WE JOYFULLY CELEBRATE THE JUNONALIA FEAST OF JUNO QUEEN OF HEAVEN

ON March 7th we observe the Junonalia feast of the Roman goddess Juno, with whom Hadrian's wife and consort Empress Sabina is identified ritually. (Art by ANTONIUS SUBIA).

On this day, Ancient Romans observed the Junonalia to honor their Queen of Heaven. This festival was celebrated by the matrons of Rome in which a procession of 27 girls accompanied a statue of Juno carved out of a cypress tree.

There were processions in which statues of Juno were carried through the streets and ending at the Temple of Juno. Prayers and generous offerings of flowers and flowering plants were brought to Juno.

There was dancing, merriment, and wonderful feasting (for the Romans were known for their feasts). From how it sounded, it would be very similar to a modern "girls night out."

The Junonalia was also attested in a fragmentary poem De Iunonalibus, attributed to Claudian. In it, Juno is addressed as mistress of the celestial pole, and the spouse and sister of the king of heaven.

Her function as a goddess of marital bonds is also noted. Although the text is conjectural at this point, she may be asked to grant a return.

The Junonalia may have concluded a three-day festival begun March 5th with the Isidis Navigium (Sailing of Isis). In the Metamorphoses of the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, Isis is addressed as Queen of Heaven, and by the 2nd Century a number of goddesses, including Juno, shared the epithet Caelestis.

As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman Empire, Juno was called Regina (Queen) and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a the Juno Capitolina (Capitoline Triad) in Rome. Juno was a daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god Jupiter, as well as being the mother of Mars and Vulcan.

Juno's theology is one of the most complex and disputed issues in Roman religion. Even more than other major Roman deities, Juno held a large number of significant and diverse epithets, names and titles representing various aspects and roles of the goddess. In accordance with her central role as a goddess of marriage, these included Pronuba and Cinxia (she who loses the bride's girdle).

Juno looked after the women of Rome, with her Greek equivalent as Hera and her Etruscan counterpart was Uni. Hera was the Greek goddess for love and marriage, so Juno was Rome's goddess of love and marriage.

Juno's own warlike aspect among the Romans was apparent in her attire, as she often appeared sitting with a peacock armed and wearing a goatskin cloak. The traditional depiction of this warlike aspect was assimilated from the Greek goddess Athena, whose goatskin was called the aegis.

Ancient etymologies associated Juno’s name with iuvare (to aid, benefit) and iuvenescendo (rejuvenate), sometimes connecting it to the renewal of the new and waxing moon. This perhaps implied the idea of a moon goddess.

THE ASCENSION OF MARCUS AURELIUS AND LUCIUS VERUS AS CO-EMPERORS

UPON the occasion of the Death and Apotheosis of Antoninus Pius on 7th March 161 AD, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus became co-Emperors, both surnamed Antoninus, a name which the ancient Romans equate with inestimable glory.

Marcus being the elder and wiser, was given the title Augustus, while Lucius took the name Caesar. 

They remained cordial to one another though their vastly different characters were always a cause of discord, though never of rivalry or outright animosity. 

They were a harmonious and cooperative pair of rulers, the only example of effective imperial brotherhood in the long history of Rome.

ASTRO FORECAST: MARCH 5th—15th, 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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MARCH 5th to 15th, 2026

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THURSDAY, MARCH 5th, 2026

This week, Venus leaves dreamy and romantic Pisces and charges into hot and horny Aries. Sitting in front of your computer wistfully fantasizing about Mr. Right suddenly gives way to the urge to go out and find him ... and not stop until you have found him. Aries Venus can be overly assertive and me-firsty in relationships. But if you are congenitally shy and retiring, this means you may finally work up the audacity to stand up for yourself ... and about time, too.

FRIDAY, MARCH 6th, 2026

This week, your brain is ablaze with often confusing and conflicting ideas when Retrograde Mercury aligns with the Sun. Old astrology texts dating back to Ancient Rome call this a potentially hazardous time, and speak of a "Scorched Mercury" which impairs communications and judgement. But in ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC, we see that very differently. This Sun/Mercury conjunction is indeed intense, but in a positive way. Antinous/Mercury focuses the gay spiritual light of his heavenly father Ra-Herakhte right at you. Open your spiritual heart to the light and joy and permit it to burn away all doubt and all fear and trepidation. Most people live in spiritual darkness. They are like people who live in caves and are afraid of sunlight because it hurts their eyes. But should we shun the light and stay in the cave with them? Antinous/Mercury says it's safe to open your spiritual eyes — and spiritual heart — and become accustomed to the light.

SAT-SUNDAY, MARCH 7th-8th, 2026

This weekend, Venus aligns in conjunction with both Saturn and Neptune at Zero Degrees Aries for the first time in more than 6,000 years. Venus is exactly conjunct Saturn. This is a recipe for strife, upheaval. But Antinous teaches us to harness rage for justice, LGBTQIA+ rights. Never cruel. Never cowardly. Never give up. Never give in! Meanwhile, Neptune is the higher octave of Venus, so Neptune can lead us down the road of passion, desire, and unconditional love. But in this pairing in Aries, the lower vibration of Neptune also brings addiction, drama, vagueness, lack of direction, ambiguity, and a dissolution of boundaries. We wish to escape the mundane and rejoice in the mirage. Yes, our intuition runs wild, but we also might not want to accept the truth in matters. Self-deception is a significant form of lying.

MON-TUESDAY, MARCH 9th-10th, 2026

To kick start the year 2026, Retrograde Jupiter ends its "backwards" period and goes "direct" (forwards), which allows the expansive emotional connections to bring new people into your life. Retrograde Jupiter occurs once every 13 months and last about four months. Retrograde Jupiter shines a spotlight on areas of the world ... and on people ... who have become consumed with greed, gluttony, megalomania and addiction. Retrograde Jupiter has pushed you beyond your comfort zone and now that Jupiter turns direct, more people will be venturing into your life to connect and communicate in ways that are important to you. New information seems to stream in opening the doors of communication as you reach out to connect with people, sharing your common perspective. However, if your goals are unrealistic, deceitful or greedy, then the Jupiter direct phase from now until December 12th, 2026, may result in disappointment and loss.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11th, 2026

This week, ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is at right angles to the Sun. This is the SAGITTARIUS THIRD QUARTER MOON, which we call the SACRED STAR phase in Antinous Moon Magic. In the midst of confusion and chaos, the Spirit of the Star touches the top of your head and conveys sudden and total clarity. This Spirit is never deceived by appearances. Meditations and rituals conducted during this lunar phase are ideal for discerning clarity in opaque situations, for clearing the mind of nebulous distractions and for seeing clearly into other worlds ... the perfect night for clairvoyance.

THURS-SUNDAY, MARCH 12th-15th, 2026

This week, Mercury aligns in conjunction with Mars in emotional Pisces. Mercury conjunction Mars creates a similarly explosive atmosphere, but with new issues. Bullies rattle sabers. Tempers flare. Drive carefully: Road Rage Rules! Some astrologers say this is when people sharpen their swords, but we prefer to say it is when people sharpen their tongues to use as weapons! Remember that lovely line from "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde (who is a Saint of Antinous, by the way): "On an occasion of this kind it becomes more than a moral duty to speak one's mind. It becomes a pleasure." This is an aspect which encourages people to say vicious and intentionally hurtful things. People are overly persnickety and bitchy and downright mean. You'll be amazed how true this is.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between March 16th and March 22nd, 2026, when we come to the PISCES NEW MOON. In Antinous Moon Magic this is the lunar phase we call the DOG MOON of fidelity, friendship and faithfulness. The Spirit of the Dog Moon is loving and supportive friendship. This Spirit is loving and faithful, comforting you with familiarity when you see yourself reflected in this Spirit. It is the perfect combination of comfort and stimulus to grow and provides a wonderful companion that walks with you through life, helping you define and refine who you are and who you choose to be every day ... More details next time ....

ANTONIUS SUBIA CELEBRATES THE FEAST OF THE SHIP OF ISIS AT PHILAE ISLAND

MARCH 5th is the Navigum Isidis, or Ploiaphesia, the feast of the Ship of Isis. This celebrates Isis both as Moon Goddess and Queen of the Sea ... the Moon being the source of the tides. 

At this time a great procession would go down to the sea and carry with them a boat full of offerings to the Goddess, milk would be poured on the waters, then the boat loaded with gifts would be sent out to sea. 

Apuleius (1st CenturyAD) has described the ceremony in great detail and concludes: "When the ship was loaded with generous gifts and prayers for good fortune, they cut the anchor cables and she slipped across the bay of Alexandria with a serene breeze behind her that seemed to have sprung up for her sake alone. When she stood so far out to sea that we could no longer keep her in view, the priests took up the holy emblems and started happily back towards the temple." 

Our spiritual leader ANTONIUS SUBIA, during his sacred pilgrimage to Egypt, visited the last Temple of Isis where these ceremonies were celebrated.

A highlight of my pilgrimage to Egypt

Was the Philae Island Temple 

On the Upper Nile

Last stand of the Pagan religion.

Long after Theodosius outlawed the old religions,

The priests of Isis continued their devotions.

It was a great honor to visit that beautiful little island

And there is a corridor called Hadrian's gate

In my photo at the top of this entry!

Ave Antinous!

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

                        MORE PHOTOS BELOW:

ANTINOUS SAILS THE SOLAR BOAT BY NIGHT THANKS TO THE MYSTERIES OF HELIOPOLIS

MARCH 4th is the festival of Re at Heliopolis ... a city which Antinous visited during his fateful trip up the Nile and where Antinous said he would be willing to give his life for Hadrian ... and a city which our spiritual leader ANTONIUS SUBIA visited during his 2020 sacred pilgrimage to Egypt.

According to texts newly translated by Antonius Subia, this was the fateful decision which is the key to understanding why Antinous was deified.

After leaving Alexandria, the first important stop for Antinous on the Nile journey in September 130 AD was at Heliopolis, the ancient center of the worship of Re, the sun god.

The Heliopolitan cosmology states that the universe is created when the Atum (first principle) masturbates and creates himself as the sun god Re, the visible manifestation of the Atum, and then rises up from the primordial waters in the form of a mound.

Re then gives birth to the Enneads, the Nine beings who create the cosmos: Shu (air) and Tefnut (fire), Geb (Earth), Nut (Sky), Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nepthys who together are the principles of life. 

The creator, Re-Harakhte, travels across the sky on his Boat of Millions of Years every day, and then as it submerges beneath the horizon, Re-Harakhte battles against death and evil, and is greeted triumphantly each morning by the priests of Heliopolis. 

Antinous was admitted into these mysteries, and gained a place by the side of Re-Harakhte on his sacred boat, according to the hieroglyphs on the Obelisk of Antinous.

The glyphs state that Antinous can "assume any form his heart desires, because the semen of the First God TRULY is in his body."

When Hadrian and Antinous visited Heliopolis, they were no doubt shown the sacred shrine of the Bennu bird, who was said to have burst forth in a shower of radiant light from the heart of the First God.

This is the same First God who ejaculated into his own mouth to utter the words of creation at the moment of Sep Tepy, the Creation Moment. Other versions say he ejaculated in great arcs which created all the other deities and the entire universe.

Then on October 11th, a few days after visiting the Sacred Shrine of the Phoenix in Heliopolis (and acquiring that virulent bit of Heliopolitan spellwork), Hadrian and Antinous visited Oxyrhynchus and heard of the fabled phallus of Osiris.

And a couple of weeks later, Hadrian cradled the limp body of Antinous on the shores of the Nile. The body was limp like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Hadrian "wept like a woman" and refused to accept oblivion for his Beloved Boy. Instead, he proclaimed Antinous a god and set about making sure that the Religion of Antinous took root and blossomed.

The Obelisk of Antinous speaks of Antinous being full of the "Semen of the First God" which is the creative force of the universe.

That means Antinous can assume "any form his heart desires" since he (like Osiris) is one with the First God ... and one with the Bennu Bird.

Antinous IS the Phoenix.

As sacred synchronicity would have it, "Bennu Phoenix" birds (Egyptian storks) flew over Antonius Subia's head during his 2020 pilgrimage ... most notably when three Bennu bird storks flew overhead during the ABU SIMBEL SUNRISE cosmic event on February 22nd.

So it was imperative for Antonius to visit Heliopolis ... which he died on the final day of his pilgrimage ... despite hindrances and setbacks. 

Antonius says:

From the day we arrived I was trying to get there but it kept getting pushed back for another day. Finally the last day came and I was not going to be dissuaded from seeing Heliopolis.

It turned out to be an arduous ordeal across the worst parts of Cairo ... In the Rain and at rush hour ... all of which turned what I thought would be a short solo excursion ... into a four-hour journey.

I decided just to take a taxi ... made arrangements to meet everyone later at the Dervish dancers at 6:30 (actually I was supposed to go back to the hotel first then we would all go together).

The taxi driver didn't speak a word of English but when I showed him where I wanted to go he said okay ... as we left I realized that he thought I wanted to go to a Hotel called Heliopolis ... and he had no idea where to go. 

Eventually he called a guy from the sidewalk who spoke a little English to translate ... and then he said he knew and off we went. 

I had no idea how far it actually was ... and in a rough industrial area full of burning garbage (and I have been in some extremely rough parts of Egypt ... but this was the worst. 

The taxi driver and I eventually could chat using the "translate conversation" function on my phone ... even he said that it was in a Bad Neighborhood.

Suddenly in the distance I see it ... The Giant Obelisk! ... one of the only Obelisks still standing in its original location.

There was a lovely little park surrounding it with what little remains of the once glorious city of Ra, where the Great Temple once stood, which is said to have been larger, older and more spectacular than Karnak.

The Great Temple of Ra at Heliopolis was where the creation story involving the god Atum masturbating the universe into being took place. (Illustration above: "Israel In Egypt" by Edward John Poynter)

The city where Orpheus, Pythagoras, Homer and Plato all came to study with the priests of The Temple of Ra-Atum.

It is also where Antinous and Hadrian came during their visit a few months before Antinous drowned, the place where the event in which Antinous said he would be willing to give his life for Hadrian occurred.

I needed to see Heliopolis

I needed to stand where Antinous once stood,

Where he willingly dedicated his life to Hadrian

So many obstacles tried to prevent me from getting there. 

I went all by myself into the wild worst parts of Cairo, and paid a heavy fare to get there and back. 

I spent as long as I could, absorbing the presence and power beneath what could be seen around me ... and thanked Antinous for making it possible for me to have this magical moment.

My last adventure in Egypt.

The way back was worse than getting there, I barely made it on-time to see the dervish dancers ... which was surreal in its self.

Then back to the Hotel to pack and head to the airport where I am now.

Heliopolis was wonderful ... and heart-breaking.

Egypt was wonderful and heart-breaking.

It has been the most powerful experience of my life so far and it will take a while to go through all that I have experienced.

The Obelisk of Heliopolis will stand as my final pilgrimage station in Egypt. Although so many obstacles endeavored to prevent me from getting there ... I overcame all that came before me and stood in the footsteps of Antinous.

Ave Antinous!

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

THE VIRGO FULL MOON THE DIANA MOON OF ANTINOUS

TONIGHT's Virgo Full Moon is the February/March moon of sisterhood, of kindred spirits in whom you can confide, the Full Moon in the Sign the Virgin.

The Virgo Moon is always a tense time of trying not to be obsessive-compulsive and overly critical.

In Antinous Moon Magic this full moon is called the DIANA MOON. We recognize that the Moon of Diana is the Moon of Antinous. We venerate the Virgin, she who guides new life into the world, goddess of beasts, the mistress of the hounds, the archeress, the young Great Mother of Ephesus, the twin sister of Antinous the Gay God.

Diana is loving and compassionate, but she is rigorously demanding and picky.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of Diana is the great huntress, the goddess of the moon and twin sister to Antinous.

The key word is "sisterhood" ... without gender limitations. A sister is someone who is closer even than your best friend. She is your twin, just as Diana and Antinous are twins.

When you are going through a difficult time, you may hesitate to call even your best friends because you do not want to burden them with your troubles. This is when you need a sister.

This can be a biological sibling, but more often it is a person who, regardless of gender and kinship, is your most intimate confidante. A sister is someone who, at times like these, sincerely wants to be there for you whenever she can. And she knows you are always there for her. When you do this, you invite your sister to bring her whole self to the relationship as well ... so that Diana and Antinous are one.

During the cycle of the Diana Moon, meditations and rituals are best suited for delving into sibling issues as well as seeking the advice of your spiritual twin ... whether a physical being or a spiritual entity.

IT'S AMETRINE FOR THE DIANA MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

FOR the DIANA MOON phase I have been advised by our moon phase and astrology expert that we should be delving into sibling issues as well as seeking the advice of your spiritual twin. All with a focus on "sisterhood" without gender limitations.  

Of course our siblings or sisters do not necessarily need to be living or even of the earthly realm. Many of us draw wisdom and protection from female angels, spirit guides or goddesses. 

Crystal healing and guided meditations tends to be a female dominated craft. Hence the female attributes for crystals are often very focused on menstrual cycles and childbirth. 

Not applicable to most people who will be reading this blog and not wholly pertinent to non gender specific or spiritual sisterhood either! 

So I can only recommend the following crystals:

Amazonite - these turquoise coloured crystals (above right) balance male and female energies and help you to see both sides of a situation.

Ametrine - these are increasingly rare crystals as they only come from one mine in Bolivia! I don't usually recommend rarer crystals but these help to unite female and masculine energies. 

Aventurine - these green stones (above left) help to balance male and female energies.

Moonstone - these often beautiful stones (right) also help to balance male and female energies but also assist those with male energies to get in touch with their feminine side...

Love and Light

MARTIN

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