Xeper names both the goal and the process: the ongoing, willed becoming of the self into a higher, self-created being. This distinguishes the Temple of Set from the atheistic Satanists, since it affirms a real god (Set) and a genuine metaphysical project of self-deification, and it organises members in a graded, initiatory structure of study and practice. The affirmation is presented here as the Temple describes its own teaching, an esoteric philosophy of individual becoming under the patronage of Set.
Advancement within the Temple follows a graded initiatory structure of six degrees, administered by its Priesthood of Set and governed by a Council of Nine, with promotion based on demonstrated personal development through study, including a structured correspondence curriculum, rather than on time served. This genuinely esoteric, initiatory structure, restricting fuller teaching to members who progress through its internal curriculum, distinguishes the Temple's organisational model from both the more publicly accessible Church of Satan and from the decentralised, non-hierarchical character of most modern Pagan and occult movements. Members progress through a correspondence-based curriculum, the Crystal Tablet of Set, before being considered for higher initiation, a structure intended to ensure that advancement reflects genuine philosophical and magical development rather than mere seniority.