AT WALPURGIS/BELTANE WE PRAY TO ANTINOUS AS BELENUS

TONIGHT is Walpurgisnacht also known as Beltane … which we designate as Belenus Night for the Cisalpine Celtic god Belenus, to whom Antinous was compared in an inscription.

I recommend that everyone use this night to cleanse themselves of all negative energy that infiltrates all our lives.

Light two white candles, place them on the floor far enough apart so that you can pass between them without lighting yourself on fire.

Sprinkle a line of salt between the two candles.

Say the prayer:

Antinous of the Underworld 

Open your way of mystery before me

Antinous of the lotus flower 

Spread your love within my heart

Antinous of the heavens 

Shine your starlight upon me

Then say:

May the fire of Belenus 

cleanse and protect me

Then walk between the two candles

Stepping over the line of salt

Conclude with:

 

Ave Antinous Belenus

~FLAMEN ANTONIUS SUBIA

YOU'VE HEARD OF BELTANE AND MAY EVE BUT WALPURGIS IS INCREASINGLY POPULAR

YOU all know about Beltane and May Eve, but few people today still remember Walpurgis Night ... which is still celebrated on a mountain top in central Germany. 

Up to 150,000 witches, pagans and the simply curious are converging for May Eve revelries on the summit of the highest peak in the Harz Mountains in central Germany Thursday night for the four-day May Day holiday weekend.

Children in spooky costumes will participate in parades and street fairs in villages on the slopes of the Brocken, the mountain immortalised in Alexander Borodin's "Night on Bald Mountain" orchestral suite.

Bonfires will light the nighttime skies on mountain tops in the Harz region as local communities held their own May Day Eve festivals marking the end of winter and the coming of summer.

In the town of Schierke, a four-hour Walpurgis Night open-air play is being held, tracing the history of the persecution of witches, with players performing writhing modern dances to Medieval music.

The day of the Saint Walburga is celebrated on May 1. 

But the night before, April 30 or May Day Eve (Beltane Eve), is called Walpurgis Night, formerly the date of the pagan festival marking the end of winter. 

Of course, its autumnal counterpart, six months later on October 31, is Halloween, Samhain.

Walpurgis Night is celebrated from the Mediterranean up to Scandinavia, but no where as much as in the forested mountains of central Germany where so many Brothers Grimm fairy tales are set.

According to Germanic legend, this festival has been associated with a witches' carnival, and on this night it was believed that witches met with the devil for one final night of revelry before being consigned to the underworld until they emerge again exactly six months later on October 31 ... Halloween.

The Harz Mountains region is the location of many German fairy tales featuring witches and goblins and the Brocken is the highest Harz peak at 1,142 metres.

For 40 years, the region was split down the middle by the fortified border between East and West Germany.

But in the years since unification in 1990, the region has regained its title as one of the most romantic fairy-tale areas ... and spookiest.

The mountain also features in the drama "Faust" about an alchemist nobleman who sells his soul to the devil … on Walpurgis Night.

ANTINOUS IN THE STRANGEST PLACES EVEN AT THE SUPERMARKET

ANTINOUS shows up in the most extraordinary places — even at the supermarket magazine rack.

Some years ago, Hachette published a magazine series entitled THE GODS OF ANCIENT EGYPT which featured special issues on scores of Egyptian deities — nearly 100 in all — each sporting a glossy brochure and an epoxy resin figurine in a little plastic "display case." The magazines were widely available at booksellers and newsstands around the world.

Antinous was featured in Issue 88 — possibly the most collectible issue in the whole series.

The Hachette magazines have long since gone out of print, but the figurines are still found on eBay and other online marketplaces. Antinous is hard to find, but occasionally he turns up and the bidding turns fierce as ANTINOMANIACS fight to possess the little 4.5-inch (14 cm) figurine.


The one pictured here sold on eBay for nearly $50 in "NRFB" condition — "Never Removed From Box."

It is "only a fake" of course. But that does not make it any less sacred or magical to anyone who loves Antinous. In ancient times, Antinous figurines, images, coins and medallions were prized by his worshipers as a sort of portable Sacred Token or Pocket Shrine.

In his authoritative book about Antinous, BELOVED AND GOD, Royston Lambert points out that in ancient times many followers of the Blessed Youth felt it was necessary to have a tangible representation of Antinous with them at all times for protection and for blessings:

"Some of the devotees evidently could not bear to be parted from the beneficial and reassuring presence of their Antinous and therefore had small, light-weight travelling busts or bronzes made to accompany them on their journeys."

Poor people made do with more crudely made representations, such as coins and figurines and medals made of lead, clay and other base materials. The demand was so great that there was a rife trade in which we would nowadays call "copyright piracy" among artisans turning out "illicitly yet more crude and cheap medallions of this hero whose images, miracles and protection were obviously sought by countless poor folk of faith."


People of modest means who were lucky enough to get their hands on one of his clay figures or commemorative coins would carry them with them for protection, often even wearing them:

"Many were pierced by holes and hung from the neck as talismans: Antinous' image offering protection against evil, sickness and death," says Lambert. 

Other such tiny statuettes, figurines, coins and medallions were placed in portable shrines or pouches or adorned away-from-home altars, and others were buried with the dead "to invoke the god's aid on the perilous journey into the unknown."

We look at the little Hachette Antinous figurine and see only a cheap epoxy resin plastic action figure, crudely hand-painted in some Chinese sweat shop. 

But imagine how the Ancient Priests of Antinous would have gaped in wonder at this little figurine swaddled in cellophane, along with a book of shiny pages unlike any papyrus, pages adorned with inscrutable glyphs and breathtakingly realistic images. 

Where we see ordinary plastic, the Ancient Priests would see a wondrous statuette fashioned in what to them would be a magical putty-like material not like anything found on Earth.

Clearly, it was fashioned by the Gods themselves — clearly, ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD truly is "immanent" (in-dwelling) in this miraculous vessel.

And the Ancient Priests would, of course, be absolutely right. 

MEET MARCO ANTINOUS OF EGYPT By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

I have the pleasure to introduce someone very special. A beautiful boy who was very likely one of our brothers.

Mummy of Marco Antinous, encaustic painting on linen, the frieze of the aureus protector in gilded stucco. 

Egyptian civilisation, Roman Empire, 3rd Century. Paris, Musée Du Louvre.

The hauntingly lovely portrait from the heyday of Antinoopolis features the face of a young man with striking, realistic features painted with encaustic (wax-based paint) on thin wood panels and embellished with intricate gold-leaf details.

Portraits like these are highly treasured today. They are often known as FAYOUM PORTRAITS, after the region, near Antinoopolis, where most of them were found. There are fewer than 1,000 extant.

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.

Marco Antinous undoubtedly is one of these children named after Antinous ... undoubtedly a follower of Antinous ... we hail Marco Antinous as our brother in Antinous!

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

THE LEO FIRST QUARTER MOON THE SCARAB MOON OF ANTINOUS

TONIGHT's Leo First Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase in Antinous Moon Magic which we call the SCARAB MOON of sudden breakthroughs.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Scarab Moon is the element of surprise and serendipity. It is the Spirit of adventure which whispers into your ear: Go ahead! You can do it!

It is the Spirit of boundless enthusiasm and optimism. This Spirit holds the key which unlocks every door. It is the Spirit that guarantees happy endings. It points out good things which are coming your way definitely and for sure!

The symbolism is the Egyptian scarab winging its way sunward. The humble Egyptian dung beetle represents religio-magical transformation and indeed the Ancient Egyptian word for this beetle, "kheper," means "transform" or "become."

The beetle rolls a ball of dung to a hiding place and lays its eggs within the ball. The hatched larvae feed on the dung and emerge to transform into winged beetles which fly through the day time skies.

Thus the dung ball became associated with the orb of the sun, and the scarab holds a solar orb instead of a dung ball. This religio-magical transformation implied to the Egyptians that Earthly mortals could also undergo a transfiguration from base matter into celestial star matter. The scarab symbolizes serendipitously magical transformation.

The Leo First Quarter Moon in the sign of the sun-ruled sign of the lion, is a moon of bold new opportunities which were heralded by the Taurus New Moon (the Marcus Aurelius Moon) and which will become realized through the transformative power of the Scorpio Full Moon (the Enemy Moon).

Meditations and rituals carried out tonight can result in an unexpected breakthrough. Eureka! Unanticipated solution. Fortuitous surprise. Sudden change for the better. Plucking victory from the jaws of defeat.An oracle reading or meditative trance can produce a sudden answer for transformation of a bad situation into something profitable.

IT'S CITRINE FOR THE SCARAB MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR astrological expert Hernestus describes the coming Leo First Quarter Moon phase as the SCARAB MOON of miracles and wish-fulfillment, unanticipated solutions and fortuitous surprises.

We all want the wave of the magical fairy wand or sprinkle of fairy dust. What is fairy dust? Well I have always assumed it was crystal dust...

So, for crystal enhanced meditations this moon phase I would recommend the following crystals:

Citrine - (top of entry) It helps you to accept the positive flow of energies that will take you to where you sub-consciously (or even consciously) know you really need to be (physically, emotionally or spiritually). 

Orange Calcite - (left above) These pretty stones remove fear and balance the emotion so that you are open and ready for positives to enter your life.

Emerald - As beautifully faceted gem stones they are, of course, a wonderful surprise gifts! They also enhance the enjoyment of the world and all it brings.

Love and Light,

MARTIN

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

ASTRO FORECAST: APRIL 27th—MAY 7th, 2023

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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APRIL 27th to MAY 7th, 2023

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THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 27th-28th, 2023

This week, we come to the Leo First Quarter Moon. It is the Lunar Phase in Antinous Moon Magic which we call the SCARAB MOON of miracles and wish-fulfillment. Meditations and rituals carried out tonight can result in an unexpected breakthrough. Eureka! Unanticipated solution. Fortuitous surprise. Sudden change for the better. Plucking victory from the jaws of defeat. An oracle reading or meditative trance can produce a sudden answer for transformation of a bad situation into something profitable.

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 29th-30th, 2023

This weekend it is high time to break free of chains which have bound you for far too long when Cancer Mars forms a liberating sextile aspect with Taurus Uranus. In Antinous Moon Magic we call this the "Stonewall Configuration" because the Stonewall Riots best demonstrate what can happen ... an explosive and wholly unexpected rebellion. This aspect can spawn a sudden rupture or disruption of global consequences ... with long-lasting consequences. Mars in emotional Cancer says it is time to break the chains, and Uranus in bull-headed Taurus says the chains must be broken with no regard for danger or peril.

MON-TUESDAY, MAY 1st-2nd, 2023

This week, global political and economic turmoil redoubles when strong-willed Aquarius Pluto turns retrograde — going backwards as seen from the Earth — until October 10, 2023, during which time Pluto slips backwards out of progressive Aquarius and re-enters Capricorn, where it has wreaked havoc since 2008. Some financial and political crises we thought had cooled off will begin boiling again. With Pluto in Capricorn, the focus is on who is in control. Major power struggles run rampant. Little countries threaten to upset the global financial system — an adolescent dictator tries to push superpowers around. This happens on the personal level too, of course, and everyone seems to be taunting and bullying you. Retrograde Pluto is a time to cut the anchor chain, drop ballast and set off on a course of your own. And if you can't do that, then just remember that bending your knee before tyrants doesn't mean bending your will to them. Pluto thinks in the long-term. The last time Pluto was in Capricorn was in the late 18th Century — the age of the US and French Revolutions. This time around, Capricorn Pluto is once again revolutionizing global political and economic structures. You can use the next five months to work on furthering your plans for where you want to end up in the new world order that will exist when Pluto leaves Capricorn — on January 21, 2024.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 3rd, 2023

This week, your brain is ablaze with often confusing and conflicting ideas when Retrograde Mercury aligns with the Sun. Old astrology texts dating back to Ancient Rome call this a potentially hazardous time, and speak of a "Scorched Mercury" which impairs communications and judgement. But in ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC, we see that very differently. This Sun/Mercury conjunction is indeed intense, but in a positive way. Antinous/Mercury focuses the gay spiritual light of his heavenly father Ra-Herakhte right at you. Open your spiritual heart to the light and joy and permit it to burn away all doubt and all fear and trepidation. Most people live in spiritual darkness. They are like people who live in caves and are afraid of sunlight because it hurts their eyes. But should we shun the light and stay in the cave with them? Antinous/Mercury says it's safe to open your spiritual eyes — and spiritual heart — and become accustomed to the light.

THURSDAY, MAY 4th, 2023

This week, love and money are in the air when Venus forms a 90-degree square aspect to foggy Neptune. On the positive side: you can trust your intuition to buy a lottery ticket. But on the negative side, you don't know when to stop and squander your hard-earned money on a bad bet ... in money and love.

FRIDAY, MAY 5th, 2023

On Friday, we come to the Scorpio Full Moon ... a moon for penetrating the veil of lies and illusion and seeing clearly who are your friends (and who are not) and also seeing yourself for what you are. For that reason, we call it the ENEMY MOON in Antinous Moon Magic.

SAT-SUNDAY, MAY 6th-7th, 2023

This weekend, Venus leaves nervous Gemini (where Venus never feels entirely comfortable) and enters cozy Cancer. Venus is very much at home in Cancer, creating a spirit of emotional home-and-hearth sentimentalism. Even if you are the sort of gay person who has never taken the idea of "marriage" and "family" seriously before, don't be surprised if you now think of settling down and setting up housekeeping with that certain special someone. That may mean merely sharing a house or apartment together. Or it may mean planning a gay wedding and possibly even adopting or siring children. For the past month, Gemini Venus expressed love and money through words. Now Cancer Venus will express love and money emotionally.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between May 8th and 14th, 2023, when the Moon squares off against the Sun for the Aquarius Third Quarter Moon which in Antinous Moon Magic we call the FORUM MOON. This is the best Lunar Phase of the year for oracles or spell work involving interaction with groups or a public setting. Gathering place. Club. Work place. Any place where numerous people gather. It is also the best moon for rituals focusing on parks, gardens and the outdoors in general, such as working rituals for protecting a back garden or outdoor venue ... More details next time ....

WE JOYOUSLY CELEBRATE THE FLORALIA

ANTINOUS assuredly took part in the Floralia, a multi-day Roman feast which started on April 27th in the Republic era, but which began on April 28th in the Imperial era when the Beauteous Boy lived during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.

This day was the start of the Floralia, the Roman festival of Flora, goddess of flowers, actors, sex workers, comedies, comic theatre. 

The festival had a licentious, pleasure-seeking atmosphere. In contrast to many festivals which had a patrician character, the Games of Flora were plebeian in nature.

New comedy plays premiered in the theatres. There may have been nocturnal observances, since sources mention measures taken to light the way after the theatrical performances.

In contrast to the Cerealia, when white garments were worn, bright and colorful clothing was customary during the Floralia.

There was dancing and revelry of every sort. Ovid says that hares and goats ... animals considered fertile and salacious ... were ceremonially released as part of the festivities. 

Persius says that the crowd was pelted with peas, beans, and lupins ... all of them also symbols of fertility.

Professional sex workers participated in the Floralia as well as the wine Vinalia festival which commenced on April 23. 

According to the satirist Juvenal, prostitutes danced naked and fought in mock gladiator combat.

Adorn yourself and your home. Make libations of milk and honey to Flora and to Antinous.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MARCUS AURELIUS

ON April 26th the Religion of Antinous joyously celebrates the birth of one of the wisest rulers in history, a man hand-picked by the Divine Hadrian personally to become Emperor of Rome.

Marcus Annius Verus was born on this day in the year 121 to a Spanish Roman family, related to Hadrian. From the very start, the young Marcus showed a deep interest in learning and particularly in philosophy.

The Stoic philosopher Epictetus had the most profound influence over him, and his truthful and pious nature gained Hadrian's attention and Hadrian is said to have called him "Verissimus", or most truthful, and to have taken an interest in the future of the young philosopher.

Marcus would have been 9 years old when Antinous died, and he is not believed to have been with the court in Egypt.

When Aelius Ceasar died shortly after being chosen Emperor in 138, it is believed that Marcus was Hadrian's next choice. However, the ailing and grieving emperor felt that the 17-year-old Marcus was too young.

So Hadrian decided to elect Antoninus Pius instead, requiring Antoninus to choose Marcus and the son of Lucius, called Lucius Verus, to be Antoninus's successors in turn.

This became known as the Dynasty of the Antonines, the last flowering of the glory that was Imperial Rome.

Hadrian believed that the old Antoninus would only rule for the few years needed to allow Marcus to mature. But instead, Antoninus remained in power far longer than Hadrian, and Marcus was 40 years old when he at last took power.

But the Empire that he inherited was succumbing to more and more trouble along its borders, as the Germanic hordes began their slow migration across the borders. The Philosopher-King Marcus was doomed to spend the majority of his reign leading the armies along the cold northern border.

He was successful in keeping the barbarians outside the Empire, and in maintaining the peace and prosperity in the heart of Rome that had been left to him by Hadrian and Antoninus.

We celebrate the birthday of Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE By Our Priest Martinus Campbell

The War in Ukraine

IN the land across the Black Sea from the region where Antinous was born, an abomination is happening. A homophobic nation is attempting to destroy one where LGBTQ+ rights are mostly protected. We must pray for our LGBTQ+ community brethren there. Pray for peace.

We must remember that no wars were waged in the name of Antinous. I am sure he was able to wield weapons to defend Hadrian and Rome, but there is no evidence he ever did so in battles or war. As a God he was never the focus of warfare. That doesn't mean we can't call on him to protect our community though.

Antinous protect us. Protect our community in Ukraine. Blessed be to you.

MARTINUS

Priest of Antinous

ANNOUNCING THE LARGEST GALLERYOF ANTINOUS IMAGES IN THE WORLD

WE are proud to announce the most extensive collection of Antinous images in the world!

Flamen Antonius Subia spent nearly two years assembling the GALLERY OF ANTINOUS ICONS. 

What initially was supposed to be one page of images became a massive library.

He says it turned out to entail "months of painful, agonizing, finger-crippling, endless catalogueing, and intricate photoshop enhancing and resizing of countless... countless. ..Antinous images!"

The endeavour proved to be not only a technical challenge but also something of a spiritual initiation.

Antonyus says, "I now feel that I am an expert in Antinous Iconography...as over the process, I have become deeply familiar with each and everyone of Antinous's wonderful, beautiful statues and busts and other images.

"I have to tell you that in the end...it has been the most meaningful, and intimate experience of getting to know Antinous on a level that I have never before felt.

"He is so astonishingly beautiful... I found myself treating each and every one of his images with particular, loving care and devotion.

"It's amazing...when you handle his beautiful image again and again...when you gaze upon him, and study him, and see example after example, they all seem to blur together until you are left with this cumulative impression of what he really must have looked like...like the sum total...as though I had layered translucent leaves of his face and body one over the other, each showing through to the next, cancelling out errors, cracks, chips, peculiarities, the hand of the artist, modern enhancements, slight differences...my own impression of what I always thought he looked like...all blurring together into a ghostly form of his true image...I see him now.

"But I am also deeply familiar with all the different variations...I know them all by name, location, origin, and bits of their history...I know the image of Antinous as I had never known it before."

Antonyus adds that the gallery is not complete and he has issued a call for readers to submit more images.

"My intent is to have the most complete collection of Antinous images in the world," he explains. "We are after all The Temple of Antinous, his modern religion. It is only right that we take his image into our possession and display his form for all to see....with reverance and piety...not as an object of art, or history, but as an object of worship."

LOOKING ANTINOUS IN THE EYE

THE understanding of HOMOTHEOSIS ... Gay-Man-Godliness-Becoming-The-Same ...  is one of the most dangerous things in the world. 

And for a person who cannot contain it, it's like putting a million volts through your smart phone. You blow your mind and it stays blown ... I am God ... God is me. 

Now, if you go off in that way, you easily misunderstand what the Religion of Antinous is all about because, from the standpoint of Antinous the Gay God, there is no fundamental difference between the spiritual world and this everyday world. 

HOMOTHEOSIS isn't about drifting off into dream land and never coming back. It isn't about going off into some ego-driven "I am God" delusion. It is about living ordinary everyday life to help other beings to see clearly too ... to look Antinous in the eye ... in the eyes of all gays.

You don't do this out of some sort of solemn duty to help mankind and all that kind of pseudo-pious nonsense. You do it because you see the two worlds are the same. You see all other gays as Antinous.

As G.K. Chesterton writes, "But now a great thing in the street, seems any human nod, where move in strange democracies the million masks of god."

And it's fantastic to look at people and see that they really, deep down, are divine ... They're faces of Antinous the Gay God.

And they look at you, and they say, "Oh no, but I'm not divine. I'm just ordinary little me."

You look at them in a funny way, and here you see Antinous looking out of their eyes, straight at you ... but saying he's not Antinous ... and saying it quite sincerely.

And that's why, when you meet someone like Flamen Antonius Subia for the first time he has a funny look in his eyes.

When you say, "I have a problem, Antonyus. I'm really mixed up, I don't understand Homotheosis," he looks at you in this queer way.

And you think, "Oh my God, he's reading my most secret thoughts. He's seeing all the awful things I am, all my cowardice, all my shortcomings."

But he isn't doing anything of the kind. He isn't even interested in such things. He's looking at Antinous the Gay God looking back at him through your eyes. He is looking at Antinous and saying, "Oh my God, Antinous, who are you trying to fool?"

ON EARTH DAY ANTINOUS IS IN YOU HERE AND NOW

FOR us in the Northern Hemisphere it is Spring. For us in the Southern Hemisphere it is Autumn. For Antinous, all moments in time are NOW, all locations in space are HERE ... in your spiritual heart ... HOMOTHEOSIS ... Gay-Man-Godliness-Becoming-the-Same.

Dia da Terra. Para nós no hemisfério norte é Primavera. Para nós no  Hemisfério Sul é de Outono. Para Antinous, todos os momentos no tempo é agora, todos os locais no espaço são AQUI ... em seu coração espiritual ... HOMOTHEOSIS ... Homem-Deus-Gay-tornou-se o mesmo que-Homem-Deus-Gay.

Día de la Tierra para nosotros en el hemisferio norte es la primavera . Para nosotros en el hemisferio sur es otoño . Para Antinoo , todos los momentos del tiempo están ahora , todos los lugares en el espacio está aquí ... en su corazón espiritual ... HOMOTHEOSIS ... Gay-Hombre-Dios-Ser-el-mismo-como-Gay-Hombre-Dios .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROMA! By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

MATER ROMA,

Thank you for saving me from perdition,

Thank you for giving my life meaning and purpose again

Today you have given me so much joy and mystery

I don't even know what to say sometimes

About the way you work your magic over my life

But I feel your power all around me.

You are with me where ever I go,

Where ever I am...You Are There.

Wolf Mother! 

My Latin forefathers flow through my blood

My allegiance to you will never die

I give my life, my strength, my courage to defend you

...and to restore your glory.

Happy Birthday Roma!

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

THE EROTICON WHEN ANTINOUS HUNTS A BEAR

ON April 21, as the Sun moves into the Sign of Taurus the Bull, we celebrate the ancient festival of THE EROTICON.

On this day we honor the great God of Love, Eros-Cupid, in his guise as Antinous-Phanes, the "radiant being of light who emerges from the egg of night". 

We also honor the Great God Priapus the divine phallus, the column of male virility, the bestower of the fertility of fields, vineyards, orchards and gardens. Priapus is the axis of the cosmos.

On this date we also commemorate the founding of the city of Rome, Natalis Urbis, personified by the Romans as Our Lady Roma. We celebrate the consecration of her sacred border, and of her birth, and eternal life, and remember that we are her children.

And also on this date we remember the Sacred Bear Hunt. While in Mysia in Asia Minor, in the year 129, the court engaged in a Bear Hunt near the city which Hadrian had founded (on an earlier trip) called Hadrianotherae, "Hadrian's hunting ground". It is the modern-day city of Balikesir in a lovely area of wooded forests and lakes in northwestern Turkey.

Hadrian loved animals and is known to have built tombs for his dogs and horses (according to Royston Lambert) and he loved to hunt. The Bear is the sacred animal of Diana-Artemis, and symbolizes the solitary, forest-roaming character of the Virgin Huntress. In the ferocity of the bear lies the secret of Diana's power, against which Hadrian and Antinous pitted themselves, as shown on the tondo from the Arch of Constantine.

The grand themes of the Eroticon are Love and Sex and Ferocious Anger. The Beast is always lurking inside of us. The mystery teaching surrounding the Bear Hunt involves getting to know your animal instincts -- sex and lust and rage -- and to become one with them and to turn them into powerful allies for your spiritual development.

Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia has expressed this mystical mystery meaning as follows:

"Antinous, under Hadrian's guidance, was an accomplished hunter, indeed it is perhaps his natural skill and bravery in the chase that elevated him to the absolute love and adoration of Hadrian. The Emperor was madly in love with hunters, and Antinous was one of the best. Antinous had perhaps been silently stalking and hunting the Emperor's favor for quite some time, and now, in Asia, in the sacred Hunting Grounds of Hadrian, Antinous closed in on the heart of his prey and captured the Emperor completely. In our commemoration of the Sacred Bear Hunt we recognize that Artemis and Antinous are twin deities, and we seek the Dianic-Artemis-Bear within ourselves."

HADRIAN'S PANTHEON BECOMES A SUNDIAL FOR THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY OF ROME

THE crowds of tourists at Hadrian's Pantheon witness a spectacular light show on April 21, the anniversary of the founding of Rome, when a ray of sunlight illuminate the temple portals.

The phenomenon, similar to one on the March Equinox, is one of the mysteries that have always surrounded what lies behind the unusual design of the Pantheon, the giant temple in the heart of Rome that was built by the Emperor Hadrian.

Now experts have come up with an intriguing theory – that the temple acted as a colossal sun dial, with a beam of light illuminating its enormous entrance at the precise moment that the emperor entered the building on the anniversary of the founding of the city of Rome each April 21.

Constructed on Hadrian's orders and completed in 128 AD, the Pantheon's hemispherical dome is punctured by a 30 foot-wide circular hole known as the 'oculus'.

It provides the interior of the building with its only source of natural light and allows in rain and – on rare occasions – snow.

Giulio Magli, a historian of ancient architecture from Milan Polytechnic, Italy, and Robert Hannah, a classics scholar from the University of Otago in New Zealand, have discovered that at precisely midday during the March equinox, a circular shaft of light shines through the oculus and illuminates the Pantheon's imposing entrance.

A similar effect is seen on April 21, which the Romans celebrated as the founding date of their city, when at midday the sun beam strikes a metal grille above the doorway, flooding the colonnaded courtyard outside with light.

The dramatic displays would have been seen by the Romans as elevating an emperor into the realm of the gods – a cosmological affirmation of his divine power as he entered the building, which was used as an audience hall as well as a place of worship.

He was in effect being "invited" by the sun to enter the Pantheon, which as its name suggests was dedicated to the most important deities of the Roman world.

"The emperor would have been illuminated as if by film studio lights," said Professor Magli.

"The Romans believed the relationship between the emperor and the heavens was at its closest during the equinoxes. It would have been a glorification of the power of the emperor, and of Rome itself."

The sun had a special significance for the Romans, as it did for the ancient Egyptians.

The god Apollo was associated with the sun, and the emperor Nero was depicted as the Greek sun god Helios in a giant statue called the Colossus, which gave its name to the Colosseum.

One of antiquity's most remarkable examples of engineering, the Pantheon's fine state of preservation is thanks to the fact that it was converted into a church in the seventh century, when it was presented to the Pope by the Byzantine Emperor Phocas.

It retains its original bronze doors and marble columns, some of which were quarried in the Egyptian desert and transported by the ship down the Nile and across the Mediterranean to Rome at huge expense.

SLAIN GAY PARISIAN POLICEMAN IS A BLESSED SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON April 20th we honor gay French police officer Xavier Jugelé who laid down his life when an Islamic extremist opened fire on Paris' Champs Elysees on 20 April 2017.

He is a saint of Antinous. 

At a memorial ceremony, Jugele’s husband, Etienne Cardiles, paid loving tribute to his late partner.

"This pain makes me feel closer to your comrades who suffer in silence like you and me," Cardiles said, holding back tears. He described Jugele as a man who lived "a life of joy and huge smiles."

"I have no hatred, Xavier, because it is not like you and does not fit with what made your heart beat," he added. "Nor what made you a guardian of the peace."

A spokesperson for the French association of LGBT police officers described Jugelé as "a simple man who loved his job, and he was really committed to the LGBT cause."

"He was aware of the risks of the job and the terrorist threat," said Mickaël Bucheron, "although we did not speak a lot about it."

Jugelé, 37, grew up in Romorantin-Lanthenay in central France and was in a civil union with Cardiles.

He had been among the first responders when DAESH Islamic State terrorists attacked Paris' Bataclan theater in 2015, and was actually preparing to leave the Paris gendarmes to join the Judicial Police, which pursues suspects and serves search warrants, among other duties.

After his death, flags at police stations across France flew at half-mast, and President Francois Hollande made him a posthumous knight of the Legion d’Honneur.

THE ARIES NEW MOON THE FASCES MOON OF ANTINOUS

TONIGHT Antinous the Moon God aligns with his heavenly father Ra-Herakhte for the Aries New Moon which we call the FASCES MOON.

The Aries New Moon is the moon of abrupt beginnings which may not be followed through, and of things said which are later regretted, of capricious actions ... shoot first, ask questions later. If you have been stalling on starting something new ... now is the time to go for it. Others will warn you that you should exercise caution ... but the Fasces Moon says "no pain, no gain" and urges you to press forward.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Fasces Moon is the embodiment of blunt forcefulness. This spirit is plain-spoken, candid, spares no feelings and is not afraid to humiliate or offend. It is sharp-tongued and aggressive. It carries a weapon and is not afraid to use it.

It metes out punishment and retribution willingly and without hesitation. It enjoys inflicting pain. It uses pain as its keenest and sharpest weapon, because pain elicits a reflexive response where lesser warnings may go unheeded.

This Spirit holds a knife to your throat and says: No pain, no gain! It wields a sword and shouts: Might makes right! It skillfully uses a  scalpel to cut out a cancerous growth, saying: This will hurt terribly, but it will save your life!

The ancient Roman fasces was a bundle of wooden sticks with an ax blade emerging from the center, which is an image that traditionally symbolizes the force of Roman law and might.

They were carried by the lictors who accompanied the magistrates. The ax represents the force of punishment and the power over life or death.

During times of emergencies when the Roman Republic declared a dictatorship (dictatura), lictors attending to the dictator kept the ax-blades even inside the Pomerium ... a sign that the dictator wielded ultimate force of law and could mete out punishment as he saw fit.

Meditations and rituals tonight should focus on new projects or new beginnings. Perhaps you want to break a habit or undertake a bold new enterprise. Tonight's Fasces Moon gives you the kick-start you need to go ahead.

This is also a good night to focus on areas in your life where assertiveness is out of balance ... perhaps you are being overly assertive. But more likely, you are deficient in self-assertiveness.

Many gay men have a hard time asserting themselves. We equate assertiveness with "aggression" and "being a bully." And so, many of us gay men go through our lives trying to stifle and suppress any sort of assertiveness. We try to be good little boys ... all of our lives.

And yet ... each of us is born with Fasces Moon  energy in abundance. It always finds a way to get out and exert itself. If we spend our lives suppressing this energy, then it seeps out in destructive ways. We have problems with pent-up rage. We have problems with self-destructive habits. We build an impenetrable shield of fear and disdain around ourselves.

We are afraid of being hurt. And we are afraid of hurting others. So we hurt ourselves instead. Our lives turn into chaos.

The Fasces Moon is about standing up for yourself and confronting your fears ... above all, your fear of baring your true self to others. It is about turning your weaknesses into your strengths. It is about transforming destructive energies into constructive ones. It is about finding ... and fulfilling ... your destiny ....

ASTRO FORECAST: APRIL 20th—30th, 2023

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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APRIL 20th to 30th, 2023

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THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 20th-21st, 2023

This week a "'Black Sun" Solar Eclipse squares off against inferno-minded Pluto to burn away your largest problems. The first Solar Eclipse of 2023 occurs overnight Wednesday-Thursday when ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD aligns with his heavenly father Ra-Herakhte for the Aries New Moon which we call the FASCES MOON. The Aries New Moon is the moon of abrupt beginnings which may not be followed through, and of things said which are later regretted, of capricious actions — shoot first, ask questions later. If you have been stalling on starting something new ... now is the time to go for it. Others will warn you that you should exercise caution ... but the Fasces Moon says "no pain, no gain" and urges you to press forward.

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 22nd-23rd, 2023

This weekend Mercury does an about-face and goes "backwards" as seen from Earth until May 15th, 2023. This RETROGRADE MERCURY phase is a time of confusion in communications and commerce. About three times each year, Mercury the communications wizard turns into Mercury the fast-talking con man. This is the RETROGRADE MERCURY phase, and it lasts about three weeks. RETROGRADE MERCURY will be serving up glitches and snafus in communications, computers, transport, travel and social media. If you are buying a new mobile phone, be sure to read the fine print about hidden costs. Planning to move into a new apartment? Check the kitchen and bathroom for tell-tale signs of mold before signing the lease. Remember over the next three weeks that MERCURY wants you to play his sly game to win — not to be a whining victim. Make him proud of the way you play his game!

MON-TUESDAY, APRIL 24th-25th, 2023

This week Mercury is also in a sextile aspect to Mars to help you get your point across articulately and strongly to others. And because Mercury is Retrograde, you can rehash, rewrite or revise proposals and re-present them to your best advantage.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26th, 2023

This week, the Sun forms a brilliant and glowing sextile aspect with Saturn which empowers you with perseverance and clear vision to make some serious long-term plans for the future.

THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 27th-28th, 2023

This week, we come to the Leo First Quarter Moon. It is the Lunar Phase in Antinous Moon Magic which we call the SCARAB MOON of miracles and wish-fulfillment. Meditations and rituals carried out tonight can result in an unexpected breakthrough. Eureka! Unanticipated solution. Fortuitous surprise. Sudden change for the better. Plucking victory from the jaws of defeat. An oracle reading or meditative trance can produce a sudden answer for transformation of a bad situation into something profitable.

FRI-SATURDAY, APRIL 29th-30th, 2023

This weekend it is high time to break free of chains which have bound you for far too long when Cancer Mars forms a liberating sextile aspect with Taurus Uranus. In Antinous Moon Magic we call this the "Stonewall Configuration" because the Stonewall Riots best demonstrate what can happen ... an explosive and wholly unexpected rebellion. This aspect can spawn a sudden rupture or disruption of global consequences ... with long-lasting consequences. Mars in emotional Cancer says it is time to break the chains, and Uranus in bull-headed Taurus says the chains must be broken with no regard for danger or peril.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between May 1st and 7th, 2023, when we come to the Scorpio Full Moon ... a moon for penetrating the veil of lies and illusion and seeing clearly who are your friends (and who are not) and also seeing yourself for what you are. For that reason, we call it the ENEMY MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... More details next time ....

RED CHALCEDONY FOR THE FASCES MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR astrological expert Hernestus describes tonight's Aries New Moon phase period as the "FASCES MOON" a time to stand up for  yourself and confront your fears head on and go for it. The danger being, of course, that you may regret not being cautious. 

Priest Hernestus reminds us that the ancient Roman 'fasces' were a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe blade emerging from the centre, they symbolized the power of Rome. In 1930s Italy the far right-wing dictator Mussolini modeled himself on the worst of the ancient Roman emperors. 

So he adopted the symbol for his political symbol - hence the term 'Fascism'. 

Mussolini, of course, allied his country with the German Nazis and ended up leading his nation into war, leaving it impoverished and in ruins. He himself ended up killed, hung upside down, with his mistress beside him. 

A cautionary tale far all considering charging ahead with hot-headed ideas!

My crystal suggestions for meditations during this moon phase are: 

Moss Agate - These are beautiful stones which can promote self-expression, relieve fear and strengthen your more positive personality traits. 

Red Chalcedony - These can help you to to be persistent and confident while acknowledging when to give in gracefully (Mussolini definitely needed one!).

Chrysocolla - These lovely stones (top of entry) can bring confidence and enhanced personal power while maintaining a cool head.

Life and Light,

MARTIN

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

JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS SAINT OF ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD

THE Religion of Antinous honors St. John Addington Symonds, the English poet and literary scholar who shocked Victorian sensibilities by openly promoting the cause of same-sex love.

John Addington Symonds was born on 5 October 1840, to a wealthy middle-class family in Bristol England. His father was a liberally minded doctor with connections and close friendships with many of the most illustrious and forwards minds of the time.

It was this environment of Victorian middle-class sexual repression that caused John Addington Symonds to blossom into one of the first and most prolific proponents for the cause of love between men.

While teenager in school, he was awakened by Plato to the awareness of love between boys among his schoolmates and almost immediately and unhesitatingly came out of the closet, even to his father, who was initially dismayed but ultimately supportive.

From then on, Symonds devoted his entire life to the study of homosexuality through art and history. He was the most pronounced defender of the ancient and glorious legacy of love between men, and a champion of social change.

He was a deep admirer of Walt Whitman, and later worked closely with Edward Carpenter, and Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, co-founding the British Institute for Sexual Science, which advocated a methodical study to overturn the laws against homosexual love.

For his life-long work and devotion, and for his early recognition and exultation of his sexuality, John Addington Symonds is a canonized Saint of the Religion of Antinous.

The most sacred of his many contributions to the enlightenment of our freedom are the words that he wrote about Antinous, whose beauty he glorified with poetry and elegance in the language of a lover of the homosexual, erotic beauty of Our God. John Addington  Symonds died in Rome on the 19th of April 1893.

ACTIVISTS IN SOUTH AFRICA PETITION FOR AN LGBTQ LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE

EFFORTS are underway by a small group of activists in South Africa to establish an LGBTQ library and archive at a university with an unfortunate human-rights history.

Students & alumni at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein city in the Free State province of central South Africa have started a petition asking the university to found an LGBTQ history archive and library on its campus. Alternatively, they ask merely for permission and premises to be granted for them to do so themselves. 

They are in dire need of help and rely as heavily on international as on local support, and they ask people from elsewhere in the world as well as in South Africa to sign the petition. Theirs is going to be an uphill struggle and they face near overwhelming odds, but the support that has been coming in is bolstering them & they believe in their quest and its worthiness.

YOU CAN ALSO SIGN THE PETITION ASKING THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE TO FOUND A LGBTQ LIBRARY & ARCHIVE (JUST CLICK ON OR USE THE FOLLOWING LINK):

https://www.change.org/support-lgbtq-archive-library-at-ufs