Thurisaz/Thorn

The rune stone featured at the bottom of this image is Thurisaz.

"Thorn is a force of simultaneous defense and destruction and the rune is symbolic of brambles or thorny bushes which were used to enclose and protect boundaries or to conceal entrances to sacred or secret spaces. This then, goes a long way toward explaining the pictogram which depicts a single thorn jutting out from an otherwise smooth surface...

"You have already, no doubt, been exposed to the challenging and protective thorn barricade from the time you were a small child and learned in childrens' stories of such things as Sleeping Beauty's castle, even today the thorn that protects sacred space is represented by the hedges that traditionally surround many private places.

"Finding your way through these thickets and hedges is sometimes a trick and requires special knowledge or education. Think for a moment about hedge mazes. They may not be merely ornamental -- although they are pretty darn cool to look at -- but may also contain an instruction elemental to the concept of this rune. That being that only those who know the secret of the maze will make it to the center unscathed by the thorns which protect it."

Another rune-inspired image by Svetlana Bakushina is featured here.