The course of the Guild is a graded apprenticeship in seven stages. It is taught by written Papers, practiced daily at the bench, reviewed each month by a mentor, and examined at the end of each grade by a piece of work shown.
How instruction is given
The Papers
The Common Book of the Guild contains one hundred and forty-seven Papers in seven Books. A member receives a new Paper about once a month, by post or by electronic mail. Each Paper has four parts: a reading; an exercise to be added to the daily practice; a piece of practical work to be done and recorded; and a few questions to be answered in the monthly letter.
The bench
The Papers are worked, not merely read. The work is done at home, at the member's own bench, as part of the daily practice.
The mentor
Every member has a mentor at least one grade senior. Once a month the member sends the mentor a one-page summary of the Record and the answers to the Paper's questions. The mentor replies within two weeks. The reply is frank. It is the chief means by which the Guild teaches.
The Hall
Members of a Chapterhouse meet twice a month to work rites proper to their grades and to compare what they observed. Members at a distance do the same in a Workroom or follow the Hearth Course.
The seven Books
| Book | Grade | Subjects | Papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. The Book of the Lamp | Apprentice | Attention, the Gates, the Record, the four elements, the lots | 13 |
| II. The Book of the Pen | Scribe | Correspondences, the cards and the figures, sigils, the composing of rites | 12 |
| III. The Book of the Hand | Artisan | The making and consecration of the instruments, talismans, scrying, the dressing of the Hall | 12 |
| IV. The Book of the Road | Journeyman | Invocation of the elements and the planets, the planetary hours in full, the journey | 24 |
| V. The Book of the Gate | Keeper | Evocation, protection, the conduct of group rites, the duties of office | 24 |
| VI. The Book of the Chair | Master | Teaching and mentoring, the examination of work, the government of a Chapterhouse | 36 |
| VII. The Book of the Silence | Elder | Contemplation and the keeping of the tradition | 26 |
The grades themselves are described under The Seven Grades.
How a grade is completed
A grade is complete when three things have been done. Its Papers have been worked through and reported. Its minimum time has been served, so that the work has been done in every season of the year. And its piece has been presented.
The piece is a specified work, shown to the members of the Chapterhouse, or by a Hearth member documented for the mentor and shown in person when occasion allows. It follows the old custom of the trades, in which an apprentice proved a skill by a thing made.
| Grade | The piece |
|---|---|
| Apprentice | The Rite of the Four Gates, performed from memory, and a summary of one year's Record. |
| Scribe | A rite of the member's own composition for a stated purpose, performed and then defended line by line. |
| Artisan | The four instruments, made by hand and consecrated, with the Record of their making. |
| Journeyman | A cycle of seven planetary invocations, fully recorded, and working visits to two other Chapterhouses. |
| Keeper | Three evocations witnessed by a Master, and a year's service in an office of the Chapterhouse. |
| Master | The Master's piece: an original operation, fully documented, laid before the General Convocation. |
The examination is of the work and never of opinions. No member is asked what he or she believes. A piece may be returned to the bench with comments, and about one first presentation in three is. This is ordinary and carries no disgrace. Most Masters have had a piece returned.
Time and cost
The course asks for thirty to forty-five minutes a day, two evenings a month for the Hall or the Workroom, and whatever reading the member finds time for. It costs nothing beyond the annual dues. The materials are modest. An Apprentice needs a lamp or a candle, a bound notebook and a pen.
No one has yet reached the grade of Master in fewer than seven years. Nine to twelve is usual. Many members remain contentedly at Journeyman, which is the grade of the competent practitioner, for the rest of their lives.
What the course does not contain
- It contains no required beliefs, and no examination in doctrine.
- It contains no ordeals: no fasting, no deprivation of sleep, and no use of drugs or alcohol in any rite.
- It contains no sexual rites and nothing that requires undress.
- It contains nothing that separates a member from family, friends or ordinary work. A course that left a member with fewer friends at the end than at the beginning would be judged to have failed.