Full Member	Novitiate	Apprentice	Journeyman	Expert	Master

Part of the Guild's mission is to educate violet wand users to enable them to become true masters of the art of the art.  This mission has served its educational process in the past by having members take graded exams to verify their competency at a current level before they could then be elevated to the next ranking level. 

The rank elevation process is now automatic and or a graded exam, your choice.  Your activity (and education) on the website accumulates in the form of Member Points.  You earn Member Points for everything you do on the site; logging in for the day, reading articles, commenting on and rating items, uploading gallery images, participating in the forum discussions, polls, and blogging.  If you refer someone to the site, you can earn bonus points through their registration.  You will also earn a percentage of points for their activity too.  And as you begin to earn points, your growing point total will enable you to access more and more of the website.  At certain point intervals, your rank will increase automatically.   When your rank increases either automatically or through the taking of exams, you'll be able to download your new certificate and member card, plus reach the next level materials and downloads.

This point system is part of the means of automatically calculating your educational progress through the Guild's material, and contributions to the Guild as you work toward earning your next rank.  Large blocks of points are available to earn by taking and passing the certification exams for the next rank above yours.  The exam for the next higher level will open up for you while you are still in the previous level.  Additional points can be earned through bonus opportunities.  Special points awards are available for participating in live venue events or giving violet wand demonstrations locally.  If you can not do live events, special points are also available for uploading video instructables and lessons.  In this way, progression through the ranks acts as a 'self-study' course, as easy as being active on the website and interacting with it, done at your own pace and whenever you have time and within your capabilities.  The system can be automatic or by the grading of exams or personally evaluating contributions, as it has been in the past.

The points value for earning the next higher rank falls within a range algorithm which also factors in frequency of participation.  In addition, points can be lost if you do not log in regularly.  So there is no absolute numeric value of points to earn to achieve a certain rank.   However, by the time a member has achieved the rank of Master, they have made meaningful, viable contributions to the Guild and its members, are familiar with the site content, have participated in the site's administration, and are likely to have performed scenes or educational demonstrations in a live venue.  They will have put in significant effort to earn their rank of Master, and as befitting their title, will have come to a broad and in-depth understanding of the art of the violet wand. 

Your rank and promotions will always be visible on your profile and with your avatar in the forums.  To view your activity points and begin working with them, start here.