The Path
How a student is formed in the Order, from the first lesson to ordination.
The Order is not a course one buys, nor a title one is given. It is a path of formation. What follows is how that path runs, and what each stage means.
Formation is not apprenticeship to a single teacher. A student takes courses, is given work to answer for, and studies with various initiated teachers and Meister over the years. We model our formation, as far as we are able, on the religious orders whose method has been demonstrated over centuries.
The stages
- 1
Runenlehrling
Rune-Apprentice. Everyone who takes up formation begins here. You are assigned no single master; you are a student of the Order. You receive the first lesson of Urgrund and begin the work.
- 2
Urgrund
The primordial ground; the first Principles. Urgrund, taken as a Runenlehrling. It establishes the ground of the tradition: the Wihinei, the Runes as a living language, Rita as the ordering law, and the practices that go with them. On completing it you choose the Path you will follow.
- 3
Choosing the Path
Two ways open from Urgrund, and you choose between them. They are two callings within one tradition, not two ranks.
- 4
Arman-Geselle or Kaman-Geselle
Geselle. Having chosen, you continue as a Geselle on your Path, working under various initiated teachers toward competence and service. The Geselle is the one who travels and works with many masters before qualifying in their own right.
- 5
Meister Arman or Meister Kaman
Recognition is sought and, when it is earned, granted. One becomes a Meister Arman or a Meister Kaman, according to the Path followed. Collectively, all initiated and ordained Kamanen and Armanen are die Meister.
The two Paths
The Arman Path
The priestly and teaching calling.
The Arman is a teacher and a Rune Master: one who leads a Halgadom, and is entrusted with the teaching and with initiation. This Path leads to the fuller public office of the tradition.
The Kaman Path
The Rune-worker's calling.
The Kaman — also called Vitki — is a Rune-worker: one who practises and serves within a Halgadom, without holding the public office of the Arman. This Path leads to depth of practice and service rather than to governance.
What is not for sale
Initiation and ordination are earned, never bought. Fees support the work of the Order and the teaching you receive; they do not buy a rank. There is no price for becoming a Meister, and no stage of the Path can be purchased. Recognition comes through completed study, formation under initiated teachers, and acceptance into a Halgadom.
Gift for gift — Hávamál 42. By thy getting measure thy gift — Hávamál 145.