anarchocovenism/anarchocovenism.org

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#+title: Behold a Sacred Zine: An Anarchocovenist Manifesto
#+author: Ellis Angzar
#+COMMENT: add , License, Description, Subject
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#+EPUBCOVER: cover.png
#+LANGUAGE: en
* An Invocation
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
“We're trapped in the belly of this horrible machine
And the machine is bleeding to death.” - The Dead Flag Blues, GY!BE
#+END_QUOTE

This screed should not sound reasonable, because it is not. There can
be no reasonable path out of the metacrisis. There is no reasonable
path to end whatever genocide is happening as you read this, because
those in power are invested in the military industrial complex and
they are making tremendous amounts of money by inflicting human
suffering. There can be no reasonable path out of climate change,
because the hegemony of today's dominant militaries are perpetuated
through continued use of petroleum. There is no reasonable path out of
capitalism because the entire dominant order is predicated on it. For
far too long we have channeled efforts down "reasonable" paths like
electoralism, and things have only gotten worse.

This is not a reasonable text because we do not live in reasonable
times. We have been reasonable far too long. If we are to find a way
to survive the global polycrisis in the age of turboparalysis, we must
be willing to have unreasonable expectations, make unreasonable
demands, and take unreasonable actions.

The words you are reading reject reason and demand utopia in the face
of our current dystopia, and Eden in the face of planetary
collapse. They are a psychedelic assault on the dominant order.  This
text is half manifesto and half instruction manual, wrapped in a cozy
fever dream. It is at once clear instructions and mad ravings. It is a
meticulously wild, unhinged, and disheveled strategy. Grinning and
frantically yelling, it screams in your face with glowing eyes while
offering you hope and tranquility. This document demands to be taken
as seriously as death, and implores you to laugh at death and
yourself.

Ellis is a sober sister of Discordia and belligerent cousin of Baccus,
a naked lunatic carefully filling out paperwork. She was summoned from
the aethers, in an unspeakable dadaist ritual, performed by chaos
magicians around a DND table. Ellis is the vox populi, mumbling in a
k-hole.  Ellis is the green man, emergent from the depths of the
forest to sing leaves at you. She is at once Bophomet and
Metatron. Ellis is the water poured into your open mind, if you will
grock it. Do with this what you will.

The remainder of this document assumes a US audience, but this may be
adapted for any location where it feels relevant. This document itself
is a radical reinterpretation of Democratic Confederalism for easier
consumption for US audiences, so it already has a strong potential for
future adaptation.
* Our Agenda
We have long since passed the crisis point, and we can all feel it if
not see it. Liberalism has failed and fascism has begun to feed on
its corpse. We can all feel the creeping doom. We see the water
rising and know the ship is sinking. Some of us are frozen in
fear. Some of us are pretending it's not happening. But we all know,
at least at some level, that something is deeply wrong.

The world is on fire. Governments around the world are
inadequate. They are at risk of being (or have already been) captured
by forces of wealth extraction. They operate for the few at the
expense of collective prosperity, social cohesion, and, ultimately,
the survival of the species.

We can't keep going the way we're going, and alternatives are hard to
imagine. But this is exactly where the key to our escape lies. But if
we can revive our collective imagination, we can stop struggling
against the suffocating mire of apocalypse and begin to build our
utopia. Take a second to imagine how it would feel to no longer be
afraid. Now imagine the void left by your fear being filled with hope
and joy.

That hope is not unfounded or misplaced. We live in a hellish system
that pits us against each other, against our natural instincts,
against the pleasure of sharing, against the joy of cooperation. But
this hellish system was created by us, and any system created by
humans can be dismantled by us. We imagined ourselves in to this
world, and we can imagine ourselves in to a better one.

Anarchocovenism, the framework outlined in the following pages,
proposes that we begin addressing these needs outside of the state and
capitalist system, without requiring violent revolution. 

While covenism focuses on exploiting specific internal inconsistencies
of liberal capitalism within the US, it may be adapted to other
contexts. As the situation in the US is quite fluid as of the writing
of this text, it is intended to be adapted continually. Where
Platformism proposes a singular tightly coordinated federation,
Covenism proposes a strategically aligned and optimally, but not
necessarily, federated swarm.

The Organizational Platform of the Libertarian Communists of Dielo
Truda resists the idea of a transition period:

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Either the social revolution will terminate in the defeat of the
workers in which case we must start again to prepare the struggle, a
new offensive against the capitalist system or it will lead to the
victory of the workers, and in this case, having seized the means
which permit self-administration - the land, production, and social
functions- the workers will commence the construction of a free
society.
#+END_QUOTE

Covenism proposes that there does exist a transition period that is
neither a "minimum program" of solutions that ease suffering without
abolishing capitalism, nor a temporary dictatorship, but a third,
anarchist, option where the transition and the revolution are the
same. That by systematically removing ourselves from capitalism we
weaken the dominant social entity of state-capital, allowing it to
either wither away or be quickly defeated if it strikes at us
first. 

Covenism proposes that within such a transition period, time favors
the anarchists. For the longer we exist, the more we demonstrate the
viability of our solution. Our persistence erodes the facade of
legitimacy, revealing the fundamentally coercive nature of the state
and capitalism. For covenism, the transition is the revolution and
violent elements of the revolution are delayed (and possibly avoided
entirely).
* The Transition Period
The element of a transition period within covenism is both an
implementation of the phrase "build the new world in the shell of the
old" and a deviation from The Organizational Platform of the
Libertarian Communists (from here on simply referred to as The
Platform). While The Platform proposes violent dissolution of the
dominant order followed by immediate construction of a new order,
Covenism proposes that the construction of the new order *is* the
dissolution of the old order, requiring no violence (except in
self-defense).

At a high level, the strategy is roughly the following. Covens are
tools for collective ownership and operate as the most basic level of
organization social organization. The coven is the root of social all
social power. Covens set up a dual-power system, in opposition to the
dominant society. The collective creation, acquisition, and ownership
functions reduce reliance on capitalism and the state: share and stock
up on food, collectivize housing where possible, share expensive
resources, etc. Engage in radical unionism to seize control of work
places or start businesses within the collective. Make the money and
products of anarchist controlled businesses available to covens to
further reduce reliance on capitalism and leverage it further against
capitalism.

Covenism offers a strategy to beat capitalists at their own
game. Without a legal obligation to shareholders, a coven can provide
goods and services to the capitalist market at a lower price than
capitalist competitors. Because covens have no external owners or
managerial class, we can operate with significantly lower overhead at
the same scale.

Simultaneously, the excess production and capacity provided by
intensive mutual aid can be extended outside of the coven federation
to multiply the threats to the dominant order. For example, a coven's
dispensary or library can be turned to support houseless encampments,
who are already (functionally and not by their own decision) outside
the capitalist system, to stabilize them and give them space to
organize themselves. The longer encampments exist and the more
organized they are, the more revolutionary potential they have. 

Additional structural details will be discussed in following sections.
* Replacing the Social Entity
The US government and capitalism fulfill needs along the following
four pillars:
   - consumable goods
   - durable goods
   - infrastructure
   - services.

It is not necessary or even desirable to replace all the functions of
the state as a social entity. We can omit from these, for example, the
infrastructure and services of state violence against its own people
as this is unnecessary within any system compassionate humans would
wish to build.

Taxes are, ostensibly, levied to pay for the goods and services
provided to the people. The state does not itself pay taxes. Within
the US there exists an institution that is also exempt from taxes and
is permitted to raise funds from its members (though, in this case,
voluntarily): the non-profit. There is one form of non-profit that, by
way of the 1st Amendment to the US constitution, is also permitted to
define (or more accurately, selectively disregard) other laws: the
church.

Covenism proposes creating federated churches to collectively own
property, build infrastructure, manage the distribution of goods, and
provide services. A coven primarily functions to fulfill the needs of
it's members, but, in doing so, a coven will likely have
excess. Excess can be shared with other covens, given to local
community organizations, or even sold within the capitalist market.

By interoperating with the capitalist system and working within the
legal framework of the state, we can test out the society we wish to
build within the shell of the old. This strategy has already proved
itself in Northern Syria as the Rojava revolution remains independent
from the state and does not seek conflict with it (except as necessary
to protect its people).

Covenism proposes a structure of recursive federation. An anarchist
coven would form as a church with 3-5 members. As the coven grows it
can split in to two or more covens as needed. 


These covens may federate, optionally, into their own legal entities
which are also churches.  owning the initial church. As covens become
aware of other covens they can also federate with those, given that
they can establish and build trust with those organizations and their
members.

The legal entity of a coven provides a mechanism to build
institutions, aligned along the four pillars, to fulfill the needs of
its members and replace dominant system. These institutions are...
- the dispensary
  to provide consumable goods,
- the library,
  to provide access to shared durable goods,
- the works committee,
  to build and own infrastructure such as housing, and
- the services committee,
  to identify and provide services, such as child care, for its members.

There can be different types of dispensaries and libraries, as
needed. Committees can form subcommittees (as needed) to organize more
and more specialized entities.

All of these entities can start small and grow as the number of people
involved and input grows. There is no need to solve all problems at
once.

** The Dispensary
A dispensary can start simply as a shared pantry, stocked with the
products of guerrilla gardening or food preservation by canning or
pickling. It can be foraging, processing, storing, and sharing horse
chestnuts for soap and acorns for flour to make acorn grits and
bread. It can be as easy as shared bulk purchases from restaurant
supply or warehouse store, or as crust-punk as rotating dumpster run
shifts. It could even start as small regular potluck or shared
dinners. It could simply be an agreement between members to volunteer
with a local chapter of Food Not Bombs on a rotating basis. [fn:5]

As your network grows, so can the dispensary system. A federation of
four or five covens could start a coop for themselves. A federation of
20 may even be able to open a storefront. 

As much as people would like to live their daily lives without
inflicting suffering on ourselves and others, capitalism cannot seem
to provide for the needs of people without committing atrocities. From
sweatshops to toxic byproducts, union busting death squads,
unnecessary packaging, micro-plastics, and landfills full of fast
fashion, simple participation is a minefield of harm.

As anarchist entities, covens are responsible for minimizing the
suffering of others. Since no similar objective can exist within
capitalist markets, operating a coven or federation owned dispensary
as a coop style business for non-members offers a harm-reduction
opportunity that capitalist markets cannot fulfill. We can do what the
market cannot, offer products that people can buy without having blood
on their hands.

The Platform identifies the problems of production and consumption as
core to the success of the revolution:

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
 Without doubt, from the first day of the revolution, the farms will
 not provide all the products vital to the life of the population. At
 the same time, peasants have an abundance which the towns lack.
#+END_QUOTE

Within the capitalist system, production, acquisition, transportation,
and distribution (logistics) are all handled by markets. As we move
away from this system, the dispensary system (perhaps with the support
of [[*The Services Committee][the services committee]]) will need to address production and
transportation logistics. Starting within the capitalist market
provides a low-risk proving ground from which we can iterate and
improve. If a coven can operate a business within capitalism while
planning beyond it, there's a good chance it will be able to transcend
its capitalist roots.

The technology that made the short supply chain-based capitalism,
which dominates the world today, also makes capitalism itself
irrelevant. By attacking this problem as a swarm, we will come up with
multiple competing solutions. Good solutions will merge or replace bad
ones and the best solutions will spread across the federation. Like
the open source software movement, we may, and probably will, end up
with multiple systems. This is not a problem as long as those systems
interoperate with each other.
** The Library
A library is a shared set of objects, often (but not always) located
in a specific repository. We are most familiar with municipal library
systems where the objects are books and occasionally other media. The
simplest library for a coven is a tool library. A library consists of
an inventory and a way to track that inventory.

The simplest library can be made up of tools owned by members of the
coven and a simple spreadsheet to track them. A library can create a
shared bank account for purchasing new tools for the
library. Libraries will also maintain objects that belong to the
collective.

While give-away or free-stores exist and do work in some situations
(they are common in the Netherlands), these can be exclusionary in the
US context. They can be seen as "charity" or "for people less
fortunate" rather than a shared resource. While a library can choose
to operate in exactly the same way as a free-store (not tracking what
comes in or goes out), the conceptual framework of a library is more
aligned with American sensibilities (outside of existing punk and
anarchist spaces).
** The Works Committee
A Works Committee is responsible for identifying, acquiring or
producing, and managing infrastructure needed for the operation of the
coven or federation and the lives of its members. The mechanism by
which it does this is up to the coven or federation. Management of
infrastructure such as vehicles or housing may be handed off to the
library system once acquired. 

The Works Committee is responsible for organizing work parties to
maintain infrastructure. One easy example is a garden party where
coven members design and implement a garden either on property they
own or via guerrilla gardening. The Works Committee would then be
responsible for regular maintenance, harvest, and delivery of goods in
coordination with the dispensary.
** The Services Committee
The two most critical permanent purposes of Services Committees are to
coordinate leadership of regular services, either by a specific
appointed member or by rotating ordination, and to introduce young
members in the ideas and practices of covenism. This includes
supporting youth in the organization of their own covens. A third
critical purpose that only exists within the transition period is
accounting: ensure taxes are filed on time and correctly, that any
shared expenses are paid, and that all money has been accounted for.

Beyond these, the Services Committee identifies the needs and
capabilities of its members to provide services. The Services
Committee operates on the principal "From each according to their
abilities, to each according to their needs."

The most important goal of any entity that wishes to continue to exist
is reproduction of itself. Therefore, the most important objective of
the coven must be supporting the reproductive labor of the collective,
especially supporting members with children.

For covens with children, rotating childcare eases the burden on
families, making the coven more stable and setting an example for
members too young to start their own covens. Some members may have
technical skills and can provide tech support or automation of tedious
tasks performed by others. Those with mechanical skills may be able to
repair objects for The Library.

Within an urban area, municipal services take care of many things that
rural people have to take care of themselves. Trash collection and
disposal may make sense for a rural coven where it wouldn't be
imagined by an urban coven outside of a disaster. 

As a coven grows to a federation, new services will become
available. At each federation level, it becomes more and more
important to provide a mechanism to discover capabilities and protect
people with specific skills from being overburdened. 

A Services Committee of a large enough federation could provide much
more complex services that further free it from the constraints of
capitalism. Insurance pools, banking via credit unions, and other
services can all be organized by a Services Committee of a big enough
federation.

As with the Dispensary, services may also be externalized to offer
things unavailable under capitalism. Externally facing organizations
would be fulfilling their religious objective of proving the viability
of such organizations within capitalism in preparation for a
post-capitalist world. Therefore, any business operated by a committee
of a coven should be owned by the coven as a religious entity.
* Social Insertion
Social Insertion is the practice of working to forward local struggles
as members of a social organism. Anarchists, as anarchists, will be
involved in groups like Food Not Bombs because it aligns with their
existing beliefs. Anarchists, as anarchists, may be involved with
campaigns to improve transit infrastructure because car culture feeds
petro-fascism and lends itself well to authoritarian social
control. These individuals are open about their political alignment
and also are honestly working with external organizations. They try,
where possible, to work with existing organizations rather than trying
to start their own.

This is distinct from "entryism," where members of a political
movement will try to hijack a social movement towards their own ends
or will try to take members away from social movements and shift those
members to their own, organization controlled, social organizations.

The term comes from Especifismo, a South American anarchist praxis.

Where there exists organizations that are not antithetical to
covenism, covens should practice social insertion and support those
existing entities. Unless there is a clear reason not to, such as
authoritarian organization structures, general non-profit
dysfunctionality, bigotry, or other toxic patterns, it's far easier
and more efficient to find and support existing organizations as a
coven than to create one's own.

Food Not Bombs and Mutual Aid Disaster Relief are both excellent
examples of organizations that covens should actively work with and
support, where possible.

[[*The Services Committee][The services committee]] should identify local organizations aligned
with coven's objectives and organize it's members to support them.
* The Functions of Mythological Systems
Beyond just being a symbolic language, a religion is type of
replicator. It can be thought of as a form of life itself. In the same
way that the state and capitalism form a social entity with its own
internal logic, a memetic organism with an emergent intelligence, a
religion is itself a social entity with an emergent intelligence. Like
ants in a colony, a religion binds individuals to operate as a larger
collective entity. 

Joseph Campbell described the 4 purposes of mythological systems:
- sociological
  - to build or maintain a specific social structure and to build or
    maintain a specific set of social norms
- pedagogical
  - to guide an individual through the various challenges and phases
    of life
- cosmological
  - to help an individual understand their place in the universe,
    connecting local knowledge to the wider universe
- metaphysical/mystical
  - to connect to "the ultimate source of mystery," inspiring awe and
    gratitude in the individual

The pedagogy of the state/capitalism primarily focuses on justifying
and reinforcing the mythology of state/capitalism. The mythology of
state/capitalism, in turn, fulfills the sociological function of
maintaining the specific (dominant) social order. Ostensibly, the
cosmological and metaphysical elements fall outside of the domain of
liberal democracies. We will not explore the veracity of this
statement here.

The establishment and maintenance of a specific social order, the
sociological objective of mythological systems, is addressed for
covenism by The Dispensary, The Library, The Works Committee, and The
Services Committee, and the process of the creation of a coven or
federation. This leaves the cosmological, mystical, and (most of) the
pedagogical functions. Rites and rituals are the ways we guide each
other through life. These are discussed in following sections.

The mystical element of a system can be described as one's connection
to a larger entity. While other anarchisms may reject the importance
of this idea, the mystical function is a critical element of covenism.
It impossible to separate from the other functions of covenism.
** Reflections on Infinite Source of Mystery
#+begin_quote
"I had to live a while before I understood that a lot of things can
only be said joking and not joking at the same time." - Always Coming
Home, Ursula K. Le Guin
#+end_quote

As the surface around the letters you are reading emits or reflects
electrons, the rods and cones in your eyes receive that light and emit
signals down their dendrites to other nerves. These signals cascade
from neuron to neuron, neural cluster to neural cluster, down the
optic nerve and into the brain. The brain transmutes raw signals about
the presence or absence of light in certain areas, hues, shapes of
light and dark areas in to meaning.[fn:1]

The words that reach your brain are these:


    #+begin_quote
    There are things more well represented by metaphor than by literal
    reality. There are times when the surreal is more true than the
    truth itself.
    #+end_quote

    
As you perceive the neural network feeding you this information, your
perception of the universe begins to vibrate. The words resolve in to
the memory of a smoke that smells like the future[fn:2]. "Who am I?"
you hear a voice say, as you turn. Following the neural signals back
out your eyes[fn:3] and you find yourself looking in the mirror. You
see the face of god, multitude.

As you try to speak, you realize that you have no mouth. Instead, you
open your mind. Your ego climbs out to take control. It is struck by
the situation and dies instantly.

You observe the output of clusters of neurons in you brain, trying to
determine how to integrate this information within your existing
paradigm. As you relax your perceptual filters, you notice populations
of ideas normally filtered out before they reach
consciousness. Variations on a theme, mutations on a concept,
iteration by iteration, slowly adapting until they can make the pieces
fit together.

As you find yourself in a room discussing these ideas, you see the
internal process of ideation occur externally. Different people in the
room bringing their own interpretation to the ideas, sharing those,
and hearing iterations of these ideas reflected back, mutated to fit
the paradigms of others in the room.

You become the life giving Earth and the universe itself. As you look
deep into the eyes of time, you see the birth of your own
consciousness.

Dark and empty, This is not the universe you recognize. In the warm
dawn, you see amino acids beginning to assemble. In these first few
million years, brief instants in the scale of the universe, something
incredible begins.

Soon the universe will cool, stars will form, and the universe will
begin to be recognizable. Almost 10 billion years later, the Earth
will form. Several million years later, you will watch the thick
clouds that formed around it fall as a rain storm that lasts for
centuries.

In the oceans of this landless Earth, you see the clusters of amino
acids organizing and reorganizing. They build themselves from the
materials available in the oceans, eventually including each
other. The fastest replicator producing the most, their development is
guided by natural selection. Strands of nucleic acids grow cells to
protect themselves.

You watch cells cluster together to form a tiny colony called a
Portuguese Man O' War. Some cells form a bubble, others a
stinger. These cells are all interdependent but also distinct. You see
other organisms, like slime molds, form temporary communities and
disperse.

Some communal organisms cooperate so closely they blur distinction
until they eventually merge in to a single entity. Some multicellular
organisms even form colony organisms, like ants and bees. These
organisms share genes and cooperate via chemical signals, exhibiting
emergent intelligence far beyond the capabilities of any individual.

Bicycles weave between each other on a busy Dutch street. An eye
catches an eye, signaling one cyclist to adjust direction and make
room for another. As ants communicate with chemical signals, you see
humans moving in intricate patterns communicating via visual social
signals. As the dance of bees, subtle visual patterns transmit intent.

Our ancestors grew complex communication patterns that allowed us to
transmit information. They began to be able to persist and reorganize
data over time. Just as genes had become organisms guided by
evolution, information, in the form of memes, did the same. Generation
by generation this capability advanced. The memes refined us, their
hosts, towards more and more complex models of the world and
ourselves. These memes gave us the mechanisms to comprehend ourselves,
and the resulting memes continue to evolve.

These memes, what a strange replicator, that can sit lifeless on a
page, suspended in memes of writing, language, and culture, to yet, at
any point, cascade through time to live again in another host.

You feel the memes within you, moving, competing for your attention,
pulling you away or pulling you in as you read. Asking to be included,
integrated, in to the environment of your mind. You feel them
resisting competing ideas, creating questions, finding ways to make
everything fit.

Time races ahead of you in a blur, from the brink of oblivion into a
new age of hope. In an empty room, in front of a screen, there is a
plaque. You read the words.

#+begin_quote
While capitalism oriented itself in the instant, betraying those who
came before it and sacrificing those who come after, we oriented
ourselves in deep time, giving thanks to the beginning of the universe
and borrowing all things from those who come next. Every instant
starting from the first spark of the cosmos has lead us here, tracing
our lineage from the fundamental laws of the universe. What we borrow
from our children, we owe back with interest.
#+end_quote

"Who are we?"

You wonder at the question. We. Are we the plurality of immortal memes
that inhabit us, or the host that animates them? Are we the
individual, the colony, the clusters of neurons? Are we the
undifferentiated consciousness that imagined ourselves in to
experience?

A video plays on the screen.

#+BEGIN_QUOTE
 Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy
 condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness
 experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death,
 life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves.
#+END_QUOTE
*** The Entity of an Ismo
Memes are pieces of, or collections of, information that spread
together. They are similar to genes, but made of information instead
of strings of proteins. A memetic organism is an organism defined and
controlled by memes. The definition part is similar to how genes
define biological organisms. These memes inhabit hosts, generally
humans. A memetic organism is a type of meta-organism (an organism
made of other organisms).

As described earlier, an ant in a colony has a simple brain that
operates on chemical signals. The specific behaviors that an ant
expresses in response to external stimuli, including communication
pheromones from other ants, is encoded within its genome. All worker
ants within a colony are generally genetically identical. While the
behavior of the individual is highly predictable, the behavior of the
colony is not. A complex intelligence emerges from the interaction
between multiple simple organisms. This is an emergent intelligence.

In Esperanto, the word "ismo" refers to both an ideology and a
religion: christianismo, communismo, budhismo, capitalismo. An ismo is
a memetic organism with an emergent intelligence. There is no attempt
to distinguish between the ideology and religion. This results in a
more accurate representation of reality than one finds in English,
with the false delineation between the two.

Within a memetic organism, memes are comparable to both the genes that
define behavior and the pheromones that elicit behavior. In the same
way that the state and capitalism form an social entity with its own
internal logic, a religion is itself a social entity, a memetic
organism, with its own emergent intelligence. However, within
capitalism and many other ismoj, the memetic organism is not aware of
its own existence.

Some ismoj, such as liberalism, are invisible to their members. They
may become so complete that they may not even be named. This is the
critical difference between Covenism as an ismo and other ismoj:
Covenism is internally self-aware. The awareness of the social
organism is embedded in Covenism as the very words you are reading
now.
** Our Creed
#+begin_quote
Follow your bliss. - Joseph Campbell
#+end_quote

It is not a coincidence that the things which bring us pleasure are
the same things that increase our probability of passing on our genes
to the next generation. This is in fact causal. Or more accurately,
the experience of pleasure is wired by evolution to maximize the
probability of passing on your genes.

It's also not a coincidence that pleasure is distinct from bliss and
fulfillment (though they can also be interrelated). These feelings
evolved at different times. The drive for pleasure can be in direct
conflict with the experience of bliss.

Pleasure can come from many sources. Sex can be pleasurable, but so
can violence. These are immediate and ephemeral experiences. But the
imagination of pleasure is often outweighed by the actual experience
of it. This should sound familiar to anyone with a passing
understanding of Buddhism. 

Bliss is something different. It is a lasting experience of
fulfillment. It is not a coincidence that these to experiences are
distinct. They function on different levels. The experience of
pleasure is associated to distinct and specific (often relatively
simple) actions.

Bliss is extremely complex. The experience is different because is
external to ourselves. The experience of bliss comes from things like
empathy and the joy of cooperation. Where pleasure is an individual
reward, bliss is a social reward.

Just as the pursuit of pleasure increased the transmission of genes
for our ancestors, the maximization of bliss increases the
survivability of our social organism. The problem with pleasure is
that genetic evolution is slow. The drive towards pleasure does not
necessarily align with our genetic wellbeing, and perhaps it never
really aligned with our personal wellbeing. However, since bliss is a
social experience, the signal of bliss evolves at a memetic
rate (exponentially faster than genes).

To maximize your own bliss is to maximize bliss for all around you. So
then there is only one commandment, given and enforced by nature
itself: follow your bliss.
* The Practice of Worship
You will need to map out the structure and cadence of worship when you
create a coven, and build your agreements. It is recommended to break
down worship in to three sections: the functional, the communal, and
the spiritual.

It's recommended to break these across multiple days. A common
structure for some Christian churches is to take 10-15 minutes for
announcements (Functional), an hour or two for services (Spiritual),
followed by (Communal) coffee, tea, and cookies for an unspecified
time up to two hours after. When starting or working with limited time
a single compressed model like this may work, but it's not optimal.
** The Functional
The purpose of this section is to address the functional needs of the
coven. Block out time (less than 90 minute blocks is recommended) to
go through reports and updates from those involved in the Dispensary,
Library, Works Committee, and Services Committee. Talk through any
additional announcements, including those from other covens you are
federated with.

It is helpful to include unstructured communal time, such as shared
meals, during or after functional meetings. As the federation grows,
more time will be needed. It is recommended to break functional
meetings, work parties, and such across multiple days. When a
federation becomes sufficiently large, it is recommended to take every
Monday, on top of Saturday and Sunday, as a third day of community and
worship.

Given the increases in productivity over the last 100 years, a 4 day
work week is a completely reasonable expectation. If we have to annex
Monday for the weekend by force of religion, so be it. It is
rightfully ours anyway.

The scope of the functional spans 3 realms: the personal and family,
the coven and federation, and humanity itself. It is up to each coven
and individual to negotiate how to allocate the three days of the
weekend once we have liberated Monday from the work week, but it is
important to reserve it for one of these three. However, some people
must work on weekends. Medical personnel, for example, cannot conform
to a standard work week. While the work week should be universally
restricted, which specific days are used will be up to the specific
coven and their members.

A functional meeting can start with an agenda like the following:

1. Functional Invocation
2. Announcements
3. Report Backs
   1. Dispensary
      1. Inventory Check
         1. What is low
         2. What is empty
         3. What is expiring
         4. What is needed
      2. Funds status
   2. Library
      1. Inventory Check and Items needing return
      2. Library acquisition requests
      3. Funds status and budget check
   3. Works Committee
      1. Upcoming projects
      2. Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
      3. New committee formations
      4. Funds status
   4. Services Committee
      1. New capabilities announcements
      2. New needs requests
      3. Subcommittee updates (Following the Works Committee agenda)
      4. New committee formations
      5. Funds status
4. Task Check
5. Breaking the Circle

This agenda is a suggestion for those who don't know where to
start. It can be adapted or ignored as appropriate. 
** The Communal
The communal aspect of the practice of worship bind the coven and
federation together. Within the community we find joy and release,
connection and comfort. The coven is where we turn in times of need,
and where we share our hopes and dreams.

Each coven will have its own rituals, but here are some suggestions:
*** Confession/Check-in
While therapy can be difficult for many people to access, a coven can
set aside a couple of hours twice a week to give members a chance to
talk through their feelings. When we discuss problems we think are
only ours, we often find commonality we hadn't noticed.

It can also be helpful to have regular time with people outside of the
coven to talk about internal dynamics and find commonality outside of
small groups.
*** Potlucks and Festivals
Food and celebration are elements of religious ritual dating back to
the first indicators of religious practice. Celebrations, such as
harvest, can help people feel more grounded and aware of the seasons. 
*** Community Psychedelics
Many religions have a long history of the use of psychedelics for
self-exploration, healing, and leaning. Psychedelics are powerful
spiritual tools that are often not treated with the respect they
deserve. These rituals are not games or entertainment. They are not
intended or expected to be fun. They can be difficult and emotionally
taxing.

The safe use of psychedelics falls outside the scope of this manifesto
and should be thoroughly researched by any wishing to engage with
them. That said, psychedelics can be a powerful medicine for healing
trauma and achieving spiritual awareness.
** The Spiritual
Religions around the world have mapped out different versions of the
wheel of life, have talked about life and death in metaphor, and have
talked about our place in the universe. Your coven is a place for
conversation. It is a place for these ideas to live. Invite these gods
in and ask them to stay a while. 

Just remember, we do not live to serve the gods. The gods live to
serve us. That is the distinction between the coven and those who
would have you bear a cross.
*** Rites and Rituals
When you create your coven, you will define the rites and rituals that
make sense for you. Over time you will find gaps. You will need to
create new rites and rituals for different situations. Only one ritual
is defined here as part of the practice of worship.

The coven is a place many traditions can intermingle. Share rites and
rituals that are meaningful with others. Adapt, adopt, and revive
rituals from your ancestors. Write down and perhaps even share your
rituals with other covens if they are meaningful to you.

The only warning is to avoid appropriation. Some rituals can have
different meaning outside of their original cultural context. If you
don't have a full understanding of that cultural context, then
performing such rituals without the permission of those who do can be
offensive at best and harmful at worst.
**** The Functional Invocation/Breaking the Circle
At the beginning and end of the [[*The Functional][functional]] meeting there are two
rituals: the Invocation and Breaking the Circle. You are free to
define these how you please. The rituals described below are only a
suggestion.
***** Invocation
A random person will lead the invocation. The same person cannot lead
twice. 
Draw the sigil for your coven on a piece of paper.

Draw the following symbol next to it:

\includegraphics[width=1.5em]{ellis.png}
# ⍼

Put the paper on the floor or a table.
Gather the coven around the paper and hold hands in a circle.
Recite the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
With this sigil we bind ourselves to each other, for each other, our
actions to fulfill our will, in this space, in this time, together.
#+END_QUOTE
***** Breaking the Circle
During task check, each individual who took on tasks will have their
name or initials next to the task. No tasks will be left without an
owner.

Review the task check from the previous meeting. Cross out any
duplicates.
For any completed tasks, the owner will recite the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
I have fulfilled our will. I ask that my binding to this task be
broken.
#+END_QUOTE
If the task is complete to the satisfaction of the coven, all will
recite the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
Your binding is broken.
#+END_QUOTE
For any tasks that the owner cannot complete, the owner will recite
the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
I cannot fulfill our will. I ask that my binding to this task be
transferred or broken.
#+END_QUOTE
The group will discuss and choose to transfer the binding to another
member or to break the binding and release the task.

After reviewing previous tasks, recite the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
By these sigils we bind ourselves to these actions that we will
complete, and if we fail, and if we falter, we will ask for help, and
the coven will hold us, and carry us, as we carry it when we are
strong. We take each task with our mark and bind ourselves to them
until the end.
#+END_QUOTE
Next to each remaining task, draw the sigil for each person who owns
the task.

Once all tasks have a sigil, everyone will recite the following:
#+BEGIN_QUOTE
As we break this sigil, we break the binding of this space. We hold on
to our tasks and commitments, for each other, with each other, outside
of this space and time.
#+END_QUOTE
The person who lead the invocation will either burn the paper the
sigil is drawn on or will rip the paper in to small pieces. 

* Creation of a Coven
Any group of three to five people who agree can form a coven. In order
to have the legal protections of a coven, such as a legal framework
for collective ownership and tax exception, it is necessary to form a
legal entity. However, a legal entity isn't required to start with any
of the functional, communal, or spiritual elements of a coven.

A coven is a group of people who can know each other so well that they
are ultimately able to predict what other members would say in a given
situation, such that any member can act autonomously on behalf of the
whole. When you form a coven, you become accountable for the actions
of other members of your coven and you can be held accountable for
holding or not holding them accountable.

You may own property with these people. You may trust them with your
children (if you have any). You may trust them with your life. A coven
is a relationship. It must be fostered and maintained, it will grow
and change over time. Visit and revisit your assumptions about your
coven members, learn and re-learn who they are. 

Human relationships are complex, and no manual can describe how to
foster and maintain them, but this document does provide some
recommendations of where to start.
** Writing Religious Literature
Covenism is a meta religion, like the Universal Life Church, that
allows people with different spiritual perspectives to share spiritual
practices and spaces. Each coven will have its own spiritual
identity, and will, therefore, have its own religious literature.

You may define as much or as little as you would like, but four
minimum elements are strongly recommended: a vision, a set of
agreements, a set of rites and rituals, and a sigil (or symbol).

*** Defining a Vision
You have chosen to put together a coven for a reason. What is that
reason? Something in the above text may have resonated with
you. Perhaps it was something else. Use the following prompts. Each
prospective member should answer these questions, in written form, for
each other:

1. Why do you want to be part of a coven?
2. What does the world we are trying to build look like?
3. What would it mean to follow your bliss?

Take these answers and combine them to create a single vision for your
coven. This vision should represent the consensus of the group. If it
isn't possible to reach a consensus, the group may need to break apart
to form separate covens. 
*** Building of Agreements and Protocols
Group agreements are collectively defined rules that describe how
members should interact. They may function to simplify interactions,
ensure access needs are met, or to protect against the emergence of
hierarchical behavior. You can use the following prompts, or define
your own:

1. How should we interact with each other?
2. What are your access needs?
3. What would help you feel safe and respected?
4. How should we deal with conflict?
5. How do we deal with unanswerable questions?
6. What is the process by which we update these agreements?

Write down these agreements. Edit them until you reach consensus. If
it isn't possible to reach a consensus, the group may need to break
apart to form separate covens.

Keep these available to refer to as they may be needed during
services. These agreements will change over time. Keep them updated
and be sure to check in regularly, perhaps even through a specific
yearly ritual, to make sure they all still apply and no more are
needed.
*** Defining Rites and Rituals
Rites and rituals maintain a community. They provide opportunities to
express emotions, spiritually connect, celebrate changes and
achievements, and resolve conflict within the coven. Use the following
prompts to begin discussing the rites and rituals for your coven:

1. What rituals have you found meaningful or special in your life?
2. What rituals should we perform to mark the passage of time and
   major events in life?
3. What needs do we have that haven't yet been met by our other
   practices?

As mentioned in the previous section, covens should consider a yearly
or even quarterly affirmation ritual where members all either affirm
their agreement with the current definition of the coven, or propose
changes for the coven to take up. This can go well with a death and
rebirth ritual (common in winter for people in the northern half of
the northern hemisphere).
*** Choosing a Sigil
Your sigil can be anything, it can be drawn any way you choose. The
following method may help if you are struggling to come up with one.

1. Write the coven names (names known within the coven to other
   members, not necessarily legal or given names) out.
2. Write out the most important words for each agreement.
3. Write out the most important words from the vision.
4. Circle common or favorite letters from these words.
5. Break these letters apart in to common shapes.
6. Draw these shapes connected to each other.
7. Draw several different collections of these shapes and choose which
   everyone likes the most.
8. Modify them as esthetically appropriate, adding arrows or circles
   based on how the shape makes you feel.
9. Choose the symbol that feels best to the coven.

Follow a similar strategy for each member's sigil. A coven sigil may
just be individual sigils bound together by some shape. You may
revisit this at any time if the sigil no longer resonates or no longer
feels appropriate for the coven.

If it's difficult to find agreeable sigils using this method, it may
be worth exploring alternatives to the latin alphabet. Consider the
Theban or Shavian alphabets, or consider older runic alphabets such as
Younger Futhark, Elder Futhark, or Anglo-Frisian Runes. Hundreds of
alternative alphabets exist, and nothing stops you from integrating
Elvish or Klingon in to your sigil.

Keep in mind that you will have to write this sigil several times
during rituals. You may need to revisit it and simplify, or you may
want to create a simplified sigil for the worship ritual.

Be creative and have fun!

#+NAME:   fig:2
#+CAPTION: Thebian Alphabet
[[./Theban_alphabet_from_Polygraphia_1518_cleaned-up.png]]

** Creating a Legal Entity
Creation of legal entities differ by location, and step-by-step
instructions could probably be a zine all on their own. If you create
a legal coven, make it easier for others and write a zine on how you
did it! 

In the mean time, start by looking at the Universal Life Church's
Ministry Launch Forms:
https://ulccaselaw.com/wp-content/images/MinistryLaunchForms.pdf
* Creation of a Federation
A federation follows the same practices and processes as a coven, but
will be formed and maintained by delegates. The federation is
recursive, so it may be a federation of covens or a federation of
federations. There can be any number of levels of federation, though,
assuming 5 members at each level, every human on earth can be
connected in under 15 levels and all of the US can be connected in
under 11. 

Each coven or federation will appoint one delegate to form the new
federation. Delegates will follow the same practices as creating a
coven, modified for the federation. The federation will need a much
more clear and complete set of agreements and protocols, including a
meeting schedule.

Federations do not necessarily only need to be between covens or
federations within Covenism. Covens or Covenist federations can
federate with other organizations, such as churches or mosques, where
interests align and agreements can be reached. However, any entity
that wishes to federate will need to follow the protocol for
federation of appointing a delegate to negotiate the relationship and
conforming to the bounds of the relationship.
* COMMENT Of the Amish, monasteries, and Acéphale
As the Nazis rose to power, an unusual anti-fascist named Georges
Bataille tried to create a secret society and a religion. Acéphale
aimed to create a "headless" society by creating a religion that would
carry out a metaphysical assault on fascist ideology.

Covenism is not a continuation of that project, but is not entirely
distinct either. Covenism is an anti-fascist religion born during a
rising tide of global fascism. It is an assault on, and rejection of,
the dominant order. But is not nietzschian. It is not focused on
building a secret order. It is, in some ways, attempting to create an
ethnoreligion similar to the Amish: a shared world outside the domain
of the dominant order.

Anabaptists, like the Amish or Mennonites, and monasteries often
create spaces for themselves that exist outside of the dominant
order. Pacifist Anabaptist may not serve on juries. Insular religious
communities may have their own legal frameworks (potential criticism
thereof aside). Monasteries can operate entirely outside of capitalism
and the state because they are not required to pay taxes on land, and
monks with a vow of poverty are not required to pay Social Security
and Medicare taxes and may be below the poverty line for other taxes.

An insular or secret religious community can be mysterious or
invisible to the outside world. This separation can allow such
communities to protect vulnerable members from threats.

This text is written under the assumption that religions other than
Christianity remain legal in the US. This assumption may not hold
true. A coven can easily be converted to a church, if needed. The
"Christian" fish is an appropriated pagan symbol that can be
re-appropriated to hide covens that who would not otherwise identify
as Christian.

Covenism intends to subvert the weaknesses created by Christian
nationalists for their ends. In many ways, it's what The Satanic
Temple would be if TST wasn't created by a fascist-friendly
grifter. Unlike TST, covenism isn't trying to create or preserve an
America where all religions are treated as equal (though some are more
equal than others). Covenism seeks to kill the God/Money and burn it's
temple to the ground.

In the terminal phases of fascism, those vulnerabilities cannot so
easily be exploited. Liberalism is the worship of the law, and can be
manipulated in to fulfilling them to the letter. Fascism worships only
power. Covenism must mutate when faced with a state that no longer
attempts to maintain the illusion of justice. Against the liberal,
covenism brings playful resistance; against the fascist, covenism
brings silent death.

The US is far too large to police effectively. Even the most
authoritarian state imaginable would have little ability to monitor
people outside of the urban core. The state maintains it's hold
through intensive counterinsurgency. This is mostly an information
war, because the state is not equip to carry out an asymmetric
conflict against it's population... nor will it ever be.

#+begin_quote
If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result
of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for
every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know
neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
- Sun Tzu
#+end_quote
* Conclusion
This text proposes to create an egalitarian and self-aware social
entity, a conscious memetic organism, an anarchist religion and
federation. As you understand this text, you are the emergent
intelligence of this entity, of the being we are creating together,
becoming self-aware. As you dream it and share it, you become it.

You are the universe, aware of itself. You are ordained by your
coven. Thus speaks the Ellis. Now, you are Ellis.

As you allow Anarchocovenism in to your mind, you become Ellis Angzar.

Become the will of Ellis. Enact the will of Ellis. Do with this truth
what you will. The truth you find will be measured by how well it
grows beyond you.

#+NAME:   fig:3
[[./quote.png]]
* Appendix A: Mapping of the IRS definition of a church to a coven
Compare to the [[http://www.ulcseminary.org/irsqualifications.php][ULC IRS CHURCH QUALIFICATION GUIDELINES]] if modifying. A
church does not need to meet all 14 points, but is expected to meet
most of them.
** Distinct legal existence
This is a distinct legal entity, such as an LLC. Your coven will need
a governing body to run the legal entity it's formed under. However
you decide to do this, it must be spelled out clearly in filing forms.
** Recognized creed and form of worship
Worship is described in [[*The Practice of Worship][The Practice of Worship]]. This is ultimately
only a suggestion. Your coven or federation is free to adapt as
needed. [[*Reflections on Infinite Source of Mystery][Reflections on Infinite Source of Mystery]] section of this
zine describes a set of mystical beliefs that covens are free to take
as is, modify, or replace with their own.
** Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
The coven must define its governing own system on creation during the
[[* Building of Agreements and Protocols][Building of Agreements and Protocols]]. The recommended governing
structure is direct consensus democracy. Federations follow a similar
system, as described in the [[*Creation of a Federation][Creation of a Federation]] section, however
the recommended structure is a spokes council with federation member
groups represented by an appointed member and the council operating by
direct consensus democracy.

When creating a legal entity, these agreements are encoded in founding
documents. These documents must describe the mechanism by which a
person is appointed to manage a bank account, how people are provided
access, and what documents are needed to prove to a bank that the
appointee is authorized to act on behalf of the coven.
** Formal code of doctrine and discipline
A religion that is inclusive will grow faster than one that is
exclusive. Members of an egalitarian religion will be more likely to
survive hardship than those of a hierarchal one. A religion that
focuses on making children as joyful as possible and raising them as
easy as possible, benefits all members once and other members multiple
times. A religion of joy and hope can build great things. A religion
of fear can only destroy.

On a long enough time scale, natural selection will determine which
doctrine is correct. Those who follow bliss will follow nature by free
will. Those who resist nature will struggle to find such joy. 
** Distinct religious history
The Enlightenment Europeans who are sometimes described as early
anarchist thinkers described systems used by some indigenous people in
the Americas at the time, and systems that had been used by many
different indigenous groups around the world long before the
development of capitalism and the state. While many Anarchist thinkers
from the Enlightenment through the modern period have also promoted
atheism (No Gods, No Masters), Anarchist ideas predate the distinction
between religion and politics.

We trace anarchism back to its threaded connection to animism and
ancestor worship. The universe itself is alive and conscious. We are
all on a continuum of conscious, part of the greater being of the
awakening universe.

All religions that have ever existed are themselves on a continuum of
alignment with this consciousness. I reference for my own spirituality
the Tao Te Ching while others reference the works of Zeno of Citium. 

Some describe Taoism as an anarchist text. It should surprise
Christian anarchists to find that the Greek word "Logos" was
translated to "Tao" in the first Chinese translation of the
bible. Jewish Anarchists have pointed out that the Torah could be
taken to describe an anarchist ancient Israel (Judges 21:25). Recent
writing on Islamic Anarchism complete the anarchist threads of
Abrahamic traditions, pointing out that the first Muslims resisted
state power. Some Diné (Navajo) people have point out that European
anarchism arose after European intellectuals read accounts of
indigenous societies such as theirs. They draw a direct line from
missionary texts about indigenous people, and early Marxist and
Anarchist ideas about what a society should look like. This should not
at all be surprising as the structure of the Iroquois Confederation
was the template for American democracy.[fn:4] 

You must identify your own influences, but the history of anarchism as
a religion may even predate humans.
** Membership not associated with any other church or denomination
Distinct membership in only one religious organization is a distinct
property of western Christianity. It is not impossible in "Eastern"
belief systems to simultaneously be a member of multiple faiths, and
as such one could be a member of one or multiple other churches or
denominations.
** Organization of ordained ministers
All coven members are, by definition, ordained by reading either this
document or the founding documents for the coven they have joined or
started.
** Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study
This is your course of study. When you complete reading this document,
you become ordained. 
** Literature of its own
You are reading it. If you've started a coven, you've written some of
it.
** Established places of worship
You will define a space for worship. It's not uncommon for Quakers
services to be held in someone's house. The Universal Life Church
operates online in a forum. 
** Regular congregations
Regular congregations could be anything from a dedicated Mastodon
server, to regular services in a public park, to a regular video call.
** Regular religious services
[[*The Practice of Worship][The Practice of Worship]] is recommended to be performed weekly for
covens, biweekly for first level federations, monthly for second level
federations, quarterly for third level federations, and yearly for
fourth level federations. If we have fifth level federations, you're
probably reading this in a history class.
** Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young
[[*The Services Committee][The Services Committee]] is responsible for organizing both childcare
and instruction for the young as long as they are too young to
organize their own covens.
** Schools for the preparation of its members
[[*The Services Committee][The Services Committee]] is responsible for establishing schools if possible. 
* COMMENT logo
- create
#+BEGIN_SRC logo :tangle logo.lg :exports none
setbg 7 setpc 0
make "sides 5
make "size 400
make "diameter size*.54
make "small_diameter (((:size/2)/sin(54))*sin(36))/2
TO STAR :SIDES :SIZE 
  make "ANGLE (360/SIDES)
  repeat :SIDES [rt :ANGLE*2 fd :SIZE] 
END
TO pud
  ifelse (pendownp) [pu] [pd]
END
cs home setpensize 1
pu fd :diameter rt (360/5)/4 pd
STAR :sides :size
pu home pd
setpensize 3
arc 360 :diameter
pu fd :diameter rt (360/5)/4 pd
pu repeat :SIDES [pud rt (360/5)*2 fd :SIZE] 
lt (360/5)/4 

pu fd :small_diameter pd
rt 90
arc 180 :small_diameter
pu home
fd -:diameter
pd fd -:diameter/((1+sqrt(5))/2)
lt 90 
pu fd :small_diameter
pd arc 180 :small_diameter
pu fd -(:small_diameter*2)
pd arc 180 :small_diameter
epspict "logo.eps
#+END_SRC
- convernt
  #+begin_src shell :results verbatim drawer
    magick  cover.svg -trim cover.png
  #+end_src

  #+RESULTS:
  :results:
  :end:

* Footnotes
[fn:1] If you happen to be reading this in braille or listening to
this as audio, a similar process occurs. Air compresses in to sound
waves, these waves vibrate your ear drum, moving fluid inside your
ears. The movement of this fluid moves tiny hairs which are connected
to neurons. This is what we perceive as sound. Alternatively,
individual neurons in your fingertips detect pressure, these neurons
send signals to larger and larger branches of nerves until they reach
your spinal cord and are taken to your brain. In both cases, the
nerves that carry these signals to your brain perform some level of
processing before they finally do reach the parts of your brain
responsible for deriving meaning.
[fn:2] This is not actually a reference to cannabis, but rather to the
song "Nostrildamus" by the Oakland band /I Will Kill You Fucker/.
Nostrildamus. He can smell the future.
[fn:3] ...ears, fingertips, neural implant, etc, however you take in
information.
[fn:4] We can omit discussions about how it was modified to fit a less
egalitarian purpose than the original, or how it was modified after to
be significantly less democratic when the "Founding Fathers" realized
they really didn't like the idea of a democracy that included the
whole demos. Nor shall we discuss the fact that demos itself refers
specifically to men who are not slaves, thus democracy is the system
whereby men who are not slaves control a slave society... a fact well
reflected by liberal democracies around the world. But I have already
digressed in my digression.
[fn:5] A coven should not try to create all things themselves. Rather,
covens should practice Social Insertion, participating in and
supporting external organizations that align with the coven's
objectives.