Dark Lily Letter to Sorcerers’ Apprentice Re: Temple of Set

The following letter/article by Dark Lily editor Magda Graham was sent to us by Sorcerers Apprentice Fighting Fund [renamed Sub Alternatives Freedom Fighting Fund] 6/8 Burley Lodge Rd. Leeds LS6 1QP Yorks. England. It confirms all of our contentions re. Austen. The underlined emphasis is by this editor. The item is dated received 11 Aug [19]’90.

When the Temple of Set first made its presence known this side of the Atlantic, I contacted them and offered them a free advertisement in Dark Lily. At that time, neither I nor anyone else in the British Occult scene knew that the Church of Satan was still in existence. In fact, the Temple of Set claimed to be the successor to the Church of Satan and the only Satanic organisation in the USA.

During correspondence with Michael Aquino, the High Priest of the Temple of Set, I conveyed a warning that the person whom he had appointed as his British representative, David Austen, was held in very low regard by Occultists. Unfortunately Aquino disregarded this warning. Perhaps he had no choice. I have noticed, over the time that the Temple of Set had been operating in this country, that the few high-calibre individuals who joined did not stay with them for long. In a way, this makes it even more of a pity that the Temple of Set has now put itself beyond the pale; it could have been so useful in catering for the under-achievers who would like to be Satanists but who cannot make it in real Satanism.

I terminated the correspondence with Aquino because I did not have the time to continue this unproductive and pointless chat. It had become obvious that he is not possessed of any great Occult wisdom.

Through the new magazine The Black Flame, I made contact with the Church of Satan and was informed that the Temple of Set’s allegations were false. Naturally the Church of Satan was offered the space in Dark Lily to refute these allegations. This item appeared in the current issue, #11.

As soon as the article appeared, Austen contacted me, stating that he had discovered my private address. If Aquino had simply asked for the right of reply, this would probably have been granted. But the civilised method did not occur to him.

So the position was that, if I refused to allow the Temple of Set space in the next Dark Lily, my address would be given to the gutter-press. This would make things particularly difficult for me because I live alone and am disabled. If the fundamentalists petrol-bombed me as they did the Sorcerers’ Apprentice, I could not move quickly enough to get out in time. Nevertheless, I could not compromise DL’s editorial integrity by submitting to this threat. There was a further consideration; even if I was prepared to accept Aquino’s word that he would keep his side of the “bargain”, it would give him a permanent hold over me and the magazine.

I made it clear that I was not going to submit to blackmail, and speed up my arrangements (which were already in hand) to move house.

The attempt by the Temple of Set to manipulate the gutter-press against DL backfired on them (did that surprise anyone?).

p12, ‘The Heretic’ Issue No 4 (April/May/June 1993e.v.), Wellington, New Zealand.