AS worshipers of Antinous, people look to us to see how we Navigate these dark days of war and pandemic and economic crisis amidst a collective consciousness and culture of fear all over the world.
As worshipers of Antinous we don’t have to contribute to it, nor do we have to be oppressed by it. (Healing Antinous Art above by Miranda Baggins.)
1. First make a list: What all do you have to do? Look at it again – what do you have to do, and what can wait till later? What’s easy and can be cleared out of the way with little effort? What’s most important and deserves the bulk of your time? Start working the list and checking things off. Making a list doesn’t sound very spiritual to you? Haven’t you heard of the 42 Negative Confessions? The 12 Labors of Hercules? The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism? Making lists is a near-universal religious practice – put it to use in your life.
2. You feel in Despair: Things are bad, and you can’t see how they’re ever going to get better. Intellectually, you know you’ll manage one way or another, but right now you can’t see that far ahead and you’re not in the mood to listen to anyone’s cold hard logic.
Pray and make offerings. You can’t control how you feel, but you can control what you do – and it is always good to worship the Gods. Giving to Them reminds us that there’s something bigger than ourselves. And giving promotes reciprocity: we give to Them and trust that They will give to us.
ANTINOUS PRAYER BEADS
THERE are Catholic rosary beads, Eastern Orthodox beads, Swedish Lutheran Frälserkransen beads, Islamic prayer beads, Buddhist meditation beads, Hindu japa mala beads and even Wiccan prayer beads ... now several adherents of Antinous are designing ANTINOUS PRAYER BEADS.
Look to Your Ancestors
Many of our ancestors have faced situations like this before, but with different diseases. Though it is new to most of us, it is not new to the world. We can draw strength and hope from the wisdom of our ancestors, as well as their compassion and resilience. They adapted, and we are also now adapting.
Whatever comes, whatever we face, they stand behind us and beside us as our protectors and as our guides, and we ourselves are evidence that life goes on. We can take hope from that.
Give thanks for what you have, even if you don’t feel very thankful right now. Speak the yearnings of your heart, even if they’re clouded with pain. Don’t know what to say? Find an ancient prayer (The Hymns of Orpheus) to recite, or perhaps a modern one.
Pour libations and make food offerings. Worshippers of Antinous in ancient times would have given votive offerings to him at his altars; there is evidence that he was given gifts of food and drink in Egypt, with libations and sacrifices probably being common in Greece. Making offerings in a fire is a powerful act at any time. If it’s part of your tradition and appropriate for the deities you’re approaching, make your offerings to Antinous and any other gods you worship, and then after a suitable period of time, revert the offerings and consume the now-sanctified food and drink. As you eat and drink, you ingest the blessings of the Gods.
Cultivate Life & Create
It’s incredibly important to focus on life-giving and life-affirming experiences at times like this. Plant flowers start seeds. Learn the wisdom of the plants. Nurture your connection to the earth.
Make something with your hands. It doesn’t matter what it is but give yourself to the experience without attachment to the result. You’re utilizing your sacral energy when you do so, which is where the joy of living springs from. It’s incredibly important to remember the joy of living at a time like this.
Making list and prayer and offerings and even long walks outside are very helpful but one spiritual practice that is especially suited for difficult situations is:
3. Divination: Whether you use Tarot, Runes, or Scrying. Pick your favorite. Divination can’t make your decisions for you, but it can show you where a particular path will take you and what things will be like when you get there. If a path displayed is not what you wanted maybe you need to make some changes before it gets too late.
4. Sigil Magic: There may be hard situations you are going through, financial, job, better place to live, etc. Any magical system can help. The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum, meaning "seal" Though Sigil Magic is thought to have started in the Medieval period there is no reason you can’t use it in your worship of Antinous. This link is an easy step by step method that I have used. http://sigildaily.com/activating-rituals/
5. Meditation: There are several ways to mediate You can use mediation focused on Antinous or other gods and spirits or ideas. There is the Buddhist-style “empty your mind”. Focus on your breathing or on a candle flame. If thought pop into your head, acknowledge them, let them go, and return to your breathing. Just sit. The physical and psychological benefits of meditation are clear – the spiritual benefits can be every bit as dramatic.
Build a foundation of regular devotion. Do the necessary prep work. Do your rituals in wild places and in dark places. Be patient but be persistent. Be open to the workings of Antinous and be receptive to his call.
These are the spiritual practices that work for all of us in difficult times. They won’t prevent bad things from happening – nothing will do that. They don’t keep us from getting upset or stressed or stuck. But they help us regain our center faster and they help us respond to difficult times in the ways we want to respond.
And lastly: Saturn is in the sign of Aquarius
Saturn is now in the sign of Aquarius which puts a significant focus on the questions of innovations, technology, and collective progress. The energy is going to be focused on anything new, anything modern, and anything progressive. Saturn is returning to the position it was in between 1991 and 1994, effectively giving people born at that time their “Saturn return.” As much as it can be a difficult time for people to go through their Saturn returns, it’s also a time where people are given a significant chance to grow and take responsibilities.
AVE ANTINOUS
Michaelus, Priest of Antinous.
Sources: Patheos website “7 Spiritual Practices for Difficult Times” and “How to Navigate the Pandemic Pandemonium”. Also, Antinous The Gay God blog.
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