THE FESTIVAL OF CERNUNNOS

THE 18th of October is the Festival of The Horned God, known to us as Herne or Cernunnos. 

He is the protector of wild places and the spirits and creatures that inhabit them. He is the Lord of the Hunt, the mightiest of hunters and yet also he personifies the power of the stag, the subject of the hunt. 

He leads himself and us on a merry dance over hills and through the woods.

In his oldest guises he is Pan, and the dancing shaman wearing the skin and antlers of the stag. We honor Antinous-Cernunnos as a form of Pan.

EL SANTO NIÑO FIDENCIO

ON October 18th  we honor a gay man who is adored as a saint by millions of people in Mexico.

El Niño Fidencio, Saint of Antinous, was a Mexican "curandero" (male witch healer or shaman) in the 1920s and '30s who is regarded as a saint by his modern-day followers (although he is not recognized by the Catholic Church) and who depicted himself in drag as the Virgin Mary.

His millions of believers point to the fact that he has been credited with innumerable healings and other miracles. He is credited with saving countless lives and with curing incrable ailments.

His millions of believers also point to the numerological phenomenon that he was born on October 18, 1898, and he died on October 19, 1938.

The story of El Niño Fidencio also has many parallels to the story of the Magnificent Religion of Antinous.

Like ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD after deification on the banks of the Nile, El Niño Fidencio was a winsome young man beloved by all who worked miracles along the banks of a great river (Rio Grande) flowing through the barren wasteland of a desert between two lands, the US and Mexico.

The Nile divided the Land of the Living from the Land of the Dead,  the Rio Grande divides (or joins) two culturally merging societies.

The Ancients believed Antinous worked miracles in the lives of his faithful followers. Antinous healed the sick, he granted people love and prosperity, he shielded them from peril.

Historian Royston Lambert's book Beloved and God: The Story of Hadrian and Antinous devotes a full chapter to the Religion of Antinous and mentions the miracles he was able to bring forth.

The oracle priests of Antinous could intercede with the God, or followers could appeal directly to Antinous:

"There is evidence of oracles at Tarsos and perhaps at Rome itself," Lambert writes. "No doubt it was through these pronouncements and visitations that he wrought miracles and healing for which he evidently became famous in the east."

In many areas, people named their children Antinous in the fervent belief that he would watch over and protect their offspring all their lives.

There is the well-documented case of a man named Serapamon who lived in Antinoopolis in the 3rd Century and who called on the priests of Antinous for a love spell to attract a certain woman named Ptolemais. Clearly, his followers truly believed he could work miracles for those who believed in him.

Lambert points out: "The frequent use of his medals as talismans or amulets demonstrates demonstrates a widespread faith in his powers in Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt."

Lambert makes it clear that, for early followers of Antinous, there was no doubt in their hearts or minds that he could work miracles — and did so on an everyday basis.

"Indeed," Lambert goes on to state, "the popular vigour and genuine conviction of the 'belief' in Antinous were widespread and persistent enough to provoke the scorn of some sophisticated pagans and the anxious and unremitting indignation of most Christian apologists for two and a half centuries to come."

We should remember the heart-felt faith of the early followers of Antinous, who knew Him to be their salvation. We should remember their undying faith when we honor El Niño Fidencio in the face of the "anxious and unremitting indignation" of Catholic clerics to this day.

DICTIONARY OF HOW EGYPTIANS SPOKE WHEN ANTINOUS VISITED THEM

A revolutionary new dictionary is giving Egyptologists new insights into the way the Ancient Egyptians spoke and lived in the days when Hadrian and Antinous visited the land of the Nile.

Since decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, there have been several dictionaries over the past two centuries for translating hieroglyphic texts written in the language of the pharaohs, primarily Middle Egyptian. But there has been no proper dictionary for Demotic, which was the post-pharaonic form of the Egyptian language which was in use when Egypt was a Roman province.

Demotic Egyptian, a name given by the Greeks to denote it was the tongue of the demos, or common people. It was written as a flowing script and was used in Egypt from about 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., when the land was occupied and usually dominated by foreigners, including Persians, Greeks and Romans. The language lives on today in words such as adobe, which came from the Egyptian word for brick. The word moved through Demotic, on to Arabic and eventually to Spain during the time of Islamic domination there, explained Janet Johnson, editor of the Chicago Demotic Dictionary. Ebony, the dark wood that was traded down the Nile from Nubia (present-day Sudan), also comes from Demotic roots. The name Susan is indirectly related to the Demotic word for water lily. "Demotic was used for business and legal documents, private letters and administrative inscriptions, and literary texts, such as narratives and pieces of wisdom literature," said Johnson, the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor at the Oriental Institute. "It was also used for religious and magical texts as well as scientific texts dealing with topics such as astronomy, mathematics and medicine. It is an indispensible tool for reconstructing the social, political and cultural life of ancient Egypt during a fascinating period of its history," she continued. "The University of Chicago is pretty much Demotic central," said James Allen, PhD'81, the Wilbour Professor of Egyptology and chair of the Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies at Brown University. "Besides the Demotic dictionary, the University also has some of the world's top experts on Demotic on its faculty. "This dictionary will be very useful, as there are more unpublished documents in Demotic than any other phase of ancient Egyptian," he said. The Demotic language was one of the three texts on the Rosetta stone, which was also written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek. In addition to being used on stone carvings, the script was left behind on papyrus and broken bits of pottery.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-chicago-demotic-dictionary-refines-knowledge.html#jCp

Demotic Egyptian, a name given by the Greeks to denote it was the tongue of the demos, or common people. It was written as a flowing script and was used in Egypt from about 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., when the land was occupied and usually dominated by foreigners, including Persians, Greeks and Romans. The language lives on today in words such as adobe, which came from the Egyptian word for brick. The word moved through Demotic, on to Arabic and eventually to Spain during the time of Islamic domination there, explained Janet Johnson, editor of the Chicago Demotic Dictionary. Ebony, the dark wood that was traded down the Nile from Nubia (present-day Sudan), also comes from Demotic roots. The name Susan is indirectly related to the Demotic word for water lily. "Demotic was used for business and legal documents, private letters and administrative inscriptions, and literary texts, such as narratives and pieces of wisdom literature," said Johnson, the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor at the Oriental Institute. "It was also used for religious and magical texts as well as scientific texts dealing with topics such as astronomy, mathematics and medicine. It is an indispensible tool for reconstructing the social, political and cultural life of ancient Egypt during a fascinating period of its history," she continued. "The University of Chicago is pretty much Demotic central," said James Allen, PhD'81, the Wilbour Professor of Egyptology and chair of the Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies at Brown University. "Besides the Demotic dictionary, the University also has some of the world's top experts on Demotic on its faculty. "This dictionary will be very useful, as there are more unpublished documents in Demotic than any other phase of ancient Egyptian," he said. The Demotic language was one of the three texts on the Rosetta stone, which was also written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek. In addition to being used on stone carvings, the script was left behind on papyrus and broken bits of pottery.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-chicago-demotic-dictionary-refines-knowledge.html#jCp

Demotic Egyptian, a name given by the Greeks to denote it was the tongue of the demos, or common people. It was written as a flowing script and was used in Egypt from about 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., when the land was occupied and usually dominated by foreigners, including Persians, Greeks and Romans. The language lives on today in words such as adobe, which came from the Egyptian word for brick. The word moved through Demotic, on to Arabic and eventually to Spain during the time of Islamic domination there, explained Janet Johnson, editor of the Chicago Demotic Dictionary. Ebony, the dark wood that was traded down the Nile from Nubia (present-day Sudan), also comes from Demotic roots. The name Susan is indirectly related to the Demotic word for water lily. "Demotic was used for business and legal documents, private letters and administrative inscriptions, and literary texts, such as narratives and pieces of wisdom literature," said Johnson, the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor at the Oriental Institute. "It was also used for religious and magical texts as well as scientific texts dealing with topics such as astronomy, mathematics and medicine. It is an indispensible tool for reconstructing the social, political and cultural life of ancient Egypt during a fascinating period of its history," she continued. "The University of Chicago is pretty much Demotic central," said James Allen, PhD'81, the Wilbour Professor of Egyptology and chair of the Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies at Brown University. "Besides the Demotic dictionary, the University also has some of the world's top experts on Demotic on its faculty. "This dictionary will be very useful, as there are more unpublished documents in Demotic than any other phase of ancient Egyptian," he said. The Demotic language was one of the three texts on the Rosetta stone, which was also written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek. In addition to being used on stone carvings, the script was left behind on papyrus and broken bits of pottery.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-09-chicago-demotic-dictionary-refines-knowledge.html#jCp

Demotic Egyptian was the tongue of the demos, or common people. It was written as a flowing script and was used in Egypt from about 500 B.C. to 500 A.D., when the land was occupied and usually dominated by foreigners, including Persians, Greeks and Romans.

The language lives on today in words such as adobe, which came from the Egyptian word for brick. The word moved through Demotic, on to Arabic and eventually to Spain during the time of Islamic domination there, explained Janet Johnson, editor of the Chicago Demotic Dictionary.

Ebony, the dark wood that was traded down the Nile from Nubia (present-day Sudan), also comes from Demotic roots. The name Susan is indirectly related to the Demotic word for water lily.

"Demotic was used for business and legal documents, private letters and administrative inscriptions, and literary texts, such as narratives and pieces of wisdom literature," said Johnson, the Morton D. Hull Distinguished Service Professor at the Oriental Institute.

"It was also used for religious and magical texts as well as scientific texts dealing with topics such as astronomy, mathematics and medicine. It is an indispensible tool for reconstructing the social, political and cultural life of ancient Egypt during a fascinating period of its history," she continued.

"The University of Chicago is pretty much Demotic central," said James Allen, the Wilbour Professor of Egyptology and chair of the Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies at Brown University.

"Besides the Demotic dictionary, the University also has some of the world's top experts on Demotic on its faculty. "This dictionary will be very useful, as there are more unpublished documents in Demotic than any other phase of ancient Egyptian," he said.

The Demotic language was one of the three texts on the Rosetta stone, which was also written in Egyptian hieroglyphs and Greek. In addition to being used on stone carvings, the script was left behind on papyrus and broken bits of pottery. The new dictionary combines all three:

OSCAR WILDE SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON October 16th, the Religion of Antinous honors SAINT OSCAR WILDE who was born on this day in 1854. He died in ignominy and poverty on November 30th, 1900.

Ostensibly, Saint Oscar Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel.

Known for his biting wit, he became the most successful playwright of the late Victorian era in London, and the greatest "celebrity" of his day.

His plays are still widely performed, especially The Importance of Being Earnest.

As the result of a widely covered series of trials, Wilde experienced  a dramatic downfall and was imprisoned for two years' hard labour after being convicted of homosexual relationships, described as "gross indecency" with other men.

After Wilde was released from prison he set sail for Dieppe by the night ferry and he never returned to Ireland or Britain.

That is the truth, pure and simple, of his life. But as Saint Oscar himself once famously said: "The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."

For that reason (and for many others) we remember him not only because he was notorious (something for which he might claim to be quite proud) but because he remembered Antinous.

He kept the name of Antinous alive through his poetry: 

"—A moment more, the trees had stooped to kiss
Pale Daphne just awakening from the swoon
Of tremulous laurels, lonely Salmacis
Had bared his barren beauty to the moon,
And through the vale with sad voluptuous smileANTINOUS had wandered, the red lotus of the Nile.
"Down leaning from his black and clustering hair
To shade those slumberous eyelids — caverned bliss,
Or else on yonder grassy slope with bare
High-tuniced limbs unravished Artemis
Had bade her hounds give tongue, and roused the deer
From his green ambuscade with shrill hallo and pricking spear.FROM "THE BURDEN OF ITYS" BY OSCAR WILDE.


"—Lift up your large black satin eyes which are like cushions where one sinks!
Fawn at my feet fantastic Sphinx! and sing me all your memories!
Sing to me of that odorous green eve when couching by the marge
You heard from Adrian's gilded barge the laughter of ANTINOUS
And lapped the stream and fed your drouth and watched with hot and hungry stare
The ivory body of that rare young slave with his pomegranate mouth!

FROM "THE SPHINX" BY OSCAR WILDE.

Here are some quotations from Oscar Wilde:

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot.
In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.

I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.

Man can believe the impossible, but can never believe the improbable

The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.

Whenever a man does a thoroughly stupid thing, it is always from the noblest motives.

It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.

I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.

I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.

Always forgive your enemies — nothing annoys them so much.

A true friend stabs you in the front.

I don't want to earn my living — I want to live.

Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.

Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.

The only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about.

A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.

What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.

ANTINOUS IS A GOD OF HEALING By Our Novice Priest Adriaan van den Berg

Antinous heals! For centuries the ancient believers of Antinous petitioned their God for good health and for Antinous to heal them.

Antinous knows these calls, these petitions and requests, these most dire and desperate pleas, he is familiar with the circumstances and conditions of sickness, he understands the suffering and he intervenes.

His healing power, according to the Obelisk of Antinous in Rome, is expressed through dreams, but he is also a god of the miraculous... Not the cheap trick variety, but of the interventionist kind. 

Yes, Antinous can instantly and immediately cure you from what afflicts you. You just have to ask! A simple prayer to Antinous, as if you were conversing with him, is all it would take. Ask him to heal you. 

Our God is a God of Healing and he will listen to those calling upon him. If you fear the Covid virus, take all precautions, but ask Antinous' to free you of all fear and apprehension, he will give you peace.

Antinous is a friend above all, an intimate and sincere friend to all who profess friendship with him. Again, profess your friendship through prayers to him, and you will be blessed with a companion too.

Ave Antinous!
Adriaan van den Berg
Novice Priest of Antinous

ASTRO FORECAST: OCTOBER 14th—24th, 2021

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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OCTOBER 14th-24th, 2021

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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14th, 2021

This week, Sun trine Jupiter brings you good fortune in all areas of life. A beneficent trine aspect between the Libra Sun and Aquarius Jupiter comes to the rescue. This is a bright spot amidst doom-and-gloom of recent weeks. Jupiter has been Retrograde since June 20th, 2021, and you have experienced introspection and review. You may have felt you were spinning your wheels much of the time. And because Retrograde Jupiter is retrograde in Aquarius, you have to rely more upon hard work than upon luck, despite the fact that Jupiter is the luckiest planet in the Zodiac. When Jupiter turns retrograde, the action of Jupiter is reversed so that the emphasis is upon inner awareness and inner growth. When opportunities arise while Jupiter is retrograde, they are the result of seeds planted in the past from people met or connections made in the past. This week's Sun-trine-Jupiter aspect represents a bright spot for this difficult period.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2021

This week, Mercury forms a sextile aspect with Venus. And because Mercury is retrograde, you can expect a message from someone you from your past when we enjoy a Mercury sextile Venus aspect which enhances communicative skills. You may get a message from a business partner or from a friend or lover who ignites interests that quicken your pulse just in time for the coming weekend.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16th, 2021

This weekend, the LGBT spiritual revolution gets a massive boost when the Sun is in a 90-degree right angle to Pluto, which is aligned in near conjunction with the star of Antinous in the sign of Capricorn ... sending transformative energies that can radically alter gay spirituality for centuries to come. Pluto takes more than 250 years to orbit the Sun. To give you some perspective, the last time Pluto was in Capricorn was in the late 18th Century ... the dawning of the Age of Reason and the revolutions in France and America. This time around, Capricorn Pluto is once again revolutionizing global political and economic structures along with belief systems. This is an opportunity for LGBT advancement that will not come again in our lifetimes. Seize the opportunity for transformational healing to prepare you for the world that will exist when Pluto leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius ... in 2023. More on how Capricorn Pluto and the Star of Antinous can change your life: PLUTO ALIGNS WITH THE STAR OF ANTINOUS.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17th, 2021

This weekend, 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 June 28, 2022, may result in disappointment and loss.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18th, 2021

Aren't you tired of all the computer glitches, "lost" files, travel delays and snafus of recent weeks? Take heart! Today Mercury does an about-face and starts going forward again as seen from Earth, ending three weeks of Retrograde "backwards" travel. So you can safely message friends and co-workers a prediction that certain "lost" computer files or parcels will show up by the time they go to work tomorrow morning. Mercury going backwards creates this sort of impish mayhem with matters concerning communications, documents and money. Misplaced tickets, keys, "lost" computer files, letters and packages which vanish into postal limbo ... all are typical of Retrograde Mercury. The "lost" things turn up again as if by magic when Mercury goes Direct again. A skilled astrologer, Hadrian no doubt amazed his courtiers by accurately predicting when some "lost" document or wayward courier message would finally re-appear out of no where.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19th, 2021

This week, you may feel like a "noble knight" when Mars forms a trine aspect with the Jupiter. Unfortunately, Mars trine Jupiter many people may become deluded that they are superheroes, using others as kindling to start fires — not always literally, often metaphorically. Either way, it is just so they can be seen to be the hero and put it out and destroy the lives of others in the process. Beware of crusaders who urge you to take part in some sacred battle. And beware of demagogues who insist they are fighting a holy war, sacrificing the lives of many innocent men women and children in the name of war or competition for basic/personal needs, just so they look like the hero.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20th, 2021

On Wednesday, 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. On a brighter note, however, be sure to buy a lottery ticket when the Sun forms a sextile aspect with lucky Jupiter. Keep your eyes open for opportunities for good fortune.

THURS-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21st-24th, 2021

This promises to be one of the unluckiest weeks of the year when aggressive Mars is in a tight, 90-degree square angle to death planet Pluto, which is aligned with the Star of Antinous in the sign of Capricorn. This is the textbook recipe for armed conflict, terrorist attacks and economic collapse. One the one hand, there is a powerful yearning for a dramatic new beginning. That is a good thing, in general. But on the other hand, there are ruthless people who take advantage of that yearning to push their own agendas for changing the world to fit their own selfish ends. Quite aside from global politics and economics, you will sense these tensions in your own domestic life and on the job. Remember to keep your head and strive for compromise while others lose their heads or ram their heads through the wall! More on how Capricorn Pluto and the Star of Antinous can change your life: PLUTO ALIGNS WITH THE STAR OF ANTINOUS.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between October 25th and 31st when we come to the Leo Third Quarter Moon, which is called the BACCHANALIA MOON in Antinous Moon Magic for its gifts of transcendence ... This Lunar Phase reflects those festivals of peering into other worlds and states of being ... a restless time of high-spirited indulgence, sometimes fun, sometimes slightly scary and always capable of unleashing powerful spirits ... On a mundane level, it refers to putting on a disguise and "having a good time". On a spiritual level, it refers to entering an altered state to commune with the divine, thus this Lunar Phase is the best time of the year for trance visions ... More details next time ....

A PHALLIC AMULET OR TALISMAN KEPT DOCTOR AWAY IN ANCIENT ROME

IN ancient Roman religion and magic, the fascinus or fascinum was the embodiment of the divine phallus. 

Phallic imagery was everywhere in Ancient Rome: inscribed on paving stones, on pendants and jewelry and as decorative hangings, such as this terracotta fascinus found in Pompeii.

The deity Fascinus was tended by the Vestal Virgins who blessed phallus effigies, amulets and talismans, and spoke enchantments invoke his divine protection. 

Pliny calls it a medicus invidiae, a "doctor" or remedy for envy (invidia, a "looking upon") or the evil eye.

Tintinnabulum hanging wind chimes in gardens warded off insect pests and blights from plants.

A fascinus ring on a child's finger, or pendant around the child's neck served to protect the tot from harm.

Phallic emblems on paving stones were intended to keep away evil spirits who might cause traffic accidents.

A winged phallus whisked harm away with the beat of its wings.