THESE SEVEN ANCIENT PRIESTS DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO ANTINOUS

IN many religions the number seven is sacred ... Christians honor the Seven Archangels on September 29th … but (typically) apocryphal texts and regional denominations can't agree on the lists of seven. The big four are certain: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, but after that things get a bit iffy. 

Depending on which "church" is involved the seven may include: Raguel, Sariel, Baracael, Ieadiel, Sealtiel, Peliel, Gamael, Jerahmeel, Izidkiel, Hanael or Kepharel.

Oh and at least one list includes Lucifer, the fallen angel.

In Santeria Las Siete Potencias Africanas (Seven African Powers) are the best known and most powerful Orishas of the Yoruban pantheon. There are endless variations worldwide.

Many Protestants, of course, denounce all mention of angels, potencias or even saints as idolatrous, further confusing the situation for many modern seekers.

The Religion of Antinous has no "angels" (fallen or otherwise) in the Judeo/Islamic/Christian sense.

But the Romans depicted many ascendant souls as having wings and assisting in elevating mortal humans to attain celestial realms.

By sacred synchronicity, we know the names of Seven Ancient Priests of Antinous. They are:

JULIUS FIDUS AQUILA, Epistrategos and Architect of Antinoopolis.

ARISTOTIMOS, Priest of Delphi.

HOSTILIUS MARCELLUS, Priest of Corinth.

ISIDORUS DIDYMUS, Priest of Alexandria.

NICIAS, Priest of Rome.

PUBLIUS SUFENAS LUPERCUS, Fratriarch and Eunostos, Naples.

MARCUS DOMITIUS EUPHEMUS, Mysteriarch, Bithynion-Claudiopolis

There were many other priests, of course. But alas, their names went unrecorded.

We have no portraits of any of these Seven Ancient Priests. And their mortal appearance is of little importance.

Priest Hernestus wears prayer beads and a bracelet with seven charms and beads representing the Seven Ancient Priests. He prefers to think of them transcending Time and Space ... serving as mediators in modern guise for all of us.

Rather than worshiping mythical angelic beings, we honor these seven human beings of flesh and blood who really lived and who devoted their lives to Antinous. 

They were priests of Antinous ... we honor them ... men who lived and breathed and who remind us that angels come in many guises ... angels are all around us in our everyday lives.

THE FIRST MIRACLE OF ANTINOUS INVOLVED AN EGYPTIAN INTERSEX DEITY

ON September 28th the Ancient Egyptians celebrated the Feast of the Creation of the Nile Inundation as represented by the intersex deity HAPI.

It was through HAPI that Antinous worked his first miracle ... bringing about a bountiful Nile inundation which ended a long famine ... only a few months after he died and was deified.

Hapi is special to us especially because Hapi is intersex. With many other such deities, the gender division is down the middle of the body (like some Hindu deities) or the top half is one gender and the bottom half is the other.

But Hapi is very complex and the genders are mixed throughout his/her body. Male deities invariably have reddish-orange skin in Egyptian Art and female deities have yellowish skin. 

However, Hapi has bluish-green skin. Hapi has long hair like a female deity but has a square jaw and a beard. Hapi has broad shoulders yet has pendulous breasts like a nursing mother. 

Hapi has narrow hips and masculine thighs, but has a pregnant belly. Nobody knows what sort of genitals Hapi has, since they are covered by a strange garment reminiscent of a sumo wrestler's belt.

Hapi is both father and mother to the Egyptians. Hapi provides them with everything necessary for life. As Herodotus wrote, "Egypt is the gift of the Nile". 

Hapi wears a fabulous headdress of towering water plants and she/he carries enormous offering trays laden with foodstuffs.

The Ancient Egyptians had no problem worshipping a mixed-gender deity. 

It is very important to draw the connection between Hapi and Antinous, especially since the First Miracle that Antinous performed as a god involved Hapi. The Egyptians accepted Antinous into their own belief system immediately and were among the most ardent followers of Antinous.

They had no problem worshipping a gay deity who had united himself with a transgender deity. 

It must have seemed very logical and credible to them.

It made sense to them and enriched their belief system, made it more personal since they could identify more easily with a handsome young man than with a hermaphrodite wearing a sumo belt (Hapi forgive me!).

Herodotus also said he once asked a very learned religious man in Egypt what the true source of the Nile was.

The learned man (speaking through an interpreter, since most Greeks never bothered to learn Egyptian) paused and finally told him the true source of the Nile is the thigh of Osiris.

We think of it as a strange answer. We think of the Nile as an "it" and the source as a "geographical location". 

But the Egyptians thought of the Nile as "us" and its true source as "heka" — the magical semen of the creator.

So, a learned Egyptian would have assumed that a learned Greek would understand what was meant: That Hapi is the equivalent of Dionysus, who was "incubated" in the inner thigh of Zeus after his pregnant mortal mother Semele perished when she could not bear the searing sight of her lover Zeus in all his divine panoply.

It's a very poetic way (a very Egyptian way) of saying that the "true  source" of the Nile, which is to say Egypt itself, is the magical heka/semen from the loins of the original creator.

The grandest depiction of HAPI is a colossal statue found in the submerged ruins of HERACLEION at the mouth of the Nile ... this statue once flanked the portals of the Great Temple in that city before earthquakes and tsunamis sent it to the bottom of the sea. 

It was rediscovered by marine archaeologist Marck Goddio and is the highlight of a British Museum EXHIBITION ... as seen in the photo at left.

We will never know what happened during that journey up the Nile along the drought-parched fields with anxious Egyptian farmers looking to Hadrian for a miracle ... in September and October of the year 130 AD. 

All we know is that Antinous "plunged into the Nile" and into the arms of Hapi in late October of the year 130.

And then the following summer, Hapi the Inundation Deity provided a bountiful Nile flood which replenished the food stocks of Egypt — and the Roman Empire.

The First Miracle of Antinous the Gay God is enshrined in the hieroglyphic inscription on the OBELISK OF ANTINOUS which stands in Rome.

The East Face of the Obelisk, which is aligned to the rising sun Ra-Herakhte, speaks of the joy that fills the heart of Antinous since having been summoned to meet his heavenly father Ra-Herakhte and to become a god himself.

Then the inscription tells how Antinous intercedes with Ra-Herakhte to shower blessings upon Hadrian and the Empress Sabina Augusta.

And Antinous immediately calls upon Hapi ...

Hapi, progenitor of the gods,
On behalf of Hadrian and Sabina,
Arrange the inundation in fortuitous time
To make fertile and bountiful, the fields
Of Both Upper and Lower Egypt!

We joyfully celebrate this, the First Miracle of Antinous!

WE HAVE A NEW PRIEST OF ANTINOUS Priest Peter Fiske

WE have a new priest of Antinous! Peter Fiske of Palm Springs, California, was consecrated tonight as the priest of the newly established Temple of Antinous in Palm Springs.

His priestly name is Petrus Aquila Aelius Fiske and he took his vows during international Zoom ceremonies attended by attendees in North America, South America, Britain and Europe.

His consecration occurred during the cycle of the September Equinox as modern worshipers of Antinous around the world gathered via Zoom for ceremonies originating from Palm Springs to celebrate the feast of the Persephonea, the Sacred Stag Hunt and the initiation of Antinous into the Eleusinian Mysteries of life and death at Eleusis.

We regard the September Equinox (Autumnal in the Northern Hemisphere and Vernal in the Southern Hemisphere) as the SACRED STAG HUNT in which Antinous spiritually pursues the magic stag through the spiritual forest ... the stag representing the male god force within us. 

The stag is a symbol for gay spirituality, a graceful, beautiful animal, crowned with horns, mighty and strong, yet pursued by hunters who yearn for the taste of his tender meat.

We look to the story of Cyparissus the beautiful young man who was lover of Apollo or in another version of the forest god Silvanus. 

As a gift of love, the god gave Cyparissus a beautiful stag, but while hunting the ever jealous god of the west wind fooled Cyparissus into accidentally shooting and killing his beloved stag. (Image: "Cyparissus" by Jacopo Vignali)

The young man was so consumed by grief that Sylvanus-Apollo took pity and immortalized him by turning him into the Cypress tree, which is an emblem of death. 

So it is the the Stag Hunt brings summer to a close and prepares the way for the Death and Transfiguration of Antinous.

We pray to the Horned God to come into our lives and direct our magical forces as gay men towards fulfilling our goals and accomplishing our dreams. We are both hunter and hunted.

Antinous is both the beautiful Cyparissus and his beloved stag, and between the two is a sacred gay mystery.

Worshipers also commemorated the initiation of Antinous into the ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES in Greece at the outset of Emperor Hadrian's Imperial Tour of the Eastern Provinces.

Historical records state that, in the late summer of the year 128, the Imperial Court embarked on a grand tour of the East. The Empress Sabina, Hadrian's wife, and her attendants were members of the entourage.

But on this particular journey, Antinous was the most favored of Hadrian's companions. Their love affair was openly, and gracefully displayed before the eyes of the world. This journey through the East, what we call the SACRED PEREGRINATION, is the only part of the short life of Antinous that history has conveyed to us. 

For this reason it takes on the importance of a sacred epic. Antinous  was in the very flower of his beauty and vigor, he was a shining star  held in the wings of the Imperial Eagle, and it is no coincidence that  this court of demigods should travel through the lands of Ganymede, Attis, Adonis, Jesus and Osiris, who were all beautiful souls taken from life before their time.

The court stayed in Athens for five or even six months, they arrived in time for the celebration of the MYSTERIES OF ELEUSIS, which symbolically portrayed the rape of Proserpina by Hades, the mourning of her mother Demeter, and the return of Spring. 

In the modern Religion of Antinous, we commemorate these ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES during the September Equinox, for it is believed that Antinous underwent the secret initiations provided by the Priests of Eleusis at the Temple of Demeter/Ceres.

Through the Priests of Eleusis Antinous received the consecration of the dark goddess of the underworld Persephone/Proserpina, which prepared him for his own death and resurrection.

In the Mysteries of Eleusis, the initiates are led into the realm of death and are confronted with immediate death. 

Two years later, in 130 AD, Hadrian and Antinous would indeed be confronted by physical death. 

THE LIGHTNING MOON OF ANTINOUS THE ARIES FULL MOON

TONIGHT's Aries Full Moon is the moon when surprises occur which can change your life in the blink of an eye.

In Antinous Moon Magic, we call this Lunar Phase the LIGHTNING MOON. Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the LIGHTNING MOON is the Spirit of Suddenness. This Spirit is immediate, spontaneous, abrupt, instantaneous. It is all things that are as fast as lightning, quick as a flash, operating at the speed of light.

We call it the LIGHTNING MOON because of the bolt of lightning which nearly killed Hadrian and Antinous atop Mount Casius near the mouth of the Orontes River in Asia Minor. 

It was at the season of the Autumnal Equinox in the year 129 AD that the imperial court ascended Mount Casius as it was called by the Greeks and Romans. It was called Zaphon in biblical accounts and is called Mount Aqraa today, situated on the border between Syria and Turkey.

Atop this mountain overlooking the sea was a Temple of the Sun dedicated to Jupiter. A storm broke while they made their ascent, and Hadrian had the priests conduct the Equinox ceremony in the rain.

During the sacrifice at the altar, a bolt of lightning struck with a horrific, earth-shattering clap of thunder, killing the priest and the sacrificial animal together.

This was taken as a very significant portent, one that Antinous alone comprehended, the darkness of the coming death and transfiguration were presaged.

Hadrian took it as a sign that the gods of Syria had turned against him, thinking it was Baal-Zeus who struck down the priests as a warning to Hadrian of what lay ahead during the fateful journey which would end in the tragic death of Antinous.

The LIGHTNING MOON is the most impetuous and accident-prone moon of the year.

However, it is not a Lunar Phase to fear. Abrupt change can be frightening, but this Lunar Phase reminds us that change is a necessary part of life. And sometimes we need to be shocked out of lethargy in order to move in a new direction. 

In magical rituals, this Lunar Phase is ideal for effecting speedy and  immediate results. In spiritual meditation, it is suited for bringing out inspiration which comes out of no where, like a bolt out of the blue.

And in mundane, everyday life, it reminds us to watch our step, keep our eye on the road and don't stand exposed on a mountain top during a thunderstorm ... unless, of course, you are prepared to undergo a dramatic transfiguration.

METEOR GLASS FOR THE LIGHTNING MOON By Our Crystal Therapy Adviser Martin Campbell

THE Aries Full Moon ... the "Lightning Moon" in Antinous Moon Magic ... ushers in a period of potentially intense and/or sudden change.

Tonight's Lightning Moon is special because it is also a Super Moon and a Total Lunar Eclipse ... the first time a Super Total Eclipse has occurred in three decades. 

So, I recommend the following:

Moonstone - this is absolutely the best crystal at this time. It helps accepting change as part of a cycle of moon phases. 

Bloodstone - helps you to act in the present moment, and deal with change. It is also meant to help you control the weather!

Clear Calcite - Helps you accept new beginnings.

Aqua Aura - my favourite suggestion for this lunar cycle. (Photo at right.) It is clear quartz crystal fired in an oven with gold dust. So not dissimilar to being struck by gold lightning! The process creates a magical blue crystal. 

Friends of mine comment on the 'point' I often wear with a deep blue Iolite mounted in silver with it (one of the attributes of Iolite is supporting the body in improving physical health). 

Aqua Aura creates space for something new to come into your life. Of course, being 'created' by man made processes may mean that some people get sniffy about it! 

I usually only recommend crystals that are readily available. The above are all readily available although the Aqua Auras can be expensive.

As this is an unusual moon, however, I thought it might be interesting to mention two other crystals which are ‘striking’ in that they came about via massive strikes on the earth. Not from lightening though…

Moldavite – Thousands of years ago a huge meteorite struck earth in Europe. The impact site is now covered by regions of Moldova, the Czech Republic and Germany. 

The intense heat of the impact turned the trees, soil and rocks into a deep green "glass" tektite crystal called Moldavite which was scattered for many miles around the impact crater. Most of the central crater has now been mined of the tonnes of Moldavite it once contained.  It is much harder to find the crystals blown many miles away from that central point. So Moldavite can be very expensive – especially the delicate, tree-like, ones found in the Czech region of Besednice.

Due to its origins, Moldavite is ‘high vibrational’. Its energies flow at a level of vibration above virtually all other crystals. It will put you in touch with your higher self and ‘higher’ beings – especially if placed over your third eye. Be careful though! Many people can’t cope with the sudden head rush that Moldavites can create. I have brain damage so find I can’t go near them – especially the Besednice ones. I get very disorientated. My partner loves them so I always carry grounding crystals in case I come to near him if he is using one!

Libyan Gold/Libyan Glass Tektite - Thousands of years ago a huge meteorite struck earth in north Africa. The impact site is now covered by regions of Libya and Egypt. The intense heat of the impact turned the desert sands into a yellow ‘glass’ tektite crystal called Libyan Gold or Libyan Glass.

I usually just refer to it as Libyan Glass. 

These crystals can be very beautifully and jewellers can turn them into amazing pieces to wear. 

The Egyptian pharaohs sought out chunks of Libyan Glass to adorn their jewellery – they also knew of its magical attributes… Libyan Glass was said the bring the sun god – the Aten - to earth.

The Aten was the god who the heretical pharaoh Akhenaten worshipped and tried to make all Egyptians worship. 

It is interesting, therefore, that his son Tutankhamum (under whom Egypt was returned to its old gods) has a Libyan Glass scarab beetle carved as the central piece to the strings of jewels lain across his chest for burial (photo at the top of this entry).

Libyan Glass will help protect you on any journey, physical or spiritual. It will also help you to put the past behind you, to separate you from any negativity you have previously experienced. It is also high vibrational but the energy is smoother, less dramatic. I love it and have several pieces including a spear probably a thousand years old.

Love and Light until next week,

MARTIN

MARTIN CAMPBELL is an author living in Britain who is adept at Antinous Moon Magic in its special forms of pendulum, card reading and crystal magic. He is the author of THE LOVE GOD, a historical novel tracing the life of Antinous from the moment his tousle-haired head emerges from his mother's womb under auspicious stars in Asia Minor to the moment his head sinks beneath the swirling waters of the Nile on a starry evening in Egypt.

RABBIT GOD TU ER SHEN IS THE CHINESE DEITY OF GAYNESS

ON International Rabbit Day, observed on the fourth Saturday in September, we honor the Chinese "Rabbit God" of homosexuality.

Just as Antinous the Gay God is being re-discovered in the West, Hu Tianbao alias Tu Er Shen the "Rabbit God" is being rediscovered by Chinese gay people. 

Incredibly, both deities involve young gay men who were in love with men of high standing ... and who died tragically ... and who became gods of the spiritual essence of homosexuality. 

Antinous is a true-life historical figure, of course, but his Chinese counterpart is shrouded in myth and legend ... involving rabbits.

According to Zi Bu Yu (子不語), a book written by Yuan Mei (袁枚, a Qing dynasty writer), Tu Er Shen (兔兒神 or 兔神) was a mortal man called Hu Tianbao (胡天保).

Hu Tianbao fell in love with a very handsome imperial inspector of Fujian Province. One day Hu Tianbao was caught peeping on the inspector through a toilet wall, at which point he came out to the other man. To save face, the imperial inspector had no choice but to have Hu Tianbao beaten to death.

One month after Hu Tianbao's death, he is said to have appeared to a man from his hometown in a dream, claiming that since his crime was one of love, the gods decided to right the injustice by appointing him the god and safeguarder of homosexual affections.

After his dream the man erected a shrine to Hu Tianbao, which became very popular in Fujian province, so much so that in late Qing times, the cult of Hu Tianbao was suppressed by the homophobic Qing government.

A slang term for homosexuals in late imperial China was Tuzi (兔子) (bunnies) which is why Hu Tianbao is referred to as the RABBIT GOD, although in fact he has nothing to do with rabbits and should not be confused with TU-ER-YE　(兔儿爷） the famous "Rabbit in the Moon" which is the Chinese version of the "Man in the Moon".

However, the rabbit association stuck, and even today his devotees portray him with rabbit ears and make offerings of carrots to his altars. The handsome statuette in this image is lovingly clothed in a rabbit-fur cloak.

While no one knows if gays in mainland China worship him ... there is a temple in Yonghe city (永和市）in Taiwan that venerates Hu Tianbao, alias Tu Er Shen. The temple is known as the RABBIT TEMPLE (兔兒廟). The address is Taipei, Yonghe City, Yonghe Road Section 1, Alley 37, No 12.

ON NATIONAL COMIC BOOK DAY WE REMEMBER JACQUES MARTIN

SEPTEMBER 25th is National Comic Book Day ... and we say Happy birthday to Jacques Martin, creator of Alix the blond Gallic-Roman boy who fights evildoers in ancient Rome. Jacques Martin was born 25 September 1921. Alix and his Egyptian orphan teen friend Enak have delighted comic book readers for more than 75 years ... In the image above, notice the Antinous Farnese statue on the balustrade as Alix and Enak frolic in the Edessa Falls in Greece.