by Stephen Edred Flowers
(N.S. 1 / Spring 1993, pp.1-4)
Over the years there have been those who have bemoaned what they feel to be the neglect of the Rune-Gild. That the Gild has not led them by the hand in their quests for Runic Initiation. This despite the fact that before I wrote Futhark (and the subsequent Runic volumes culminating in The Nine Doors of Midgard) there were no authentic guides to such Runic endeavors. When I began my Runic Quest I had only the tradition itself, my growing knowledge of the Germanic culture and religion, the Old-Man HimSelf and my own Self and its wode to guide me. I think, in many ways this made me a much stronger Initiate than I would have otherwise been- and I know it made me a stronger Runer. I learned from the primeval sources as much as possible- because that was all there was at the time. However, I am also well aware of my place in the Germanic rebirth and what my wyrd is in this matter. No one could be expected to follow my path exactly. However, there are aspects of my personal path from which I would want all who endeavor to know the Runes, and learn to use them and their power, to be able to gain. I also see that others have, and continue to expect that others will, forge new pathways within the tradition, and within the flexible structure of the Gild, on their own.
The Gild program is carefully designed to give the mainstays of the tradition, to give the leads for finding more, and to give the methods of inspiration so that the Runes and their power can be made truly the full possession of the individual Runer. One must work to know and understand the Runes. Such knowledge and understanding is not a matter of learning the doctrines and teachings of others by rote and having faith in them, but of actual experience and knowledge of the Runes themselves. This is done through a curriculum of activity such as the one outlined in The Nine Doors of Midgard. Information that has been simply inserted in your brain through reading words out of a book will not, under any circumstances, give you Rune-knowledge. No one, not even the old Stretch HimSelf, can (or will) “give” you this knowledge and understanding. You have to win it for yourself. In fact, of course, it is true that no one can truly give anything to anyone- at least not anything really worth having.
Worthy things must be worked for. With all this being said, I do also understand the potential the Runes have for holding the interest of those drawn to the greater Troth, or the more “religious” aspects of the Northern Way. In ancient times the Runes were the exclusive province of much less than one percent of the population of the North. Now with widespread literacy and universal education (or what now passes for it) the interest in the basic kind of knowledge represented by the Runes and the general ability to deal with it has grown. But the true knowledge and understanding of the mysteries which the Runes are is no greater now than it was then- in fact it may be somewhat less. The purpose of the Rune-Gild is not to promote knowledge of runestaves – those quaint characters used for writing by our ancestors – but to promote understanding of the Runes themselves- the mysteries which the staves both conceal and reveal. this understanding can, however, only come with an evolution or development in the actual being of the Runer.
Understanding is not the mere storage of data in your brain- the lowest function of the hidge, the lesser task of Huginn. At the same time the Runes are the keys to this development of being- how this works will be taught directly to those who follow the Nine Doors curriculum. The Gild is not here to indoctrinate you, although that is what about ninty percent of people who write to the Gild expect and secretly (or not so secretly) desire. The Gild provides a method for you to discover the mysteries yourself. The secrets are in the methods- and in the very essence and identity of the Gild.
