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The high priest of the satanic Temple of Set and self-proclaimed Second Beast of Revelations couldn't come to the telephone the other day because he was changing a flat tire on his Lotus Turbo Esprit.
"I unfortunately can't wave my hand and automatically watch the tire fly," said Lt. Col. Michael A. Aquino later. "I have to call Triple A like everyone else. It does give me a chance to practice my curses, though."
Aquino often jokes about what he calls a misperception of satanists. The articulate Army Reserve officer certainly belies the popular image of black-robed demonic beings muttering dark curses.
He does look the part, however, but insists that his sharply pointed eyebrows and pronounced widow's peak are natural features.
MISCHIEVOUS PERSON
"I'm somewhat of a mischievous character, so I don't mind looking the way I do," he said.
The founder of the San Francisco-based Temple of Set, an offshoot of the Church of Satan founded by Anton LaVey, Aquino maintains that his sect champions intellectual freedom and shuns the violence that has been linked to some self-styled satanists.
But law enforcement officials, while hesitant to...