Study › Runes & Norse › Perthro
Perthro (ᛈ) is the fourteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. Its meaning is the hidden: luck, chance, fate and the unseen laws beneath events. Its shape is often read as the cup from which runes are cast. Reversed, its meaning turns against you.
Keywords: mystery, fate, chance, luck, hidden
What does the Perthro rune mean?
Perthro is the fourteenth rune of the Elder Futhark. It comes after Eihwaz, and Algiz comes after it.
Its meaning is closest to the pouch from which the runes are cast, as its shape suggests. From this comes its link to luck and coincidence — the kind we sense are not truly random. Perthro stands for the hidden laws that shape events, and for all that is concealed, mystical and occult, so it is bound tightly to the practice of divination. Its shape also recalls a womb, out of which a life may come: like drawing runes from a bag, you cannot know beforehand what will emerge.
Perthro is what lies hidden, and so it belongs to the subtle world. In a spread it can mean luck, or a concealed influence — a hidden variable you have not accounted for, a quiet process at work beneath the surface. Because it so often needs a second rune to be read, it is hard to write fixed meanings for each area of life. Perthro is the bag the runes come from, and through that image it joins the ideas of the hidden and of luck. Perthro also asks for trust in the universe: you let go of control and believe that what is hidden is working for you. Broadly, an upright Perthro suggests positive but unseen forces, and a reversed one, negative unseen forces.
Fate is also the work of the Norns, who shape every life.
Perthro in a reading
Perthro in love
Upright: An air of mystery attracts. A fated connection. A chance encounter. Luck in love. Hidden feelings come to light.
Reversed: Secrets between you. Feeling fate is against you. A missed chance. Bad luck in love. Something is kept hidden.
Perthro and money
Upright: An unexpected source of income. Fate favours you. A lucky chance. Trusting the universe and your fate with money. A hidden opportunity.
Reversed: Money lost in mysterious ways. Fate turns against you. A risky bet. A losing gamble. Hidden costs.
Perthro and health
Upright: A mysterious cause. Health in fate's hands. A chance recovery. A lucky escape. Hidden healing forces.
Reversed: An unexplained symptom. Fearing fate. Taking needless risks. Bad luck with health. An undetected problem.
Perthro on the spiritual path
Upright: Mysteries revealed. Accepting fate. Meaningful coincidences. Grace arrives. Hidden knowledge.
Reversed: Fear of the unknown. Fighting fate. Signs are ignored. Feeling abandoned by luck. Secrets kept from yourself.
Perthro reversed
Reversed, Perthro turns luck away: a mystery stays unsolved, chance goes wrong, and something stays hidden. It asks you to be careful with risks for now.
Perthro in the rune poems
The rune poems are the oldest sources for the runes' meanings. Here is what each one says of Perthro, first as written, then in English.
Norwegian Rune Poem
Icelandic Rune Poem
Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem
Peorð byþ symble plega and hlehter
wlancum [on middum], ðar wigan sittaþ
on beorsele bliþe ætsomne.Peorth is a source of recreation and amusement to the great,
where warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
Questions
How do you pronounce Perthro?
Say it "PERTH-roh".
What does the Perthro rune look like?
Perthro (ᛈ) is like a cup lying on its side, open to the right.
What does Perthro mean reversed?
It asks you to be careful with risks for now.