguz – “Log-uhz” – Literally: “Water” or Ocean – Esoteric: Unconscious, Collective Memory

Rune of the unconscious context of becoming or the evolutionary process. Rune of Life’s longing for itself.

Psi: emotion, psychic powers, unconscious mental processes, love, dreaming

Energy: life energy, ocean spirit, origins of life, collective unconscious, the astral plane, love as unity, evolution

Mundane: water, imagination, occultism, dreams

Divinations: Life, passing a test, sea of vitality and of the unconscious growth, memory, dreams; or fear, circular motion, avoidance, withering, depression, manipulations, emotional blackmail, lack of moral fiber, fantasy, poison, toxicity

Governs:

Transpersonal powers
Mastery of emotion in order to shape wyrd
Guidance through difficult initiatory tests, ie. initiation into life
Increase in vitality and life force
Communication between your conscious mind to another’s unconscious mind
Development of ‘second sight’ or prophetic wisdom
All powers of dreaming (lucid dreams, astral projection)

My Notes:

Water is the symbol of unconscious and invisible Life forces. All of life is dependent on water, and therefore Laguz represents the universal ocean, the supreme unity of all life: past, present and future. The dream state and the Jungian “shadow” element both linger beneath its surface, and the human unconscious is revealed when explored and exposed to the conscious mind. We ‘take the plunge’. To the runic initiate the unconscious forces are controlled for good use through mastery of runic skills. Still, the initiate understands the potency of the unconscious sea to break loose from its control and is ever watchful.

The substance of Laguz is everywhere present, pervades all things and underlies all manifestation. It is the living energy out of which everything is made. It sustains and enriches any idea that is projected into it. The ability to see clairvoyantly and into the future are psychic talents associated with Laguz, as is protection from physical and psychic poisons.

The rune can be used in establishing a communications link from your conscious mind, under willful intent, to the unconscious mind of another. Caution and much wisdom must be exercised in such subtle manipulations.

Water is a psychically chargeable medium, and this includes all vital liquids such as blood and spittle. These are the fluids that carry your Life Force and act as a bonding medium for many, if not all, of your psycho-spiritual constructs.

Related Articles:

Laguz Rune Meaning Analysis (in-depth)

Mannaz – Rune Meaning

“We are each a savior, each a god.
It is the fear of what this means which binds us to the realm of humankind.”

Mannaz – “Man-az” – Literally: “Mankind” – Esoteric: Humankind, awareness

Rune of the Divine structure of intelligence in the human soul or psyche. Rune of the horizons of human existence and collective potential.

Psi: mind & memory (Hugin & Munin), the difference between human and all other life, development of the intellect, rational mind, perfected intelligence

Energy: psychic order of the gods reflected in humankind, projection of Self into time

Mundane: thinking, planning, analysis, the human condition, people at large (contemporary: the masses)

Divinations: Divine structure, sustainability, intelligence, awareness, social order, divine influence in life; or depression, mortality, blindness, self-delusion, collective suicide, bigotry, elitism, intellectual arrogance.

Governs:

Self-Actualization
Realization of the divine structure in humankind
Increase in intelligence, memory and mental powers (passing tests)
Unlocking the third-eye hvel, the “mind’s eye”
Activating the dynamics of your own inner Christus, or Higher Self
Awareness of our roles as co-creator with the gods and nature
Mental and spiritual potential

My Notes:

In a spiritual sense, nobility refers to those who seek to comprehend the mysteries of Life and who strive to master these mysteries for greater awareness. Access to the Higher Self or ‘Christus’ of the soul is not restricted, as religions maintain. Even the staunchest athiest has a path to Enlightened Being, without ever having to profess belief in a god or faith. All humans can rise to this state as Perfected Human, regardless of name, race or creed. Christus is merely a Greek word which serves as a title given to any human being who evidences a state of unity with the Universal Mind, or God/Goddess. One could as easily use the word Buddha, as in Buddhism, or Illumined, as in Hermetic Philosophy.

From its very beginnings, the Northern spiritual tradition has maintained a path by which each individual human being can become a Christus, that is a completely self-actualized person, in time (lifetimes) and with great study and personal commitment. Furthermore, in the North this archetype is imparted within humankind as a genetic link, not a contractual link, with the gods. The promise is equality with the gods as an attainable human potential, which is one of the basis of occultism and the Enlightenment (the philosophy behind science).

Access to the collective unconscious of earth and humanity can also be gained by invoking Mannaz. Mimir’s Well is the Northern equivalent of the Sanskrit Akashic records. It contains information which provides answers to the deepest mysteries of Life, as well as being a storehouse of new knowledge waiting to be discovered. Mannaz is the rune of Mimir’s well, for Mannaz is the rune of human consciousness which ever seeks wisdom and insight to continue its evolutionary progress toward Perfected Human. See also LAGUZ for insight into the Well.

Mannaz is the rune of human intelligence and the rational mind. This rune is a particularly beneficial one for academic studies, tests and any contests of an intellectual nature. It is well placed when the task of dealing with matters that affect a society or entire civilization, especially those rooted in the individual human mind.

Further Reading:

Mannaz – Rune Meaning Analysis (series)

Ehwaz – Rune Meaning

“The mind will trust the body, the body will trust the mind.”

Ehwaz – “eh-was” – Literally: “Horse” – Esoteric: Trust

Rune of harmonious teamwork and trust. Rune of pairs of entities working together for a common goal.

Psi: trust between individual entities, sexuality

Energy: trust, cooperation, the Fetch

Mundane: animals, teamwork, friendship

Divinations: Harmony, teamwork, trust, marriage, loyalty, a friend; or duplication, disharmony, mistrust, betrayal, nightmares, indecision, an enemy.

Governs:

Activating the energies of your inner Fetch
Ability to detect deceit and uncover subtle queues
Facilitates swiftness in every regard
Establishing trust and bonds with animals (ie. horse whisperers)

My Notes:

Ehwaz symbolizes all the various bodies as vehicles for travel and movement. Twins represent the Sacred Marriage of the Inner and the Outer, or mind and body. The horse and rider metaphor is the best way to represent the symbiotic relationship between two individualized, yet harmonious beings. Anyone who has had the least exposure to the value of a horse to a person, family or clan would understand the esoteric code hidden within Ehwaz.

Ehwaz is not force, but persuasion, suggestion and co-operation. Control issues that birth questions such as ‘who is the boss?’ are settled and accepted with assistance of this rune. Making the best of a situation, making the necessary adjustments to a relationship and the finding of means are frequent activities that focus on Ehwaz can assist. In every way it represents flexibility, adaptability, pragmatism. It is the activation and use of instinct, using gut over the analysis or reasoning of MANNAZ or ANSUZ.

The loyalty, trust and dependence build between two partners with each passing day forms a web of emotional and spiritual one-on-one connections which becomes highly resilient as time goes on. Genuine friendship develops, for it’s own sake, the kind of bond we die for. It is the combination of emotional energies with the intellectual spark to produce harmonious partnership represents the friendship with parents blossoming upon adulthood.

Ehwaz is particularly relevant to the energies which bond man and woman together in lawful marriage. Its energies can unify two people in a strong cooperative relationship and attract the right persons for partnership in work, business, teams or service.

Ehwaz is the rune of the psycho-spiritual construct called the Fetch. Your Fetch is the opposite gender as you, inactive in the material plane but still quite accessible within your spirit. Activating the Fetch can assist you in attracting to yourself the right partner as your life mate. It will also refresh an existing marriage or committed relationship by re-energizing the two conscious minds of the partners in the coupling.

Most people do not realize that the answer to the great mysteries of the opposite sex are found within their own mental make-up when a communication link is established between oneself and one’s Fetch. One might imagine the Fetch, in modern terms, as the dormant DNA which is still active on a psychic level, though the physical manifestation has already chosen and developed its gender. Likewise, we are able to create an emotional understanding with any other human being, because within ourselves, we find the Other.