FOR Pride Month, an aromatherapist and parfumier in Brazil shares this image of Antinous/Antenociticus adorning a small temple in Newcastle England.
He adds this poem:
THE SCENT OF ANTINOUS
When contemplating the beauty
of your divine body
adorning the altar
in this ancient temple
my heart calms down
When smelling the perfume
of your bare skin
Saturating this sacred space.
Poetry by Edhie Laureano Pires Yata'wá
@antinousemporium1 (Instagram)
This small temple is dedicated to a curly-haired boy god called ANTENOCITICUS ... a deity worshiped by soldiers and local people at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall.
Antinous in the guise of Antenociticus is not mentioned at any other Romano-British site or on any inscriptions from Europe, which is why it has been identified as a local deity.
Antinous priest and writer MARTINUS CAMPBELL, author of THE LOVE GOD about the life of Antinous, says it is highly possible Antenociticus is a local aspect of Antinous ... perhaps in honor of a visit to this outpost by Antinous and Hadrian.
Martinus says: "Archaeologically there is a period of time in AD 126 to 127 when we have no record of where Hadrian was. We do know, however, that the wall was completed in Ad 128."
He says: "It is believed he would have come to Britannia to oversee the final stages of the wall. It is further believe he would have brought Antinous with him."
Martinus adds: "That is why the locals (mostly of mixed Roman and British blood, by then) connected Antinous to a local deity Citicus and re-named him Antenociticus." Stone heads of Antenociticus have been found nearby.
ON June 25th we remember Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, who died on this day in 1912, one of the most famous painters of the late 19th Century who was forgotten in the 20th Century and is only now beginning to be rediscovered in the 21st Century. No Victorian artist painted marble as well as Alma-Tadema ... or painted faces so that you could read the emotions from facial expressions ... as in "Bacchanale" 1871 above. Alma-Tadema, the now sadly forgotten painter who was one of the biggest celebrities of the Victorian art scene. Born in Holland on 8 January 1836, and trained in Antwerp, he settled in England in 1870 and became the toast of London with his enormous, wall-sized paintings of scenes of luxury and decadence in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Viewing his paintings in a London gallery was the equivalent of going to an Imax 3-D Sense-Surround cinema today. His attention to color and to near-photographic detail was superb. Every petal of every flower was always perfect. Each face had a personal story to tell. The painting "Hadrian Visiting a Romano-British Pottery" (above) displays Alma-Tadema's mastery of textures, colors, facial expressions and architectural details ... just look at the exquisite mosaics. Alas, fame and celebrity are fleeting things. Styles changed and his work went out of fashion. He died a bitter and disappointed man in June 1912. That was only a couple of weeks after Nijinsky had shocked ballet-goers in Paris by masturbating on stage, and it was barely a month after the Titanic had sunk. Very soon war would break out and the world would never be the same. It was the end of the Gilded Age of complacency, comfort and ease. Alma-Tadema' s paintings were derided as "kitschy" and were stored away in attics and warehouses. Once the most famous artist in Britain, he was soon forgotten and serious art historians ignored him for decades. In recent years, however, his genius has been rediscovered and a new generation of admirers delight in his magnificent paintings, a few of which have been brought out of storage for display for the first time in more than a century.
TRAVELINGacross the Arabian desert along the caravan routes, and the border road constructed for the Legions to patrol the frontier with Parthia, Hadrian and Antinous went south from Palmyra towards Arabia, crossing the country that is now called Jordan. They visited the city of Gerasha where a monumental arch of Hadrian was constructed to celebrate his visit.
They followed the trade routes to the capitol of the province of Arabia, the famous city of Petra, where merchants arrived from Yemen, carrying sacred frankincense, the most important religious offering in the Roman religion.
The great temples of Petra, carved out of rock, were dedicated to their primary god, Al Qaum, who is compared to Mars, the war god, and was said to be the protector of the Caravans. Al Quam was never depicted, but was represented as an un-worked, cone-shaped stone set on a golden pedestal, that somewhat resembles a phallus.
The Nabateans of Petra were conquered by Pompey, but were allowed independent rule, until Trajan made their kingdom a Roman Province.
Hadrian was so pleased with Petra and the reception he received that he lavished great sums on the people, and he elevated the city to the status of a Metropolis after which the city was called Hadrian's Petra.
The importance of the Nabateans and their fantastic city of rock is that they are the ancestors of the Arabian culture as we know it, their language and writing is what evolved into Arabic.
Their entire culture and religious foundation were embraced by the tribes of the whole Arabian Desert, Medina and Mecca were outposts of Nabatean culture along the trade routes to the south.
The elegance, love for poetry and war of the pagan Arab people extends from the Nabatean culture that so impressed Hadrian.
It was in Hadrian's Petra that Antinous was immersed into the Arabian culture which would in centuries to come overtake half of the Roman world especially the cities and provinces where the Antinous religion was strongest, leaving little trace of his cult behind.
We pray that the wisdom of the pagan Nabateans of Arabia Petra will return to calm the crisis of our modern age. We offer sacred olibanum of Petra in honor of the ancient gods and as a symbol of our faith in Antinous the gay god.
IT is indeed ironic that Jerusalem is in the headlines again, amidst continuing religious and political strife and bloodshed, for it is in mid-July when the Religion of Antinous commemorates the bitter-sweet arrival of Antinous and Hadrian in Jerusalem in the year 130 AD. In hindsight, Hadrian must have viewed Jerusalem as a bad omen enroute to what would tragically turn out be a fateful date with destiny in Egypt following a triumphal tour of Asia Minor. This day in the year 130 AD signaled a turning point in history. The glorious tour of the Eastern Provinces turned sour when Hadrian reached religious strife-torn Jerusalem.
In a few years, he would raze the city to the ground in rage at the Jewish rebellion, earning him the enmity of Jews forever more. In a few weeks, the entourage would enter drought-stricken Egypt, where Hadrian would be confronted by despair and discontent. And only six months hence, his beloved Antinous would be dead. The wise and cautious emperor would turn bitter and cruel without sweet Antinous at his side. The history of Western Civilization was about to change .... But on this day in the spring of 130 AD, Hadrian basked in the golden glow of adulation, sensing perhaps only vaguely that this glow was in fact the sunset of his reign. Hadrian and Antinous crossed the Jordan river and entered Jerusalem on this day in 130. There they remained for much of summer of 130, while Hadrian immersed himself in the Jewish faith and attempted to convince Jewish leaders to compromise on religious matters. He soon realized that compromise was impossible. Hadrian had two facets to his personality. One was the compassionate and wise seeker of knowledge who was open to new ideas, particularly when they pertained to spiritual matters. But the other facet was the uncompromising warrior who could not allow an affront to Roman dignity and socio-economic order to go unpunished.
It was during this visit to Jerusalem that Hadrian realized the Jews would never be subsumed into Roman society. He began issuing controversial decrees, such as outlawing circumcision. It may have been during this visit that Hadrian began drawing up plans to rebuild Jerusalem after the fashion of the Greeks, with major temples to Jupiter and Venus. He may even have begun work on the reconstruction of the Temple Mount, dedicating the new Temple to Jupiter Capitolinus, with a statue of Hadrian in front. His actions and disregard for the Jewish religion led to the rebellion of Bar Kochba, and the protracted and very bloody Jewish war. The result of this war was that Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and all Jewish and Christian Churches were replaced with Temples to Venus and Adonis. Israel was renamed Palestine, and the Jews were forbidden to enter Jerusalem except once a year on Passover. This was the beginning of the Diaspora. It was the beginning of 18 centuries of rancour and strife over the issue of Judea/Israel/Palestine, and of who should live there. To this day, Hadrian's name is accursed among Jews. This is where the glorious tour of the Eastern Provinces turned sour. But it is also where the glorious reign of Hadrian turned sour. Until the year 130, Hadrian had surprised his critics with his even-handedness and his cautious wisdom and his patience in seeking peace and avoiding armed conflict wherever possible. His goal was to create a Hellenistic society based on tolerance and mutual benefit. But the second half of the year 130 changed everything. By the end of the year Antinous would be dead and Hadrian would return to Rome a broken and embittered man. The man who loved to travel and spent half of his reign abroad would never leave the environs of Rome and his villa at Tivoli again. The remaining eight years of his life would be marked by capricious cruelty, vindictiveness, chronic pain and sickness. Above all, he would be remembered for a devastating war against the Jews — a war which left a sore which continues to fester 1,800 years later.
ON June 20th and 21st Hadrian's Pantheon is the place to be during the Solstice.
Hadrian's Pantheon brings tears to your eyes. Imagine being with ANTONIUS SUBIA as he describes the monolithic columns each carved from a single stone from Egypt ... "as if he could snap his fingers and have such columns appear here" ... and the marble in the interior coming from every corner of Hadrian's vast empire. Then you stand under the oculus ... the eye of the cosmos ... the most spiritual architectural element anywhere.
DURING tonight's SUMMER BLUE MOON we reflect on the inner Antinous within us all ... already within us ... waiting to be awakened. (Art above by Linda Larson) Many of us spend a lot of our lives looking for role models, mentors, teachers, and gurus to guide us on our path. There is nothing wrong with this and, in fact, finding the right person at the right time can really help. However, it is important to realize that in the absence of such a figure, we can very safely rely upon ourselves. Flamen Antonius Subia has said this many times. Instead of looking for Antinous outside of us, Antonius says we should look inside of us for Antinous. We ARE Antinous and He is us. That means we carry within us everything we need to know to make progress on our paths to self-realization. The outer world serves as a mirror. Or to use another metaphor, our inner world has a magnetic Antinous force that draws to us what we need to evolve to the next level. All we need to do to see that we already have everything we need is to let go of our belief that we need to seek in order to find. The path of the spirit is often defined as a journey with a goal such as the fabled pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. In this metaphor, a person begins a search for something they want but do not have and then they find it, and there is a happy ending. However, most of us know that getting what we want only makes us happy for a moment, and then the happiness passes until a new object of desire presents itself. Joy is a permanent aspect of our inner selves and is not separate from us at any point. We do not have to travel to find it or imagine that it resides only in the body of another. In fact, what the best teachers will do is point out that this very precious elixir is something we already possess. So when we find ourselves on our path, not knowing which way to turn and wishing for guidance, we can turn to ourselves ... to our Inner Antinous. We may not know the right answer rationally or intellectually, but if we simply ask, let go, and wait patiently, an answer will come ... from our Antinous Within. The more we practice this and trust this process, the less we will look outside ourselves for teachers and guides for we will have successfully become our own. It is so simple. It really is a Simple Gift to just let go and trust your Inner Antinous.
HADRIAN designed his personal observatory at his sprawling villa outside Rome to be in alignment withthe Solstices.
Imagine the scene during the Solstice cycle: First, he would observe the setting sun sending a shaft of goldish-red light through a certain slit in his observatory tower to illuminate a golden statue of the Egyptian Goddess Isis.
Then there would be oracles at midnight. You can just see the cluster of priests and augurs, chanting and offering sacrifices amidst billowing clouds of incense.
An Etruscan haruspex or two would be wearing yellow robes and conical hats as they inspected the entrails of animals. Patrician augurs would be wearing their finest ceremonial togas as they listened for messages from nocturnal birds. Babylonian astrologers would be clad in garish robes with multi-tiered crowns as they scanned the heavens and babbled to each other about their arcane calculations.
And naturally the Egyptian priests would do their utmost to out-do all the others with outlandish make-up, headdresses and robes to the cacophony of sistrums, gongs and the whoosh of incendiary incense sending up pastel-colored clouds of smoke to the wailing of a priestess of Isis in the throes of a trance.
Scores of Imperial court officials and hangers-on would be stifling yawns as the oracles took most of the night.
But yawns would turn to gasps of wonder and praise when the Emperor announced that he had just seen the RISE OF THE STAR OF ANTINOUS over the eastern horizon.
Then at dawn, the Emperor would climb stairs to the upper chamber to observe the Solstice Sunrise on June 21st.
He would announce the outcome of the oracles and whether the Antinoian Auspices for the coming year were favorable.
Meanwhile, an Italian archaeologist and her team spends Solstice at the ruins of a tower on a hillock at Hadrian's Villa which was the Emperor's own private observatory.
These experts, led by MARIA DE FRANCESCHINI, have demonstrated that the observatory tower is in fact aligned to the Solstices. She believes the observatory was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, who raised Osiris from the dead to become a god of resurrection and transfiguration — just as Hadrian declared Antinous a god of resurrection and transfiguration.
For centuries, experts had been mystified by the layout of the sprawling complex of marble baths, banquet halls, luxurious residences, gardens, shrines and unidentified structures 30 kilometers outside Rome.
Hadrian's Villa was a sprawling complex of buildings, temples, gardens, a zoo and — yes — even an observatory tower on a hillock on the edge of the compound from which Hadrian could observe the heavens.
But, in an article published in the journal Nature last year, De Franceschini wrote that she believes the mystery-shrouded Rocca Bruna Tower, long held to be Hadrian's private observatory, is in fact aligned so as to produce sunlight effects for the seasons.
She describes her findings personally in the video at the top of this entry.
De Franceschini says that during the summer solstice, rays of light pierce the tower and another of the villa's buildings. In the Rocca Bruna Tower, dawn sunlight during the summer solstice enters through a wedge-shaped slot above the door and illuminates a niche on the opposite side of the interior (image courtesy nature.com). And in a temple of the Accademia building, De Franceschini has found that sunlight passes through a series of doors during both the winter and summer solstices.
"The alignments gave me a new key of interpretation," says De Franceschini, who adds that the two buildings are connected by an esplanade that was a sacred avenue during the solstices. Based on ancient texts describing religious rituals and study of recovered sculptures, she thinks the sunlight effects were linked to religious ceremonies associated with the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was adopted by the Romans.
De Franceschini, who works with the University of Trento in Italy, has published a book describing the archaeo-astronomical work, VILLA ADRIANA ARCHITETTURA CELESTE. She credits two architects, Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray, for initially noticing the light effect in Rocca Bruna.
According to nature.com, Robert Hannah, a classicist from the University of Otago in New Zealand, says that De Franceschini's ideas are plausible. "They're certainly ripe for further investigation," he says.
Hannah believes that the Pantheon, designed by Hadrian in Rome with a circular opening at the top of its dome, also acts as a giant calendrical sundial, with sunlight illuminating key interior surfaces at the equinoxes and on the spring equinox on April 21st, the city's birthday.
Few classical buildings have been investigated for astronomical alignment, says Hannah, partly because it is much easier to check for alignments in prehistoric structures such as Stonehenge, which do not have potentially contradictory artefacts.
De Franceschini spends every solstice at Hadrian's villa, seeking further verification. Our thoughts and prayers go with her during this special season of the Solstice.
We can envision Hadrian, sick with grief and alone after the death of Antinous, ensconced in his observatory tower scanning the heavens for a sign from his Beloved Boy, praying to Isis for her to work her magic on Antinous.
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
JUNE 20th to 30th, 2024
THURSDAY, June 20th, 2023
Overnight Thursday-Friday, we come to the JUNE SOLSTICE. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere this is the Summer Solstice and the days start getting shorter. For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere this is the Winter Solstice and spring will soon be on the way. But above all, we reflect on the inner Antinous within us all ... already within us ... waiting to be awakened. Many of us spend a lot of our lives looking for role models, mentors, teachers, and gurus to guide us on our path. There is nothing wrong with this and, in fact, finding the right person at the right time can really help. However, it is important to realize that in the absence of such a figure, we can very safely rely upon ourselves. Flamen Antonius Subia has said this many times. Instead of looking for Antinous outside of us, Antonius says we should look inside of us for Antinous. We ARE Antinous and He is us. It is the process (for it is a process and not a method) which he calls Homotheosis.
FRI-SATURDAY, June 21st-22nd, 2023
Overnight Friday-Saturday, we come to the first of two Capricorn Full Moons in succession, which is the SUMMER BLUE MOON, coinciding with the JUNE SOLSTICE.
SUN-MONDAY, June 23rd-24th, 2023
This weekend, Mercury is in a sextile aspect to Mars to help you get your point across articulately and strongly to others. And because Mercury is Retrograde, you can rehash, rewrite or revise proposals and re-present them to your best advantage.
TUES-WEDNESDAY, June 25th-26th, 2023
This week, Mercury forms a brilliant and glowing trine aspect with Saturn which empowers you with perseverance (Saturn) and clear forms of expression (Mercury) to make some serious long-term plans for the future.
THURSDAY, June 27th, 2023
This week, Venus and Mars form a powerful sextile configuration. This magical Venus-sextile-Mars moment occurs only twice a year. It is possible now to take a balanced approach to conflict, problems and projects that require effort. This can combine both a gentle touch and firm action, sensitivity and forcefulness. Negotiation and interaction with others could be aggressive and determined now, but also balanced with sensitivity and style. Any expressions of anger, frustration or discontent are more likely to be tempered with fairness, moderation and composure. On the spiritual level, you are able to balance the masculine and feminine energies of your soul to create a beautiful whole.
FRIDAY, June 28th, 2023
This week, we come to the Aries Third Quarter Moon, which is the lunar phase of the determined warrior we call the TRIBUNE MOON in Antinous Moon Magic. If you are someone lacking in self-assertiveness, then ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is sending assertiveness your way on his moonbeams tonight ... so that you can forge ahead in with determination and vigor ... The Tribune Moon is about confronting your fears ... above all, your fear of baring your true self to others. It is about turning your weaknesses into your strengths. It is about transforming destructive energies into constructive ones. It is about finding ... and fulfilling ... your destiny ... Meditations and rituals this night are best suited for finding ways to assert your will constructively.
SATURDAY, June 29th, 2023
This weekend, Saturn the ringed planet shifts into reverse gear to go Retrograde or "backwards" as seen from Earth. As Saturn retraces its steps for the next four months, we will all revisit issues and problems in our lives which need to be remedied before we move on. From now until November 15th, when Saturn goes Direct or "forwards" again, you can expect to have Saturn, the school teacher of the Zodiac, to force you to sit down and complete your homework before moving forward to the next class.
SUNDAY, June 30th, 2023
This weekend, you may want to break loose and go off alone on some impromptu adventure when Mercury forms a sextile aspect with Uranus. If you are stuck at home with family or people you would rather avoid, this can create intolerable tensions and the desire to walk out and jump in the car and speed away. But if you have the week to yourself, this creates the perfect atmosphere for doing something new and different without anyone holding you back.
SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:
Another exciting week lies ahead between July 1st and 7th, 2024, when we come to the CANCER NEW MOON. In ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC we call this the ADONIS MOON ... the lunar phase which enhances relationships ... Antinous has always been identified with Adonis, the god of beauty and desire, and a central figure in various mystery religions ... Adonis is the divine ideal lover ... Rituals and meditations tonight are best suited for focusing on your lover ... or how to find a lover ... or simply a good night for being with your lover ... for the benefit of yourself and for others ... More details next time ....
THE JUNE SOLSTICEis one of the most sacred days in the Liturgical Calendar of the Religion of Antinous.
It is the day when Ra Herakhte, the heavenly father of Antinous, stands still for a moment. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the longest day and from now on the days become shorter and shorter. For our brothers in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the Shortest Day and from now on the days become longer and longer.
That is an important aspect to remember about the Religion of Antinous. The Blessed Boy is beyond such constraints as Summer and Winter or even Life and Death. For Antinous, the days are ALWAYS getting longer and the they are ALWAYS getting shorter.
For HE lives in our hearts — wherever we are.
The Religion of Antinous celebrates a whole cluster of Sacred Events on this magical day, which we call The Delphinea as a collective term. The Delphinea is the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo.
Antinous would be associated with many deities in the generations to come. Among his many names, the Beauteous Boy was adored as Antinous-Apollo (image above). The Delphineais the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo, and of his triumph over the great and monstrous Python which was wrapped around holy mount Parnassus. The Python was the creation of Juno, a creature of jealousy whose coils were meant only to stifle and constrict the grace of that which was to proceed from the Sacred Way of the holy city of Delphi.
Apollo shot the Python and destroyed it, when he was only three days old, which is like the brilliance of the Sun dispelling the covering of night. He set the black stone which had fallen from the sky, called the Omphalos, over the navel of the Earth, and charged a Sibyl, a priestess of the Great Mother to watch over the stone and to convey his wisdom to mankind.
Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia explains the significance for us Antinoians:
"The Oracle of Delphi, called a Pythoness, was overtaken while seated atop a golden tripod, by a fire that is the breath of the God. Apollo is the Flower Prince reborn, he is the Twin brother of Dionysus, the Twin brother of Diana. He is the Son of Zeus, and the inheritor of his Kingdom, just as Aelius Caesar was the chosen son of Hadrian.
"Apollo is the God of wisdom and art, the speaker of truth, the deliverer of radiance, reason and beauty. Apollo is the God of Socrates and Plato, and he is the God of Pythagoras who claimed to be his son, exhibiting a golden thigh as proof. Apollo is the unconquered light, the full manifested brilliance, power and wisdom of Orpheus.
"Of all the gods, Apollo is the most boy-loving, though the touch of his heart was invariably fatal. He is the genius of the dying boy-gods. We pray to Apollo, the great god of homosexuality, and seek his guidance on this day, the longest day of the year."
ON JUNE 19ththe Religion of Antinous commemorates the birth of SAINT NICK DRAKE, the sexually ambivalent English singer who died under very mysterious, Antinous-like circumstances at a young age and who became an artistic icon for future generations of dreamers and artists.
Nicholas Rodney Drake was born on June 19th, 1948, to an upper middle class English family living in Burma. His father was an industrialist and there was never much question about Nick's financial future. Indeed, he would have been a wealthy middle-aged man today had he done nothing at all. But Nick never ceased to wonder and worry about his spiritual future. Despite or perhaps precisely because of his admission to Cambridge University, Nick Drake was convinced that he should shun a financially certain future and pursue a future as a musician. Nick Drake learned to play piano at an early age, and began to compose his own songs, which he would record on a reel-to-reel tape recorder he kept in the family drawing room in rural England. In 1966 he spent some time in the South of France where he purportedly became acquainted with "the best sort of pot" and perhaps experimented with LSD — and possibly sex with both females and males. Returning to England, he realized he was not suited to receive a degree from Cambridge University. Nick abruptly and shockingly (as far as his family was concerned) ended his studies at Cambridge nine months before graduation, and in autumn 1969 moved to London to concentrate on a career in music. Nick signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded his second album — Bryter Layter and part of his third, Pink Moon. Neither of the first two albums sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release in Britain, much less abroad. He never made an American breakthrough, unlike other major British artists of the era. Nick was devastated and depressed. His excruciating shyness to perform live or be interviewed further contributed to his lack of commercial success. Despite this, he was able to gather a loyal following. He managed to complete his third album, Pink Moon, recorded in midnight sessions in the winter of 1971, immediately after which he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural England. Once again, it did not sell well. He felt he was a failure. On November 25th, 1974, Nick Drake retired to his upstairs bedroom where he took a cocktail anti-depressants which killed him. He was found stretched over his bed next morning by his mother. The Religion of Antinous honors Nick Drake as a prophet of Homoeros. He was a man who saw through the transparent barriers between sexuality to see the spiritual truth of reality. He was one of those many men who are never sure of their sexuality. But it is unimportant whether he was "gay" or not. Nick Drake is a symbol of these sorts of dreamy and shy men who live existences of quiet despair. Nick Drake could play better riffs on the guitar than almost anybody of his generation. He had a beautiful voice. He was a gifted song-writer. He knew he had more talent in his little finger than most well-paid artists would ever possess. But his career never took off. The big break never happened. Nobody appreciated him. He was broke and disillusioned. His sister says she believes he took an overdose of anti-depressants thinking he wanted it to either cure him or kill him, because he couldn't go on living in such despair of being an artistic failure. How many people in the economic meltdown of the early 21st Century don't feel the same despair? And yet .... Nick Drake could scarcely have dreamt as he swallowed a handful of pills on a dreary November evening in his parents' house in the English Midlands that he would become a major recording star with fans around the world — 30 years after his death. His three albums now are cult chart-busters around the world. When we remember Saint Nick Drake, we must remember too that Antinous is the patron of these sensitive souls who die untimely and tragic deaths at an early age. Antinous is the River Man who drowned in the Nile ....
AT THE height of summer, during the cycle of the June Solstice, the Ancient Spartans noticed that the hyacinth flower began to wilt in the intense heat ... which reminded them of the untimely death of Hyacinthus, lover of Apollo. The Ancient Spartans celebrated a three-day festival called the Hyacinthia, which began with mourning for Hyacinthus and ended with rejoicing for the majesty of Apollo. This solar cycle is sacred to Antinous in the form of Apollo-Hyacinthus. ... Antinous being the beautiful flower boy Hyacinthus who dies, just as the sun begins to die, but who was raised from the dead and deified by the love of the God of Light, who forbade Dis Pater from taking his beloved boy to the place of Death.... Hyacinthus arose as Apollo, to live forever within the rays of the Unconquered Sun, an allegory of ourselves awakening to the light of reason, truth and sacred Homotheosis.
The beautiful boy from Sparta known as Hyacinthus, whose astonishing beauty and long, flowing blonde hair, was first noticed by Zephyrus, the God of the West Wind.
The moisture laden Zephyrus fell madly in love with the boy, and attempted many times to seduce Hyacinth, but every time the boy rejected the wind god whose breeze is the most lovely and most arousing.
It was then that Apollo noticed Hyacinthus and fell completely in love with him also, however when Apollo revealed his love to Hyacinth, he was not rejected, but his shining love was returned many fold.
The two, who were like twins, whose long, blonde curls, rustled together in the jealous wind of Zephyrus, enjoined a passionate love affair, until one day, the sight of their happiness proved too much for Zephyrus to endure. While Apollo and Hyacinthus were throwing the discus together, the wind god sent a gust of air, when Apollo threw the golden disk, causing it to fall directly on the perfect head of Hyacinthus who died instantly from the blow. It was all an accident, and a tragedy, but Apollo was beside himself with grief, like Hadrian holding the body of his beloved Antinous.
The Sun God turned the blood that flowed through the soft curls into the flower that we call the Hyacinth. The Death of Hyacinthus is the divine metaphor for the beauty and tragedy of life taken from the young in their full vigor, falling victim to the accidents of youth. It is also a warning to those who would approach the majesty of the great god Apollo, who is rightfully called the Far-Shooter, and the falling of the golden discus is a sign that the powers of the sun at this time of the year, though at their greatest, are slowly fading. The disk strikes Hyacinth on the head and the days grow shorter.
JUNE 17th is the traditional anniversary of the wedding of Orpheus and Eurydice. Antinous was initiated into the Orphic Mysteries of the power of love transcending death. Discover the Orphic Mysteries in your daily life. The Orphic Mysteries teach you to remember that you are the musician. You are the dancer. You are that which dies and enters the Underworld. You are also that which rises re-born bright and shining like the dawn sunrise ... today ... every day ... forever ... Homotheosis, Man-Godliness-Becoming-the-Same. For a clue to the Antinous Mystery Teachings, just check out French director Marcel Camus' unforgettable film Orfeu Negro, which is a rendition of the Orphic Mysteries in the setting of 1950s Rio de Janeiro during Mardi Gras, or Carnival.
It is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Orfeu is a trolley-car motorman and gifted guitarist. Amid the joyous frenzy of Rio's Carnival, he becomes enthralled with the beautiful, doomed Eurydice.
Against a backdrop of Rio's favelas (shanty-town ghettos on the hills), the lovers sway in a never-ending rhythmic samba among the crowds. But Eurydice is stalked by a man in a skeleton costume.
Eventually, Orfeu finds her body in the morgue. In the house of the dead, voodoo rites are performed to bring her back to life. But impatient Orfeu looks upon her too soon ... and the spell is broken.
In the end, bearing her body in his arms, he falls to his death from a cliff. His guitar, standing in for the lyre of Orpheus, is taken up by one of the street urchins who follow him as a sort of Greek chorus.
The movie is the stuff of pure myth. The movie shows a Rio which no longer exists. In fact, it shows a Rio that never existed. The movie was based on a highly political stage play which satirically condemned the poverty of the favelas.
When the movie came out, Brazilians criticized it for portraying a Frenchman's romanticized TechniColor tourist vision of Rio.
So what?
That's what myths are about. Myths don't tell the plain old every-day truth that we see on the streets. Myths tell Sacred Truths that exist within our hearts and our souls.
Hadrian and Antinous had both been initiated into the Orphic Mysteries. That is the darker aspect ... the Antinous Mystery Teaching ... which was brought to the screen in Orfeu Negro. Mardi Gras (Carnival) ultimately is a Masque of Love and Death.
The frivolities are fleeting. Death will catch up with each of us. But a few mortals are privileged ... like Hadrian and Antinous ... to have been initiated into the Mysteries which enable a mortal to cheat death. And that is why we put on gay costumes and dance until we drop.
Most mortals are dancing just because it's party time. But a few mortals are dancing because they have been initiated into the Mysteries of Life and Death. Initiation into the Orphic Mysteries promised advantages in the afterlife. Hadrian and Antinous were well-versed in both Mystery Schools.
But, like Orpheus in the Underworld, poor grieving Hadrian must have known as we wept over his lost boythat the Mysteries not only offer a promise of advantages in the afterlife. The Mysteries of Antinous are lived on a daily basis. We face a dark demon every day, if not several dark and deathly demons. Physical death is only one of those demons. There are many other forms of death, and the Mysteries of Antinous help us to overcome them on a daily basis. Bringing Light out of Darkness is a spiritual miracle each of us faces every day. Rejuvenating our spiritual life out of the setbacks and trials of mortality is a task we face every day of our lives, and not just at the hour of our death. The Afterlife is Now! And THAT is the ultimate Mystery Teaching. The Mysteries of Antinous are not about the Afterlife. They are about your Spiritual Life on an everyday basis. That's why we dance and sing till we drop ... and never look back! When we dance the Masque of Love and Death, then our lives become imbued with the stuff Sacred Myths are made of ....
WORSHIPERSof Antinous from around the world converged via Zoom tonight for ceremonies held at the Hollywood Temple of Antinous celebrating the June Solstice. Each year we gather ... in person in Hollywood ... and via Zoom from around the world ... during the cycle of the June Solstice. It is the day when Ra Herakhte, the heavenly father of Antinous, stands still for a moment. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the longest day and from now on the days become shorter and shorter. For our brothers in the Southern Hemisphere (who join the festivities via Skype), this is the Shortest Day and from now on the days become longer and longer.
That is an important aspect to remember about the Religion of Antinous. The Blessed Boy is beyond such constraints as Summer and Winter or even Life and Death. For Antinous, the days are ALWAYS getting longer and the they are ALWAYS getting shorter.
For HE lives in our hearts — wherever we are.
The Religion of Antinous celebrates a whole cluster of Sacred Events on this magical day, which we call The Delphinea as a collective term. The Delphinea is the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo, for starters. And then we celebrate the day that Hadrian and Antinous met and fell in love.
But on this date we also celebrate the beautiful boy Hyacinthus.
And we celebrate June 21st as the day in the hot summer of the year 130 AD when the Imperial entourage crossed the Sinai desert and entered into Egypt on the final, fateful leg of that final, fateful journey. A year earlier, on this date, they had entered Ephesus in triumph.
On June 21st of the year 130 AD, however, they were entering a drought-stricken Egypt (breadbasket of the empire) where the local populace looked to their emperor for a miracle.
That miracle would occur, but at a terrible price. Antinous would plunge into the Nile and drown. The following season, the Nile would inundate the croplands, bringing bounty and abundance once more to Egypt and, as a consequence, to the hungry empire.
The Bountiful Flood of the year 131 is the first of the many miracles attributed to Antinous the Gay God.
And on June 21st of the year 131, Hadrian would commission the OBELISK OF ANTINOUS, the Egyptian hieroglyphic text of which comprises our religion's greatest single document of faith.
Antinous would be associated with many deities in the generations to come. Among his many names, the Beauteous Boy was adored as Antinous-Apollo.
The Delphinea is the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo, and of his triumph over the great and monstrous Python which was wrapped around holy mount Parnassus. The Python was the creation of Juno, a creature of jealousy whose coils were meant only to stifle and constrict the grace of that which was to proceed from the Sacred Way of the holy city of Delphi.
Apollo shot the Python and destroyed it, when he was only three days old, which is like the brilliance of the Sun dispelling the covering of night. He set the black stone which had fallen from the sky, called the Omphalos, over the navel of the Earth, and charged a Sibyl, a priestess of the Great Mother to watch over the stone and to convey his wisdom to mankind.
Flamen Antinoalis ANTONIUS SUBIA explains the significance for us Antinoians:
"The Oracle of Delphi, called a Pythoness, was overtaken while seated atop a golden tripod, by a fire that is the breath of the God. Apollo is the Flower Prince reborn, he is the Twin brother of Dionysus, the Twin brother of Diana. He is the Son of Zeus, and the inheritor of his Kingdom, just as Aelius Caesar was the chosen son of Hadrian.
"Apollo is the God of wisdom and art, the speaker of truth, the deliverer of radiance, reason and beauty. Apollo is the God of Socrates and Plato, and he is the God of Pythagoras who claimed to be his son, exhibiting a golden thigh as proof. Apollo is the unconquered light, the full manifested brilliance, power and wisdom of Orpheus.
"Of all the gods, Apollo is the most boy-loving, though the touch of his heart was invariably fatal. He is the genius of the dying boy-gods. We pray to Apollo, the great god of homosexuality, and seek his guidance on this day, the longest day of the year."
During the June 21st Solstice, when we celebrate the Delphinea, the Religion of Antinous also commemorates the entry of Hadrian and Antinous into the fabled city of Ephesus in the year 129.
Ephesus had 300,000 inhabitants at its peak in the time of Hadrian, and it drew thousands of devotees to the shrine of the goddess annually. Even today, Ephesus is one of the most complete and most splendid ancient sites in the world and still draws thousands of tourists every year. The Great Library of Ephesus, which Hadrian patronized and greatly expanded, has been lovingly restored.
The Temple of Ephesus was one of the wonders of the ancient world. It was consecrated to Artemis, in her Asian element as a Phrygian-Hittite goddess of the hunt, a youthful manifestation of the Great Goddess of Mount Ida and Didymus.
The old Temple had burned down on the night that Alexander the Great was born, but after his conquest, Alexander ordered the reconstruction of the Temple, which was still standing when Hadrian and Antinous visited.
Antonius Subia explains the parallels between Artemis and Antinous and why we celebrate this Sacred Day:
"Artemis is considered the female Antinous, as his divine twin, the only goddess to exhibit lesbian qualities. She was worshipped as Diana alongside Antinous by the funeral society of Lanuvium. Ephesus was one of the first cities to proclaim Hadrian a living God, and one of the first to adhere to his veneration as a Divus.
"The presence of Antinous and Hadrian with their very pronounced Artemisian qualities must have made a deep impression on the Ephesians, in that they were aware that the city was being visited by living gods. It is to Artemis of Ephesus that this day is Sacred, as the female twin of Antinous, the Bithynian hunter god."
And on June 22nd the Delphinea concludes when we honor the beautiful boy from Sparta known as Hyacinthus. The astonishing beauty of Hyacinthus and his long, flowing blonde hair was first noticed by Zephyrus, the God of the West Wind. The moisture laden Zephyrus fell madly in love with the boy, and attempted many times to seduce Hyacinth. But every time the boy rejected the wind god, whose breeze is the most lovely and most arousing.
Antonius relates what happened next:
"It was then that Apollo noticed Hyacinthus and fell completely in love with him also. Unlike with Zephyrus, when Apollo revealed his love to Hyacinthus, he was not rejected, but his shining love was returned many fold. The two, who were like twins, whose long, blonde curls, rustled together in the jealous wind of Zephyrus, enjoined a passionate love affair ...
"... until one day, the sight of their happiness proved too much for Zephyrus to endure, and while Apollo and Hyacinthus were throwing the discus together, the wind god sent a gust of air, when Apollo threw the golden disk, causing it to fall directly on the perfect head of Hyacinthus who died instantly from the blow.
"It was all an accident, and a tragedy, but Apollo was beside himself with grief, like Hadrian holding the body of his beloved Antinous.
"The Sun God turned the blood that flowed through the soft curls into the flower that we call the Hyacinth. The Death of Hyacinthus is the divine metaphor for the beauty and tragedy of life taken from the young in their full vigor, falling victim to the accidents of youth. It is also a warning to those who would approach the majesty of the great god Apollo, who is rightfully called the Far-Shooter, and the falling of the golden discus is a sign that the powers of the sun at this time of the year, though at their greatest, are slowly fading. The disk strikes Hyacinth on the head and the days grow shorter."
THE 16th of June is the Egyptian "Night of the Teardrop" festival. On this night, when the moon rises into the sky, Isis sheds one blessed and mournful tear for her beloved, Osiris, as the breeze from her wings fans the breath of life into him ... so that he is reborn to eternal life. That precious tear is then collected by intersex Nile inundation deity HAPI, signalling the start of the build up to the inundation in July. Similarly, Hadrian wept for Antinous after he died in the Nile in late 130 AD, and subsequently proclaimed Antinous a god. Divine Antinous called upon HAPI to bring forth a bountiful flood in the summer of 131 AD to end a famine. It was the first miracle of Antinous! The mystery teaching: Even in tears of grief, the divine miracle of life comes forth.
THE 15th of June is the Egyptian festival when Ma'at unites as one with all the deities of the heavens. This is when all the gods take on the principle of Ma'at ... including Antinous as the final god of Egypt and ultimate Classical deity. Ma'at is often thought of as representing justice, but her true function is balance. If something has been pushed off kilter, then Ma'at embodies the power that restores equilibrium. This means that she can be appealed to if you are the victim of an injustice, and she will ensure that harmony is restored. However be very sure that you are the victim, because Ma'at is impartial, and will restore balance whoever has been at fault - this is the reason that justice is often shown as blindfolded. 15 de junho é o festival egípcio quando Ma'at une como um com todas as divindades do céu . Isto é, quando todos os deuses assumir o princípio da Ma'at ... incluindo Antinous como o deus final do Egipto e deidade clássica final.. Ma'at é muitas vezes considerado como representando a justiça , mas a sua verdadeira função é o equilíbrio. Se algo está desequilibrado , então Ma'at encarna o poder que restaura o equilíbrio . Isto significa que você pode chamá-la , se você for vítima de uma injustiça , e ela irá garantir que a harmonia é restaurada. No entanto, ser muito certo de que você é vítima , porque Ma'at é imparcial , e irá restaurar o equilíbrio quem foi a culpa - esta é a razão que a justiça é muitas vezes apresentada como com os olhos vendados . 15 de de junio es la fiesta egipcia Maat cuando se une como uno con todos los dioses de los cielos . Esto es cuando todos los dioses toman en el principio de Maat ... incluyendo Antinoo como el dios definitiva de Egipto y la deidad clásica final. Maat se piensa a menudo como la representación de la justicia , pero su verdadera función es el equilibrio. Si algo no es equilibrada , a continuación, Maat encarna el poder que restaura el equilibrio . Esto significa que puede llamar a ella si usted ha sido víctima de una injusticia , y ella se asegurará de que se restablece la armonía . Sin embargo estar muy seguro de que usted es la víctima , ya que Maat es imparcial , y restaurará el equilibrio el que ha sido el culpable - esta es la razón de que la justicia se muestra a menudo como los ojos vendados .
PRIESTS of Antinous wish all gay dads a very Happy Father's Day. Priest MICHAELUS ISOM, who is a gay father himself, says: "We honor Hadrian on Father's Day. "He is the Father of the Empire, so to speak "And a Father figure to Antinous." Art by FELIX D'EON.
TONIGHT's Virgo First Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase we call the MOON OF MELANCHOLY ... but don't worry ... it can be your "lucky" moon.
Each phase of the Moon represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype in ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC. The Spirit of the Moon of Melancholy is the Spirit of Despondency and Despair. It is the worrier, the pouter, the Spirit which feels guilty and inadequate.
It is the negative side of Virgo, not the caring and dutiful side, but rather the side which frets and mopes and feels inadequate for the task at hand. It is sadness for the sake of sadness, without cause. It is the Spirit of Chronic Depression.
In English-speaking countries, "Melancholy" is almost a dirty word. Puritan upbringing has conditioned us to grin and bear it, to adopt a stiff upper lip attitude. But suppressing this feeling is as bad as wallowing in it.
Other cultures are not so uptight about acknowledging this feeling of sadness. They realize it is a necessary part of life. It is what the French call "larmoyant" — a lovely word which rolls off your tongue so languidly. It describes a lack of joy, a vague feeling that life is not what it should be. It is Peggy Lee singing that minor-key ballad "Is That All There Is?"
This moon signals those areas of your life where things are not going well and you have a right to sing the blues. But it also signals those moments when we wallow in self-sorrow and almost enjoy brow-beating ourselves — for no good reason.
Don't suppress this sadness, but don't wallow in it. Instead, savor it for a moment and discern what your gay spiritual heart is trying to tell you.
ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD uses this lunar phase to invite you to reflect on those parts of your life or your living and job environment which may be making you sad.
You may come to the realization that the sadness you are feeling is not coming from within yourself, but rather that it is originating elsewhere ... coming from someone else or from some other situation.
As you know, many gay people are highly sensitive to the emotions of others, and to the "vibes" of a location or situation. You know how you can enter a space, such as a room or a house, and you immediately sense whether it is a cheerful or a sad place. You know how the sadness of others can affect you — even at great distances.
You may be feeling sadness and then the phone rings and it is a special person who needs consolation, and you realize that the melancholy you were feeling had its origins with that person, not with yourself.
Most people ignore such "coincidences." But this sensitivity is an integral part of ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC. That is why the "Moon of Melancholy" is important. It is the best time of the year for meditation and rituals concerning sadness ... in yourself and in others.
Examine your own life and see if where the source of your sadness lies.
If you find the source of sadness in your life, then this Lunar Phase provides you with the energy to effect changes which will move you out of melancholy into the next lunar phase.
This small temple is dedicated to a curly-haired boy god called ANTENOCITICUS ... a deity worshiped by soldiers and local people at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall.
Martinus says: "Archaeologically there is a period of time in AD 126 to 127 when we have no record of where Hadrian was. We do know, however, that the wall was completed in Ad 128."
