What do we expect?
I'm going to explain the United Satanic Covenire (henceforth known as the "USC"), using terms from social psychology. While that might sound difficult, this is an essay intended for the interested laymen, so the use of terms will be confined to very small amounts, and those which go beyond that will be talked about in greater lengths.
The first one is that the USC is an open system. An open system is a scientific term derived from the Second Law of Thermodynamics, or Entropy, as it is more popularly known. Entropy, (disregarding things like mechanical energy or thermal energy), is a measure of the amount of energy in a closed system that is not available to do work. Entropy can be measured within an open system, but that's more along the lines of college level physics, which is not what we're discussing. Any system which does not increase or decrease, (what "closed" means), in energy, and has a proportion of energy that is not able to effect any changes, (what "work" means in this context), within that system is closed.
A closed system would be sort of like a closed theory, in that it revolves totally around itself and not around any other ideology, (ideology = system), and cannot use information (information = energy) from outside sources. Let's say we made a Satanic system where only Lavey's writings were to be used, and nothing but Lavey's writings. No outside sources could be brought into the discussion, we will have created a closed system of Satanism. No matter how you look at it, without allowing outside commentary, authors, notes, appendages, other studies, etc. into the discussion, you could not do anything more than remake the same system over and over again. We are an open system, in that we repeatedly use outside sources of information on Satanism, and these outside sources do have the potential to "work", or change our concepts of Satanism. To fully understand this, let's call the USC form of Satanism, "a continuous inflow and outflow of energy which is made through permeable boundaries with the potential to change the system." Let's look at this further.
An open system will import energy from the environment around it to use and enhance the current aspects of it. In social psychology terms, two things happen when people are deprived of sensory information. The first is hallucinations and other signs of mental stress, the other was in a test done where people in high-stress jobs were offered a two week getaway for complete relaxation, i.e. no mental stimulation whatsoever. This would sound inviting and completely relaxing upon first sight, but all of the patients asked to quite the experiment within a few hours. In short, it is unnatural in the social World to be an "island unto itself", energy/information exchanges must take place for the group to be healthy, just like it is necessary for the individual to be healthy by having outside stimulation.
After reading the first definition, you may wonder about what happens to the energy itself. The through-put explains that in an open system, energy can be changed to new forms. Thus, an organization creates ideas and products through a conversion of the original input. For example, by carefully going through almost any Holy Book and converting the information, one can, (and should, at least once in your life, try this), make a workable formula for a new system, (or the existing system), which fits your ideas, or in this case, the group's ideas.
Just as it is inconcievable, (and naive), to try and form an organization devoid of information collected from outside sources, just as it is futile to think that within the outside system you will have absolutely no influence. Thus, a product is created which is presented to the outside environment. The "outside environment" has varying degrees of how far the influence goes.
This part will lead to our later discussion, but an open system has a cycle of events. Not necessarily an exact repetition of what happened previously, but let's look at it in more mechanical terms. A company utilizes raw material and human work to convert raw material into a product. The product is put into the outside World, and the company then utilizes the return on the finished product to get more raw material and human labor. In a social grouping, the event which constantly rehappens is the energy renewal source within the macrocosm consisting of the individuals of the group, the group, and the outside World.
Entropy basically states that all states seek to maintain equilibrium within a closed system, (important note), so that they neither gain nor lose energy from an outside source, which as we seen, creates an arrested development. So then an open system must be actively seeking to expand and not remain stagnated.
The input of an open system does not just consist of assimilating, (or discarding), energy, it relies very heavily upon the operation of some central mechanism or subsystem to keep the overall system on track. An example would be the gas meter on a car. The various meters which tell about the amount of gas within the system, level of oil, overheating, how fast you are traveling, etc., all act as negative feedback. Negative feedback is so critical that it has been said that if the negative feedback system disappears, soon the whole system does. Without a corrective device, too much energy will be expended or else it will over-ingest the energic input and cease to be able to function. As an example of this, let's think of someone who has a paycheck, but doesn't balance the checkbook and spendings. Pretty soon, he/she will find themselves in debt that they will be unable to proceed past.
The coding process goes with the information input, as a regulation means. The type of energies which a system will receive are selective, i.e. if our human body could convert sunlight to glucose it'd be great, but we can't receive sunlight as an energy source for much more than actively converting inert Vitamin D into the active form. Likewise, animals digestive systems, like the difference between a carnivore and a herbivore's digestive tract, can only digest the food which its body is adapted to eating. The coding process provides a means of giving a selective device which can reject, accept, or retranslate the energy which becomes part of the system.
All this means is that while energy is being put into the system, and taken out of the system, the general norm is for greater stability. As an example, our body has anabolic and catabolic processes, but in general, our body is neither destroyed nor gained in any significant ratio, so that while you lose about 60% of your bodies protein yearly, you also regain the same amount roughly. You are not the same, yet you still are. We might call this the "preservation of the character of the system".
Open systems move in new directions, while retaining their character or core, and this new movement requires a certain amount of specialization. This is what is called "progressive mechanization", using several different backgrounds and sources to create one singular grouping under a core value.
A very fancy way of saying that you can produce the same thing through more than one avenue. The textbook definition would be "a condition in which different initial conditions lead to similar effects", or that an open system recognizes that two different organizations can achieve the same effects through totally different means. As an example, my website and work is dedicated to providing a philosophically and historically sound way of having Satanism as a system, to gain people interested in Satanism. Meanwhile, many people have been drawn to Satanism through rock music such as Slayer or now SlipKnot.
Application of the Open-System
Thus far, we have basically explained three things. An open system/organization revolves around the energic input into the system, the transformation and conversion of energies within the system, and the resulting product. You may now start to realize that within this model, a patterned necessity has arisen. In order to maintain an open system, a cycle of activities must take place which allows for the continued renewal of energy sources. This energy renewal source has a great degree of variation within both the intrinsic and extrinsic sources with the system.
The energy renewal source is most often seen at work. You work so that you may receive something, money, through which you can obtain things you desire. Your boss, (assuming you are not self-employed), receives human labor from you. The energy renewal source is different for both of you, but basically, so long as you work, the boss will reward you with money. This arrangement is normally just fine with everyone involved. If your boss didn't pay you, then you would lose your incentive to work, and if you didn't work, your boss wouldn't pay you. That is the energy renewal source.
We come to the question now about our organization and the energy renewal source. What is it? What I offer to you is the knowledge embedded in many different parts of our life, the knowledge gained from psychology, philosophy, history, science, economics, linguistics, and religion. I also offer you the chance to make a difference. By myself, I really do not amount to that much, no matter how much posturing I may permit myself to make. I need help to work towards a greater goal, just like the Assocation of the United States Army or any other organization needs members to make it work. No matter how eloquent someone may think I am, they will only regard me as an anamoly, and not the standard. I'm basically trying to change the standard by enlightening Satanists and Satanic aspirants as to what it means to be Satanic, in life and through love. Nothing will change someone's opinions on what a Satanist is until they actually meet an intelligent and well-informed Satanist. Conversely, even if someone pours through every writing I ever make and agrees whole-heartedly with what I say, yet every Satanist they meet is a complete disgrace, nothing I will say does anything. I may as well shout to the wind to hear my pleas; for that's all that shall come of it.
The other thing I offer is the Greater Mystery. That is to say the Lesser Mystery asked is, "What is the meaning to life?" Some people think this to be the highest Mystery, but in fact, it is not. The Greater Mystery is, "What is it like to actually be alive?" I don't think people are so much bound by an intense wanting of what life is about so much as they want to experience it. What else could account for the almost singular suicidal impulse of society to try and do things which are harmful just for a momentary feeling of what it is like to be alive? When you actually experience the what of life, the why of life becomes a much less important question. It's no wonder that many people ask the Lesser Mystery question while in suffering, when denied the ability to live life, the pondering of life can take place. People rarely ask why when doing things, so much that sayings "think before you act" carry great truth, but are seldom applied.
The first thing I can supply anyone, all they need to do is have a wanting to learn it. The second thing, the Greater and Lesser Mystery, I could never actually answer for anyone but myself. That answer is found within, and like the word "mystery" hints towards, the knowledge is hidden. Only the serious searcher will find it. I would not dare think that I could open the door to that Mystery, but I can show you the avenues towards it. What happens beyond there is not within my ability to influence.
For that reason, we may successfully divide the energy renewal source for what the organization wants into two parts. The first is the external, the resources we provide to change the external World which surrounds us. As such, the things which we seek at association level are purely fiscal, because it goes back to the consumer/producer relationship. You want the finished product which I produce, I want the resources by which I may get that finished product. Though the materials given at associate level are also naturally devoted to the interior, they are primarily devoted to the exterior. As such, these monetary contributions go towards upcoming books I am writing, lectures I will be giving, public appearances on television, research on exterior subjects, overall; towards influencing the outside World. An associate has no other obligations to me than just that, I neither expect nor want anything from an associate. I am fully true to my word on this, any member who should so inquire will receive full information on what we are spending money on, what we are doing, and what we are planning on doing.
The second part corresponds to the actual school, those with I* or over, each corresponding to three major grades, where the initiate is focusing on self-development moreso than external development. (The level of self-development versus externalized development peaks where the individual is so self-developed I would be shocked if they did not break away from my organization, simply because they decided they could do more on their own w/o reference to my name or system). The money here will primarily be into developing psychological studies, philosophy, and other such self-empowerment vehicles.
Rest assured though that a good portion of the money will go to us directly for our own personal finances and trouble. We're not hypocritical, if you want to know what the money is going to go towards, (that and our big dream of a Masonry temple utilizing some of the basic Sabian concepts w/ imagery from older systems such as Egypt, Babylon, Rome, China, Greece, and even Europe), we will inform you of it.
An associate member really owes us nothing more than to give us money, we will give them information, work, progress, and forward momentum for Satanism if that is done. To go beyond that into the inner schools, it is necessary to show work, (yes, real work including ritual diaries), and effort to self-improvement and productivity. You may be asked to do a public speech as part of your self-Gnosis, or to write a commentary on an article, or to give your opinion about economics, etc. Whatever the case, you must show us a desire to become more. If you don't have it, we will not adopt a cause, we give you as much as you give us, the core meaning behind "Responsibility to the responsible". It's unrealistic to believe that you will become an ordained priest of our organization without having to first show us that you are even worthy of that very title!