File: Bnwts-SA

TEMPLE OF SET
Post Office Box 470307, San Francisco, California 94147
Internet: 2784041@mcimail.com

Michael A. Aquino, Ph.D.
High Priest of Set

June 12, 1994 CE

COMMENTS CONCERNING:
"MY SATANIC ADVENTURE: THE JUICY DETAILS" BY ISAAC BONEWITS

In 1992, updated 1994, Isaac Bonewits published a BBS essay entitled 
"My Satanic Adventure", describing and commenting upon his 
experiences with Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan ca. 1968. The 
1994-update of this essay appends the following paragraph:

"I said back in 1974 that people desperate to smear me would 
inevitably bring up those months with LaVey, for lack of anything 
better to use, and that prophesy has come true several times. The 
printing of 'The Enemies of our Enemies' in _DP_#7 and _Green Egg_, 
however, really brought them out of the woodwork. Michael Aquino, 
the neo-nazi head of the Temple of Set, has been especially active 
in spreading carefully crafted lies (he's a career military 
intelligence officer, after all) about my time with LaVey. His 
professionally written disinformation is precisely targeted to make 
feminists, civil libertarians and Neopagans disgusted with me, 
especially if they are unfamiliar with propaganda techniques. 
Various other Satanic crackpots, some of whom were denouncing me 
fifteen years ago, are joining in with equally ludicrous accusations 
and sophomoric insults."

As I did not join the Church of Satan until 1969, a year after the 
arrival & departure of Bonewits, I had no contact with him at that 
time. Nor did his name ever came up in casual conversation at the 
Central Grotto. The Church was growing and developing very swiftly 
at that time, and conversation inclined towards national expansion & 
organization, refinement of the theology & philosophy of Satanism, 
and the ever-present task of public relations.

I first heard of Bonewits in 1972, when he published his _Real 
Magic_ book and included in it a number of slurs concerning Anton 
LaVey and the early Church of Satan. In answer to my query, Anton 
said that Bonewits had joined the Church in its early days and had 
shortly thereafter been expelled for being boorish and obnoxious. 
Neither the LaVeys nor I had any particular interest in Bonewits, so 
that's where the dialogue ended.

From 1972 to 1975 the Church of Satan paid no attention to Bonewits, 
and from 1975 to 1993 the Temple of Set paid no attention to him. He 
was dismissed as just one more loose cannon in the American occult 
subculture. His name was not mentioned once in the newsletters of 
either the Church nor the Temple in that 21-year period [and still 
has not been since].

Bonewits came to the Temple of Set's attention in 1993, when he 
wrote an article denouncing Satanism for Tim Zell's _Green Egg_ 
neopagan magazine. Since this article contained a great deal of 
factual misinformation, seriously defamed our religion, and omitted 
any mention of Bonewits' own bias deriving from his past Satanic 
involvement and disgrace, I wrote a correction to it (Glinda file: 
"Bnwts-GE"). My response was heavily censored by Zell in the next 
_Green Egg_, whereupon the Temple of Set simply made the complete, 
uncensored text available gratis to anyone who might inquire about 
Bonewits' _Green Egg_ article.

Now in this 1994 "Satanic Adventure" paper, Bonewits accuses me of 
"telling lies" and "spreading disinformation" about him. As I review 
my _GE_-response, I find no comments of mine concerning him that 
weren't supported by documented history, or by logical analysis of 
his own statements. Accordingly, while Bonewits spends a lot of time 
complaining in "SA" about how maliciously I have distorted the truth 
about him, he never actually identifies even a single "lie" that I 
am supposed to have told about him. In any case I am quite content 
for my _GE_-response to be judged on its own merits for objectivity 
and reliability.

As noted above, Bonewits came to & went from the Church of Satan 
before my time, so I cannot personally testify to whether he is or 
is not telling the truth about his experiences in the Church. I will 
simply say that when Anton & Diane LaVey discussed Bonewits with me 
in 1972, I considered them fair and trustworthy; and today I would 
place more credence in their 1972 account than in this latter-day 
version offered by Bonewits himself - as in his _GE_ essay he has 
amply demonstrated his own disregard for the truth.

I will, however, comment on a few specifics:

(1) Bonewits claims that he was appointed a "Satanic Minister". In 
1969 the term "Satanic Minister" was briefly used, to describe an 
official function in the Church lesser than that of the formal 
Satanic Priesthood, but I have never seen any evidence that Bonewits 
was appointed such a Minister - nor do I recall his claiming it in 
_Real Magic_. As all such positions were formalized via a signed 
certificate from Anton LaVey as High Priest, I discount Bonewits' 
claim unless he produces such a certificate. [The title of "Satanic 
Minister" was discontinued in 1970 to be replaced by the non-
Priesthood Regional Agent system in the Church's national 
organization.]

(2) Bonewits says that LaVey was angry with him for ad-libbing some 
pseudo-Enochian during a ritual, and that this somehow proves that 
Anton really didn't know anything about Enochian ceremonial magic. 
Bonewits' logic here escapes me, because it would seem perfectly 
reasonable to me for Anton to disapprove of Bonewits' corruption or 
lampoon of a seriously-regarded ceremony. As for Anton's own 
Enochian background in 1968, it came from his complete set of the 
original edition of Crowley's _Equinox_, as well as Regardie's 
_Golden Dawn_. This is by no means as complete and accurate an 
exposure as would subsequently become possible via the major 1970s' 
and 80s' publications on Dee and Enochiana, but it was substantial 
for the mid-60s. Anton had the highest regard and respect for the 
Enochian Keys, and his "Satanic" version of them in the _Satanic 
Bible_ - which so irked traditional occultists such as Regardie - 
conveyed a special power and terror of its own unapproached by the 
Judaeo/Christian versions in the _Equinox_ and _Golden Dawn_ [which 
would later be revealed as substantially modified from Dee's 
original papers].

(3) Bonewits next alleges that he was asked to "play various silly 
parts" in "faked-up rituals" for documentary films, such as one in 
which he climbed into a coffin with a naked woman, stabbed a voodoo 
doll with a knife, and asked Anton for blessings.

-- (a) In the "Ceremony of the Stifling Air", a Masonic-theme ritual 
contained in Anton's _The Satanic Rituals_, a participant in the 
role of the Pope responsible for the persecution of the Knights 
Templar enters a coffin with a naked woman, with whom he has sex 
after being whipped on his own naked buttocks by another woman. [The 
title of the ritual refers to the atmosphere of the coffin after the 
lid is lowered on the two inhabitants.] While there is a "CSA" 
sequence in the 1968 documentary film _Satanis: The Devil's Mass_, 
the Pope is clearly not Bonewits. If Bonewits did assume the role of 
the Pope in other "CSA" rituals, however, the _Satanis_ sequence at 
least illustrates his sequence of actions. Bonewits does appear in 
_Satanis_ - in a ritual wherein he asks Anton to increase the size 
and power of his penis. [In this 1994 "Satanic Adventure" essay 
Bonewits accuses Anton of not knowing how to actually do magic. I 
suppose that means the spell didn't work after all. Tough luck.]

-- (b) Attacking a voodoo doll with a knife, pins, etc. is a fairly 
ordinary type of curse ritual, used at that time in the Church of 
Satan as well in many other branches of occultism. The important 
point here is that such rituals were taken seriously in the Church, 
and no one was ever asked to perform one insincerely. Accordingly I 
expect that Bonewits stabbed the doll with a knife wishing similar 
harm to an actual person, and it would be instructive to know who 
that person was, what if anything subsequently happened to him/her, 
and what he/she did to "justify" such a knife attack by Bonewits.

-- (c) As noted above, Bonewits did indeed ask Anton for a blessing 
during a ritual sequence in _Satanis_. If he "can't remember the 
dialogue" in the film, here is a transcript:

* * * * *

ANTON LaVEY: "And what is your desire?"

ISAAC BONEWITS: "I desire the Prince of Darkness to bestow upon a 
certain section of my anatomy a tribute that will enable it to 
perform its duties better to my satisfaction and its own. I desire 
the power of Satan and the searing lust of Lucifer, the erectness of 
Belial, the glistening moistness of Leviathan, that these demons 
should grant to me the ability to satisfy myself and as many of 
those as I choose to do so."

ANTON LaVEY: "So it has been stated, and so this virile member shall 
prosper and shall ride forth as the Beast of Abominations, and shall 
come forth as the Behemoth and shall enjoy itself and all the carnal 
pleasures of the flesh and its minions. So you shall reap the 
rewards of desire, and all your lustful thoughts will bear 
fruition."

* * * * *

Bonewits speaks of "several documentaries", but as far as I know 
there was only the one (_Satanis_). Bonewits excuses his 
participation by saying that he was only 17 at the time [Anton says 
he was 19]. Either age was sufficient for a young man to know how to 
behave responsibly and decently - if Bonewits is now insisting that 
he did not.

In the earliest days of the Church of Satan, Anton and some of his 
student witches posed for a variety of ceremonial-setting photos in 
which they [but never he] were naked. No sexual activity was shown, 
and it would be quite clear to anyone without a sex-obsessed mind 
that the photos were merely dramatic and prankish. If Bonewits found 
such filming all so frightfully "pornographic", one wonders why he 
thrust himself so energetically into it, so to speak, at the time.

Bonewits next asserts that Anton had "read only a tiny fraction of 
his huge library of occult books". This is simply absurd, as anyone 
who has known Anton at all personally can attest. Although not 
college-degreed, he was impressively self-educated - and well-
familiar with his library - which was noteworthy for *not* being 
exclusively or even predominantly "occult", but contained a wide 
range of texts in such fields as sociology, philosophy, history, 
entertainment, and psychology. A good sampling of the books on the 
shelves of his "Purple Room" is given in the bibliography to his 
_The Compleat Witch_ (later republished as _The Satanic Witch_).

Next Bonewits asserts the misgivings he felt about the ominous 
presence of neo-Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen in the 1968 Church of 
Satan. If so, they must all have departed within the next year, 
because when I joined in 1969 I never saw a single jackboot or white 
sheet. Yes, Satanists held some strong and radical personal opinions 
on social issues - but these were from *all* points of the political 
spectrum. Anton's own contempt for neo-Nazism is a matter of 
historic record per his [later published] 1970s letters to me on the 
subject, and he counted among his friends people of all races and 
colors. As his true name (Howard Levey) indicates, of course, he 
himself came from a Jewish family.

At least by 1969 there was no "orgy room" at LaVey's California 
Street home. There was a recreation room downstairs well-known as 
the "Den of Iniquity", but its only furniture were consisted of a 
bar, tables, and chairs. There was no bed or mattress. Adjoining it 
was the "Council Chamber", a solemn black ritual chamber in which 
the Council of Nine met. It indeed contained a stylized coffin 
serving as a council-table, surrounded by 10 chairs (one for LaVey 
as High Priest). A chair was also provided for anyone being 
interviewed. As a member of the Council in 1970, I - wearing black 
robes & ominous hood - participated in meetings and interviews of 
prospective members. From the 4/13/70 issue of _Newsweek_ magazine:

"San Francisco's Church of Satan has a reputation for orgy and mad 
perversity in the middle-class neighborhood where it is located. It 
shows interested outsiders a film called _Satanis_ which purportedly 
reflects the Church's rituals - black-robed men and women conducting 
a Black Mass (a mocking inversion of the Christian Mass) with a nude 
woman for an altar. Members proclaim their hate and lust, and leader 
Anton LaVey blesses them: 'May all your lustful thoughts reach 
fruition. Hail, Satan!' A trouserless man is flagellated on a coffin 
lid; then the coffin opens to reveal a nude girl, the man descends 
into the coffin, and it is closed - or almost closed, for it is now 
a bit crowded.

"So things go in the film. But a few weeks ago _Newsweek_'s Nick 
Kazan was screened for membership in the Church of Satan by seven 
black-hooded members in a candlelit basement decorated with human 
skulls. He found the whole ritual 'not only unfrightening but 
comically reminiscent of fraternity initiations'. Then he attended 
the mass itself. The service, he reported, 'contained very little of 
the film's drama or nudity and in fact was a highly stylized, arcane 
bore'. The flagellant in this mass not only wore trousers but had 
placed a copy of Playboy inside them for padding.'"

[A grumpy Anton LaVey wrote to _Newsweek_: "If one cannot see the 
sardonic element implied by the placing of the _Playboy_ magazine 
inside the seat of the flagellant's trousers, then I suppose the 
viewer would consider just about anything an 'arcane bore' short of 
a Doris Day or John Wayne movie."]

So it would have been a delicate individual indeed to "faint" from a 
Council interview, as Bonewits insists that he convincingly feigned. 
As for the Nine "hauling him upstairs" to "revive", there were no 
stairs. The basement was accessible from the main floor only by two 
concealed trapdoors - one behind the mummy-case in the main ritual 
chamber, the other in the Purple Room's fireplace. [Yes, quite a 
house!] One's credibility is strained by the picture of the Council 
of Nine floundering to haul a possum-playing Isaac Bonewits straight 
up a narrow ladder through the overhead trapdoor.

Well, Bonewits does conclude the account of his Satanic days, both 
within and without the Church of Satan, by admitting that he was 
"foolish". However this is justified by his being only 17, he 
insists, and is to be equated to the similar foolishness of other 
famous pagans and witches as teenagers. "For that matter, what were 
LaVey, Aquino, and Thorsson doing during their teenaged years? This 
could be an entertaining research project."

O.K., Isaac, since you asked, I'll be happy to tell you what I was 
doing ages 17-21:

* Honor Graduate, Santa Barbara High School 1964.
* Gold Sealbearer/Life Membership Award, California Scholarship 
Federation 1964.
* SBHS delegate, American Legion California Boys State 1964.
* Community Service Awards, Santa Barbara Lions & Exchange Clubs 
1964.
* National Councillor, Eagle Scout Honor Society, Boy Scouts of 
America 1964-65.
* National Commander, Eagle Scout Honor Society, BSA 1965-66.
* Distinguished Service Award, Eagle Scout Honor Society, BSA 1967.
* Vigil Honor Award, Order of the Arrow, BSA 1967.
* Lt.Colonel, National Society of Pershing Rifles (College ROTC 
fraternity) 1966-68.
* Department of the Army scholarship, University of California 1966-
68.
* Lifetime Membership Award, National Society of Scabbard & Blade 
(college ROTC fraternity) 1966-68.
* Chapter Charter President, Regional Conference Chairman, 
Distinguished Service Key recipient, Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, 
1965-68.
* National Sojourners Scholarship Award, University of California 
1968.
* Distinguished Service Award, Department of California, Reserve 
Officers Association of the United States 1968.
* Distinguished Military Graduate, Department of the Army, 
University of California 1968.
* B.A. Political Science, University of California, Santa Barbara 
1968.
* Psychological Operations Extension Course, John F. Kennedy Special 
Warfare Center, U.S. Army 1968.
* Additional memberships in the World Future Society, L5 Society, 
Commonwealth Club of California, World Affairs Council of Northern 
California, Cousteau Society, American Military Institute, American 
Political Science Association, and the Smithsonian Institute.

At age 21 I graduated from the University of California, was 
simultaneously commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Army, 
and was assigned first to the 82nd Airborne Division and then to the 
JFK Special Warfare Center for Special Forces and Psychological 
Operations training before a tour in Vietnam. So much for that.

Bonewits closes his "Satanic Adventure" paper with a passionate 
proclamation that he is really/truly a serious occult scholar who 
has been tragically maligned, that all Satanists are indeed Orcs, 
and that any neopagan who tolerates, much less cooperates with such 
heinous creatures is betraying Gondor to Mordor. Ringwraiths such as 
Michael Aquino are especially to be feared and avoided. "As I have 
said before, the enemies of our enemies are our enemies' enemies," 
concludes Isaac thunderously - to which I can only respond, "Huh?"

In a postscript [shortly after righteously denouncing Jimmy Swaggart 
and Oral Roberts] Bonewits asks you to send him some money if you 
liked his essay and want him to write more like it. Well, that's 
your business - but please don't send me any money in the hopes that 
I'll write more essays like this one, because I would really rather 
not. I find Isaac Bonewits tiresome.
