ASTRO FORECAST: JULY 30th—AUGUST 9th, 2026

Antinous is a Moon God. He is, of course, many other things and he wears many hats. But one of the ways he was worshiped in Antiquity was as ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD.

His worshipers looked skyward and saw His beautiful face perpetually turned towards the Earth. The Man in the Moon was actually the Blessed Boy in the Moon for the ancient priests and worshipers of Antinous. Swiftest and most youthful of all the Zodiacal deities, Antinous speeds through an entire year's worth of Astrological signs in just 28 days.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our deepest personal needs, our basic habits and reactions, and our unconscious gay selves. Where Hadrian the Sun acts, Antinous the Moon REACTS. How do we instinctively react or respond to problems? What do we feel we need for a sense of security? Look to ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD for answers.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is both our inner boy child and our inner lover. His ever changing phases, as he sweeps past all the other Planets in all the Signs, make us at turns responsive, receptive, and reflective. Eternally youthful, ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our childlike spontaneous and instinctual reactions.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD beams down on us to make us imaginative, creative, intuitive, sentimental, adaptable, introspective, and protective. On the negative side, and depending on where he is in the Zodiac, he can make us moody, restless, and irrational.

Antinous Astrology Forecast

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JULY 30th
to AUGUST 9th, 2026

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THURS-FRIDAY, JULY 30th-31st, 2026

This week, an incredibly rare "Cosmic Cradle" configuration occurs which we have never seen before in our lifetimes, ushering in what many astrologers are predicting will be a new age of enlightenment and political and economic reform. In Antinous Moon Magic, we call this the ANTINOUS BOUQUET BASKET of Cosmic Bright Blessings. Four planets will lock into a geometric pattern that a French astrologer named André Barbault predicted would mark a major change in civilization in the year 2026. Barbault was a renowned 20th Century French Astrologer who predicted significant world events including Fall of the Berlin Wall and the 2020 Pandemic. This "Cosmic Cradle" configuration, also called "Barbault's Basket," involves these four outer planets: Jupiter in Leo, Uranus in Gemini, Neptune in Aries, and Pluto in Aquarius. Each will occupy ten degrees of their respective signs. In other words, even though these planets will be in different parts of the zodiac, they will all occupy ten degrees of their individual signs. This creates a beautiful web of supportive aspects. This pattern includes a dynamic direct opposition between Jupiter and Pluto, and three synergistic sextiles between Jupiter and Uranus, Uranus and Neptune, and Neptune and Pluto. We also see two harmonious talent trines. Also known as a wedge pattern, a talent trine is a "minor grand trine" formed by one trine (a 120-degree aspect) and two sextiles (60-degree aspects). One talent trine is formed between Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune, and the other between Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Talent trines are minor trines which symbolize untapped potential, brilliance, synchronicity, and serendipity. In Western astrology, this intricate pattern is known as a Cradle pattern, which is also a semi-hexagon or half-hexagon. In sacred geometry, a semi-hexagon is considered to be a unifying form that bridges dualities. It represents the holy trinity of creation, balance, and manifestation. The Cradle is widely regarded in astrology as a highly inventive and constructive configuration ... a wellspring that may herald the birth of something unusual, innovative and grand in scale.

SAT-SUNDAY, AUGUST 1st-2nd, 2026

This weekend, the Sun aligns with Jupiter in stalwart Leo to enhance your radiant self-confidence. This is your lucky day for a new start. Remember the birth of Dionysus! In Classical Mythology Zeus/Jupiter often visited mortals in disguise, for his radiance was too dazzling for mortals to behold ... rather like the Sun in conjunction with Jupiter. In the story of the birth of Dionysus, we see that Semele Princess of Thebes had been made pregnant by Jupiter in disguise. Semele later became curious about his true appearance. So, Semele decided to ask Zeus to grant her a wish, and he took an oath on the river Styx that he would give her anything. She asked that he appear to her in all his glory. Jupiter was forced to comply. However, mortals could not look upon Jupiter without bursting into flames, which is what happened to Semele. Jupiter managed to save the unborn baby by sewing it inside his thigh. A few months later, god Dionysus was born, who managed to save his mother from the Underworld and brought her to Mount Olympus, where she became the goddess Thyone. Antinous traditionally has been identified with Dionysus "Twice Born" of mortal woman and divine radiance. Antinous/Dionysus reminds you that you are HOMOTHEOSIS ... Gay Man Godliness Becoming the Same in Divine Radiance.

MON-TUESDAY, AUGUST 3rd-4th, 2026

This week, Chiron the healer begins its five-month retrograde period. This is a good time for health checkups and medical treatment ... also, you can expect a positive and expansive outlook, which can benefit your well-being at this time. You may be more open-minded with regard to experiencing new things, which will allow healing of your mind, body, and spirit. For instance, you could seek higher understanding and meaning in your life through a guide, mentor, or spiritual person or increase your inner knowledge by means of educational processes, religion, or meditative practices during this period. An urge to travel to far-away places (real or imaginary) may also be experienced. You may discover new perspectives on your beliefs, faith, and sense of hope. Restoring peace and harmony in your personal life and relationships is possible now through your interest in healing your own wounds, as well as extending compassion and generosity to others.

WED-THURSDAY, AUGUST 5th-6th, 2026

This week, we come to the Taurus Third Quarter Moon — the LUCIUS MOON OF BROTHERS — when we honor Lucius Aelius, who was like a brother to Antinous in the imperial court of Hadrian.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7th, 2026

This week, Venus leaves guilt-tripping Virgo and enters lovely laid-back Libra for a month. As this new cycle takes hold in your life, romance and social interaction take on a greater importance for you. Harmonious ties to others are what you yearn for; refinement and elegance are what you seek. The ideal partnership, the perfect balance, the highest standards of truth and beauty — these are some of the things that quicken your pulse now.

SAT-SUNDAY, AUGUST 8th-9th, 2026

This weekend, Mercury leaves sulky Cancer and struts into lively Leo so that communications become bold, fiery and focused more on drama than on picky details.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between August 10th and 16th, 2026, when we come to the Leo New Moon. That is the lunar phase we call the SACERDOTE MOON which spiritually kick-starts your life ... Take time to reflect on becoming who you were born to be ... Rather than focusing on a specific task, go to the center of your heart and meditate on the core strength of your soul ... Perhaps you are here to bring beauty, whether through art, justice, or fashion ... Perhaps you are here to help heal the offering of the world, whether through your writing, activism, or as a physician ... Or maybe you are here to bring insight and truth where there is confusion and ignorance ... More details next time ....

WE REMEMBER WHAT UNITES US ALL ON INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP DAY

AS our liturgical year draws to a close at the end of July each year, we pause to join hands and remember the bond that unites all of us around the world ... on July 30th ... International Friendship Day.

We the priests of Antinous receive messages every day from worshipers who feel alone and isolated ... stuck in far-flung places ... stuck in jobs they hate ... or stuck in joblessness ... stuck in loveless relationships with hateful family ... stuck in poverty ... not just poverty in terms of money, but poverty in terms of friendship and emotional support.

In earlier days physical isolation meant isolation of the heart. But with the growth of social media, we are learning that geographical distances are no barrier to emotional support and loving friendship.

So on this day it is good to remember that we are never truly alone.

Cynics say that friendships happen by chance, that you happen to stumble upon a person in a coincidental circumstance and that you both open your hearts to each other and then become friends ... all by chance.

But we prefer to believe that friends are in each other all along ... always have been in each other ... always will be in each other.

And we remember that Hadrian loved Antinous so much that, when Antinous died tragically, the Emperor proclaimed him a God ... the last and ultimate Classical deity.

Hadrian could have chosen to grieve alone and to hold the memory of his beloved Antinous in his heart. But instead, Hadrian chose to share Antinous with all of us. 

Hadrian's heart was broken, but he chose to open his heart and to share Antinous with all of us ... for the Emperor knew that one day each of our hearts was waiting to be filled with the friendship that Hadrian's heart had known ... and which he shares freely and lovingly with us.

THE AQUARIUS FULL MOON THE DONUM MOON OF ANTINOUS

TONIGHT'S Aquarius Full Moon is the summertime moon of generous gifts which we associate with Antinous in his guise as Vertumnus, the shape-shifting God of summertime bounty and generous gifts.

This is the full moon of letting go, breaking out of restrictions, busting out of prisons, liberating yourself from the chains which restrain you.

It represents a boon (material or otherwise) which comes your way through generosity. It is an unexpected gift from someone else.

Or it is a gift you give to yourself. The Aquarius Full Moon is about philanthropic generosity

 In ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC we call this the DONUM MOON when magical rituals are performed for fortuitous gifts. 

Antinous/Vertumnus is the divine aspect of Antinous representing his gift-giving ability. He holds a symbolic gift of fresh-ripened fruit and summertime blossoms which he is eager to give to you without reservation.

It is yours. No questions asked. Take it.

Vertumnus also symbolizes his ability to morph and change bad luck into good luck. The Ancient Etruscans believed Vertumnus was a shape-shifter who could change his form at will. He brought gifts and bounty to those who had the "eyes" to perceive him in his many guises.

The Romans adopted Vertumnus and he became associated with the changing bounty of summertime, when fruit and vegetables materialized out of the ground and ripened and were ready for harvest ... the bountiful gifts of nature.

According to Ovid's Metamorphoses, Vertumnus was enthralled with Pomona, the goddess of orchard fruits, and desired to be one with her. But she spurned him.

He assumed many guises ... a fisherman, a soldier, a peasant, a reaper, etc. ... but she turned him away every time. Finally, he assumed the form of an old woman and was so aged and unattractive that Pomona let down her guard.

Thus, Vertumnus engaged her in conversation and they became inseparable ... which was what Vertumnus had wanted all along.

Ovid says that the moral of the tale of Vertumnus and Pomona is that you should never judge a gift by its outward appearances. Never reject the hand of friendship.

The Aquarius Full Moon is about philanthropic generosity. The Ancient Romans celebrated the feast day of Vertumnus ... the Vertumnalia ... during the cycle of the Aquarius Full Moon in early times (and on August 13th in later times) by giving each other baskets of fruit, flowers and other symbols of nature's bounty. The Aquarius Full Moon is associated with Antinous/Vertumnus in Antinous Moon Magic rituals.

Go outside tonight and look up at the full moon, with shooting stars cascading from all sides. This is the FULL MOON to wake up and break free of all mental, spiritual, political and ideological strictures. It is the gift of an opportunity.

The PERSEID METEORS (which reach their peak at this time of year) are symbolically aimed at you.

Antinous is aiming his gifts of new opportunity directly your way. All you have to do is reach out and grasp it ... and it's yours.

DIAMONDS FOR THE DONUM MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR astrology adviser Hernestus has advised me that today is the Aquarius Full Moon which is the Donum Moon of Amtinous Vertumnus. 

Hernestus further advised me that crystals for any meditation today should have attributes which focus on the Aquarian ability to appreciate the bounty of life. 

It is about giving and being open to receiving gifts. 

With this in mind I would recommend that you meditate using the following crystals:

Cinnabar - this unusual red crystal (below right) can be quite expensive but it is worth considerings because of its appropriate attributes for today's focus on abundance. Cinnabar is known to attract abundance. This may be particularly via trade but it will only focus on trade which is positive and undertaken with no ill intent or aggression.

Diamond - you knew I was going to say that didn't you?! Hopefully you have one or know someone who has one. 

Maybe you have given one as a gift or may receive one as a gift. 

Whatever the circumstances they help you to manifest - attract - abundance into your life. This abundance will most often be in love, relationships or wealth. 

People have not given diamonds for millennia for no reason.  The givers were usually wealthy, the receivers usually delighted and loving in return. 

Hadrian gave Antinous a spear head made from diamond. Antinous both treasured it and used it to save the man he loved by killing a charging lion with that same spear head.

Carnelian - these lovely orange or light reddish brown stones are my favourite crystals I carry one with me always. They bring joy and vitality, energy but also ground you in the current reality. 

I have them in many forms and have just commissioned a new silver ring set with a Carnelian - the ring is the eternal snake of life forever eating its own tail. 

Anyway, Carnelian also invites abundance into your home (especially if you have a Carnelian near your front door). 

Since I have loved and cherished my Carnelians I have paid off the loan for my house, bought a much bigger 'new ' house (its Victorian) and have abundance of love, happiness and joy in my life."

Love and Light from my screen

MARTIN

To get more advice from Martin Campbell and to find out how to contact him CLICK HERE.

WORLD'S OLDEST TEMPLE ALIGNED WITH THE DOG STAR

THESE are the "Dog Days" when the Dog Star Sirius rises above the horizon ... and now an expert has determined that the world's oldest temple, Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, may have been built to worship Sirius.

The 11,000-year-old site consists of a series of at least 20 circular enclosures, although only a few have been uncovered since excavations began in the mid-1990s.

Each one is surrounded by a ring of huge, T-shaped stone pillars, some of which are decorated with carvings of fierce animals. Two more megaliths stand parallel to each other at the centre of each ring.

Giulio Magli, an archaeo-astronomer at the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy, looked to the night sky for clues. After all, the arrangement of the pillars at Stonehenge in the UK suggests it could have been built as an astronomical observatory, maybe even to worship the moon.

Magli simulated what the sky would have looked like from Turkey when Göbekli Tepe was built. Over millennia, the positions of the stars change due to Earth wobbling as it spins on its axis. Stars that are near the horizon will rise and set at different points, and they can even disappear completely, only to reappear thousands of years later.

Today, Sirius can be seen almost worldwide as the brightest star in the sky – excluding the sun – and the fourth brightest night-sky object after the moon, Venus and Jupiter. Sirius is so noticeable that its rising and setting was used as the basis for the ancient Egyptian calendar, says Magli.

At the latitude of Göbekli Tepe, Sirius would have been below the horizon until around 9300 BC, when it would have suddenly popped into view.

"I propose that the temple was built to follow the 'birth' of this star," says Magli. "You can imagine that the appearance of a new object in the sky could even have triggered a new religion."

Magli used existing maps of Göbekli Tepe and satellite images of the region.

Magli drew an imaginary line running between and parallel to the two megaliths inside each enclosure. Three of the excavated rings seem to be aligned with the points on the horizon where Sirius would have risen in 9100 BC, 8750 BC and 8300 BC, respectively (arxiv.org/abs/1307.8397).

The results are preliminary, Magli stresses. More accurate calculations will need a full survey using instruments such as a theodolite, a device for measuring horizontal and vertical angles.

Also, the sequence in which the structures were built is unclear, so it is hard to say if rings were built to follow Sirius as it rose at different points along the horizon.

CENTAUR MOSAIC AT HADRIAN's VILLA OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO EMPEROR's MIND

ON International Tiger Day, July 29th, we remember that the famous Centaur Mosaic from the grand dining pavilion of Hadrian's Villa at Tibur has intrigued art historians for decades. The mosaic is on view at the Altes Museum in Berlin, along with stunning sculptures of Hadrian and Antinous. But few people have had the opportunity to view it up close with commentary by eminent art historians ... until now!

This video (below), with a running narration by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris, provides brilliant insights not only into the Roman interpretation of Greek art, but also into the subtle differences in the way that the Romans and the Greeks perceived their place in the cosmos.

One important point which Drs. Zucker and Harris do not make, however, is that Hadrian was called "The Lion Slayer" because the Emperor and Antinous killed a man-eating lion in Egypt in the summer of the year 130 AD — only weeks before the tragic death of Antinous. 

Another detail is that the centaur downed by the tiger is a female, presumably the mate of the centaur holding the boulder. It is unclear whether the downed mate is dead or only stunned and is about to be rescued — just as Hadrian rescued Antinous from the Egyptian lion in real life.

So Hadrian's dinner guests could look at the mosaic and interpret the bearded centaur as being a mythic aspect of the emperor himself — protecting the Empire from the beastly forces of chaos. Hadrian could also be equated with Chiron, with Antinous perhaps his tutor.

In Greek mythology, Chiron was one of the Titans, the greatest of the Centaurs. Chiron was the tutor to a great many gods and demigods, including Prometheus, Theseus, Achilles and Hercules, to name but a few.

Astrologically, Chiron represents a person's healing energies and, indeed, the word for "surgery" in many European languages (chirurgie in French and German, cirugya in Spanish, chirugia in Italian and Portuguese) comes directly from the Ancient Greek words for "Chiron Hands" — a healer with the skilled hands of the Titan Chiron.

Astrologically, the asteroid Chiron currently is in a highly fortuitous aspect to Pluto — an aspect of cosmic healing which will last on and off through September. Hadrian, who was obsessed with astrology himself, could hardly have looked at this mosaic without pondering cosmic implications.

Zucker and Harris, founders of Smarthistory, aptly point out that this mosaic ... only a tiny fraction of the dining pavilion's mosaic ... must have been a profound source of dinner conversation.

HOW DID ANTINOUS DIE? READ THIS BOOK TO FIND OUT

HERE's a riveting book you must be sure to read … the mystery of the death of Antinous.  George Gardiner's THE HADRIAN ENIGMA: A FORBIDDEN HISTORY masterfully recreates that fateful tour up the Nile and the tragic death which changed the course of history. Gardiner's novel is written in the form of a whodunnit with possibly the most original investigator imaginable ... the Roman historian Suetonius, who is traveling with the entourage.  Author of such juicy tomes as "De vita Caesarum" (commonly known as "The Twelve Caesars") and "Lives of Famous Whores" and other tell-all books, Suetonius has the investigative skill and the jaundiced eye to peer behind the veil of Roman dignity to see the sordidness underneath. Suetonius and two other Patricians, with Strabo as their forensic stenographer, uncover a tale of sex, intrigue and treason which sends such powerful shock waves through the Imperial coterie that Hadrian is compelled to order a cover-up ... hence, the subtitle "A Forbidden History".  Thus, the official line is Hadrian's pronouncement that "he fell into the Nile" while only Suetonius's secret manuscript reveals the true story ... a manuscript "found" by Gardiner. The reader sees the case through Suetonius's eyes as he investigates the death, looking for clues. Gardiner superbly describes the elaborate Imperial compound along the banks of the Nile ... basically a tent city on a fabulously grand scale, a palace made of fabrics with the entire Imperial court transferred from Rome to this remote stretch of the Nile. Antinous had shared his quarters with a couple of other "ephebes", though he had a private sleeping area ... where only Hadrian had ever been. Suetonius and his Patrician assistants (with Strabo as their scribe), sift through his belongings and interrogate everybody, half of whom are either disconsolate with grief or else they have shifty eyes and their own motives ... there are lots of "red herrings" in this book, people who possibly could have done Him in. Hadrian refuses to allow Suetonius to touch the body, which was found at dawn by fishermen who were trying to net ibises in the reeds for sale during the Festival of Osiris and Isis.  They plucked a "silver body" out of the water ... Antinous was clad in his Lion Hunt garb which was silver and ivory breast plate and a solid silver mask, and his ornate bow and adamantine-tipped lance .... the fishermen knew He was a God, especially since He drowned on the day of Osiris' Death! Suetonius wonders why in Hades Antinous was wearing all this ceremonial garb (otherwise worn only during Parades) and also wonders about a cut on the left wrist of Antinous and strange red marks around his throat.  But Hadrian refuses to let him touch the body or perform an autopsy, saying His beauty will be preserved by the priests of Egypt through mummification.  Indeed, Priest Pachrates is standing in the shadows, with kohl-rimmed eyes, and dripping with amulets and talismans, giving Suetonius the creeps. Then Hadrian tells Suetonius to get out and find out what happened in 48 hours ... or else!  Whereupon Hadrian throws himself over the body of his Beloved, kissing his cold lips and his hollow eyes (the fish have already eaten the eyeballs) and cradling his naked body — all the ceremonial garb is strewn on the floor of the tent.  A Nubian slave languidly fans the air through mosquito netting which is continually sprayed with water in a vain attempt to slow down the process of decay. The author knows his Antinous History and so the reading is deliciously slow-going for any true fan of historical crime novels. The author peppers the text with Greek and Latin terms and names and expressions which cause the reader to go to the book shelf to dust off reference works. The historical details are a delight. And the characters are outlined in a vivid way which is like meeting old friends. The description of Hadrian is perfect and the author also brings to life flamboyant heir-apparent Lucius, the Empress Sabina, her confidante Julia Balbilla, the Egyptian magician/priest Pachrates and indeed the entire Imperial coterie. Even the Oracle of Siwa Oasis makes a cameo appearance, uttering seemingly incoherent clues which ultimately lead to the unravelling of the mystery. Gardiner's Antinous is blonde with blue-grey eyes and pale skin. He is left-handed we learn as Suetonius wonders if He had inflicted the slash to his left wrist in an attempt to commit suicide and someone says, but sire, the Boy was left-handed, so it is unlikely he would have held his ceremonial dagger in his right hand to do such a deed.  And where is the lapis-lazuli talismanic ring (a magical gift from Hadrian) which Antinous always wore on his finger? The ring was supposed to ensure immortality. What was it that caused such passions among all those who encountered Antinous? Suetonius learns the answer to that question from one person who loved Antinous whole-heartedly. What is it, Suetonius demands, which inspires such ardor among the admirers of Antinous? He is told: "It is beauty, my lord. A beauty of character, a beauty of spirit, a beauty of humanity. Beauty, too, of form and shape, but this was not the primary beauty. It would pass soon into time. Antinous was a beguiling personality whose openness communicated sincerity, security, and wholeheartedness. His spirit was alive to life and love .... Antinous was Apollo incarnate, he was Apollo alive in this world, here, now, with us to see and touch today. He was not distant, out of reach, silent. Old philosophers tell us Greeks how human beauty is a reflection of the divine among us. Yet unlike remote Apollo ... Antinous possessed an emotional warmth no god displays to devotees. For Antinous, LOVE must be tangible and active. In him, it was, generously." In the end, Suetonius discovers precisely how and why Antinous died. And the discovery is such a devastating blow to the Emperor that he suppresses the investigation findings and forbids any mention of the case under penalty of exile. And that is The Hadrian Enigma ... A Forbidden Story.