The Occult Library Articles on Occult and Esoteric subjects

The Trance Guild was established as a non-religious teaching Guild offering lessons in trancework to anyone interested. Primarily it is focused on occultists who are interested in visualization, meditation, and internal magick. Through the Trance Guild’s training methods you can develop an understanding of your Will, Imagination, and a connection with your Higher Self. At a more advanced level the Guild aims to further the study, knowledge, and understanding of trance through experiential and experimental means. Training and membership is open to anyone interested in trancework, whether or not they are involved in other groups. Progression beyond apprenticeship is by invitation after completion of the various lessons and requirements. This is not an attempt to be exclusive per se; it is simply a means of gaining members who choose to work in a responsible manner with other members of the Guild. The Trance Guild has few strict rules. Members are required to take responsibility for their own own actions, reactions, and experiences; to be respectful of all other Guild members; and to agree not to use their acquired knowledge and skills to abuse others.

The term ‘Guild’ was chosen to reflect the three levels of training, which is along the lines of a traditional guild: apprentice, journeyman, and master. There are some differences from many traditional Guilds, and occult fraternities for that matter. For the Guild, education is taken to mean “leading out that which is within”, reflecting the importance given to an individual’s Higher Self, and our belief that anyone can effectively discover many of the so-called ‘occult secrets’ through internal work – trancework. The Trance Guild does not offer tutoring per se. A number of basic lessons are provided free of charge. The Guild does not claim the information to be unique, however it believes that these techniques provide the basic skills needed to gain a genuine education, via experience, in trancework. From the basics, we encourage members to hone and sharpen their skills, and learn to develop and extend techniques for themselves, rather than slavishly follow a set curriculum.

The Trance Guild does not require monetary payment for its lessons or membership. By undertaking the lessons you pay by investing your time and energy. If you progress to the higher levels of the Guild, payment is also made by adding to the Guild’s collective knowledge of trance, e.g. researching, developing, or extending techniques and theories.

Titles within the Guild are administrative and do not indicate that a member has any special abilities or attributes. The structure recognizes a members’s knowledge of the terminology and techniques that are taught by the Trance Guild, but does not indicate personal or magickal advancement or attainment.

Apprentice – Open to all, with free access to lessons. This part of the training is aimed primarily at people who want to use trancework, without learning the mechanics.

Journeyman – By invitation only, after completion of lessons and other requirements. Builds upon the basic lessons with more advanced concepts. This aspect of training requires more dedication and involves learning the mechanics of trance and will involve some academic effort to begin learning the Trance Model for analyzing and constructing trances.

Master – By the completion of training within the Trance Guild’s methods and completing of a masterpiece. This masterpiece will be a presentation of research on a particular area of trancework. This involves giving back to the Guild by way of extending the knowledge and techniques available to other members.

For further information see the Trance Guild website or read Liber ‘A’ for the free trancework lessons available to the Apprenticeship.