How to Apply
Becoming an Associate of the Rune-Gild is the first step in becoming an actual Member (i.e., Learner, Fellow, Master, or Drighten).
If you are considering becoming associated with the Rune-Gild, the first thing you should do is acquire a copy of the Gild’s core text The Nine Doors of Midgard so that you can determine if our basic curriculum is the right one for you. You can purchase a copy of the recently updated and revised Nine Doors through online booksellers like Amazon or Barnes and Noble, or by ordering it from your local bookstore.
If our curriculum does resonate with you, and you have successfully completed the work first two doors on your own, then you are invited to apply to become an Associate of the Rune-Gild. To do this you must send us a letter of introduction. This physical letter should be mailed to our P.O. Box. In addition, an electronic copy of the letter may be sent to our email address (however, this should not take the place of the physical letter).
Your letter of introduction should not be longer than two pages. Include certain basic information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, age, gender, and marital status. In a succinct manner, please tell us how long you have known about the Runes and how you first heard of them. Describe what are you seeking from the Rune-Gild and what you have to offer. Tell us where your true interests lie. Let us know if you have already undertaken any relevant scholarly, cultural, linguistic, or artistic studies; whether you are facile in other languages besides English; and so forth. Please also include information on your previous magical training or experience: identify any magical systems or paradigms you are currently working with, or that have been particularly useful or significant, and any other personal information you think is pertinent. And please remember—do not attempt to apply for Associate status until you have completed the first two doors of the Nine Doors curriculum.
If your application to become an Associate of the Gild is accepted you will be given information regarding your initial toll. For this toll you will be considered an Associate for a year and will also be given access to the Rune-Gild forums where you will be able to communicate with other Associates as well as fully initiated Members of the Gild.
Becoming an Associate allows one to communicate with true Members, and if the desire and effort is there, to attract a Master and become an Apprenticed Learner.
It must be said that not all Associates will want to, nor do they need to, be apprenticed as Learners. As long as you are an Associate in good standing, and you stay up to date with your yearly dues, you may remain an Associate of the Gild as long as you wish. You will be considered an Associate until you submit a formal letter of resignation, decide not to renew your dues, or are expelled (the latter case happens rarely, usually only in cases of gross dishonor or disrespect to other Associates or Initiates).
The way the transition is made from Associate to Apprentice is best illustrated by an analogy:
A young boy, an orphan, wants nothing more in this world than to be a cobbler. He wants to be a master shoemaker more than anything, but he has no family connections to the cobblers’ guild. He goes and camps outside guildhalls and the workshops of the town cobblers. He makes his wishes to be a cobbler known to the guild masters, who, after all, have an obligation to teach their craft—but not to any and all who have a desire to learn it. As they are always looking for those with special talents, they provide the boy with some pieces of leather and some rudimentary tools in exchange for a small token of good faith. The boy observes what he can and begins to work with the materials provided. He shows the masters what he has done as they come and go from the hall. One day his work is recognized as being of potential and having merit. One of the masters then invites him to come into the guildhall, where he tells him to start sweeping the floors. The boy has begun his apprenticeship—an apprenticeship that will lead to fellowship in the guild, a time when he will study under various masters and be guided toward the production of his own masterpiece—in this case a pair of fine shoes or boots which are the manifest testimony to his level of mastery of his craft.
Application letters for Associate status should be mailed to:
The Rune-Gild, P.O. Box 54, Moss Beach, CA 94038-0054 USA
Please also submit a digital version of the application letter (with the subject header: “Application for Associate Status”) and send to info@rune-gild.org.
You can expect an acknowledgement of your applications within 72 hours from when your email and physical letter have been received. You can expect a response with an evaluation of your application within 2 weeks after receipt of your applications.
The Gates of Valhalla stand wide open. It is now your Work to step forth through the Doors of Midgard to face the challenges of a new way of being that awaits you within. The Gild stands ready to help you in this Work—as no other organization in the world today can do. We welcome those whose Words and Works prove Worthy of the Runic quest!
*Please Note: Despite pernicious internet rumors, no royalties or other benefits from the sale of Rune Gild texts written by Edred Thorsson / Stephen Flowers or other members of the Rune-Gild—whether published by Weiser, Llewellyn, LodeStar, Inner Traditions, Gilded Books or any other publisher—are diverted to ANY other organization or to any individual other than the original author(s).*
