The Long, Strange Trip of Michael Aquino
How a heterodox intellect remade Satanism — and caught hell for it
The search — if it’s real — is not a blanket of bromides or group-sanctioned routine. Its practitioners rarely appear in familiar lanes.
In 1969, an authentically seeking and heterodox U.S. Army officer — and specialist in psychological operations or PSYOP — entered the orbit of Church of Satan (CoS) founder Anton LaVey. This was Michael Aquino, whose efforts opened a new chapter in Satanic and Left-Hand spirituality.
Aquino first briefly encountered LaVey in 1968 at the San Francisco premiere of Rosemary’s Baby, the social connector for so much in the modern Satanism LaVey defined. A recent graduate of UC Santa Barbara and commissioned officer, Aquino spent part of 1968 to 1969 at Fort Bragg with the 82nd Airborne Division and later as a PSYOP/Special Forces officer at the base’s JFK Special Warfare Center. [1] In early 1969, the second lieutenant found himself questioning life’s purpose. A study of existential philosophy had only deepened his despair and he was contemplating suicide. [2]
While on leave in March in San Francisco — where he was soon to be married — Aquino spotted an ad in the underground newspaper Berkeley Barb for a Satanic circle at Anton’s Black House. Although the…
