"He will be handsome, attractive and have an uncommonly well-proportioned body and amiable disposition."
As the baby's mother smiled and nodded (image here by Priest Uendi), the astrologer would be encouraged to go on:
"And because Jupiter was well aspected to Venus as his mother gave birth to him, little Antinous will one day become the friend of a king ... favored for his great beauty ... and in general will be favored with fortune over all his peers."
All of those things are listed in the standard textbook used by astrologers in the 2nd Century AD ... the "Mathesis" by Julius Firmicus Maternus.
The astrologer would be reading word-for-word from the textbook for a child born whose Rising Sign was 19 degrees Aquarius.
But the textbook has more to say ... and the astrologer might have been forgiven for conveniently "forgetting" to mention the next sentence couple of sentences:
Modern-day astrologers no longer use the Ancient Roman "Mathesis" textbook ... not as a rule ... although it is right on the mark in this case.
But just like the ancient soothsayer, a modern a modern astrologer sees a bright and vivacious young man who stands out from all the others when he walks into a room.
His sunny disposition is enhanced by the fact that the sun was high overhead in optimistic Sagittarius ... in conjunction with his Mid-Heaven.
His Aquarius Ascendant gives him a slight aloofness and appearance of being above it all. Yet Aquarius Rising also enables him to charm large crowds and impress others with his interest in a broad array of subjects. He can talk about almost anything with a degree of authority and interest.
Jupiter is at right angles to Venus, creating an exuberant personality ... a person who love to party ... loves excess ... someone who is generous to a fault, handing out money and favors as if there is no tomorrow.
Venus is in the House of Death, suggesting a willingness to die for love ... though, again, this is not something an astrologer would necessarily tell parents of a newborn.
Saturn is stranded in the First House, which speaks of a dour longterm future. But it is well aspected to Mercury, which is in Scorpio in the Ninth House, the House of Religion.
People with Scorpio Mercury do not hesitate to tell the unvarnished truth. They ferret out secrets and love to cast light on hidden truth.
Hadrian must have loved Antinous in large part because Antinous invariably told him the truth, unlike all the other sycophantic and toadying courtiers.The Moon was aligned with Mars in Aries the day Antinous was born. It must have been a stunning sight to go outside that evening and see the waxing First Quarter Aries Moon with a bright red star next to it ... Mars in conjunction.
People with Moon/Mars conjunction in Aries are such hot and fiery personalities that they can literally feel warm. They sleep without covers in the coldest weather.
They throw of unnecessary clothing. They are hot and passionate. They are quick to blow off steam, but also quick to forgive and forget.
People with Moon/Mars aligned in Aries are also liable to take unnecessary risks. They live fast ... they burn the candle at both ends ... they do not fear death.
Those are the major aspects that an ancient astrologer would have seen in this natal chart.
But there would be aspects of this natal chart which would have been "invisible" to a 2nd Century astrologer ... but which leap out from the computer screen at a 21st Century astrologer. Look at the chart on this page and you notice multiple triangles overlaid on top of each other.
A total of Seven Grand Trines form the backbone of this extraordinary birth chart ... but they involve the planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto ... which were not discovered until the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
These slow-moving outer planets rarely form aspects with one another ... centuries pass before they form aspects.
Uranus and Neptune were in alignment when Antinous was born ... Uranus and Neptune were in alignment in the 1820s when the decipherment of the Rosetta Stone helped to spawn "Antinomania" and revive interest in Antinous.And Uranus and Neptune were aligned again in the late 1980s and '90s ... when the Modern Religion of Antinous was awakened.
A modern astrologer looks at those Seven Grand Trines ... involving Moon/Mars, Pluto, Uranus and Neptune ... and instantly sees that this person was born at an extraordinary moment in time ... when the planets were signaling a dramatic and sudden turning point.
This baby boy would become the last Classical deity. It is in his birth chart.
One final note: Hadrian was obsessed with horoscopes and would have studied the birth chart of Antinous in detail. After Antinous died, Hadrian discovered a star in the Constellation of Ganymede equivalent to the last decade of Capricorn.
Hadrian called it the Star of Antinous and he renamed the star group the Constellation of Antinous. The new star was located where Jupiter had been on the day when Antinous was born. The Star was forever linked with his natal Jupiter.
In FIXED STAR ASTROLOGY the natal conjunction of Jupiter and the Star of Antinous represents: "Great good fortune in wealth, fame, success ... but with constant threat of loss. Spiritual and religious authority and influence."
In Ancient Rome, Jupiter symbolized the Emperor ... so that Antinous was forever linked with Hadrian ... shining together ... for all eternity.
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