Аквино, Майкл

Michael Aquino AKA Dr. Michael A. Aquino America @ 1950 - present Teachers: Anton LaVey; H. P. Lovecraft; [[Aleister Crowley]; Nema; Students; Gabriél Rojas ; Don Webb; Organizations: founded the splinter group the Temple of Set in 1975 after leaving The Church of Satan; Author: The Book of Coming Forth by Night; Jeweled Tablets of Set; Edited The Cloven Hoof magazine for Church of Satan Comments: Self Initiation into Satanism; resented Levey's centralized control as not in keeping with Satanic principles; building on Nema's 4th Aeon of MAAT, he seems to have also "completed" Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law with a new Aeon, this one dedicated the Set and with the new "Word" of the Aeon "xeper"...boy, short Aeons we are having these days!

Resources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Set; https://xeper.org//; https://xeper.org//maquino/nm/COS.pdf;

Michael Aquino (b. October 16, 1946), founder of the Temple of Set, was born in San Francisco, California. After earning a B.A. (1968) in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, he was commissioned in the army as a Special Operations Officer (Intelligence, Special Forces, Psychological Operations, Civil Affairs, and Politico-Military Affairs).

Just before a 1969–1970 tour of duty in Vietnam, he joined the Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey, and was ordained to its priesthood upon his return to the United States. Assigned by the army to Fort Knox, Kentucky, he organized a local “grotto” in nearby Louisville, then gradually became the senior coordinator of grotto activities throughout the United States.

In 1975, because of a decision by Anton LaVey to give away church priesthoods,Aquino and most of the existing national leadership of the church resigned. Shortly thereafter they founded the Temple of Set as an intended continuation and evolution of the church into a context intentionally divorced from Judeo-Christian mythology. Aquino served as the Temple of Set’s High Priest until 1996, at which time he retired from the office, while remaining an active member.

The Temple of Set teaches that what Christianity has called “Satan” is a corruption of the Egyptian figure of Set. Set is not understood as a god of evil, but rather the personification of the individual consciousness or psyche. Members (“Setians”) can explore the temple’s philosophy individually, or through local groups called “pylons.”Unlike the Church of Satan, which advocated a “law of the jungle” approach to society, the Temple of Set inclines more toward Platonic idealism, encouraging Setians to aspire to high standards of personal ethics despite the moral and cultural imperfections of the society around them.

Because of its descent from the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set is often popularly portrayed as “Satanic.” Aquino and other Setians, while maintaining a proprietary interest in the Satanic tradition, continually reemphasize that they consider “Satan/Satanism” as degenerate mythology only, of no relevance to Temple of Set metaphysics or social philosophy.

Continuing his academic studies, Aquino earned M.A. (1976) and Ph.D. (1980) degrees in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara; and the M.P.A. (1987) degree in Public Administration from George Washington University. He taught political science at Golden Gate University, San Francisco, from 1980 to 1986 as an adjunct professor.

In 1994 Aquino retired from the army as a lieutenant colonel, at which time he was awarded the army’s Meritorious Service Medal. He is married to the former Lilith Sinclair, whom he met when she was Priestess of the Church of Satan’s Grotto in New York City, and who is also one of the Temple of Set’s senior officials.

Because of Aquino’s high visibility as head of the Temple of Set, he has been a focus for popular anti-Satanic sentiment, particularly during the Satanic scare of the 1980s. During one such witch-hunt at the Presidio of San Francisco in 1987, he and his wife were accused by a Christian chaplain of ritual abuse, but a subsequent investigation refuted this. Neither of the Aquinos has ever been charged with any crime whatever. Aquino’s unique background in both the Church of Satan/Temple of Set and such arcane governmental fields as Intelligence and Psychological Operations has often excited the interest of conspiracy theorists and religious extremists, and he remains an object of curiosity and controversy in occult circles as well.

For Further Reading: Flowers, Stephen E., Lords of the Left Hand Path.

- James Lewis