Rune number 14 is the most mysterious rune of them all. No one knows exactly what it means, but if you work with it – you still begin to understand a little of it.
When it is the right way up, that is, turned toward the right, it resembles a door … with a threshold you sooner or later trip over … if the opening ends upward it resembles a jug, or a cup. If it ends entirely the wrong way, it resembles a back door, with that same sinister threshold … and if the opening turns downward it is reminiscent of "birth". If you gather all this into a bundle, then I think we can call this rune "fate". We don't really know what lot we draw in life, nor do we know very much about what fate brings us in the future. Wyrd, they called fate in the Norse days. Wyrd is something we partly inherit, partly create and partly receive from the goddesses of fate – or the norns, if you prefer those three Ladies. The element water is always brought in when the rune Perthro is discussed, and the water, I believe, mainly comes from Urd's well, the well of fate. Yggdrasil is watered, and when it rains on Yggdrasil, it drips on us. I believe Perthro reminds us to look over our fate, to bring about growth and to find the balance between "earth and heaven". We should be spiritual, but not over-spiritual. We should be down-to-earth, but not drag our tail along the ground.
What I like about the Norse faith is that there is none of this "thou shalt not" and "thou must not". Rules we humans must have, but surely we don't need submissive subjugation? We need neither shamans, prophets nor saviors who get revelations from on high about how we are to behave? Perthro reminds us of this freedom, but adds "freedom under responsibility". Nor do we need to walk around with an over-spiritual expression, humor is actually allowed. :-) Perthro can also be seen as a symbol of a cup holding dice.
"Alea iacta est" said Julius Caesar when he crossed the river Rubicon in the year 49 BCE.
The die is cast … an important decision has been made, fate is sealed. And this is of course what happens to us too. We make decisions, we cross rivers, our fate is affected.
We probably don't choose our parents, or where we are to be born – I believe. (I know there are some who say we choose that too, but this doesn't resonate with me). As children we depend on the adults making good decisions on our behalf, but then one day – we take over the responsibility ourselves, and then we carry Perthro ourselves. Our choices, our fate! And with that responsibility, I think it is good to relate to gods who have made the wrong choices now and then – and who have understanding for human weakness … for hindsight – thy name is human!
Look at Perthro – look at your life. How have you shaped your life? Look at all the teachers you have around you. The old person who dawdles at the checkout at Kiwi, just when you are short on time … a lesson in patience. The friend who calls you at 3 in the morning and cries … a lesson in compassion … The police officer who writes out the speeding ticket for you and absolutely does not believe that you had a UFO on your heels so you had to drive fast … a lesson in responsibility. Then there is the shaman who teaches you about nature, the druid who teaches you about the secrets of the oak tree, or the witch who mixes up an herb blend that helps with your cold. All are, on some level, your good teachers.
Books are also important teachers. Don't devour books, let them sink in. Don't devour films, let them sink in. Listen to the words given to you and let them sink in. If you eat too fast you get indigestion – and if you devour knowledge too fast, the brain gets "foggy reflux" and becomes forgetful.
Of the star signs I think Scorpio and Cancer have the most in common with Perthro. Scorpios can be difficult to read. Cancer has a depth that takes time to understand and get close to.
Of the planets I choose the Moon – and that because the Moon also has this mystery within it. In astrology the Moon is people's container of feelings. It shows them last of all. You meet the Ascendant, get certain ideas about the Sun, while the Moon lies lurking behind a cloud. Nor do you know what dwells in a person until adversity comes. Then the true character often emerges, the way one reacts when the storm comes, that is how one is at the "groundwater".
Irene Resaland selects Prehnite for Perthro. And this is said about that stone: Prehnite is a stone associated with intuition, dreams and inner visions. It strengthens the ability to understand hidden connections, which makes it a good companion for the one who seeks insight through the rune Perthro. Prehnite helps to open up to the unconscious and gives inner calm when one explores what cannot be explained in words.
I include Sunstone, because it helps well when you are working out a "life plan" and helps you both to set realistic goals and to learn from your mistakes.
The tarot card is "The High Priestess". When you look at this card, you are looking at the tarot version of Perthro.
Plants and Perthro
Now I want to bring forward Amaranth. The plant held a high standing with the Aztecs, who believed that this plant had such a high vibration that it accompanied the priesthood in many sacred rituals. The amaranth was, for many, a symbol of immortality and esoteric knowledge. I think this plant has been good to use when I have worked with the Dísir and tried to understand their personality and role.
Amaranth seeds are good to have in breakfast cereals because the seeds are packed full of vitamins and minerals. If you pick the leaves of the amaranth you can give these a light boil and strain off the water, then use them in salads. They don't taste half bad, and the leaves help prevent heart disease.
Henbane is also a plant I associate with Perthro. Henbane has something mysterious about it. I don't use henbane often, and when I use it, it is in the oil version.
Recipe:
Gather fresh leaves and flowers of henbane in late summer. Use gloves and avoid skin contact. Place the plant material in a clean glass, and pour over cold-pressed olive oil until it completely covers the plants.
Place the glass in a dark and cool spot for 2–3 weeks. Shake the glass gently every other day. Strain the oil through a cloth, and store it in a dark glass bottle.
The oil was considered powerful in old rituals, but because of the plant's toxicity it must not be used on the skin or ingested.
I dilute this oil before use with an additional splash of olive oil.
The mixture is used on sore spots, such as when you have bumped yourself, earache or other aches.
I am extremely careful.
Henbane was used in the flying ointment that they said witches used … I like to keep my feet on the ground, so I don't make myself flying ointment, and neither should you. Henbane is in fact poisonous, and it must be treated with respect!
But the Greeks placed henbane in coffins so that the dead could take it with them across the river Styx, together with a coin. And there are witches who use the oil as incense to get in contact with the recently deceased. As I said, don't play with fire – this plant is poisonous.
Raspberry.
This plant is for us women, and to the highest degree. If we make tea from the leaves, we strengthen everything in the body that relates to the feminine. Pregnant women can enjoy the tea in full draughts. The tea strengthens everything from the womb to our hormones – it helps us dissolve traumas and it gets us to find the strength to bring out our memories and look more closely at them. Some say that raspberry helps when one is demented. The brain doesn't develop dementia as quickly as without this plant. My father's partner is demented, and she got raspberry in large amounts while my father was alive. He died and was no longer there to look after her, and I think she got worse quickly …
My grandmother and Granny Alette loved to tend the raspberries, they believed that the plant brought forth memories from earlier times and suddenly they would recall things that had slumbered in the "memory book". I came to think of this one day when I was planting raspberries. When I tended the plants over the summer, my memories actually became clearer. This plant really has something to it.
Solomon's seal is also a plant I associate with Perthro. This plant is also called Solomon's seal and it is said to be able to keep demons and other unwanted energies away. I use it as an "intention plant". It is not in every situation that I think clearly. Often I think more with the heart than with the head – and then there can be a bit of "unreason" in the situation.
The herb is wonderful to use to cleanse the tools one uses for "magical work". I have to admit that I am a "new moon person", so I cleanse my tools at the new moon. Then I lay my runes on a bed of Solomon's seal overnight – and they are ready to do their work as early as the next day.
As a medicinal plant I pulverize the root and use it as a base for wounds and scrapes. Native peoples in the USA use Solomon's seal in food. They eat the young shoots, but this I have never tried myself. I have neither eaten this plant nor tried to use it in food.
Then I move on to rune number 15 – Algiz.
