Michael Aquino

[silver]

Founder of the Temple of Set

Born 16 October 1946 - 2023?

I haven't been able to confirm the exact date of death.

Anyway, I find this person interesting and would be interested in reading a delineation of his horoscope.

Thanks

[Jim Eshelman]

Michael's birth data are well known - we have his birth certificate. He was born October 16, 1946, 12:34 PM, in San Francisco, CA.

This is an interesting astrological example, though, in terms of birth time. Michael was born dead and revived. He wasn't clear whether the recorded time is for his emergence or his revival. I submit that since he was born dead, the chart for the first breath is the relevant moment and it isn't clear which event the hospital recorded as the birth time.

I don't have the date or place he died (reportedly by suicide) beyond July 2020, though a bunch of news sources suddenly began reporting on it around January 24 this year. There were earlier reports (pushed by Temple of Set) that he died on September 1, 2013. There seems quite a mystery around it (which, of course, is typical of Michael and those he trained).

[silver]

Michael's birth data are well known - we have his birth certificate. He was born October 16, 1946, 12:34 PM, in San Francisco, CA.

This is an interesting astrological example, though, in terms of birth time. Michael was born dead and revived. He wasn't clear whether the recorded time is for his emergence or his revival. I submit that since he was born dead, the chart for the first breath is the relevant moment and it isn't clear which event the hospital recorded as the birth time.

I don't have the date or place he died (reportedly by suicide) beyond July 2020, though a bunch of news sources suddenly began reporting on it around January 24 this year.

Sorry, I've just found what is purportedly his death certificate and the date stated is 09/01/2019

https://foxyfox.substack.com/p/michael- ... ertificate

Interesting you mention he was born dead? I hadn't previously heard this but have enjoyed listening to and reading several interviews with him after learning about his MindWar study. I also know he was part of an smear campaign, originating with the Satanic panic in the 1980s. Shame he got caught up in this hysteria.

Hope you have more information.

[Jim Eshelman]

Michael Aquino was a Virgo-Gemini. It's unusual for a double Spoke to be a significant founder of anything, and this does reinforce my sense that ToS was created as a military intelligence exercise. His persistent eminence seems consistent with his Moon-Jupiter mundane square right on the angles, Jupiter at Midheaven. Otherwise, Moon is setting closely trine his Mercury-Mars conjunction, and Sun is closely trine Uranus.

Of note (and easy to miss) is that not only was Mars as the exact exaltation degree of Saturn, it was also in close mundane square to Saturn.

Here is the chart:

Code: Select all

Pl Longitude   Lat   Speed    RA    Decl    Azi     Alt     PVL    Ang G
Mo 19Ge42'55"  2N38 +14° 5' 105°11' 25N22 299°17' + 4° 0' 184°35'  94% D 
Su 28Vi52'48"  0N 0 +59'32" 201° 9'  8S54 193° 0' +42°27' 256°11'  56%   
Me 19Li 1'19"  1S48 + 1°23' 220° 0' 17S28 169°26' +34° 6' 285°10'  67%   
Ve  6Sc10'12"  5S59 +23'26" 236°35' 26S 2 155° 9' +21°46' 316°29'  12%   
Ma 21Li12'29"  0S13 +41'49" 222°40' 16S36 166°12' +34°29' 289° 9'  60%   
Ju 10Li31'29"  0N59 +12'58" 212°35' 12S 6 177°45' +40° 6' 272°40'  98% M 
Sa 13Cn47'38"  0N22 + 3'42" 130°18' 18N41 279°35' +18°37' 198°52'  61%   
Ur 27Ta39'12"  0N 4 - 0'58"  80°54' 23N15 313°42' -12°57' 162°21'  36%   
Ne 14Vi54'42"  1N27 + 2'11" 188°45'  2S12 212° 9' +45° 6' 242° 4'  98% Z 
Pl 19Cn10'56"  6N34 + 0'47" 137°40' 23N 9 279°31' +26°50' 207° 9'  46%   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Class 1 Aspects         Class 2 Aspects         Class 3 Aspects     
Mo tr Me  0°42' 99%      Mo oc Ve  1°27' 75%       Me co Ju  8°30' 26%  
Mo tr Ma  1°30' 96%      Mo sq Ne  4°48' 57%       Ju oc Ur  2° 8' 47%  
Mo sq Ju  1°55' 93% M    Me sq Sa  3°42' 74% M                          
Su tr Ur  1°14' 97%      Ju sq Sa  3°16' 80%                            
Me co Ma  2°11' 95%      Sa co Pl  5°23' 69%                            
Me sq Pl  0°10'100%      Ne sx Pl  4°16' 65%                            
Ma sq Sa  0°17'100% M                                                   
Ma sq Pl  2° 2' 92%                                                     
Sa oc Ur  1° 8' 84%                                                     
Sa sx Ne  1° 7' 98%                                                     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              Cosmic State                              
Mo Ge  F | tr Me  0°42'    tr Ma  1°30'    sq Ju  1°55'M   oc Ve  1°27'    
         | sq Ne  4°48'    
Su Vi    | tr Ur  1°14'    
Me Li    | Mo Ge+ Su Vi+
         | sq Pl  0°10'    tr Mo  0°42'    co Ma  2°11'    sq Sa  3°42'M   
         | co Ju  8°30'    
Ve Sc- B | Su Vi-
         | oc Mo  1°27'    
Ma Li    | sq Sa  0°17'M   tr Mo  1°30'    co Me  2°11'    sq Pl  2° 2'    
Ju Li  F | Mo Ge-
         | sq Mo  1°55'M   sq Sa  3°16'    oc Ur  2° 8'    co Me  8°30'    
Sa Cn-   | sq Ma  0°17'M   sx Ne  1° 7'    oc Ur  1° 8'    sq Ju  3°16'    
         | sq Me  3°42'M   co Pl  5°23'    
Ur Ta    | tr Su  1°14'    oc Sa  1° 8'    oc Ju  2° 8'    
Ne Vi- F | Su Vi-
         | sx Sa  1° 7'    sx Pl  4°16'    sq Mo  4°48'    
Pl Cn    | sq Me  0°10'    sq Ma  2° 2'    co Sa  5°23'    sx Ne  4°16'

[silver]

Interesting as is your impression that the Temple of Set was a military exercise. What utility could this have? Did you know him personally? I though Aquino formed the Temple of Set because he was disillusioned by the hedonism of the Church of Satan?

What is it in someone's chart which makes them such an easy-target for defamatory allegations? I'm someone whose experienced harassment unfortunately so I'd be interested to know if there are any specific markers?

[Jim Eshelman]

Interesting as is your impression that the Temple of Set was a military exercise. What utility could this have?

Michael spent his entire career in military intelligence. Many covert operations were experiments in ways to destabilize and direct society and stirring the "Satanic Panic" of the time was sufficient reason (i.e., a fun experiment). It could also have served as recruiting a particular temperament of young man, though I don't know of anything like this happening.

I could, of course, have been wrong about this. I was only mentioning that this is what I'd long thought.

Did you know him personally? I though Aquino formed the Temple of Set because he was disillusioned by the hedonism of the Church of Satan?

I met him briefly. I also had the chance to study his literature extensively because, when Israel Regardie left L.A. for Sedona, he gave me a case of literature Michael had sent him over the years, advised me to study it as I saw fit then deliver it to a particular archivist he had selected.

LaVey was an easy target for a splinter. Tony (with whom I had many friends in common) was primarily a performer. In private he'd drop the act and say that, as a carnie, it was the best gig he'd ever had and he loved playing it. I don't know how Michael and Lilith actually felt about that but, in any case, it was as good an excuse as any to go off and do their own thing. (And Michael's chart, more than anything else, is the chart of a strategist and entertainer.)

What is it in someone's chart which makes them such an easy-target for defamatory allegations?

Several things, though I don't know what you mean in this case. Pretty much everything that people alleged about Aquino he openly admitted. Do you mean his criminal prosecution at the end?

Michael mostly has a chart that is immune from that, with benefic dominance. He does have Saturn square his culminating Jupiter, so the potential of a fall is there, but mostly this is likely to mean that he didn't care as much for how much esteem or good reputation as most Jupiter angular people and, in fact, could see advantage in a bad reputation. The one indication of "slanders and lies" about him is Neptune exactly on his Zenith (square his Ascendant), which can result in this - but is much more likely to mean that he wove slanders and lies (more generally: fabels and fabrications) around himself, became deeply absorbed in things, and needed to draw other people into the same absorption).

I'm someone whose experienced harassment unfortunately so I'd be interested to know if there are any specific markers?

Perhaps looking at your chart would be more meaningful. The patterns for you may not be those for Michael. From what I know, I don't know that he was maligned beyond the image he intentionally built for himself (though there surely are things I don't know).

[Jim Eshelman]

PS - Something humorous. I just noticed that Michael was born the same day - October 16, 1946 - as Suzanne Somer, less than six hours apart (she was born at 6:11 PM). She was born in San Mateo instead of San Francisco.

He was born with Jupiter on Midheaven. When it rotated to the next angle (Descendant), she was born.

They were both born the day after Richard Carpenter. (Not the kind of people one expects to be like Michael Aquino, eh?) In that case, though, there was a different Moon sign.

[silver]

Thank you, this is has made my day, reading both his chart and also your insight.

Do you mean his criminal prosecution at the end?

I hadn't known about this prosecution but there are all sorts of lurid defamatory allegations and false accusations levelled at Aquino relating to the Presidio day-care sex abuse hysteria in the 1980s, part of the wider Satanic Ritual Abuse scare. Aquino was completely cleared but the rumours persisted unfortunately.

Do you know Anton Lavey's younger daughter Zeena Schreck? I enjoy watching back on her appearances on daytime chat shows at the height of the satanic panic mania.

Thanks

[Jim Eshelman]

Do you know Anton Lavey's younger daughter Zeena Schreck? I enjoy watching back on her appearances on daytime chat shows at the height of the satanic panic mania.

During the 1980s she hung out in a couple of places I did, but we never met and I don't think I ever bumped into her.

[silver]

Do you know Anton Lavey's younger daughter Zeena Schreck? I enjoy watching back on her appearances on daytime chat shows at the height of the satanic panic mania.

During the 1980s she hung out in a couple of places I did, but we never met and I don't think I ever bumped into her.

I think she became estranged from Anton and later distanced herself from the CoS. The Church of Satan still exists however.

[silver]

I don't have the date or place he died (reportedly by suicide) beyond July 2020, though a bunch of news sources suddenly began reporting on it around January 24 this year. There were earlier reports (pushed by Temple of Set) that he died on September 1, 2013. There seems quite a mystery around it (which, of course, is typical of Michael and those he trained).

It really is bizarre. Almost as if his death is a psyop in itself. He can't have died in September 2013 because he conducted an Ask Me Anything on a popular conspiracy forum in October 2013 which is where I first heard about him.

https://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread976579/pg1

He was also publishing up until 2017 with the third and final volume in his MindWar series.

I originally read he died in early 2020 but then looking at the death certificate it was actually 2019 and then I read that his death was suicide. Something obviously has gone on here.

[silver]

LaVey was an easy target for a splinter. Tony (with whom I had many friends in common) was primarily a performer. In private he'd drop the act and say that, as a carnie, it was the best gig he'd ever had and he loved playing it.

I'm sorry if this is a personal question but how many times did you meet Anton Lavey? Do you think the Church of Satan was just a way of blatant self-promotion at least in the 1960s before he became a recluse? There isn't really anything particularly original about the Church of Satan doctrinal syncretism (not if you studied philosophy anyway) but nonetheless it did have charm like old monochrome ephemera.

[Jim Eshelman]

LaVey was an easy target for a splinter. Tony (with whom I had many friends in common) was primarily a performer. In private he'd drop the act and say that, as a carnie, it was the best gig he'd ever had and he loved playing it.

I'm sorry if this is a personal question but how many times did you meet Anton Lavey?

None. As I wrote above, we had many friends in common (all of whom portrayed him much the same).

Do you think the Church of Satan was just a way of blatant self-promotion at least in the 1960s before he became a recluse?

I think he believed in the basic principles, found a way to paraphrase Aleister Crowley's teachings to create a new gig. After that, I don't think it was so much about self-aggrandizement as about a money-making gig - an entertainment act.

[silver]

You certainly moved in some interesting social circles. Thank you.

[Jim Eshelman]

Some were obvious: People in LA occult shops and the local vampire club scenes. San Francisco people from intersecting circles. But also a Canadian TV make-up artist who readied him many times and eventually led to him being a regular house guest when he'd be in town.

[silver]

PS - Something humorous. I just noticed that Michael was born the same day - October 16, 1946 - as Suzanne Somer, less than six hours apart (she was born at 6:11 PM). She was born in San Mateo instead of San Francisco.

He was born with Jupiter on Midheaven. When it rotated to the next angle (Descendant), she was born.

They were both born the day after Richard Carpenter. (Not the kind of people one expects to be like Michael Aquino, eh?) In that case, though, there was a different Moon sign.

I had to look both these people up. I vaguely remember the Carpenters. When it comes to 1960s music I've always enjoyed the Velvet Underground and as I know you're from the West coast, also Moby Grape!

[silver]

I think he believed in the basic principles, found a way to paraphrase Aleister Crowley's teachings to create a new gig.

Interestingly, I always thought the Church of Satan doctrine was far more indebted to Ayn Rand than Western occultism. Ayn Rand with a dash of Friedrich Nietzsche for good measure.