Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
Satanism Today - An Encyclopedia of Religion, Folklore and Popular ...
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Archon 15<br />
“pylons.” Unlike the Church <strong>of</strong> Satan, which advocated<br />
a “law <strong>of</strong> the jungle” approach to society, the<br />
Temple <strong>of</strong> Set inclines more toward Platonic idealism,<br />
encouraging Setians to aspire to high st<strong>and</strong>ards<br />
<strong>of</strong> personal ethics despite the moral <strong>and</strong><br />
cultural imperfections <strong>of</strong> the society around them.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> its descent from the Church <strong>of</strong><br />
Satan, the Temple <strong>of</strong> Set is <strong>of</strong>ten popularly<br />
portrayed as “Satanic.” Aquino <strong>and</strong> other Setians,<br />
while maintaining a proprietary interest in the<br />
Satanic tradition, continually reemphasize that<br />
they consider “Satan/<strong>Satanism</strong>” as degenerate<br />
mythology only, <strong>of</strong> no relevance to Temple <strong>of</strong> Set<br />
metaphysics or social philosophy.<br />
Continuing his academic studies, Aquino<br />
earned M.A. (1976) <strong>and</strong> Ph.D. (1980) degrees in<br />
Political Science from the University <strong>of</strong> California,<br />
Santa Barbara; <strong>and</strong> the M.P.A. (1987) degree in<br />
Public Administration from George Washington<br />
University. He taught political science at Golden<br />
Gate University, San Francisco, from 1980 to 1986<br />
as an adjunct pr<strong>of</strong>essor.<br />
In 1994 Aquino retired from the army as a lieutenant<br />
colonel, at which time he was awarded the<br />
army’s Meritorious Service Medal. He is married<br />
to the former Lilith Sinclair, whom he met when<br />
she was Priestess <strong>of</strong> the Church <strong>of</strong> Satan’s Grotto<br />
in New York City, <strong>and</strong> who is also one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Temple <strong>of</strong> Set’s senior <strong>of</strong>ficials.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> Aquino’s high visibility as head <strong>of</strong><br />
the Temple <strong>of</strong> Set, he has been a focus for popular<br />
anti-Satanic sentiment, particularly during the<br />
Satanic scare <strong>of</strong> the 1980s. During one such<br />
witch-hunt at the Presidio <strong>of</strong> San Francisco in<br />
1987, he <strong>and</strong> his wife were accused by a Christian<br />
chaplain <strong>of</strong> ritual abuse, but a subsequent investigation<br />
refuted this. Neither <strong>of</strong> the Aquinos has<br />
ever been charged with any crime whatever.<br />
Aquino’s unique background in both the Church<br />
<strong>of</strong> Satan/Temple <strong>of</strong> Set <strong>and</strong> such arcane governmental<br />
fields as Intelligence <strong>and</strong> Psychological<br />
Operations has <strong>of</strong>ten excited the interest <strong>of</strong><br />
conspiracy theorists <strong>and</strong> religious extremists, <strong>and</strong><br />
he remains an object <strong>of</strong> curiosity <strong>and</strong> controversy<br />
in occult circles as well.<br />
See also Church <strong>of</strong> Satan; Temple <strong>of</strong> Set<br />
For Further Reading:<br />
Flowers, Stephen E., Lords <strong>of</strong> the Left H<strong>and</strong> Path.<br />
Smithville, TX: Runa-Raven Press, 1997.<br />
M<strong>and</strong>elbaum, W. Adam, The Psychic Battlefield: A<br />
History <strong>of</strong> the Military-Occult Complex. New<br />
York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.<br />
Melton,J.Gordon,The <strong>Encyclopedia</strong> <strong>of</strong> American<br />
<strong>Religion</strong>. 5th ed. Detroit, MI: Gale Research,<br />
1993.<br />
Archon<br />
Archon, a Greek term meaning “ruler,” is the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> a class <strong>of</strong> entities who played an important role<br />
in Gnostic thought <strong>and</strong> who are roughly comparable<br />
to evil archangels. Gnosticism refers to a<br />
movement <strong>and</strong> school <strong>of</strong> thought that was prominent<br />
in the Hellenistic Mediterranean world that<br />
influenced Paganism, Judaism, <strong>and</strong> Christianity.<br />
Its core teachings were that this world, <strong>and</strong> especially<br />
the human body, were the products <strong>of</strong> an<br />
evil deity—the demiurge—who had trapped<br />
human spirits in the physical world. Our true<br />
home is the absolute spirit, referred to as the<br />
pleroma, to which we should seek to return.<br />
According to the Gnostic myth <strong>of</strong> creation,<br />
Sophia, one <strong>of</strong> the spiritual beings (one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
aeons) residing in the pleroma inadvertently creates<br />
another entity—<strong>of</strong>ten called Yaldabaoth—who<br />
creates our familiar world (e.g., The Apocryphon <strong>of</strong><br />
John 2, in Robinson 1981, 9f.). This creation<br />
involves the emanation <strong>of</strong> the seven levels <strong>of</strong> the<br />
classical cosmos, corresponding to seven planetary<br />
spheres <strong>of</strong> the Ptolemaic astronomical scheme. The<br />
archons are the rulers who govern each <strong>of</strong> these<br />
levels, <strong>and</strong> who act as guardians preventing the<br />
sparks <strong>of</strong> light (i.e., the divine essence <strong>of</strong> individual<br />
human beings) from returning to the pleroma. Part<br />
<strong>of</strong> the knowledge imparted to the Gnostics is information<br />
on how to bypass these archons on their<br />
journey back to the pleroma (e.g., The First<br />
Apocalypse <strong>of</strong> James V, Robinson 1981, 33f.).<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the results <strong>of</strong> conceptualizing the cosmos<br />
as being the creation <strong>of</strong> an evil divinity is that the<br />
angelic beings in the heavenly spheres surrounding<br />
the earth—the archons—are also evil. Familiarity<br />
with Gnosticism allows us to underst<strong>and</strong> certain<br />
otherwise unintelligible passages in the writings <strong>of</strong><br />
certain early Christians, who were clearly influenced<br />
by the Gnostic perspective; for example, the <strong>of</strong>tquoted<br />
passage about spiritual warfare from the