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.

ASTRO FORECAST: SEPTEMBER 24th—OCTOBER 4th, 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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SEPTEMBER 24th to OCTOBER 4th, 2026

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THURS-FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24th-25th, 2026

This week, meditation and astral travel are enhanced by the Libra Sun and Aries Neptune and Aquarius Pluto. The Sun is in 180-degree opposition to Neptune. By Sacred Synchronicity, the Sun is also in a positively profound trine with Pluto and the Star of Antinous that enables you to get down and dirty and show what is really inside of you ... deep ... down ... inside. This is a good time to grow beyond yourself ... shed your old shy image the way a snake sheds its skin ... and present your shining inner self to the world. Meanwhile, Sun opposition Neptune enhances your ability to lift the veil between the worlds and to perceive spirits in other realms. You can also receive messages from the beyond and communicate more effectively with your higher self and with spirit guides during this profoundly spiritual configurations. Because Neptune is retrograde (going "backwards" as seen from Earth) you can delve into past-life incarnations.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26th, 2026

This weekend, we come to the ARIES FULL MOON which amps up the tension levels 100 percent! Be careful: In Antinous Moon Magic we call this the LIGHTNING MOON for the bolt of lightning which nearly killed Hadrian and Antinous atop Mount Cassius at the autumnal Solstice of the year 129 AD. The LIGHTNING MOON is the most impetuous and accident-prone moon of the year.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 2026

Do you have a broken heart? This weekend spiritual healing energies get a sudden and dramatic boost when Mars forms a 90-degree square aspect with CHIRON IN ARIES. This is a good time for health checkups and 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.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28th, 2026

This week, Mars enters Leo, to stay there until November 25th, 2026. In this period, you will feel very invigorated, with loads of energy to do just about anything. The planet Mars thrives in Leo, so it is a good period for getting lots of things done, even quickly solving problems that used to be just too much. Mars passes through Leo every year and a half, so it's not a life-changing thing. But Mars truly enjoys this period of endless energy and heightened capacity. Make the most of it!

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29th, 2026

This week, the Sun forms a positive trine aspect with Uranus which blows in a breath of fresh air which rejuvenates and invigorates you and encourages you to act first and ask questions later.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th, 2026

This week, Mercury in the last degree of Libra is in 180-degree opposition with CHIRON IN ARIES to enable you to give voice to any pain in your life before Mercury leaves Cancer and plunges into the murky depths of Scorpio where he transforms into canine-headed Hermanubis to sniff out dark mysteries with his keen nose and hear whispered secrets with his powerful ears. On the global level, you can expect public revelations of dark secrets during the coming weeks. And on the personal level, you can expect to see which of your friends are faithful and will stick by you when the chips are down ... and which ones will back off and just leave you standing there alone. Now is the time to talk about all of those shadows and skeletons hiding in the closet. They will be crawling out and rearing their head regardless, so why not work with them so they don't work against you?

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st, 2026

This week, Mercury is at right angles to both Mars and Pluto. 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.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd, 2026

This week, powerful energies are at play when Mars is in a 120-degree trine aspect to dreamy Pisces Neptune even as the War God is in 180-degree opposition to revolution-minded Pluto. Imagine yourself barreling down a freeway at high speed ... and suddenly being enveloped in a fog bank which cuts visibility to zero. If you don't reduce speed immediately, you are bound for disaster. Mars is the fast sports car thundering down the highway ... and Neptune is the fog bank ... and Hades (Pluto) is in the driver's seat. This astrological configuration spells trouble for people who proceed full speed through life without any regard to their surroundings. They will come a cropper this week. However, this Mars/Neptune trine configuration is excellent for people who have latent intuitive, artistic or spiritual talents ... like Antinous-Dionysus. Mars invigorates and enlivens these talents. So the answer is: Proceed with caution, but keep your eyes open for brilliant new opportunities and insights which otherwise would have flashed past you unseen at high speed.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 2026

This weekend, ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is at right angles to the Sun. This is the Cancer Third Quarter Moon, which is the DISCORDIA MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... The goddess Discordia can be a powerful friend ... or deadly foe. Many gay men have assertiveness problems. On a gay spiritual level, the Discordia Moon shines its light on problem areas where you need to stand up and assert yourself. Anger is one of the most cathartic emotions, and it can also be a very effective cleanser of the emotional system. However, when it becomes a habit, it actually loses its power to transform and becomes an obstacle to growth. Meditations and rituals during the Discordia Moon can help you in identifying the role anger plays in your life and restoring it to its proper function so that it can bring new energy and expansiveness to your emotional life.

Also this weekend, Scorpio Venus stops and turns around. An ex-lover will call or visit you in the next 40 days ... Venus goes "Retrograde" (backwards) from October 3rd until November 14th. Retrograde Scorpio Venus is emotionally passionate, suspicious and distrustful ... this is a good time to review, reassess, and revive your relationships ... and that means it may be time to end some career or personal relationships. Retrograde Scorpio Venus is nostalgic for "the good old days" ... so you can expect to hear from old friends and ex-lovers. You may not have seen them for years, and suddenly they show up on your doorstep ... and the two of you have a wonderful time reviving old memories ... and possibly reconciling old differences. In fact, Retrograde Venus periods are often characterized by old lovers getting back together and re-marrying.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4th, 2026

This week, we come to our annual reality check with the Sun in 180-degree opposition to Saturn. The result is that Saturn floods you with doubts and caution while the Sun showers you with over-confidence and over-optimism. You find yourself wanting desperately to achieve long-stalled goals ... but you are plagued by doubts and insecurities. You crave recognition, but you find it difficult to cope with praise. And because Saturn is retrograde, problems from the past come back to haunt you.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between October 5th and 11th, 2026, when we come to the LIBRA NEW MOON... the Lunar Phase we call the TRIPOD MOON in Antinous Moon Magic in honor of the clouds of incense with which three-footed incense braziers filled the Ancient Temples of Antinous. The clouds of incense created a sacred other-worldly atmosphere of intoxication and purification ... but made rational decision-making difficult. If you are having trouble "seeing the fog", the Libra New Moon will show you where the confusion lies ... More details next time ....

SHIPS HAVE BEEN NAMED FOR THE STAR OF ANTINOUS

ON September 24, 1942, the S.S. Antinous was torpedoed by a German U-Boat Submarine in the Caribbean, ending a two-decade career as a merchant marine cargo steamer.

But this ship was only one of many vessels which have been named for the Star of Antinous over the centuries.

In the days before GPS, when the sun set at night, sailors used the stars to navigate. Stars move across the sky from east to west, and some stars, called rise and set stars, begin and end their nightly path below the horizon. 

Sailors determined their heading by watching the movement of the stars the same way they watched the sun's movement. There is an ancient maritime tradition of naming ships after stars in the hope that the stars will bring the sailors safely to their destination. 

Thus, ships were called Sirius, Aldebaran, Polaris, Arcturus ... and Antinous. 

The Star of Antinous holds a key fixed-star position near Altair on the Milky Way. Thus Antinous is a good name for a ship, regardless whether the crew or owners had any idea who the historical Antinous might be.

Many ships have been named for the Star of Antinous. Built in 1919-20, the American registry vessel was chiefly employed on the Gulf of Mexico to Europe routes throughout her career. On 24 September 1942, while on a passage to British Guiana to load her cargo, she was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-512 sank operating at the time in the Caribbean.

Captain Hamilton Powell and his crew of eight officers, 27 men and 16 armed guards abandoned ship in three lifeboats and were rescued.

FEATURED ANTINOUS STATUE OF THE DAY THE ANTINOUS OF ELEUSIS

THIS statue of Antinous from Eleusis - Ἐλευσίς - is the only one that seems to refer back to an incident in his life, his initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries of death and resurrection in September 128 AD.

The sculpture was erected after his death in the outer courtyard of Eleusis and captures this instant of his life, though officially it depicts him as the god Dionysos Zagreus, a divinity of suffering abd resurrection associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Technically it is not one of the best of the depictions of Antinous, but it evokes a mood and a moment.

The sulptor clearly envisaged the young lad draped in his himation, standing in the darkened Telesterion (the initiation hall) and confronted with the Eleusinian Mysteries of death and resurrection.

He clutches at the folds of his himation anxiously, insecure, staring wide-eyed, his mouth pursed in awe, with an expression of apprehension, intent rapture and awareness of the tremendous significance of what was being revealed to him.

Even though it is a mediocre statue in workmanship and details it is redeemed by its expressiveness and pathos.

This statue is now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis: Antinous as Dionysus Zagreus, Inv. 5092, 1.83 m, in marble of Thasos.