Friday, December 31, 2021

ODE TO LUCIUS AELIUS
By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia



ON January 1st we celebrate the brief but shining life of Lucius Aelius Caesar, Hadrian's "other favorite" and chosen heir who predeceased the Emperor by dying suddenly on 1st January 138 AD. Antonius Subia says:

Long Live Lucius Aelius Caesar
The Prince of Flowers!
Hadrian's First Love
Who raised Temples to Antinous
Lucius Capricornius, who reigned for one day
And for all eternity
Beauty and Spirit of the Latins
The shining one who gave his blood for laurels

~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

THE APOTHEOSIS OF AELIUS CAESAR


ON December 31st we commemorate the Apotheosis of Aelius Caesar.

Hadrian adopted Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus, and called him Aelius Verus Caesar (portraits by Priest Uendi).

It was said that beauty was his only recommendation. His poor health soon overtook him and Hadrian is reported to have said, "We have leaned against a tottering wall and have wasted the four hundred million sentences which we gave to the populace and the soldiers on the adoption of Commodus."

He died on the Calends of January in the year 138 ... only a few months before Hadrian ... from an overdose of medicine given to help him make a speech to the Senate thanking Hadrian for the succession.

After Aelius Caesar's death, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius (September 19, 86 - March 7, 161) on the condition that Antoninus Pius adopt the younger Lucius Verus and Hadrian's great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Aurelius (April 26, 121 - March 17, 180).

Marcus later co-ruled with Lucius as Marcus Aurelius until Lucius' death in 169, at which time he was sole ruler until his own death in 180. Collectively, they are remembered as the Antonine Dynasty of emperors who ruled wisely over a period noted for its peace and prosperity.

In his classic text The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 18th Century historian Edward Gibbon considers the reign of the Antonines, as well as those of their predecessors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian, the height of the Roman Empire, after which time the empire began its inexorable decline.

Aelius Caesar is a major character in Marguerite Yourcenar's epic historical novel Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian).

Lucius, as we affectionately call him, is the recipient of much bittersweet love and adoration from followers of the Religion of Antinous

For us he represents so many pretty young men whose bright futures are thwarted by tragic illness.


Aelius Caesar is often called the Western Favorite, because of the possibility that he rivaled Antinous for Hadrian's love.

We venerate Aelius Caesar as the fallen Prince of Flowers, the spiritual twin brother of Antinous whose death is the end of the Saturnalia.

Thursday, December 30, 2021

ASTRO FORECAST: DECEMBER 30th, 2021—JANUARY 9th, 2022

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


DECEMBER 30th, 2021, to JANUARY 9th, 2022


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30th, 2021

This week is dominated by Mercury conjunction Venus as they interact with Pluto and the Star of Antinous to make this a very special week indeed. Things will be explosive when Mercury/Venus and Pluto are aligned with the star. This creates an explosive situation for interpersonal relationships. It begins at the breakfast table over corn flakes when you say you want to go shopping and your alpha-male boyfriend starts in saying that it's typical of you to go off and spend money and waste time while he has to clean the house. Next thing you know, the two of you have been screaming at each other for hours. Remember that astrology is a tool to master such situations. Mercury-Venus-Pluto is a golden opportunity to rediscover the things you love about your lover. Okay, so he's a bitch-on-wheels. So what? He's your bitch-on-wheels and the two of you love each other. Make a stab at helping him clean the house — and sneak online and buy needless stuff on eBay when he's not looking.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31st, 2021

This New Year's Eve 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.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 1st, 2022

This New Year's Day weekend it's time to take advantage of those Clearance Sales and buy a new phone, tablet or other communications device when Mercury enters the tech-friendly and communications-conscious sign of Aquarius. This is the best time of year for communications technology upgrades. But hurry, because Mercury leaves Aquarius on March 24th and dives into the dreamy waters of Pisces.

SUN-MONDAY, JANUARY 2nd-3rd, 2022

Overnight Sunday-Monday, as if to underscore the beginning of yet another pandemic year, we come to the Capricorn New Moon, which we call the LAMIA MOON of dark magic. Meditation and rituals conducted tonight are best suited for rooting out malaise and sickness and for diminishing evil sendings. Look for areas in your life where you may be detrimental to yourself, may be working against yourself or may be making yourself sick, perhaps literally so.

TUES-THURSDAY, JANUARY 4th-6th, 2022

This New Year's week is a great time to take in an art exhibit, virtually if not in reality ... or to create art yourself ... Capricorn Venus is in a creative sextile with Pisces Neptune. Trust your intuition on all matters of money and love. And when you go online this week, you can expect romance because Pisces Neptune loves romance.

FRI-SATURDAY, JANUARY 7th-8th, 2022

This weekend you discover the warrior goddess within your heart ... when the Sun aligns in conjunction with Venus ... both in steadfast Capricorn. You fight for your beliefs ... no one can defeat you.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 9th, 2022

This weekend we come to the Aries First Quarter Moon, which is the Lunar Phase we call the INVICTUS MOON ... the Antinous Moon Magic spirit of Mithras ... because this lunar phase always occurs in December or January near the Solstice Birthday of Mithras ... Invictus is the bold light that shines forth from a gay man's eyes to illuminate those around him. It is the warmth of your every being ... It is the optimism which brightens a dismal day when things are going wrong. Invictus is indomitable, unbeatable, unconquerable ... It is a determined spirit which never admits defeat, never gives up, never quits ... Invictus is a beacon which dispels darkness and casts out shadows ... In Antinous Moon Magic, tonight is an ideal time for meditation and rituals aimed at illuminating opaque situations or questions ... It is well-suited for planning assertive, goal-oriented action aimed at whole-heartedly positive results.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between January 10th to 16th, 2022, when we come to the Cancer Full Moon. It is the lunar phase we call the LUNUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic — the Moon of Moons! This is a Full Moon which brings out powerful emotions. Because this Full Moon always occurs during December/January, it is emotional farewell to the old year and heart-felt welcoming of the new year. You will shed sentimental tears for loved ones you have lost during the past year, not to mention a job or other things you may have lost ... More details next time ....


ANTINOUS WELCOMES ALL


AS we celebrate the Saturnalia on the cusp of 2021/22 we welcome the hundreds of new subscribers and followers on this blog and on FACEBOOKINSTAGRAM  and  TWITTER.

Antinous welcomes you!

Antinous, last of the Classical deities, embraces all others. 

He is the Gay God who embraces all Gays from all cultures and from all nations. 

Just as each gay man is different, His ancient statues depict HIM in the guise of Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and many others. 

The image on this page by ANDRÉ DURAND shows a new follower adoring Antinous (as Osiris) in the inner-most alcove of the Canopus Pool at Hadrian's Villa.

Antinous welcomes all, regardless of cultural origins or religious beliefs.

There is no record that Antinous has ever fought against or squabbled with any deity. Instead, he prefers to cloak himself in their starry mantle and become one with them.

Antonyus Nikias Subia is the spiritual leader of our religion. Check out the online TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS

Some of us, like Antonius, worship Antinous to the exclusion of all other deities. 

But there are lots of Wiccans in this group, as well as Buddhists, Hindus, along with Jews, Christians and many, many fallen Catholics ... plus the odd Chaos "magickian" as well as none-of-the-above individualists.

All ages are represented, from 19 to 99. They are scattered around the world on all continents ... with the possible exception of Antarctica! 

Temples are being established in Mexico and -Brazil, where there is a huge contingent of Antinous worshipers.

So feel free to introduce yourself to the group and to tell us where you're coming from ... physically and spiritually.

Whether you decide to stay or whether you are "just browsing" and decide to move on elsewhere ... may the love of the Most Great and Good God, the Blessed Boy Antinous, enter your heart and fill it with His love and joy.

May He become one with you, as He has with so many mortals and deities throughout the ages. And may you discover Him in your heart and may you take the spiritual plunge to god-man-sameness," a process Antonius Subia calls HOMOTHEOSIS.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

EXPERTS DECIPHER TWO MAGICAL SPELLS
FOUND NEAR ANTINOOPOLIS IN EGYPT



TWO ancient Egyptian papyrus magic spells in use in or near Antinoopolis have been deciphered by Italian archaeologists, who say the curious documents had a "fill-in-the-blanks" format for targeting people to bless ... or to curse.

They were written around 1,700 years ago and filed away at the famous library at the town of OXYRHYNCHUS (which Hadrian and Antinous visited) near Antinoopolis and have been translated for the first time. 

The names of those targeted are left blank to be inserted.

Antinoopolis was always a place of "magic, sorcery and strange religious fervor " according to Royston Lambert in his authoritative book about Antinous, BELOVED AND GOD

We know that the priests of Antinous wrote a LOVE SPELL. Lambert notes that even to this day local villagers believe the place to be haunted.

Just last year, scholars in Australia translated a GRIMOIR disguised as a Coptic prayer book which magician-priests at Antinoopolis could have used to cast spells.

But the latest discovery of two spells goes much farther towards enlarging our knowledge of magical skills in the Antinoopolis area.


One text invokes the gods to "burn the heart" of a woman until she loves the caster, said Franco Maltomini of the University of Udine in Italy, who translated the two spells. 

Another spell, targeted at a male, uses a series of magical words to "subject" him, forcing him to do whatever the caster wants.

The two spells were not targeted at a specific person. Rather, they were written in such a way that the person who cast the spell would only need to insert the name of the person being targeted.

The deciphered love spell invokes several gnostic gods. (Gnosticism was an ancient religion that incorporated elements of Christianity.) 

It says that the spell caster should burn a series of offerings in the bathhouse (the names of the offerings didn't survive degradation) and write a spell on the bathhouse's walls, which Maltominitranslated as follows:

"I adjure you, earth and waters, by the demon who dwells on you and (I adjure) the fortune of this bath so that, as you blaze and burn and flame, so burn her (the woman targeted)whom (the mother of the woman targeted) bore, until she comes to me…"

Then, the spell names several gods and magical words. It goes on to say, "Holy names, inflame in this way and burn the heart of her…" until she falls in love with the person casting the spell.

The text of the other deciphered spell calls for the person casting it to engrave onto a small copper or lead plaque a series of LEAD CURSE magical words, including the phrase translated as "subject to me the (name of the) man, whom (the name of the man's mother) bore…" and then to stitch the plaque onto something the man wears, such as a sandal.

The spell, if successful, was supposed to force the man to do whatever the spell caster wanted,the ancient text says.

On the back of that papyrus is a list of recipes that use droppings from animals to treat a wide range of conditions, including headaches and leprosy. Some of the recipes simply say that they help "promote pleasure." 

One recipe says that a combination of honey and droppings from a bittern bird, used in a way that isn't specified, will "promote pleasure," according to the ancient text. 

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

EDWARD PERRY 'NED' WARREN
SAINT OF ANTINOUS


ON December 28th the Religion of Antinous celebrates the life of Saint Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, who died on this day in 1928. 

Estranged and ostracized by "decent" socialites, Saint Ned Warren was a famed gay Bostonian art collector who virtually single-handedly built up the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston Museum of Fine Arts through his passion for Classical art.

As a sissified schoolboy who suffered the taunts of bullies, he wrote a poem comparing a classmate in whom he was infatuated to Antinous.

He and his lover John Marshall travelled around Europe seeking out and buying art treasures for great museums. They were referred to snidely as "the bachelors of art" among society circles in Britain and America. 

But Warren was so fabulously rich, and museums depended on him  so much, that nobody dared say anything to his face about his blatant homosexuality. His gifts to the Boston MFA made up 90 per cent of its Classical collection, one of the finest in the world.

Even so, he found puritanical Boston deeply disagreeable, and spent most of his life in England when he was not at his apartment in Rome.

The famous Warren Cup and Rodin's statue The Kiss are just two of the most well-known objects he rounded up -- both of which were rejected by museums in Britain and America as being too raunchy. Museum curators feared museum-goers could be lured into thinking unwholesome thoughts.


Warren in fact actually commissioned the The Kiss from Rodin, explicitly saying he wanted large genitals on the man. To this day, photographs of the famous statue tend to avoid a full-frontal male view for that very reason.

The Warren Cup is a solid silver goblet which dates back to the 1st Century CE/AD and was found near Jerusalem. It is believed that it was deposited along with other valuables (some gold coins, jewellery and other precious items) in a cache by the servants of a fleeing Roman nobleman during one of several Jewish uprisings. It is even possible that it was buried during the uprising that was crushed by Hadrian's legions. 

The cup itself is considerably older, and may date to Republican times. And it is done in a retro-style which was a bit archaic even when it was new.

As the photos demonstrate, the Warren Cup shows two scenes (one on each side of the cup) of a man and a youth having sex on a couch. The silverwork is exquisitely done and the hair and draperies and facial expressions are beautifully rendered. It also reflects a bit of tongue-in-cheek wit by showing a servant boy peering curiously around a door frame at the lovers.

On one side a young man (barely more than a boy himself) is having his way with a young boy. On the other side, an older man with a beard is having anal sex with a younger man who is seated on top of him and holding onto what appears to be perhaps part of the drapes of a canopy bed. A servant looks on from the doorway off to the right side.

Saint Ned is believed to have purchased the Warren Cup from an antiquities dealer in Italy.
His efforts to sell it to museums in London and the U.S. were rebuffed.

The Warren Cup's unabashedly gay sex theme is impossible to ignore. The cup has been controversial in the art world ever since it first came to light in the 19th Century.

For many, many years, museums on both sides of the Atlantic refused to obtain it (despite its unquestionable value as a remarkably important historical piece of art) because of Victorian and Edwardian moral objections to its "immoral and beastly" theme.

At one time a curator for the British Museum was interested in acquiring the Warren Cub.

But other experts reminded him that one of the members of the board of directors of the British Museum was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The result was that museum officials were loathe to show his reverence even a photograph of the cup, let alone ask him to condone purchasing it for the collection.

So the cup languished in Warren's personal collection for many years and changed hands many times after his death, never ever being put on public display.

The British Museum finally purchased the Warren Cup for a large sum in 1999 -- and even then there was much titillation in the tabloid press.

Ned Warren wrote extensively about his views that homosexuality is a spiritual state of being, something divinely magical. Taunted as a schoolboy for being a bookworm and a sissy (he would get up at 5 a.m. to read Greek until breakfast), he nonetheless had many crushes on other schoolboys. He wrote about them all in his diary, and even wrote a poem about one especially beautiful boy whom he called a modern Antinous.

As an adult, he continued to proclaim his notion of idealized homosexual love, much to the distress of his family in Boston.

He even wrote a book entitled The Defence of Uranian Love about the same time that Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was published. 

He also used his wealth to sponsor the educations of numerous boys and young men who showed promise but had no money.

He was very generous and had a big heart. For example, he heard that the daughter of a vicar in his district in England had become pregnant out of wedlock and was going to be forced to give up the child. 

Saying "this is as bad as Boston," he was so outraged that he legally adopted the little boy himself. He allowed mother and son to live upstairs in his home in England at his expense and loudly defied anyone to besmirch her honor or that of Travis, the little boy.

Ned Warren and his lover John Marshall had a stormy, on-again off-again relationship, but they were together at their flat in Rome in February of 1928. On the evening of the 15th, John went to bed early not feeling well. Ned tiptoed in later and kissed him good night and got in bed beside him. John was dead by morning.

Ned never recovered from that blow. He returned to England, where his health declined rapidly. Saying he couldn't face Christmas and New Year's without John, he died in a nursing home in England on December 28, 1928, at the age of 68.

He was cremated on January 1, 1929. But because he had always been blatant about his homosexuality, no members of his family attended the funeral and none of the museums that had benefitted so much from his largesse sent a representative to the memorial service.


His ashes were buried in the non-Catholic cemetery in Bagni di Lucca, Italy, a town known as a spa in Etruscan and Roman times.

We honor Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, 1860-1928, who wrote a poem likening a boy he loved to Antinous.

Monday, December 27, 2021

'MY DEATH NEEDS TO MEAN SOMETHING'
17-YEAR-OLD TRANS GIRL SAID IN FINAL NOTE



ANTINOUS weeps for Leelah Alcorn (November 15, 1997 – December 28, 2014) the 17-year-old US transgender girl who committed suicide to make a statement about the societal standards of transgender people. 

A suicide note was published on her Tumblr page in which she declared that she wanted her suicide to cause an impact and create a dialogue about the discrimination and abuse of transgender people.

Meanwhile, Leelah Alcorn rallies are planned and a candlelight vigil is scheduled to be held at Leelah's high school near Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 3.

Laverne Cox and Emmy Rossum are a few of the celebs who spoke out after Leelah took her own life after struggling for many years as a transgender girl. 

At the Hollywood Temple of Antinous, Antonius Subia said he was devastated by the news, coming on the heels of many hundred deaths this past year involving LBGT youth.

"When these kids say that there is no hope for them, it's because that's all they see," Antonius said.  

"We need to look into our souls and see how we can change the world for them, what we can do to give them hope. The list of Saint nominations for 2015 keeps growing," he said.

"May Antinous take Leelah Alcorn into his arms and give her a place on the Barque of Millions of Years," Antonius added.

Leelah was born in November 1997 to parents Doug and Carla Alcorn. Her birth name was Joshua Ryan Alcorn. One of four children, she was raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment. 

In a suicide note, she referred to herself as Leelah Alcorn.

According to the suicide note, she identified as a transgender female from age 14, when she became aware of the term, having felt "like a girl trapped in a boy’s body" since she was four. 

She subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. 

She attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received therapy and "biased" counseling from Christian therapists.

The note also describes her coming out as gay at age 16, hoping it would be a stepping stone to coming out as transgender at a later date. 

She wrote that she was instead taken out of school by her parents and cut off from the outside world for five months as her parents denied her access to social media and many forms of communication. She described this as a large contributing factor towards her suicide.

She committed suicide by walking into the path of a tandem-trailer truck on a highway near her home in Ohio on December 28, 2014.

Sunday, December 26, 2021

THE ANTINOUS CROSSROADS MOON
THE LIBRA THIRD QUARTER MOON


TONIGHT's Libra Third Quarter Moon is the lunar phase we call the CROSSROADS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic. It is symbolized by the "Herme" shown here, the ithyphallic stele of Mercury which guarded intersections of Roman roads.

Tonight is a propitious time for setting a new course, possibly changing course, setting out in a new direction. It is about making a decision. The key is not to worry about which choice to make. The key is to make a choice and go ahead with it. 

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Crossroads Moon the decision-making capability of Antinous/Mercury. It is the spirit of making choices, weighing options and then choosing one. 

This Crossroads lunar spirit is the guardian at the crossroads who admonishes travelers not to dither nor tary, not to avoid making a decision. He is the guardian who presents travelers with alternatives. He does not care whether the right choice is made, but only insists that some choice is made. 

He personifies the roads, streets and highways in life, both literal and figurative. He also represents the network of veins and arteries in your body along which oxygen-enriched blood flows to every organ. 

And this spirit is the embodiment of any parting of the ways. He is the turning point and the divining rod who shows the way ahead.

Tonight is ideal for carrying out meditations and rituals aimed at making decisions or deciding what course of action to take. Because this lunar phase occurs in December or January, it is an ideal time for taking stock of the old year and making decisions for the new year.

AMETHYST FOR THE CROSSROADS MOON
By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell



AT this time of year people are focusing on resolutions for the new year. Good in some ways but we should, perhaps, consider making life changes at any time of year that feels appropriate, or in tune with the moon phase attributes that the sparkling Hernestus keeps us posted about. 

This year, however, it might be particularly good to set resolutions. 

This moon phase is the Crossroads moon so actually is perfect for making decisions for the future. To help you achieve this I would recommend meditations focusing on your resolution while holding or visualising your choice of (or combination of) the following crystals:

Amethyst -  These magical crystals are extremely powerful as a protective stone. They create higher states of consciousness and strongly enhance meditation. This wonderful crystal also helps the decision making process by enhancing common-sense and facilitating you to actually make the decision. 

Azeztulite - These were once very rare because it only comes from one US mine and the owner limited the supply. That has now changed so crystal stores do, now, often stock them. 

Many believe that these crystals only appear in one place because aliens placed them there to be found/used by humans who understood how crystals could be used to contact higher plains of existence. 

These crystals are certainly wonderful for connecting spiritually when decision making. They are, however, highly vibrational which means that new users may find it too powerful and feel overwhelmed, dizzy or sick using it at first. Once 'tuned in to them they are highly recommended for many states of mind.

Jade - If you want a stone/crystal to help you on your spiritual or life journey then Jade is a wonderful assistant.

It can awake hidden knowledge (buried in your subconscious or, perhaps, shrouded from you by incorrect mainstream religious teachings).  

I recommend green jade but  blue or white Jade also may help you during meditations right now. Use these crystal connectors to help you to make a choice and go ahead with it.

Love and Light,
MARTIN

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

MITHRAS TEMPLE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND
WAS ALIGNED TO SUNRISE DECEMBER 25



AN ancient temple constructed by a mysterious cult in northern England may have been built to align with sunrise on December 25, to "recall the birth" of the light god Mithras.

A new analysis using satellite maps and a software that can plot the direction of sunrise and sunset revealed that the Mithraeum beside a Roman fort in Carrawburgh, England, lines up with both the winter solstice and December 25th.

Followers of the cult of Mithras often associated these two dates with the god, and were even said to celebrate the New Year on December 25th, as it marked his birth.

In a paper published to Philica, Amelia Carolina Sparavigna of Politecnico di Torino says the temple at Carrawburgh was designed for the birth of Mithras.

Sparavigna used the SunCal.net software to pinpoint the direction of sunrise and sunset at different times of the year for this location.

And, this revealed "good alignment" for the December 25 sunrise along with the winter solstice (December 21), with a difference of just 0.2 degrees.

"As we can see using software giving the sunrise and sunset directions on satellite maps, the orientation of the temple and the direction of the sunrise on winter solstice are in good agreement," Sparavigna wrote.

"It means that, probably, the orientation of the temple was chosen to recall the birth of Mithras on December 25."

Worship of Mithras spurred the rise of a mystery cult during the Roman era.

It was practiced from the 1st Century to 4th Century AD, and is linked to the sun god Sol Invictus.

"The cult of Mithras, such as that of the Sol Invictus, who was the patron of the soldiers, was very popular in the Roman army," Sparavigna wrote.

"Both Sol Invictus and Mithras, who were often identified in the same god, are linked to winter solstice.

"Actually, the followers of Mithras worshipped the New Year on December 25, to celebrate the birth of Mithras."

Saturday, December 25, 2021

ANTINOUS EMBRACES GEORGE MICHAEL
(25 June 1963 - 25 December 2016)



MUSIC legend George Michael is a saint of Antinous for inspiring millions of LGBT people. 

Known for hit songs such as “Faith,” “Freedom ‘90” and holiday favorite “Last Christmas,” he died at age 53 on 25 December 2016, of heart failure.

But the legacy of the pop icon, who sold well over 100 million albums in the span of his career, extends far beyond his music.

"George was probably the first gay pop star in the modern era, who was totally unabashed about gay sexuality,” said Martin Aston, a music journalist.

Even though Michael was forced out of the closet, once he was out, Aston noted, "he took a great leap forward" and "came out guns blazing."

Michael's moment of liberation followed what seemed at first to be a time of deep humiliation.

He was blessed with sensual good looks and an exquisite voice, attributes he used to become first a teenybopper heartthrob and then a mature solo artist with videos that played up his considerable appeal.

He kept his own sexual orientation private, until he was arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct in a public toilet in Los Angeles after being spotted by a male undercover police officer.

In an earlier era, that might have doomed his career. Instead of retreating, however, Michael made a single and video ... "Outside" ... that ridiculed the charges against him and mocked the Los Angeles police officers who busted him.

The memorable image of the two uniformed policemen kissing in the video ... both funny and outrageous at the time ... helped Michael come out as a proud gay man.

Despite his infamous outing, “he never dealt with [his sexuality] in terms of shame,” Aston told NBC Out. “He realized he had to be true to himself, and that had to have helped bust that closet door open.”

THE SATURNALIA
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SATURN



IN celebration of the return of Antinous Invictus, for the five days between December 25th and the 1st of January, we commemorate the Golden Age of the reign of Saturn.

This is a time outside of time, and an occasion for joy and freedom from the world when Sol Invictus returns.

The divine twins are born, Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys, Castor and Pollux, Freyr and Freya (for whom this time is also known as Yule).

(Image: Antinous as the Ghost of Christmas Present by S.L. GORE.)


We celebrate the Saturnalia with indulgence and as the festival of Liberty and total Freedom. There shall be no authority and no submission during this sacred period.


There is to be no war, and no form of violence committed, only peace and harmony and the many joys of ecstasy are allowed.

The rejoicing of the Saturnalia ends with the apotheosis of the Prince of Flowers, Aelius Caesar, on January 1st.

Friday, December 24, 2021

LOVELY 'BIRTH OF MITHRAS' SCULPTURE
OLDEST DEPICTION OF ZODIAC IN BRITAIN



ON what is now Christmas Day, troops on Hadrian's Wall 1,800 years ago were celebrating the birthday of the god Mithras.

Born on December 25, Mithras was worshipped at sites on at least three locations along the Wall.

This stunning sculpture of Mithras was discovered at Housesteads Roman fort in the 19th Century.

The stone relief shows Mithras emerging from the Orphic Egg – the symbol of eternal time.

The god is surrounded by an egg-shaped representation of the signs of the zodiac, representing the cosmos.

This is the earliest representation of the signs of the zodiac to be found in Britain.

It would have been lit from behind to present a powerful image for worshippers entering the semi-underground temple at Chapel Hill at Housesteads.

The sculpture is one of the main exhibits in a collection of Mithraic items from the Wall on show at the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

"It is one of the best collections of Mithraic material in the world," said Andrew Parkin, keeper of archaeology at Tyne Wear Archives and Museums.

It was totally repaired and conserved in recent years and is one of the most breath-taking works of art at the museum.

The carving is on display underneath a relief sculpture which shows a scene of Mithras slaying a bull, which was also found at Housesteads and was a common depiction in Mithraic temples.

"Our Mithras stone is a unique and powerful Roman object that blends several religious traditions," Andrew said. "We still have offerings left at the museum at Christmas time. Previously we've had a pot plant, pine cones, money and even a Chocolate Orange."

The stone is part of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne's collection.

The cult of Mithras was popular amongst the military and originated around 1400 BC in Persia.

It was confined to male worshippers and involved progression through several grades of worship with different ranks and costumes.

Mithraic temples have been identified in Northumberland at Housesteads, Rudchester and Carrawburgh, where three altars were found along with the remains of cockerels which had probably been sacrificed and statues of the god's helpers.

The complex imagery of the Housesteads sculpture suggests the sophistication of the cult at the fort. The celebration of Christmas became superimposed on earlier religious and ritual practices.

"To some extent there have always been mid-winter festivals at what is the darkest part of the year to mark the turning point when it will begin getting lighter," said Andrew. "In the early days Christianity was competing with a lot of different cults around the world."

Mithras was celebrated as the Lord of Ages and a god of light, who is often shown carrying a torch and bringing light to the world.

Thursday, December 23, 2021

ASTRO FORECAST: DECEMBER 23rd, 2021—JANUARY 2nd, 2022

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


DECEMBER 23rd, 2021, to JANUARY 2nd, 2022


THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23rd, 2021

Now we come to the December Solstice. Check out the nearly 20,000 worshipers of Antinous at the ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD FACEBOOK PAGE and you see there are people in South Wales (UK) and New South Wales (Australia). There are people in Sao Paulo and Sydney. There are people in California and Cape Town, and there are some in Portland Oregon and Portland Maine.

For some of us the days are getting shorter and Winter is approaching. For others of us the days are getting longer and Summer is on the way. For our brothers in Brazil and South Africa and Australia, the jacarandas are in bloom and the days are hot and balmy. Sydneysiders are bracing for another bush fire season.

For our brothers here in Britain and Europe, the days are short and almost completely sunless and the scent of roasted chestnuts and mulled wine fills the air from vendors on city streets.

For our brothers in the US and Canada, ice storms and the icy fear of pandemic disaster have put a chill on this Solstice Season.

Wherever we are, regardless of the season, Antinous the Gay God looks into our hearts.

And it is all happening at this magical moment. Twice a year there is a moment — in fact, a few days — when the sun seems to "stand still" in the heavens. From the Latin "sol stasis" we derive our name for these events: solstices.

That's the very odd thing about this blue marble upon which we live. The Solstice occurs at the same moment everywhere. But the hands on the clocks point to 23 different hours. And in some places it signals the start of summer (though the days start getting shorter), while in others the it signals the start of winter (though the days start getting longer).

But it is really the same moment and we are all living and breathing at this same moment, though we live in places where the hands of the clock point in all different directions. Each of us is alone. All of us are together in this aloneness. It is the same phenomenon. But how you see it depends on how you look at it.

The days are getting longer. The days are getting shorter. It all depends on how you look at it.

However you look at it, remember that we are all brothers, lovers and comrades. And we are all turning, turning toward our own true delight.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24th, 2021

This Yuletide season is likely to be a major turning point for the entire decade when logical-minded Aquarius Saturn is in a 90-degree square aspect to bull-in-a-china-shop Taurus Uranus. Because both planets are so slow-moving, Saturn square Uranus will dominate the whole of the coming year. But what is particularly interesting is that Saturn, the conservative, traditional and by-the-book planet, is in Aquarius — the most progressive sign, and Uranus, the revolutionary, unique, break-all-rules planet, is in Taurus, the most traditional sign. The Saturn-Uranus square can bring us enormous friction, but also incredible opportunities for change and progress. History will be made during the year-long Saturn-Uranus transit, so you want to pay special attention to the themes that play in your life during this historic configuration — because these themes are here to stay.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25th, 2021

On Christmas Day, the birthday of Sol Invictus, momentous cosmic events are occurring near Pluto aligned with THE STAR OF ANTINOUS in Capricorn. First of all, your emotions get their knickers in a twist when love planet Venus aligns in conjunction with Pluto in Capricorn. This once-a-year Venus/Pluto rendezvous is always a time of transformation in matters of love and money. On the downside, it also produces feelings of jealousy, envy, possessiveness and greed. But that's not all, because your intuition is enhanced when Mercury forms a sextile aspect with dreamy Neptune. You should trust your intuition about financial and business matters, but be wary of fast-talking con-men who try to cloud your mind. You can count on finding the right word at the right time by trusting your inner voice.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26th, 2021

Overnight Sunday-Monday we come to the Libra Third Quarter Moon. This is the lunar phase we call the CROSSROADS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... It is symbolized by the "Herme", the ithyphallic stele of Mercury which guarded intersections of Roman roads ... Tonight is a propitious time for setting a new course, possibly changing course, setting out in a new direction. It is about making a decision. The key is not to worry about which choice to make. The key is to make a choice and go ahead with it.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 27th, 2021

An ex-lover will call or visit you in the next 40 days ... Capricorn Venus goes "Retrograde" (backwards) until January 29th. Retrograde Capricorn Venus is emotionally cool, cautious 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 Capricorn 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.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 28th, 2021

Now Jupiter re-enters Pisces after having slipped "backwards" into Aquarius, the sign it had left last May. Jupiter only changes signs once a year, and when it does, it pretty much sets the scene, and gives us that "one topic" to focus on. This year is particularly special because both Jupiter and Neptune are in Pisces together, for the first time since the mid-19th Century. The great news about this pairing is that both Neptune and Jupiter feel at home in Pisces, so they feels great here. In Pisces, Jupiter can be as wise, spiritual, and big-picture as he wants. Neptune aspires to turn dreams into reality. The last two years or so have not been easy. The conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto and the Star of Antinous in Capricorn has been heavy and confining. Jupiter in Aquarius overall has been a better placement than Jupiter in Capricorn, but since Jupiter shares the sign with Saturn (in domicile in Aquarius) it gets to play by Saturn’s rules. Now that Jupiter moves into Pisces, our sense of faith and optimism will finally be restored.

WED-THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29th-30th, 2021

This week is dominated by Mercury conjunction Venus as they interact with Pluto and the Star of Antinous to make this a very special week indeed. Things will be explosive when Mercury/Venus and Pluto are aligned with the star. This creates an explosive situation for interpersonal relationships. It begins at the breakfast table over corn flakes when you say you want to go shopping and your alpha-male boyfriend starts in saying that it's typical of you to go off and spend money and waste time while he has to clean the house. Next thing you know, the two of you have been screaming at each other for hours. Remember that astrology is a tool to master such situations. Mercury-Venus-Pluto is a golden opportunity to rediscover the things you love about your lover. Okay, so he's a bitch-on-wheels. So what? He's your bitch-on-wheels and the two of you love each other. Make a stab at helping him clean the house — and sneak online and buy needless stuff on eBay when he's not looking.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31st, 2021

This New Year's Eve 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.

SAT-SUNDAY, JANUARY 1st-2nd, 2022

This New Year's Day weekend it's time to take advantage of those Clearance Sales and buy a new phone, tablet or other communications device when Mercury enters the tech-friendly and communications-conscious sign of Aquarius. This is the best time of year for communications technology upgrades. But hurry, because Mercury leaves Aquarius on March 24th and dives into the dreamy waters of Pisces.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between January 3rd to 9th, 2022, when we come to the Capricorn New Moon, which we call the LAMIA MOON of dark magic. Meditation and rituals conducted tonight are best suited for rooting out malaise and sickness and for diminishing evil sendings. Look for areas in your life where you may be detrimental to yourself, may be working against yourself or may be making yourself sick, perhaps literally so ... More details next time ....


HADRIAN IN APOLLINOPOLIS
THE EDFU TEMPLE OF HORUS

By Our Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia





AT the end of December 130 the court arrived at the sacred Egyptian city of Horus once known as Behdet, but later called Apollinopolis by the Greeks, because they equated Horus with Apollo, it is now called Edfu.

The Temple of Horus is one of the only surviving ancient pagan temples in the world. 

Apollinopolis is the sacred place where Horus defeated his great rival god Seth.

(Photos by Antonius Subia.) 

Among the many contests between Horus and Seth included one in which Seth tried to have anal sex with Horus and ejaculate inside him.

But Horus tricked Seth into ejaculating in his hand and then flung the sperm into the Nile. 

Then later Horus ejaculated onto lettuce and fed the salad to Seth who consumed the sperm and lost the contest.

The site of Apollinopolis was where Horus defeated Seth and became ruler of the cosmos and the divine model for the Kings of Egypt.

A ritual called the Feast of Victory was celebrated there at about the time of the December solstice.

Hadrian took part as Emperor-Pharaoh in the event, which was celebrated as a mystery play with high priests playing the roles of Horus and other gods.

Sabina took part as Empress taking on the form Isis.

The ceremony commemorated the victory of Horus with a ritual slaying of a Hippopotamus which represented Seth.

Throughout the ceremony Hadrian had to maintain perfect calm even though he was still deeply affected and mourning the recent loss of Antinous.

And he may have been terrified that the ferocious animal might break its chains and attack.

But a crowd was watching, some probably hoping he would lose his nerve. 

But everything proceeded as intended. Hadrian cast a harpoon into the beast from a boat on the sacred lake and the ceremony was deemed a success. 

The Lord of Darkness had been defeated, the New Sun God was restored, and Hadrian was proclaimed the incarnation of Horus.

As the ceremony concluded his thoughts and prayers were for Antinous and the spiritual dangers he must face on the ascent to immortality.

At this moment Antinous is ascending to the celestial sphere, passing through pylons, facing 72 archons, overcoming the adversaries with his divine power of Homotheosis.

Ave Antinous!
~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

Wednesday, December 22, 2021

THE RETURN OF THE CAPRICORN GODS
By Our Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia



THE Solstice occurred at 16:00 Universal Time Tuesday, and worshipers of Antinous in North and South America, Europe and Africa took part in Zoom ceremonies celebrating the Winter Solstice (for those in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Summer Solstice (for those in the Southern Hemisphere.

On this Sacred Night, We celebrate the triumphant return
Of the New Sun, Sol Invictus, Antinous-Mithras
May the reborn god of light cast away the darkness
That has weighed upon us over the course of this year.
May a new hope for the coming age be reborn this night
Father Saturn, who stands at the edge of the cosmos
Father of endless time, clockwork of the universe
We welcome the return your golden age...Ave Saturnalia!
We celebrate the return of the Capricorn Gods,
We praise the wild horned god
We praise both the lesser and the greater Pan.
We ask that Bacchus shall come forth within us
In his incarnate form of Antinous the Gay God,
May the semen of the first god be revealed within us
That we may become aware of our divine nature
On this sacred night of the winter solstice
We ask the blessing of the new born sun, 
The god of light, Sol Invictus!
Ave Antinous!

This is the Night of Sol Invictus, the rebirth of the Sun, 
Mithras is the super cosmic god who the ancients believed Caused the equinoxes to move backward in the sky

Tonight is the Solstice, when the savior gods are born,
Including Mithras, Osiris, Horus, Jesus, and the one to whom Antinous was compared above all others, Dionysus-Bacchus, the Capricorn god who like the others gave his life to save all mankind from perdition and to make us aware that we are Divine, that we all carry the semen of the first god within us.

We must awaken to our inner potential to the Homotheosis Power that we all hold within our hearts because the Age of Aquarius is here, we must rise up and overthrow the old and usher in the New Age. This is why Antinous has chosen now to restore his ancient religion, so that we will understand the significance of these signs, which others before or after might not have understood.  We are the chosen people of Antinous.

May the blessing of Sol Invictus be with us
May the Blessing of Antinous be with us on this sacred night.

Ave Antinous!
~ ANTONIUS SUBIA