After many Emails requesting my reasons for resignation from the Rune-Gild, I have decided to publish the contents of a thorough response that I prepared to one such query so that a clear record of the circumstances eliminates any assumptions or misunderstandings, and so that I no longer have to answer the same question that I have no interest in dwelling on further.

     My reasons, and the reasons of many others who left the Rune Gild back in early 2003 are several in fact:

-The Rune Gild had proven itself to be noot as selective in promoting members to the status of Fellow as some might imagine, with the status often being handed out to those such as Larry Miller/Lavrans Reimer-Mųller, who could potentially act as a foothold in other organizations (such as the Ring of Troth), or to those who could somehow benefit Edred Thorsson/Stephen E. Flowers PhD's personal designs; this included John Kubik, who made a large monetary conribution to Thorsson's "Woodharrow Institute" (Kubik's lack of knowledge & understanding of many of the fundamentals that any Fellow actually worthy of the naming was exposed during his stint in the Wolfbund.) In light of this, it became clear that the whole idea of being named a Fellow in the Gild didn't mean much in reality, which was in essence a slap in the face to those of us who had labored for years in a dedicated manner to achieve that naming through a genuine understanding of the tradition through study & practice. This was a concrete demonstration that a sincere standard of quality where Gild-Fellows were concerned was not present, and that naming to that level realy didn't count for much when it was being handed out like candy to those who the Yrmin-Drighten sought to influence or ingratiate himself to somehow. This was the first indication for me that the Rune Gild was not the esoteric exemplar of the Nine Noble Virtues and the Sixfold Goal, nor the standard by which all others could be measured as it had often represented itself to be.

-The Rune-Gild had been making a slow butt sure deviation in direction from a School of Initiation with a heavy emphasis on Germanic Magic.to an organization where degrees from universities and tepid intellectualism held sway. Discussion of magic became less and less frequent, while academics became the order of the day with increasing frequency until it was all but an unspoken rule that discussions of magic, save as part of some pseudo-intellectual excercise in mental masturbation was in bad taste. Using the lore as a basis for papers on mysticism or philosphy was still quite in fashion and quite acceptable, but the lore was looked at for little else. Mind you, there is of course nothing wrong with mysticism or philosophy, but in light of what was the prime focus of the Gild's curriculum, a curriculum that emphasized magical experiments and practices through all nine doors of the program, this departure from a group focus on the development & practice of magic was to a great extent antithesis to what the Gild promoted itself as through its texts and reputation. The only truly notable text with a focus on magic that was produced during my stint in the Gild was the Source-Book of Seišr, which was a study on the collected instances of Seišr magic in sagas and elsewhere, including specific terminology relevant to the practice of this particular discipline of magic.

-Last but not least are the issues surrouunding Edred Thorsson/Stephen E. Flowers PhD, the Yrmin-Drighten (which, roughly translated, yields a meaning of "World-King) of the Rune-Gild. As stated previously, Thorsson chose to denigrate the position of Fellow (Journeyman member) by naming those to this level who were far from worthy, sometimes based on criteria unrelated to the material within the doors of the Gild's curriculum that those named as Fellows were supposed to be adept in at the point of their naming; in this, Thorsson not only did a disservice to those who were named Fellows on legitimate grounds, but a disservice to the Tradition as a whole in the process. Thorsson had allowed the environment of the Gild to degenerate from that of a magical school into an academian think-tank using a body of cultural lore as brain-fodder where armchair magicians publically patted themselves on the back for the conclusions that they'd drawn from reading the latest book they'd acquired. I can only assume that Thorsson allowed this situation to occur due to apathy towards the state of the Gild, or fear of reproach from members of the Gild with a heavy academic mindset and background. Thorsson had also proven himself to be quite the backbiter where his contemporaries and his staunch supporters were concerned. I recall in particular a phone call with Thorsson in which he slammed Gild-Drighten Michael Aquino for matters that do not even warrant repeating...let it suffice to say that Thorsson demonstrated to me for the first time a tendency not unlike a teenage girl gossiping about her friends behind their backs. Later on, when it came to my attention that I and other dedicated members of the Rune Gild were being backbitten by Thorsson, it was not as difficult to accept, given my personal experience with him where this tendency on his part was concerned. Finally, Thorsson proved himself to be a bold-faced liar in order to cover up his own inept administrative skills in the case of the processing of my final sponsoree into the Gild, blaming a former member of the Gild for his own incompetence in the matter when he was backed into a corner after being confronted with the facts regarding the situation. All of these factors regarding Thorsson cumulatively demonstrated to me that he was neither worthy to be my "teacher" or be acknowledged as my leader in the capacity of a Drighten This was a heavy blow for me to take, given my deep admiration for him that had grown through my years of reading his books prior to joining the Rune Gild. It is truly a shame that the reality of Edred Thorsson did not live up to the legend.

     I don't really dwell on this matter anymore, as most of my time is spent pursuing the things that fulfill me, be they within the context of the cult of Óšinn or my own personal interests. The Rune Gild is effectively a chapter in my life that is closed now; despite this, the unexpected & vital lessons that I learned there will stay with me for he rest of my life.