Image: mitchhorowitz.substack.com
The Story
Michael Aquino wrote Army papers on psychological operations and built the Temple of Set, but the records do not merge those roles into one program.
The record places Aquino in two distinct domains. In the Army, he was a PSYOP specialist who produced conceptual papers on influence, victory, and ethics. In religious life, he became a major figure in modern Satanism and founded the Temple of Set. The FOIA release documents public and administrative attention to him, not proof that his religious work directed Army operations.
- Aquino’s Army contribution was conceptual and analytical: he drafted MindWar as a future-oriented PSYOP discussion paper and later addressed PSYOP ethics.
- His ritual studies were expressed through Setian theology, magical practice, and writings on self-transformation after he founded the Temple of Set.
- The FOIA collection primarily consists of correspondence, news summaries, articles, and public opinion pieces, so its existence alone does not establish operational links between Aquino’s religious work and Army activity.
Deeper Insight
An Army psyops officer wrote MindWar on bending an enemy's will and founded a temple on remaking the self. Influence was his craft.
Lt. Col. Michael Aquino studied psychological operations for the U.S. Army and wrote MindWar, a paper on shifting PSYOP toward an adversary's will. He also rose in the Church of Satan and founded the Temple of Set, whose writings teach magic as a way to shape the psyche and the world. A FOIA release lists 86 files on him. The withheld ones are where the curiosity lives.
- What it could changeFull release of the withheld files would show how far his ideas on influence traveled inside the Army.
- How it touches todayMindWar circulated among government offices and commands interested in psychological operations.
- Our futureThe line between persuasion and ritual may matter more as influence tools get stronger.
- MindWar proposed shifting PSYOP toward influencing an adversary’s will and was circulated among government offices, agencies, commands, and publications interested in PSYOP.
- Aquino’s Setian writings described magical practices and theories of reality as means of developing the individual psyche and influencing the world.
- The evidence supports a striking parallel between his professional study of influence and his religious study of transformation, but it does not document that Setian ritual became an Army method.
Sources · 8
Featured · Analysis · files.catbox.moe
From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory
## From PSYOP to MindWar: The Psychology of Victory - by - Colonel Paul E. Valley Commander - with - Major Michael A. Aquino PSYOP Research & Analysis Team Leader Headquarters, 7th Psychological Operations Group United States Army Reserve Presidio of San Francisco, California 1980 Introduction - by
Read sourceAnalysis · ia801805.us.archive.org
ia801805.us.archive.org
Industrial College of the Armed Forces National Defense University Fort McNair Washington, D.C. Psychological Operations: The Ethical Dimension - by -Lt. Colonel Michael A. Aquino, USAR Class of 1987 | Post Office Box 470307 | | | --- | --- | | San Francisco, CA 94147 | | | www.xeper.org/maquino | |
Read sourceAnalysis · theofficialurban.substack.com
Michael Aquino: MindWar, PsyOps & Setian Satanism (Part I)
Michael Aquino: MindWar, PsyOps & Setian Satanism (Part I) ### A Deep Dive on the works of Michael Aquino, former high-ranking member of the US Military & founder of the Satanic Temple of Set and p3dophile, Pt. 1 focusing on works authored by Michael Aquino Urban (theofficialurban) Jun 04, 2025 Thes
Read source