WE JOYOUSLY CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY

MARCH 31st is Transgender Day of Visibility ... the time for education, empowerment, and action! Join the celebration! Start a protest! Host a movie night! Organize a rally! Make the world a better place for transgender people.

Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) is a day to show your support for the trans community!

Every March 31st, it aims to bring attention to the accomplishments of trans people everywhere while fighting cissexism and transphobia by spreading understanding of trans people. 

Unlike Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th, this is not a day for mourning: this is a day to be empowered and give the recognition trans people deserve

Visibility is not about being seen as an individual: it’s working together to transform society. Learn more about TDOV here.

ANTINOUS KNEW THE GHOST DOGS OF THE BATTLEFIELDS OF ASIA MINOR

MARCH 30th is sacred to the Goddess Bau or Baba (Akadian) known in Babylonia as Nintinuggu, "The Lady who Restores to Life", goddess of healing. 

She was originally a goddess of dogs and depicted with a dog's head. Possibly because dogs were believed to be able to cure sores and wounds if they licked them, she became the goddess of healing.

Antinous probably loved dogs. 

The only portrait which shows Antinous alongside an animal is by the artist Antonianus of Aphrodisias found at Lanuvium showing Antinous harvesting grapes ... with a small dog looking up at him adoringingly.

Antinous no doubt was familiar with the Haralez, the beneficent canine spirits of the remote mountains of his native Bithynia and Armenia. 

While the mountain mythology of that region possesses many heroes, monsters and spirits, the Haralez have always been the most beloved. 

The Haralez assume canine form and guide and protect humans in peril. 

Few people in modern-day Turkey know of the Harelez, and indeed, these Celtic myths were fading by the time Antinous was born in the 2nd Century AD. 

But he might have heard old-timers speak of how, when a valiant man falls in battle, the Haralez comes to his rescue and, by licking his wounds, restores him to life. 

The popularity of the Haralez never died out completely. Even today, Armenian folk tales mention the "perpetual lickers" who restore life to the dead.

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON March 31st the Religion of Antinous solemnly commemorates the glorious life and cruel death of Saint Hypatia of Alexandria.

Hypatia is one of the most important female philosophers who ever lived, and her tragic murder at the hands of fanatical Christians on the steps of the Great Library of Alexandria is symbolic of the barbaric forces which brought down the worship of Antinous and other Classical deities.

The brutal stoning-flaying-immolation death of Hypatia in about the year 400 AD is regarded by many historians as the beginning of the Dark Ages.

St. Hypatia was a philosopher and mathematician who lived in Alexandria during a time of turmoil and conflict between Christians and the last pagan philosophers of the Great Library.

Her father was the Philosopher Theon, and Hypatia studied among the Neoplatonists. She was the author of several highly reputed works and commentaries, none of which has survived. She held a reputation of excellence that exceeded her contemporaries.


Hypatia taught among the male philosophers and attracted a large following even among Christians. Her beauty was highly desired by numerous men, but she remained chaste (or at least unmarried) all her life, which leads some to suspect lesbianism.

The proud life of Hypatia came to an end at the end of March during the season of Lent when she was attacked by a Christian mob, led by a fanatic Deacon named Peter, who dragged her through the streets to a church called Caesareum. 

There she was stripped naked and killed by the mob with their bare hands. It was said that they stoned her with ceramic roof tiles, then flayed her flesh with razor-sharp shards of oyster shells, tore her limb from limb and burned her.

"Saint" Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, who encouraged her assassination, was then praised for eradicating the city of "idolatry and witchcraft". 

The Martyrdom of St. Hypatia of Alexandria is one of the most profound examples of Christian violence against paganism, women, and philosophy. And she is noted as one of the last reasoning pagans murdered by the irrational religion which has dominated Western Civilization ever since.

Her death is among the heinous crimes of the Christian Church, whose atrocities continue to this day. The image at right, by Charles William Mitchell, portrays Hypatia just before her death, naked at the altar, imploring her attackers to take heed of their own faith, which they continue to ignore.

Her death is among the heinous crimes of the Christian Church, whose atrocities continue to this day. The image at right, by Charles William Mitchell, portrays Hypatia just before her death, naked at the altar, imploring her attackers to take heed of their own faith, which they continue to ignore.

For these reasons and in memory of the unnamed Ancient Priests of Antinous who suffered similar fates, the Religion of Antinous has proclaimed Hypatia of Alexandria a Saint and Venerable Exemplar and honors her with a Feast Day on March 31. As Sacred Synchronicity would have it, her Antinoian Feast Day in 2009 coincided with the release of major motion picture based on her life.

Openly gay Chilean-Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar's $75-million production AGORA stars Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz and was the biggest box-office hit in Spain for the year 2009.

In the film set in Roman Egypt in the final days of the 4th Century A.D., Weisz plays the astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who fights to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world. Her slave Davus (Max Minghella) is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity.

GATEWAY TO HADES FOUND IN TURKEY A RIVAL TO GATEWAY TO HADES IN GREECE

AS Hadrian and Antinous traveled across Asia Minor in 129 AD it is possible they saw the legendary Gate to the Underworld.

Italian archaeologists say they have found the historical Gate to the Underworld of the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis in modern-day Turkey ... birth land of Antinous. 

But as always with these things, the Greeks also claim they have found evidence for the existence of a GATEWAY TO HADES IN GREECE.

In ancient times there were several Gateways to Hades ... in Asia Minor ... in Greece ... and in Rome ... but the one at Hierapolis was perhaps most famous of all.

The Turkish discovery was made by a mission headed by Francesco D'Andria from the University of Salento which is in charge of the excavations in the Greco-Roman city. The ruins of the city are near the modern-day Pamukkale in Turkey.

According to Greco-Roman mythology and tradition, the Gate to the Underworld, also known as Pluto's Gate ... Ploutonion in Greek, Plutonium in Latin ... was the entrance point to hell.

Both Cicero and Greek geographer Strabus referred to the Hierapolis Plutonium in their writings, and both had visited it. It was a well-known place of pilgrimage in Antiquity.

Since the excavations commenced in Hierapolis in 1957 ... by an Italian mission under Paolo Verzone from the Turin Polytechnic ... finding the exact location of Plutonium had been the focus of the archaeological digs.

D'Andria told ANSAmed news agency that he had found it by studying the vast literature from the period and reconstructing the route of a thermal spring to a cave, ascertaining that in that area bird corpses were collected.

According to the tales of the travelers in those times, bulls were sacrificed to Pluto before pilgrimages into the Plutonium. The animals were led by priests to the entrance to a cave from which fetid fumes arose, suffocating them to death.

The announcement of the discovery came only weeks after  archaeo-spelunkers announced that a rival Gateway to Hades in southern Greece apparently was a cave dwelling which once housed an entire underground city.

Ironically, the giant cave could have resembled something vaguely similar to the scene depicted by Jan the Elder Bruegel of Aeneas and the Sybil entering Hades (above). 
 
The complex settlement seen in this cave suggests, along with other sites from about the same time, that early prehistoric Europe may have been more complex than previously thought.

The cave, located in southern Greece and discovered in 1958, is called Alepotrypa, which means "foxhole."

The cave in Greece apparently went through a series of occupations and abandonments before it finally collapsed.

ASTRO FORECAST: MARCH 28th—APRIL 7th, 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

---

MARCH 28th
to APRIL 7th, 2024

---

THURS-SUNDAY, MARCH 28th-31st, 2024

This week, Venus forms a sexy sextile with impetuous Uranus. You may meet a stranger who ordinarily would not be your type ... but who certainly appeals to you.

MON-TUESDAY, APRIL 1st-2nd, 2024

Overnight Monday-Tuesday, we come to the Capricorn Third Quarter Moon which, in Antinous Moon Magic, we call the HADRIAN'S WALL MOON of stubborn intransigence and immovable barriers. Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Hadrian's Wall Lunar Phase is the embodiment of hindrances and blockages. It represents the barriers that stand in your way. It is all barriers and obstacles to progress. Meditations and rituals conducted on this night are best suited for focusing on blockages in your life, situations and issues which prevent you from moving forward. These can be manifested by persons or situations around you. But most often, we find during meditations on this night that we have erected prison walls around ourselves, we are blocking ourselves from the freedom we so earnestly desire. This Lunar Phase is saying it is time to break out!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3rd, 2024

This week, Mercury does an about-face and goes "backwards" as seen from Earth until May 25th, 2024. 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!.

THURSDAY, APRIL 4th, 2024

This week turns romantic when love goddess Venus and emotionally deep Neptune align in conjunction in dreamy Pisces. Passion and compassion are the bywords — but watch out for over-indulgence in Neptunian party drugs and alcohol.

FRIDAY, APRIL 5th, 2024

This week, Venus leaves dreamy and romantic Pisces and charges into hot and horny Aries. Sitting in front of your computer wistfully fantasizing about Mr. Right suddenly gives way to the urge to go out and find him ... and not stop until you have found him. Aries Venus can be overly assertive and me-firsty in relationships. But if you are congenitally shy and retiring, this means you may finally work up the audacity to stand up for yourself ... and about time, too. But move fast because Venus leaves Aries on April 29th to settle down in placid and docile Taurus, where Venus prefers the comforts of home.

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 6th-7th, 2024

In ancient times Antinous was famous for love spells and you can see for yourself this weekend when love goddess Venus is in a sexy sextile aspect with darkly magical Pluto. Venus sextile Pluto gives you the ability to cast a really powerful kind of love spell on others. We all know that love spells can go any which way. They can bind two people’s affections together in ways that are movingly romantic and passionate or dangerously unbalanced and obsessive. Pluto tends to manifest in extremes, so with this planet in aspect to Venus, your planet of romance, love affairs tend to swing from one end of the emotional spectrum to the next. You'll often find yourself on the receiving end of some obsessively intense attractions but you’re certainly prone to experiencing all-consuming feelings of attraction toward the object of your desire. Go ahead, give it love a chance.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between April 8th and 14th, 2024, when we have a "Black Sun" Solar Eclipse 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 ... More details next time ....

ANTINOUS IN BYBLOS By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

IN the Spring of 130 AD, Hadrian and Antinous visited the city of Byblos, which Greek historians claimed was the oldest city in the world.  The city was dedicated to the Goddess, Ba'alatGebal who was the daughter of El and was equated with Astarte-Venus.

It was through Byblos that the founding legends of the birth of Aphrodite-Venus came to the Greeks.

It was here that the passion story of Adonis took place in the forests of nearby Mt. Lebanon.

Venus had fallen completely in love with him which made her lover Mars jealous, so he disguised himself as a boar and attacked Adonis, gorging him in the groin so that he bled to death in the arms of Venus.

When his spirit descended to the underworld, Venus demanded that he be returned from the underworld and given eternal life, but Persephone also fell in love with him and wanted him to stay with her, so Jupiter had to intervene and allowed Adonis to return each Spring in the form of anemone flowers to be with Venus and then descend again in the Autumn to be with Persephone.

It was during the Spring festival of the death and rebirth of Adonis that Hadrian and Antinous arrived at Byblos to take part in the ancient celebration. The festival included a period of wailing and morning for the death of the beautiful boy, followed by joy and celebration when he symbolically returned from the underworld.

The Adonis river which flows through the Byblos into the sea begins in a cave far up in the mountains where a temple of Venus once stood, it is here that Adonis was said to have been born and to have died.  Every spring the water of the river turns red, which is said to be his blood flowing to the sea, and the hillsides are covered in red anemones, the flower of Adonis.

Antinous was often compared to Adonis and the flower of lotus flower of Antinous was compared to the flower of Adonis as they were both beautiful boys who died and arose again from the underworld through the invincible love which Hadrian and Venus had for them.

We praise the beauty of the reborn gods who’s return is the time of blessings and new beginnings. 

Ave Antinous-Adonis!

ANTONIUS SUBIA

WALT WHITMAN SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON March 26th the Religion of Antinous takes a moment to celebrate the life of one of our most popular Antinoian prophets ... Saint Walt Whitman.

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, on the West Hills of Long Island, New York. He was lavished with love by his mother, but treated with stern discipline by his carpenter father.

After only a few years of school, Whitman was pulled out to help with the family earnings. He educated himself, reading all that he could, worked in a printing house, and eventually became a schoolteacher who taught with refreshing openness and excitement, allowing his students to call him by his first name. After years of teaching, he went into journalism, and in time was the editor of several publications.

However, Walt Whitman is said to have experienced a life-transforming epiphany. He left New York, and returned to live for a period with his family, then returned from isolation with Leaves of Grass, one of the most powerful collections of poems in American literature and the first to allude heavily to homosexual love.
It is often said that, during his time in isolation, a religious sense of purpose entered his heart, which he revealed in the Calamus poems.

The aromatic, psychotropic calamus plant with its phallic spadix flower pods was his symbol for homosexuality. The calamus has special meaning for us because Kalamos of Greek myth fell in love with the beautiful youth Karpos. 

Like Antinous, Karpos died by drowning. Grief-stricken Kalamos wept among the reeds at the waterside until he was himself transformed into a reed, whose rustling in the wind is his sigh of woe.

When the American civil war broke out, Walt Whitman was 42 years old and served as a hospital nurse, falling in love with all the soldiers, especially those who died in his arms.

Open expressions of love between men were accepted without issue during the war, and it was when the visionary enlightenment of Walt Whitman became clear to him. He saw that the origin of this love, brotherly, or friendly perhaps, if not more, was the salvation of the human race, and certainly able to heal the divide between North and South.

His final years were spent communicating his message to the new torchbearers, such as John Addington Symonds and Edward Carpenter. After his death, and as Gay Liberation took strength, he was called a Prophet, particularly by the George Cecil Ives and the Order of Chaeronea.

We, adherents of the ancient/modern Religion of Antinous, proclaim him to be St. Walt Whitman the Prophet of Homoeros, and we elevate him to his own stratosphere in our devotion.

He died March 26th, 1892 of tuberculosis compounded by pneumonia. Over 1,000 mourners paid their respects. St. Walt told us how he wanted us to remember him, not as a great poet, but as "the tenderest lover":

You bards of ages hence! when you refer to me, mind not so much my poems,
Nor speak of me that I prophesied of The States, and led them the way of their Glories;
But come, I will take you down underneath this impassive exterior ... I will tell you what to say of me:
Publish my name and hang up my picture as that of the tenderest lover,
The friend, the lover's portrait, of whom his friend, his lover, was fondest,
Who was not proud of his songs, but of measureless ocean of love within him ... and freely poured it forth,
Who often walked lonesome walks, thinking of his dear friends, his lovers,
Who pensive, away from one he loved, often lay sleepless and dissatisfied at night,
Who knew too well the sick, sick dread lest the one he loved might secretly be indifferent to him,
Whose happiest days were far away, through fields, in woods, on hills, he and another, wandering hand in hand, they twain, apart from other men,
Who oft as he sauntered the streets, curved with his arm the shoulder of his friend  while the arm of his friend rested upon him also.

WE HONOR THE EMPRESS SABINA

THE Empress Sabina Augusta ... Vibia Sabina ... Hadrian's Wife ... died sometime in the year 136, and was deified in the year 138.

The date of her elevation to godliness is not known, but because she was so often compared to the Mother Goddess Ceres-Demeter, we declare her Apotheosis to coincide with the return of spring in Rome, and dedicate our celebration of the Equinox to our mother and Empress, Nova Dea Ceres, Sabina Augusta.

This relief sculpture of her deification, in which she is shown rising up from the cremation flames on the wings of a female Aeon, shows Hadrian enthroned, behind him is a figure that resembles Antoninus Pius.

And reclining on the floor is one who could possibly be Antinous, the resemblance to the youth on the Apotheosis of Antoninus is remarkable.

ANTINOUS WORSHIPERS IN GLOBAL RITES TO CELEBRATE THE SACRED BOAR HUNT

TONIGHT, in observance of the Ancient Roman Vernal Equinox, modern-day priests of Antinous around the world conferred via Zoom to carry out rituals commemorating the Sacred Boar Hunt.

The priests from both sides of the Atlantic joyously celebrated the Sacred Boar Hunt of Antinous which was one of the few recorded events in the actual life of Antinous.

This wonderful, mysterious hunt represents the pinnacle of his life ... Antinous at the highest point of his brief mortal existence, full of youth, beauty and vitality ... mounted on horseback in the forest with his lover Hadrian, hunting a boar. 

That night there was sure to have been a big party, Roman style, with delicious boar meat, drinking, music, wild sex, and all the good things in life.

This is what our festival means ... to enjoy life ... to take it all in right now and be glad that we are alive and well.

Take all your pain and disappointment of the past, unfulfilled wishes, regrets, embarrassment, mistakes ... Hopes and dreams that never came true ... Take a moment to set yourself free of their burden, they are of no use to you anymore. 

Instead, look to good things that you have now, the pleasures and beauties that surround you, the friends you hold close, the accomplishments you have earned, enjoy what the gods have given you ... eat, drink, fall in love, indulge in sexual desire ... in all the splendors of being alive, right now at this moment.

For as just like Antinous as he rode, strong, young, beautiful and free, we never know what fate has in store. One year after the Boar Hunting ... Antinous was dead.

I offer my Blessing to All the people who love and believe in Antinous everywhere in the world on this occasion of the Sacred Boar Hunt. 

I ask Antinous to bless us as we begin the transition into this new phase of development. May the Temple of Antinous gather together in great numbers from all over the globe!

May the Meat of the Sacred Boar 

Feed the spirit of Homotheosis

In all our hearts!

Ave Antinous!

~Antonius Nicias Subia

Flamen Antinoalis

THE LIBRA FULL MOON THE ANTINOUS ORATOR MOON

TONIGHT's Libra Full Moon is the Orator Moon of diplomacy and balanced thinking in Antinous Moon Magic.

This is the perfect time for fulfilling dreams of finding just the right partner, the person who balances out your needs and desires perfectly. 

But remember that diplomacy is the key.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. 

The Spirit of the Orator Moon is the embodiment of articulate expression in all forms and in all media, whether spoken, written or visual. 

We borrow the image of the Roman orator ... a person skilled in the fine art (for it is an art) of using gesture, vocal inflection, intonation, precise enunciation, skillful selection of terms and every other skill at their disposal to convey thought in a persuasive manner.

When you are at a loss for words, the Orator Spirit enters your mind and gives you the words you need.

This is the Spirit of persuasion and conviction. It is the Spirit of teaching and elucidating, of getting an important point across to others.

The Libra Full Moon is the moon of balancing out extremes, diplomacy, fairness, justice.

Meditations and rituals carried out tonight are best suited for finding areas in your life which are out of balance. Perhaps you have allowed yourself to become a "doormat" for others, or you relinquish authority over yourself to others needlessly.

Or perhaps you are domineering and insensitive to the needs of others.

Because Libra involves interpersonal relationships, you may find that it is time to end a relationship which has outlived its purpose and which you have become stuck in solely out of a misplaced sense of loyalty or politeness ... or simply out of habit.

The Orator Moon offers you a way to negotiate an end to the relationship ... politely yet definitively ... for the benefit of both sides.

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

ALL relationships need diplomacy and an amicable balance. It is not necessarily easy to achieve. 

I am advised by our astrology expert Hernestus that this Libra Full Moon of diplomacy and balance is the ORATOR MOON  ... A moon where the ability to communicate clearly will be enhanced. 

A moment to erase past woes and use balanced, tactful communication to resolve problems - especially within relationships. I, therefore, recommend that you meditate during this moon using the following crystals.

Amethyst - One of my regular recommendations - a beautiful multi-purpose crystal or gemstone. As you relax after an internal battle with your emotions you will want a feeling of resolution. Among many other attributes Amethyst can help you get rid of negative energy and thoughts. It can also help you transition to a new state of being. 

Iron Pyrite - These metallic crystals can help you to see behind the facades that people put up in relationships to hide their true feelings. It also helps you to use diplomacy and tact to achieve a positive outcome.

Snow Quartz - These lovely, milky stones help to enhance tact and diplomacy - to think before you speak.

Love and Light

MARTIN

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

ANTINOUS SAINTS BLESS THE MARRIAGE OF BRAZIL'S FIRST PRIEST OF ANTINOUS

SAINTS Sergius and Bacchus continue to bless gay nuptials in their roles as patrons of Marriage Equality.

Marriage Equality is legal in Brazil ... and those saints were honored along with Antinous the Gay God at this wedding in Campinas, São Paulo, on 23 March 2013! 

See if you can spot an image of Antinous visible in this photo of the wedding of gay educator-journalist Deco Ribeiro (Brazil's first priest of Antinous) and his beloved Chessler Lohren Beauty.

A giant icon of Saints SERGIUS AND BACCHUS is the backdrop for the altar in the background. 

And also THE TWO LOVERS OF ANTINOOPOLIS are invoked. And it is in the upper corner of their round tondo portrait that you see a small golden image of Antinous.

May these Saints of Antinous watch over Chessler and Deco for all eternity:

ANTINOUS-ATTIS DIES AND IS REBORN DURING THE CYCLE OF THE EQUINOX

THE cycle of the March Equinox is Sacred to the Great Mother of the Gods, and to her divine lover-son Attis, who dies and is reborn at this time of year.

Persephone returns from the underworld, and the verdure returns to the face of the Earth.

The death of Attis is symbolic of the fruit flowers that appear at this  season and then fall away, making room for the ripening fruit.

It was celebrated in Rome with the introduction of a great pine tree that was carried into the Temple of Magna Mater.

An image of the dead Attis was carried on a bier and hung from the tree which was decorated with purple ribbons and violet flowers.

On the Day of Blood, the priests performed austerities including the  self-castration of new priests, and the bloodletting of the old priests  to the accompaniment of drum and cymbal music.

After the Day of Blood, when Attis was said to have risen again, the festival turned to joy and elation and was known as the Hilaria.

The final part of the sacred days was the day of cleansing, when the image of the Great Mother, a black stone encased in silver, was taken to the river Arno and washed by the priests.

Flamen Antonius Subia says:

"The five-day cycle of the Equinox ... the Mithraic Mysteries and all the other remembrances ... are all contained in the Death and Resurrection of Attis, the beautiful boy, who severed his own testicles and died giving his blood to the bosom of the earth ... but did not die."

ASTRO FORECAST: MARCH 21st—31st, 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

---

MARCH 21st to 31st, 2024

---

THURSDAY, MARCH 21st, 2024

This week, the Sun enters the sign of Aries for the Equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere springtime is on the way, but in the Southern Hemisphere autumn is coming. The March Equinox is the official zodiacal start of the astrological year and 2024 IS THE YEAR OF THE SUN, according to an ancient astro-alchemical calendar. The previous 12 months were ruled by Mars, the war god. He created much fear, doubt and anger. The coming 12 months will be ruled by Apollo-Helios. He brings a new spirit of warmth, brightness and insights. It is time to emerge from the darkness of fear and ignorance ... it is time to open our eyes to the light of new possibilities. Thus 2024 is the Year of the Sun.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22nd, 2024

This week, Venus aligns with Saturn in the emotionally deep sign of Pisces. Their conjunction marks a time of personal, relational, and spiritual maturation, offering us opportunities to deepen our devotion and commitment to what is valuable to us. Around this time, we will have chances to choose what we aim to consolidate in our lives. We will be drawn to cultivate relationships based on a foundation of shared values and to gravitate toward pursuits, projects, and investments that are in alignment with our integrity.

SAT-SUNDAY, MARCH 23rd-24th, 2024

This weekend, Mars leaves cold and logical Aquarius and dives into the waters of Pisces ... this is like lava dropping into the sea ... lots of steam and boiling ... and the cosmos conspires to make your dreams come true! In watery Pisces, Mars's fiery impulsive energy is converted to steamy dreams and hot emotions. For the next six weeks, until Mars enters Aries on May 1st, your artistic endeavours will get a big energy boost from Mars. But just remember that any assertive decision-making can be skewed by your emotional bias.

MON-WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25th-27th, 2024

This week, we come to the Libra Full Moon ... the lunar cycle we call the ORATOR MOON of diplomacy and balanced thinking. This is the perfect time for fulfilling dreams of finding just the right partner, the person who balances out your needs and desires perfectly. But remember that diplomacy is the key. Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Orator Moon is the embodiment of articulate expression in all forms and in all media, whether spoken, written or visual.

THURS-SUNDAY, MARCH 28th-31st, 2024

This week, Venus forms a sexy sextile with impetuous Uranus. You may meet a stranger who ordinarily would not be your type ... but who certainly appeals to you.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between April 1st and 7th, 2024, when we come to the Capricorn Third Quarter Moon which, in Antinous Moon Magic, we call the HADRIAN'S WALL MOON of stubborn intransigence and immovable barriers. Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Hadrian's Wall Lunar Phase is the embodiment of hindrances and blockages. It represents the barriers that stand in your way. It is all barriers and obstacles to progress. Meditations and rituals conducted on this night are best suited for focusing on blockages in your life, situations and issues which prevent you from moving forward. These can be manifested by persons or situations around you. But most often, we find during meditations on this night that we have erected prison walls around ourselves, we are blocking ourselves from the freedom we so earnestly desire. This Lunar Phase is saying it is time to break out! ... More details next time ....

WE MOURN THE DEATH OF ANTINOUS-ADONIS

ADONIS was the most beautiful boy that ever lived, so beautiful that Venus fell totally in love with him and forsook all her love-joys in order to follow him on his hunt through the forests of Mt. Lebanon.

But Adonis was unmoved and completely rejected her advances. She became infatuated and abandoned herself to the boy who only cared to hunt.

Mars was jealous of his rival, and outraged to see Venus subjected to desperation and lust, so he contrived to lure Venus away by having Mercury recall her to her neglected duties, because without her influence to temper the raging schemes of her Erotic son, there was no love in the world.

While she was away, Mars transformed himself into a wild boar and let Adonis pursue him through the woods.

The God of War suddenly charged the young God of Beauty and disarmed him, and with a deadly kiss, gored Adonis in the groin sinking his razor tusk between his perfect white legs.

When she returned, Venus found her beloved boy dead and cut her hair in mourning, she immortalized his soul as a flower, and made the river that bears his name flow red.

The love between Venus and Adonis was unfulfilled, her adoration for him was unreturned because Adonis had no care for women, and he preferred his hunting dogs to her gentle caresses.

Only the War God Mars had his way with Adonis, though motivated by jealousy and rage, it was a violent sexual attack, for which all the world must mourn, because in the savagery of the Lust of Mars, the world was forever robbed of the beauty of Adonis.

Flamen Antonius Subia says:

"We venerate Adonis and seek his shadow in the gardens of human beauty. Antinous is the 'Adonis of the Underworld' ... our perfect desire who flees from our embrace ... but we, like Venus, never abandon him to his endless hunt, and caress his cheek even though our hands can never touch him."

THE SACRED BOAR HUNT

AT the March Equinox the Religion of Antinous commemorates the Sacred Boar Hunt.

In our Liturgical Calendar, it is the day when Hadrian and Antinous arrive at the sacred city of Bithynium/Claudiopolis, the home of Antinous, in the spring of the year 129 AD.

Imagine the jubilant welcome they must have received as the city's populace turned out en masse (including all of the extended family and acquaintances of Antinous) to see the imperial entourage with Hadrian and Antinous at the forefront.

The region is teeming with bountiful wildlife and so Hadrian and Antinous went on hunting forays while in Bithynium.

The Boar Hunt had deeply mystical symbolic meaning for Hadrian, as exemplified that it was elevated to mythic proportions for use in public monuments.

The image above shows Hadrian and Antinous (looking backwards) during the Sacred Boar Hunt, immortalized on the Arch of Constantine in Rome.

Flamen Antonius Subia explains the mythic symbolism this way:

In ancient times, boys would enter the forest armed only With a spear to test their courage as young men 
So it was that Antinous went with Hadrian
To hunt the wild boar of Phrygia, to test his manhood
The boar symbolizes strength, courage, honor, & truth
And was an emblem of warriors and of fearlessness
The Boar is sacred to the beautiful hunter god Adonis
Whom Venus so loved that she chased after him through Briars and thorns, and when he was killed by the Boar, Which was her jealous lover Mars in disguise
She compelled the world to mourn his death
Her love for Adonis was so strong that she brought him 
Back from the underworld again for half the year.
The Boar is the emblem of the fertility god Freyr
Whose mighty phallus purifies and protects the fields
The Boar is sacred to the sun god Belenus
Of the Cisalpine Gauls, of whom there is an inscription From Hadrian’s Villa that reads:
“Antinous and Belenus are equal in age and beauty
For this reason Antinous is also be worshipped like Belenus appropriately, by Quintus the Sicilian”
We praise the god Belenus, whose bonfires protect us
From the malevolent spirits of darkness and chaos
The beautiful Sun God Belenus is Antinous of the North
We praise Antinous as Mercurius, the son of Maia
Maia is the Bona Dea, leader of the Pleaides
She is the bringer of goodness and plenty of summer
We praise Diana the Huntress and ask her blessing
On this night of the Sacred Boar Hunt
May the Strength of the Boar be with us
May the Power of the Boar be with us
May the Courage of the Boar be with us
In celebration of Antinous the Hunter
We now consume the meat of the Sacred Boar
So we may be blessed
Ave Antinous – Adonis
Ave Antinous – Freyr
Ave Antinous – Belenus
Ave Antinous – Mercurius
May flesh of the Sacred Boar give us his blessing
Ave Antinous Venator!

~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

WE HONOR ANTINOUS/MARS

WHEN the Sun enters the Sign of Aries at the March Equinox, we honor Antinous in his special guise as Antinous/Mars.

Mars, God of War, son of Jupiter and Juno, father of Romulus and Remus, founders of Rome, was the divine spirit of the Roman Army whose legions subjugated the world.

His power ran like molten steel in the blood of Romans who he made them invincible.

The ram was sacred to him, and thus the sign of Aries was devoted to him, as it was in the early spring, after the fields were sown and before the harvest that the men went to war.

Originally Mars was an agricultural deity, whose duty was to protect the fields from marauders. But he soon became an aggressive conqueror, whose sacred spears were ritually shaken by the Flamen Martialis when the legions were preparing for war.

He had twin sons who accompanied him and went before the armies in battle, their names were Phobos and Deimos, fear and panic.

He was the illicit lover of Venus, and it is said that they were the co-creators of Rome who through war brought love and peace to the whole world. It was in this spirit that Hadrian worshipped the pair.

Mars is the great spirit of masculinity, the violent, courageous power of the male sex, the penetrator and subjugator.

His emblem, an iron spear, is a symbol for the phallus, and so it is that Mars is the great potent Phallus of Man, the impregnator.

In this sense he is venerated as the warrior within all men, and as our most extreme, animalistic, carnal, aggressive nature.

He is the conqueror of winter, the dominator of spring, the protector of life, and the bringer of death.

He is war and fury, selflessly courageous, for the protection of the weak and for the defeat of the strong.

Mars never surrenders, and this is why Venus is so mad with lust for him, and why we adore him as our protector.

CHARLOTTE VON MAHLSDORF SAINT OF ANTINOUS

SAINT Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who was born on this day in 1928, was a Berlin trans/gay who survived the Nazis and East German communists and about whose life a Pulitzer Prize winning play, "I Am My Own Woman", has been staged at theatres around the world.

The title is misleading since the original German is "Ich bin meine eigene Frau" and the word "Frau" can mean either "Woman" or "Wife". 

The phrase was Charlotte's answer to her mother's question: "Don't you think it's time you got a wife?"

Charlotte was her own man and her own woman and her own husband/wife. In a long life amidst dictatorship, war and oppression of human-rights, Charlotte learned to create her own identity. We honor Charlotte as a Saint of the Religion of Antinous.

St. Charlotte, who liked to wear frumpy house dresses with a clunky handbag and a strand of pearls and matronly shoes, somehow managed to survive the Gestapo, the East German Stasi secret police and assaults by neo-Nazis. In doing so, Charlotte made serious ethical compromises along the way in order to stay alive. 

Charlotte amassed a huge collection of Victorian antiques which some said came from the homes of Jewish Holocaust victims and (later) from homes of people fleeing East Germany.


But Charlotte DID stay alive in dangerous times during which others perished. Charlotte's life forces you to ask yourself what YOU would have done in similar circumstances.

After German unification, Charlotte became something of a reluctant gay icon in Germany in the 1990s. Charlotte never had any pretensions of being intellectual or a political activist. 

Charlotte never quite fit in with post-Stonewall activists, who were a bit puzzled by her dowdy grand-motherliness and her passion for 19th Century Renaissance Revival style antiques. Like Quentin Crisp (also a Saint of Antinous), Charlotte belonged to another era.

But unlike Quentin Crisp, Charlotte wasn't especially witty or campy (despite her appearance) and was not an artist of the arch one-liner the way Quentin was. In appearances on talk shows, she would sit there, smiling politely, with not a great deal to say unless it was about collecting and restoring 19th Century antiques. But what she did say was eloquent in its simplicity: 

People should be kind to each other and let each other get on with their lives the way they want to.

Above all, she didn't much like being a celebrity. Too many people  expected things of her. She became a target for neo-Nazis, mostly drunken, youthful vandals in the 1990s. Not surprisingly perhaps, considering all she had lived through, she became somewhat paranoid towards the end of her life. In the end, she fled to Sweden where she spent her final years in virtual isolation before dying in 2002.

We honor St. Charlotte von Mahlsdorf for being someone who was not afraid to be openly trans/gay in the face of totalitarian dictatorships and police states. Someone who survived the Nazis and the Stasi secret police ... wearing a dress, a strand of pearls and a handbag.

THIS IS THE DAY THE WISEST MAN DIED AND ROME BEGAN TO FALL

MARCH 17th is the anniversary of the death of Marcus Aurelius and we in the Religion of Antinous set aside this day each year to remember the last of the great philosopher-emperors, and a man who knew both Hadrian and Antinous.

What follows, is adapted from writings over the years by Flamen Antinoalis Antonius.

As a young boy Marcus Aurelius had caught the eye of the Emperor Hadrian. He was appointed by the Emperor to priesthood in the year 129 (just a year before the death of Antinous), and Hadrian also supervised his education, which was entrusted to the best professors of literature, rhetoric and philosophy of the time.

Marcus Aurelius discovered Stoicism by the time he was 11 and from his early twenties he deserted his other studies for philosophy. The Emperor Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian, adopted Marcus Aurelius as his son in 138.

Antoninus Pius treated Aurelius as a confidant and helper throughout his reign; Marcus Aurelius also married his daughter, Faustina, in 139. He was admitted to the Senate, and then twice the consulship. In 147 he shared tribunician power with Antoninus. During this time he began composition of his Meditations, which he wrote in Greek in army camps.

At the age of 40, in 161 Marcus Aurelius ascended the throne and shared his imperial power with his adopted brother Lucius Aurelius Verus. Useless and lazy, Verus was regarded as a kind of junior emperor; he died in 169. After Verus's death he ruled alone.

Most of his reign was spent fighting and negotiating with the Germanic barbarians who were steadily crowding around the borders of the Empire. Marcus was able to hold them back with a succession of victories and peace treaties. In 177 he made his son, Commodus, joint-Emperor, though Commodus had no interest in the responsibility, caring more for the gladiatorial sports, but Marcus, the philosopher- king, took no notice of his son's blood-lust, which was to later cost the Empire dearly.

For much of his reign, Marcus Aurelius had suffered from severe illness, but his calm devotion to stoic virtue gave him the strength to continue without rest and without his poor health interfering with his duties. While with the legions on the German frontier, Marcus Aurelius suddenly died on March 17th in the year 180AD.

His ashes were conveyed to Rome and placed in Hadrian's Mausoleum. Commodus assumed power and began the chain of tragic events that are said to have brought the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

For his wisdom, and strength, and because he was the last instrument of Hadrian's plan that brought so much glory, and prosperity to Rome, we venerate the deified Marcus Aurelius as a god of the Religion of Antinous.
An important feature of the philosophy was that everything will recur: the whole universe becomes fire and then repeats itself.

Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; and observe how all things have reference to one perception, the perception of this one living being; and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things which exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the contexture of the web. (from The Meditations)

THE ANTINOUS JACKAL MOON THE GEMINI FIRST QUARTER MOON

TONIGHT's Gemini First Quarter moon is the lunar phase we call the JACKAL MOON in Antinous Moon Magic.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Jackal in Antinous oracular arts is the embodiment of cunning and skill and sleight-of-hand and being slightly dodgy and sneaky but also being incredibly adept and learned in the ways of the world.

Think of the jackal sneaking through the night, or think of a fox sneaking into a chicken coop. Or think of a coyote ... sly, foxy, intelligent, just out of sight. But these are not entirely negative energies, of course.

Each of us needs wily abilities to get through life. We need to tell a white lie now and then or to turn on the charm to get past some obstreperous person or to ferret out the best way to get something done ... by hook or by crook.

Faced with an uphill legal battle to prove your innocence, you need a cunning and sharp-witted lawyer who knows all the tricks in the book in order for justice to prevail.

The Jackal is very positive in the sense that it provides us with slyness, quick-wittedness, good strategies skills and the ability to sniff out danger ... the way a coyote does.

The negative down side is that it encourages us to forget the fine line between truth and fiction, and it encourages us to play false and cheat to get our way. Although, that having been said, the Jackal says that Truth is sometimes a variable and vague thing, and what seems false can sometimes turn out to have been the truly right thing to do.

The Gemini First Quarter Moon is the March moon of the Trickster, who taunts and teases, who plays tricks, who leads the soul through dark and treacherous passages ... who is more treacherous than any Underworld foe ... but whose cunning enables him to bring his charges to their goal.

Meditations and rituals carried out tonight are best suited for looking beyond the the veil of lies and deceit that others (or we ourselves) throw over our eyes to prevent us from seeing clearly. This is also a very good night for finding canny and cunning solutions to difficult problems ... strategies for out-smarting those who seek to pull the wool over our eyes.

The vibration of this lovely Lunar Phase has a number of other positive attributes, including its action to help you to release anger and by making you aware of your personal power. This energy also aids you to be aware of anyone who tries to take advantage of you, and to deal with this in a new creative way.

PINK AGATE FOR THE JACKAL MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

 

THE Gemini First Quarter moon (the "Jackal Moon") is tricky. Many crystals can give you a boost or help you to relax. This moon phase is all about seeking clarity amid deliberate distractions. 

You need intelligence, cunning and a strategic approach. It is hard to find crystals which will help you to meditate specifically on these combined attributes. 

That cunning Jackal is pulling the wool over my eyes too! However, I remain stoic in such situations and have found some crystals that may help guide in meditations this moon phase. 

PINK AGATE (top) - they can help you to see the bigger picture behind a dispute and seek solutions rather than dwelling on the situation.

FIRE AGATE (my old favourite!) - these lovely crystals allows particular meditative focus on strength whilst also having a function where it mellows the soul. 

GREEN JADE - they channel passion into constructive approaches to situations with the people around you whether family, friends, colleagues or enemies. 

They smash away illusions to create absolute clarity about the situation you are in or striving for. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that Chinese people have held Green Jade as sacred for over a millennia.

Love and Light,

MARTIN

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

THE FEAST OF HORUS AND THE SEVEN SCORPIONS

MARCH 16th is the feast of Horus and the Seven Scorpions. Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris. 

When Seth murdered Osiris, grief-stricken Isis searched for his corpse. Isis entrusted baby Horus to Selket/Serqet the scorpion goddess. 

The Egyptians knew that scorpions are very good mothers. A mother scorpion carries her babies on her back ... and she attacks anyone who dares to approach too close! 

For added protection, Selket became seven scorpions, thus providing seven-fold protection to Horus. 

Selket is the guardian of Horus and ... by extension ... she is the guardian of Antinous. When you REALLY need protection: call upon Selket!

16 de março é a festa de Horus e os Sete Escorpiões. Horus é filho de Isis e Osíris. Quando Seth assassinou Osíris, a Isis, que sofreu um sofrimento, procurou seu cadáver. Isis confiou o bebê Horus a Selket / Serqet a deusa do escorpião. Os egípcios sabiam que os escorpiões são mães muito boas. Uma mãe escorpião carrega seus bebês em suas costas ... e ela ataca qualquer um que se atreva a aproximar-se muito perto! Para maior proteção, Selket se tornou sete escorpiões, proporcionando assim sete vezes proteção a Horus. Se você realmente precisa de proteção: chamar Selket!

El 16 de marzo es la fiesta de Horus y los Siete Escorpiones. Horus es el hijo de Isis y Osiris. Cuando Seth asesinó a Osiris, Isis buscó su cadáver. Isis le confió a Horus a Selket / Serqet la diosa del escorpión. Los egipcios sabían que los escorpiones son muy buenas madres. Una madre escorpión lleva a sus bebés sobre su espalda ... y ella ataca a cualquiera que se atreva a acercarse demasiado cerca! Para mayor protección, Selket se convirtió en siete escorpiones, proporcionando así siete veces protección a Horus. Si realmente necesita protección: ¡llame a Selket!

ANTINOUS AS THE SLEEPER ENDYMION SIRED THE 52 MAGICAL LUNAR PHASES

ON World Sleep Day ... the Friday before the March Equinox ... we honour Antinous the Moon God as Endymion. 

There are several versions of the story of Endymion and the Moon. 

In all of them, he and the Moon become united in love for each other. 

He sleeps eternally bathed in moonbeams, guarded by animal spirits associated with lunar deities: Selene, Diana, Artemis. 

Pliny the Elder mentions Endymion as the first human to observe the movements of the Moon, which (according to Pliny) accounts for Endymion's love.

In other versions, he is the son of Jupiter/Zeus and the personification of the Moon's Magic on Earth. He sired 52 children with Diana/Selene ... the 52 Lunar Phases of ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC.