Temple of Set (Michael Aquino)
Esoteric Left-Hand Path organisation founded by Michael Aquino (1975) splitting from Anton LaVey's Church of Satan. Distinctive Set-veneration theology. Aquino's history including the 1980s Presidio child-care abuse allegations (never charged) drew sustained scrutiny.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — esoteric Left-Hand Path organisation; moderate control with documented Aquino controversies.
Profile facts
In context
The Temple of Set practices a self-deification Left-Hand Path framework distinct from LaVeyan Satanism. Michael Aquino, a US Army intelligence officer, was investigated but never charged in the 1980s Presidio Child Care Center abuse allegations. The organisation continues quietly. Internal control is moderate; ranking and degree-progression structure creates devotional ties.
Key control doctrines
- Set-veneration Left-Hand Path
- Multi-degree initiation hierarchy
- Self-deification framework
Recovery resources
See the full curated list at /resources.
Legal cases & controversies
- 1980s Presidio allegations (Aquino never charged)
Evidence by BITE axis
- Substantial commitment to esoteric practice
- Multi-degree initiation
- Founder's writings authoritative
- Closed-membership organisation
- Left-Hand Path framework
- Critics framed as spiritually inferior
- Devotional ties to lineage
- Mild departure social cost
Timeline
- 1975Aquino splits from Church of Satan; founds Temple of Set
- 1980sPresidio Child Care Center allegations
- 2019Aquino dies
Sources
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
You may also want to explore
Found something wrong on this profile?
We accept correction requests from anyone — current and former members, researchers, journalists, family members, and the listed organisation. Submissions are reviewed by an editor; we do not auto-publish.