Rune: Perth

Names: Perth, Peordh, Pertra
Represents: Initiation, hidden knowledge, the inner self, potential, luck
Alphabet: P
Color: Red
Sequence Number: 6 Blume, 12 Meadows, 14 Cooper - Tyson - Thorsson
Aett: Heimdall
Gods: Loki
Plants & Minerals: Aspen - Meadows, Apple - Tyson
Potency: Ultimate resource, ever lasting, eternal.
Challenge: Do not fear change, your own failings, or regrets.
Primary Uses: Uncover knowledge, usually hidden or within one self or within the earth (or realm of the dead). It returns us to the core of our being.
Stroke Order: Vertical Down, then the lower left to upper right of the bottom inner angle, then lower left to upper right of the top outer angle, then upper left to lower right of the bottom outer angle, then the upper left to lower right of the top inner angle.

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This is probably the most confusing rune to study thus far. I am still trying to integrate the conflicting and diverse interpretations the rune scholars present. The only agreement they seem to have on Perth is that it represents the letter "P" and that it is a rune akin to chaos. Beyond that, their interpretations vary wildly.

Blume looks upon Perth as a mystery rune; it is a rune at the heart of initiation, where nothing external exists and you are encapsulated in the mystery of self. It can mean a radical "death", or permanent separation. What is clear that there are no exceptions and no exclusions, you must let go of everything.

Cooper has similar ideas of Peordh as Blume. He adds to the interpretation that Peordh is both the key to opening the door into the darkness (death or the unknown) but it can also be the barrier separating us from it (life & death, good & evil, order & chaos). We are challenged by our weaknesses and failures. It is a rune of testing, of scouring the soul clean so that we can stand free of self delusions and burdens of our own making. Most of all, it is a rune of solitude... of reflecting upon ourselves in totality as if we were facing death.

Meadows diverts from Blume and Cooper quite dramatically in his interpretations. Like the first two scholars, he claims that Pertra is a rune of hidden knowledge. Were as the others talk of deaths and transitions, Meadows talks about potential and birthing. He sees Pertra as a rune of contained or stored potential and power; that which is passed down to the unborn generation that is their foundation when they come into being. Like the others, Meadows puts Pertra as the rune of individual foundation, of your single uniqueness, of that uncorruptable and eternal core that is "you" no matter how many lifetimes you incarnate.

Tyson agrees with his fellow scholars on in the idea that Peord is a rune for knowledge. After that, he is far and away from his fellows. In some ways, Tyson touches on ideas from Meadows, in that Peord is the apple, a fruit that represents the entire potential of reality and knowledge in a simple, contained space. To Tyson, Peord is a rune of abundance and can be misused to seduce others or to seduce oneself in pleasure and gluttony.

I am not sure how Perth fits into my runic foundation. I have seldom used it in any of my magics, nor have I drawn it often in divinations. It is a "mystery rune" to me, but one I should explore with care and dedication.