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.

ASTRO FORECAST: APRIL 25th—MAY 5th, 2024

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 25th-MAY 5th, 2024

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THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 25th-26th, 2024

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

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 27th-28th, 2024

This weekend you feel intimidated and insecure when assertive Mars moves into alignment with nebulous Neptune. One the one hand, Mars has an agenda of self-esteem priorities. But on the other hand, Neptune says your ego is an illusion. This Mars/Neptune conjunction occurs about every 18 months ... and it invariably coincides with wars, terrorist attacks,assassinations and betrayals of trust. This is because many males react to insecurity and perceived threats to their manhood by being overly aggressive. But there is a positive side to Mars/Neptune: This is a golden opportunity to review and reassess and meditate on your goals in life ... to come up with realistic ways of achieving them constructively.

MONDAY, APRIL 29th, 2024

On Monday, Venus enters the earthy and sensual realm of Taurus, where the Love Goddess will remain until 24 May 2024. The flirting of the past few weeks Venus spent in Aries is now over. Taurus Venus loves romantic cuddling with good food, good wine, flowers, candles and soft music. Venus in Taurus brings the need for reliability, steadfastness and loyalty. Having a partner whom you can lean on and rely on when the going gets tough is high on the priority list.

TUESDAY, APRIL 30th, 2024

On Tuesday, Mars eagerly leaves watery Pisces and enters fiery Aries, where the war god feels much more at home and where it will stay until June 9th. This leaves Mars free to radiate far more energy to all of us, so you can expect to feel "re-charged" in coming days and weeks. Just one word of caution: The Martian transition from Pisces to Aries is very abrupt. Tempers may flare. Just turn a blind eye to hurtful remarks made during the heat of the moment.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1st, 2024

On Wednesday, 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.

THURSDAY, MAY 2nd, 2024

This week, global political and economic turmoil redoubles when strong-willed Aquarius Pluto turns retrograde — going backwards as seen from the Earth — until October 12, 2024, 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 November 19th, 2024.

FRI-SUNDAY, MAY 3rd-5th, 2024

This weekend, Venus and Mars form powerful cosmic configurations with Retrograde Pluto to hammer down on long-term problems in global affairs as well as in your personal relationships. Venus square Pluto creates an explosive situation for interpersonal relationships. Venus square Pluto is a golden opportunity to rediscover the things you love about your lover. Meanwhile, your self-confidence gets a boost when the Mars forms an ego-boosting sextile aspect with Pluto. You feel empowered to demand a pay increase or anything else you feel you deserve. You also feel energized to take ambitious projects.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between May 6th and 12th, 2024, when we come to the Taurus New Moon, which we call the MARCUS AURELIUS MOON highlighting Taurean qualities (determined, practical, devoted, grounded, dependable) and 2nd House themes (material security, values, self-worth). On a spiritual/higher plane, the New Moon in Taurus seeks inner peace through stability and contentment ... More details next time ....

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EGYPTIAN DEITIES HAS AN ENTRY FOR ANTINOUS

ANTINOUS is featured in a large new book on Egyptian deities.

"The Complete Encyclopedia of Egyptian Deities: Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits of Ancient Egypt and Nubia" by Egyptologist Tamara L. Siuda features Antinous, including his modern-day worship as Antinous the Gay God, thus proving that this impressive book is indeed complete. 

Tamara Siuda was until recently the head of the House of Netjer, and essentially thus head of the Kemetic Orthodox religion (a modern form of Ancient Egyptian religion), as well as being a Mambo Asogwe in the Haitian Vodun religion. Book order information HERE.

More images below:

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 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, Antonius. 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?"

THE SCORPIO FULL MOON THE ANTINOUS "ENEMY MOON"

TONIGHT's Scorpio Full Moon is 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. (Image above courtesy Carlos Barahona Possollo).

This is the spookiest Full Moon of the year. Beltane, Walpurgis Night and May Day are all based on the solar calendar and are celebrated on May Eve.

But the older, lunar calendar celebrates those Rites of Spring during the SCORPIO FULL MOON. 

If you are a bit clairvoyant, or if you have a gift for healing, your powers will be enhanced tremendously during the SCORPIO FULL MOON. 

Just be careful — everyone else's unconscious powers will also be enhanced, so there will be lots of mind-games going on tonight.

For gay men, especially, the Scorpio Full Moon is a time of hotly erotic spiritual discovery. As any gay wizard knows, it is the best night of the year for Sacred Sex.

This is the truth-or-dare Full Moon; a time to honor the transformative power of truth-telling and a very intense Full Moon to put into action (through ritual release) the goals you set at the New Moon in Taurus.

Since this Full Moon falls in a water sign, releasing your intentions near a stream, river, lake, or ocean is particularly powerful.

But before you let go, have one last look at your goals. Whom do they truly serve? What will they bring to the world? 

Since Scorpio demands depth and fearlessness, this last look will have to be brutally honest. If your goals require a change of mind, of heart, and/or of action, this is the night to successfully tackle fears that could impede the ability to fully embrace change. 

Scorpio seeks deep truth by peeling back layers of lies and half-truths—inside us and outside of us.

This is a Full Moon to see things as they truly are, not as you wish them to be.

This is the meaning behind the imagery of Giorgio Tavaglioni's "Nemico" (Enemy) card in the L'Oracolo della Sibilla fortune-telling cards pictured left.
 
Meditations and rituals during the Scorpio Full Moon are best suited for helping you identify who and what your "enemies" are.

This could indeed be a person who is your enemy, someone who is working against you, trying to impede your progress.

But more often it represents the "inner enemy" ... your own worst enemy sometimes being yourself.

It represents habitual thought patterns, low self-esteem, irrational fears and other "enemies" which work against you.

You must face and confront your enemy ... especially if that means confronting your true self.

LIFT THE CURSE THAT BINDS YOU WITH THIS 'ENEMY MOON' RITUAL

NO matter what you do, you just can't get ahead. You have nothing but bad luck in money, in relationships and in general.

Rationally, you assume it's all your own fault. Are you may belong to a faith system which suggests it's all "bad karma" or else the "wages of sin" from a wrathful deity.

Then a dark corner of your mind wonders: "Maybe somebody or something put a curse on me?"

The Scorpio Full Moon ... often called the "Witches' Moon" or the "Beltane Moon" ... is a perfect time for lifting the veil on this shadowy and sinister question. 

In Antinous Moon Magic we call this lunar phase the enemy moon because it shines a harsh light to illuminate those elements which work against you.

Are you under a curse? Take this quick quiz and find out:

1. Are you having a run of bad luck? Regardless what you do or how hard you try, nothing but bad luck happens to you?

2. Have lightbulbs started burning out frequently ... even though you are certain the bulbs are fresh?

3. Have you had chronic computer glitches recently? Not just once or twice, but repeatedly, for no good reason?

4. Have you lost your joy for life? You used to be optimistic, but lately you feel pessimistic and forlorn?

5. Do things just seem to go wrong all the time? Home appliances have started breaking down? Your good and reliable car seems to need repairs inexplicably all of a sudden?

6. Have you suddenly incurred financial setbacks? Bills and debts have appeared out of no where? Urgent expenditures have stressed your credit card to the max?

7. You suddenly have problems with government agencies? Traffic cops seem to be picking on you personally? You get a parking fine for being less than a minute over the time? You are hassled with bureaucratic paperwork and delays for routine applications?

8. Things seem to break a lot around your household lately? You drop cups when doing the dishes? Things fall off of shelves for no apparent reason?

9. Has your health taken a sudden turn for the worse? You have a bad cold which just does not seem to want to go away?

10. Do you seem to attract people who are annoying and who intentionally pick fights with you? No matter how polite you are, other people take everything as an insult and argue with you?

ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC RITUAL

The Scorpio Full Moon ... which we call the Enemy Moon ... focuses its light on those elements around you (or within yourself) which are working against you. These may be human beings, but very often they are aspects of yourself which work against you. And even if they are human beings, they may not be consciously aware that they are sending evil tidings your way.

Tonight is the best night of the year for confronting these "enemies" in whatever form they take.

Find a quiet place to meditate undisturbed. Our crystals meditation advisor MARTIN CAMPBELL recommends Picture Jasper (also called Brown Jasper or Picasso Jasper) because he says: "It brings to the surface feelings of guilt, hatred but also love that were hidden deep within you. These can be from current or past lives."

Inhale deeply and hold your breath for a moment. And as you slowly exhale, visualize the "enemy elements" leaving your body.

Visualize the "enemy" standing before you, regardless whether you know this person or even if it is an aspect of yourself.

Do not be angry or afraid. Instead, open your arms and invite this "enemy" to come towards you and be embraced by you.

Now allow your love flowing into this person who has, until this moment, been your enemy. Forgive your enemy and shower your enemy with boundless love and light from your heart.

Visualize all negative energies being transformed into love and light. You are one with this person who used to be your enemy. These negative forces have been transformed into positive forces working constructively for you.

The curse has been lifted! You are free!

'THE LOVE GOD' BY MARTIN CAMPBELL IS A BRILLIANT NOVEL ABOUT ANTINOUS

FOR World Book Day, April 23rd: The most brilliant novel about Antinous to appear in over half a century ... THE LOVE GOD ... is authored by our own MARTINUS CAMPBELL, priest of Antinous.

While that sounds like biased praise, we Antinomaniacs are hard to please and would not hesitate to pick apart a poorly researched book or one that denigrated Antinous, even if it were written by one of our best friends ... perhaps especially if it were. 

At the same time, a sycophantic book that presented Antinous as being cloyingly sweet and angelic would be unbearable and not believable.

So we are gratified (and greatly relieved) to report that this book truly is a remarkable work of historical fiction right up there with Marguerite Yourcenar's landmark MEMOIRS OF HADRIAN 60 years ago.

Martin traces the life of Antinous from the moment his tousle-haired head emerges from his mother's womb under auspicious stars in Asia Minor to the moment his head sinks beneath the swirling waters of the Nile on a starry evening in Egypt.

Antinous comes to life as a young man of breath-taking beauty who is filled with conflicting passions and loyalties. He is a young man who at times is naive, yet at other times worldly wise with an ability to see the world as it is ... and to describe it with at times brutal honesty to the most powerful man in the world.

Above all, this is a gentle love story between Antinous and Emperor Hadrian, himself a man of contradictory passions and priorities.

Martin himself is a man shares these passions. He has rebounded from a series of debilitating strokes to resume a daunting array of political activism for LGBTIU health and rights issues ... while working on this novel.

Based in a hilltop home overlooking the sea in Brighton England, he spent the best part of a decade researching this novel, retracing the footsteps of Antinous across Greece and Italy, as far north as Hadrian's Wall and as far south as the Nile in Upper Egypt.

Historical facts are excruciatingly accurate ... even the positions of the stars and planets at the moment of the birth of Antinous have been calculated to precision.

An academic scholar can read this book with satisfaction, noting obscure and arcane references which only the experts in the field of Antinology fully appreciate.

At the same time, however, this is a fun book to read even for those who have never heard of Antinous in their lives and who have no firm grasp of Roman civilization in the 2nd Century AD.

There is intrigue, skulduggery, near-death by lightning, getting lost in a subterranean labyrinth, a storm at sea, earthquakes ... and some fairly hot man sex as well, albeit tastefully brought to the page.

The narrator is the Classical Love God himself: Eros. He shoots his amorous arrows and ensures that Antinous and Hadrian fulfill the destiny which the Fates have in store for them ... despite efforts by certain people in the Imperial Court to thwart the Fates.

But the genius of this book is that there are no black-and-white villains or heroes. Antinous is a young man with all the problems and drives of late adolescence. Hadrian is a man with a mid-life crisis of doubt and regret.

Others such as Empress Sabina and her constant companion Julia Balbilla and their coterie of fawning courtiers and freedmen are not really hateful towards Antinous so much as they are simply perplexed by him. 

They view him the way some members of the Royal Household might look at the favorite Corgi of the Queen, unable to comprehend her affection for it, her grief when it dies.

They whisper amongst themselves: What hold does Antinous have over Hadrian? 

Just who does he think he is? And is he a threat to them? 

What is so different about Antinous that Hadrian doesn't grow weary of him ... as he always has with previous toy boys? 

Because they cannot understand how he fits in the scheme of Imperial court life, some really rather wish he would just disappear ... voluntarily or otherwise. 

And through it all is the boyhood friend of Antinous who has accompanied him on this long journey with mixed feelings and with growing envy and jealousy. 

The boiling emotions all stem from Eros, who winks knowingly at the reader as he shoots one arrow after another with unerring accuracy to ensure that Antinous fulfills his destiny ... to take his place alongside Eros as a God of Love.

The result is a richly entertaining and beautifully written novel which appeals to those seeking authoritative scholarly accuracy as well as readers who just want a riveting and memorable adventure yarn.

The Love God is available as Kindle and as a paperback ... CLICK HERE to order.

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.

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.

THE ICARUS ASPECT ENABLES YOU TO SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND SOAR

THROUGH the ages, any audacious youth has been compared to Icarus, whose desperate attempt to escape the Minotaur's Labyrinth turned out rather differently than he and his father Daedalus had planned. 

He escaped all right ... but in his elated exuberance, he soared a bit too high. 

Today, children are taught the myth of Icarus as an admonition to children to be obedient and not take risks. 

But in ancient times, Icarus symbolized audacity. Icarus could have stayed in the labyrinth and grown old and died. 

Instead, he spread his wings and took a great leap of faith.

And ... for one brief, soaring moment ... he was free! 

Ever one of us has felt this scary elation when coming out of the closet. It is risky ... disaster could ensue ... but it is better than wasting your life trapped in the confinements of a dark closet.

Jupiter aligns in conjunction now with Uranus in headstrong Taurus for the first time since 1941. We feel trapped and these planets join forces to urge us to take action.

They are urging you to strap on your wings tonight and fly away to new heights. 

Yes, of course, a certain amount of caution and navigation is necessary.

But the important thing is to take a flying leap!

If you have been dithering and fretting for the longest time about taking some risk in order to achieve a long-cherished dream ... then now is the time when the planets will give you the confidence and derring-do to accomplish it.

Antinous the Gay God is telling you go ahead, jump, take the plunge, dive in. Don't just sit there thinking about doing it ... DO IT!

Saturn/Uranus are saying get ready for a big surprise! Not necessarily a bad surprise (as happened to Icarus). 

No, instead the big surprise may turn out to be that you in fact wing your way to new freedom (as happened to Daedalus).

In Light and Life and Fluttering Feathers,

HERNESTUS

ASTRO FORECAST: APRIL 18th—28th, 2024

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 18th to 28th, 2024

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THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 18th-19th, 2024

This week, Jupiter and Uranus align in perfect conjunction in the sign of Taurus for the first time since 1941. As one of the most major astrological events of 2024, this celestial meet-up involves Jupiter, the planet of abundance, fortune, and expansion, joining forces with Uranus, the planet of sudden, electrifying change, rebellion, and revolution. This conjunction will inspire a whole new cycle of spiritual breakthroughs and innovation, as well as surprising financial wins and relationship changes. That's because Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of romance and money. Science and technology (the domain of Uranus) could majorly refashion our day-to-day lives. Global relations and foreign policy (Jupiter’s specialty) could be shaped in concrete ways that redefine society. And since Taurus is an earth sign that rules the material world, the Jupiter Uranus conjunction could impact the economy (from cost of living to crypto), sustainable practices (reducing consumption and prioritizing climate solutions) and the body (from the food we eat to the ways we dress). Here are two things you should do: 1. Step into the role of visionary or simply step OUT of the role of anything that feels confining, overly safe and too small for what you’re capable of bringing to the world. 2. Seize opportunity. A sudden opportunity to travel, teach or share your message could arise. Act on it!

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 20th-21st, 2024

This weekend, batten down the hatches because storms and earthquakes are in store when the Sun forms a 90-degree right angle with Pluto — a configuration which happens twice a year and which invariably spawns strife, conflict, warfare and even bad weather. The good news is that this configuration lasts only about 48 hours.

MON-WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22nd-24th, 2024

This week, 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.

THURS-SUNDAY, APRIL 25th-28th, 2024

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

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between April 29th and May 5th, 2024, 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 ....

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 FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM OR YOUTUBE.

SAINT SOR JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ

ON April 17th the Religion of Antinous honors Saint Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 17th Century Mexican nun, scholar, poet, scientist, playwright, musician and lesbian.

She was exceptional not only for her intelligence and beauty, but also because she wrote literature centered on intellectual and sexual freedom.

In the poem "Redondillas" she defends a woman's right to be respected as a human being. "Hombres necios" (Stubborn men) criticizes the sexism of the society of her time, and pokes fun at men who publicly condemn prostitutes, among other things, but privately hire them.

She also has a philosophical approach to the relative immorality of prostitution. This was exemplified when she posed the question, "Who sins more, she who sins for pay or he who pays for sin?"

In the romantic comedy entitled "Los empeños de una casa" about a brother and a sister entangled in a web of love, she writes using two of her most prominent themes, love and jealousy.

She did not moralize, but rather, in the spirit of her lifetime interests, inquired of how these deeply emotional matters shaped and carved a woman's pursuit of liberty, knowledge, education and freedom to live her life in self-sovereignty.

Her revolutionary writings brought down upon her the ire of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of the 17th Century. She was ordered to tone down the sexuality of her writings. She did not.

However, powerful representatives from the Spanish court were her mentors and she was widely read in Spain, being called "The Tenth Muse". She was lauded as the most prominent poet of the post-conquest American Continent. Her work was printed by the first printing press of the American Continent in Mexico City.

She is believed to have penned 4,000 works, but only a few have survived. They were rescued by the Spanish Viceroy's wife, who was rumoured to be her female lover. In April 1695, after ministering to the other sisters struck down by a rampant plague, she is said to have died at four in the morning on April 17th.

For her love of learning and her devotion to the beauty of sexuality and for her courage to write about controversial things in the face of the Spanish Inquisition, we honor Saint Sor Juana as a Prophet of Homoeros.

THE NARCISSUS MOON OF ANTINOUS THE CANCER FIRST QUARTER MOON

TONIGHT's Cancer First Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase of reflection and insight which we call the NARCISSUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Narcissus Moon is the Lover of the Self. It is the Spirit which tunes out all distractions and all other people in order to focus on the Divinity within. It is the Spirit of Self-Love and Same-Sex Love.

It is forever gazing into its own reflection and whispering to itself: You are Divine! The reflection and the viewer are one and the same. The Spirit of Narcissus is the Divinity which holds a mirror up to ourselves.

It invites you to look into the depths of yourself — find your Spiritual Twin. You may call this twin your "Soul," "Higher Self," "KA," "Spirit Guide" or "Guardian Angel." The terminology is unimportant. What is important is that you become aware of your Second Self.

In the Religion of Antinous, we call this the NARCISSUS PRINCIPLE, which is one of the founding principles of our religion. It is at the basis of the Spirit of Homosexuality -- Love of the Divine Self.

Most of us go through life unaware of this Other Self. We do what is expected of us. We do what we feel others want us to do. We put the perceived wants and needs of others ahead of our own. We think that it's "selfish" to put our own interests first.

But the Narcissus Moon reminds us that there is another Self ... a Spiritual Self ... without which we are not spiritually whole. For it is only by "looking out for Number 1" that we are physically, mentally and spiritually able to love ourselves. And only then can we truly love others.

The Narcissus Moon invites you to take a deep and profound look at yourself, with all your strengths and all your weaknesses, all your virtues and all your faults, all your courageous achievements and all your failures. Become aware of your Spiritual Twin, so that together, as one spiritual entity, you can fulfill your destiny.

Meditations and rituals on this night are well suited for delving into your inner self, for exploring the spiritual being which dwells within. This is also a good time for determining whether you are perhaps too self-centered and introspective and whether you focus on yourself to the exclusion of others.

LABRADORITE FOR THE NARCISSUS MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

AT tonight's Narcissus Moon we should remember that vanity and loving oneself are very different things...

Vanity focuses on the physical appearance you present to the world. It is important to be comfortable with that and ensure you love the image you create and project. Perhaps falling in love with yourself to the exclusion of all others is less positive - as the story of Narcissus illustrates.

Loving oneself is often seen as negative in European cultures. In the UK especially it is seen as quite vulgar to say that you love yourself. It is viewed as selfish and vane. This is so wrong. As Louise Hay says in her seminal book 'You Can Heal Your Life':

"I am talking about having a great respect for ourselves and a gratitude for the miracle of our bodies and our minds."

She goes on to recommend looking at yourself in a mirror, meet your eyes and tell yourself how much you love and respect yourself. Repeat this a few times a day - preferably every day.

LGBTU people have often had to grow up in societies which tell us that we are evil, dirty or repulsive. It can be hard to shake off that negative  view of yourself. So try what Louise calls 'Mirror Work' - it is very effective at boosting your self-esteem and self-worth. You are amazing!

Antinous provides a positive reflection of ourselves. He is the eternal image of a man who loved a man. He is the spiritual guide for all people who love people of their own gender or realise that they love themselves as a different gender.  He will be reflected in that mirror too.

Excellent crystals for inner reflection on yourself are:

Labradorite - This one of my favourite crystals (photo above) - partly for its iridescent beauty but also because of its many healing attributes. These include the ability to help you to have faith in yourself. It also brings positive contemplation and introspection.

Fire Agate - This is a powerful crystal (above left) particularly helps with introspection and finding inner peace with yourself.

Apophyllite - This crystal also encourages introspection but helps the process to reveal the truth of who you really are.

Whilst I would, obviously, recommend that you hold these crystals during meditation during this moon phase I would also recommend doing the 'mirror work' Louise Hay recommends. I would add that doing the 'mirror work' while holding one (or all three) of the crystals above would make it even more effective.

Love and Light,

MARTIN

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