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Episode 669: Anton LaVey Part IV - Old Wizards Die Hard
Where this was said
Aquino's Reformation: The Temple of Set Is Born
At 44:20 · chapter starts 42:40
The episode now turns to the inner mechanics of the Church of Satan's most significant schism. The core problem: LaVey was an atheist who used Satan as theatrical branding, while Aquino genuinely believed Satan was a real, contactable deity. Henry notes that Aquino was — accidentally — just reinventing Christianity with worse aesthetics. The breaking point came when money ran short in 1975 and LaVey decided to simply sell initiatory ranks, a move Aquino compared to the Catholic Church selling indulgences. [1] — Marcus Parks "Aquino left Church of Satan in 1975 to found Temple of Set: Michael Aquino left the Church of Satan in 1975 after LaVey began selling churc…" 45:15 Aquino played Martin Luther, published his objections, and left, taking a fair number of other disillusioned Satanists with him. His new organization, the Temple of Set, cast the biblical Satan as the ancient Egyptian deity Set, god of storms and desert, the murderer of Osiris. Henry points out that Aquino also penned his foundational text — received, he claimed, through automatic writing like Aleister Crowley's Book of the Law — and named it The Book of Coming Forth by Night, apparently unaware of the avalanche of ejaculate jokes that would follow.
Michael Aquino actually believed Satan was a deity you could talk to. LaVey was an atheist using Satan as theatrical branding. When LaVey started selling church ranks for cash, Aquino played Martin Luther — he nailed his thesis and left to start the Temple of Set. He was just making Protestantism with worse aesthetics.
LaVey began selling church ranks for money in 1975, prompting Aquino to compare it to the Catholic selling of indulgences and ultimately causing the Church of Satan's major schism.
Michael Aquino left the Church of Satan in 1975 after LaVey began selling church ranks for money, founding the Temple of Set as a more esoteric Satanic movement.
