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.

ON MOTHERING SUNDAY WE REMEMBER THE MOTHER OF ANTINOUS

SUNDAY is Mother's Day in Britain and many countries in Continental Europe and the Americas.

Called MOTHERING SUNDAY in Britain, it is adapted from a pre-Christian Pagan calendar. In modern times it falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter ... an adaptation of Pagan Equinox rites.

We take this opportunity to remember the mother of Antinous ... she proudly wraps her loving arm around her young son in this portrait by PRIEST JULIEN.

Little is known of the origins of Antinous except that he was from the Bithynian city of Claudiopolis modern-day Bolu, Turkey.

It has been speculated that he was a slave ... or even a provincial prince. 

The OBELISK OF ANTINOUS, which now stands atop the Pincian Hill in Rome, is covered in Egyptian hieroglyphs which tell us much about Antinous the Gay God. But sadly, there are huge gaps where the text has been worn away.

There is, for example, an intriguing reference to the mother of Antinous which is incomplete. Did a missing portion of the text talk about his biological family back in Bithynia? We'll never know.

We wonder how many brothers and sisters Antinous had? He must have had cousins and other "ephebe" male relatives. How on earth could the mother of Antinous ever have parted from him?

For that matter, no one knows what happened to the earthly remains of Antinous after his tragic death in the Nile in October 130 AD. Were they returned to his family in Bithynia? Did his mother weep over them? Were they interred in a family crypt ... and were the ashes of his mother interred beside his after she died?

This Mother's Day prayer was written by our beloved WARREN WILLIAMSON before his untimely death several years ago. We join Warren in praising the Mother of Antinous the Gay God:

O most glorious Mother of Antinous our God, accept our prayers and present them to thy son our God, that He may, for thy sake, enlighten and bring our souls unto the most holy city of Antinoopolis where we shall dwell with thee and the Imperator God Hadrian forever and ever.  Be it so now and forever. 

THE ARIES NEW MOON THE FASCES MOON OF ANTINOUS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My crystal suggestions for meditations during this moon phase are: 

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

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

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

Life and Light,

MARTIN

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

ANCIENT CROCODILE SKELETON FOUND UNDER A TEMPLE AT ANTINOOPOLIS

TODAY is the ancient Egyptian Festival of Sobek, the ancient Egyptian crocodile god. 

Sobek is fierce, frightening, nurturing, and virile ... and as such was much loved by the Egyptian pharaohs. 

Archaeologists have found a crocodile skeleton under a temple of Antinous at Antinoopolis (see photo below). 

The crocodile protects the temple in all eternity! 

Sobek is celebrated for his protective and nurturing nature. In ancient Egypt, crocodiles were often mummified with a baby crocodile in their mouth, or on their back. 

This aspect of crocodile behavior was unknown to Western science until late in the 20th century, but the ancient Egyptians knew it. That is why a crocodile was buried at a temple of Antinous ... to protect Antinous for all eternity! 

The crocodile skeleton is one of the mysteries surrounding an INTENTIONALLY BURIED STONE STRUCTURE at Antinoopolis where ot just one ... but three ... human skeletons interred in sand directly on top of the structure.

With the discovery of the first body in 2017, archaeologists reluctantly speculated about "human sacrifice" ... but now they believe humans were buried separately but along with sacrificial animals.

The team of archaeologists working at ANTINOOPOLIS in Egypt say the subterranean "stone structure," which they believe may be an underground mortuary temple, is covered by two meters of soil strewn with sacrificial pottery sherds, bones of livestock and a crocodile ... and the skeleton of at least three human beings.

None of the animals was mummified ... nor were the humans,
says James B. Heidel, president of the Antinoupolis Foundation.

Some of the animals ... livestock ... were ritually butchered as normal for a Roman-era sacrifice. But a crocodile was buried intact, without being mummified.

But the human bodies were interred intact, also without being mummified. One of the bodies was accompanied by pottery vessels and ushabti figurines ... small clay dolls representing spirits who tend the deceased in the afterlife. 

The experts are certain that the pottery vessels and the bodies date to the earliest days of the city which Hadrian founded at the site where Antinous died in the Nile.

None of the pottery is later than the 2nd or 3rd Century AD, the experts said ... meaning the sacrificial offerings were made at the time when the city was founded and under construction.

The archaeologists are also certain that the site is intact and has not been disturbed by looters over succeeding centuries.

They found bones of large livestock, which appear to have been butchered prior to burial. An intact crocodile skeleton is seen as proof that the site was used as a religious sacrificial offering venue ... since crocodiles were sacred to Ancient Egyptians and not a source of food.

But the human skeleton is a total mystery. In Roman times, human sacrifice was taboo, but the archaeologists say the human bones mixed in amongst the bones of sacrificial animals and pottery suggest a gruesome possibility.

"The human burial is sealed in the same clean sand layer as all the other offerings, and the not unreasonable, but somewhat uncomfortable, hypothesis must now be that at least one human was sacrificed and offered with the animals," says James B. Heidel, president of the Antinoupolis Foundation.

The pottery and bones are in soil which covers the mystery-shrouded "intentionally buried stone structure" which Heidel's team found in January 2017 in the heart of the city founded by Hadrian at the spot where Antinous died in the Nile.

Using ground-penetrating radar, the experts discovered the rectangular stone structure ... 12 by 22 meters in size ... which consists of three successive chambers. 

The archaeologists suggest it could be an OSIREION ... symbolic Tomb of Osiris ... raising hopes that this could be the Lost Tomb of Antinous.

The structure was detected with ground-penetrating radar.

It is located near the waterfront peristyle discovered last season.

It is within what possibly was the Great Temple of Antinous and is a rectangular chamber which is subdivided into three sub-chambers ... apparently an antechamber, a middle chamber and an inner sanctum.

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.

HADRIAN RETURNS TO MENNEFER (MEMPHIS) CITY OF THE GREAT WHITE WALLS

AFTER the death of Antinous in October 130 AD, grief-stricken Emperor Hadrian continued alone on his tour of Egypt, returning finally to the great city of Mennefer/Memphis in early 131 AD, the city which he and Antinous had seen with eyes of wonder only a few months before.

Now archaeologists have unearthed fragments of the fabled "White Walls" of the Egyptian city of Mennefer ... walls which Alexander the Great saw and which Hadrian and Antinous saw when they visited the land of the Nile in 130 AD.

The White Walls surrounded the enclosure of the Great Temple of Ptah compound. They were visible at a great distance and were so impressive that the temple became synonymous with Egypt itself.

Scientists from the Egyptology Studies Center of Russian Academy of Sciences (CESRAS) claim to have found white stones which were the foundation of the huge walls that used to surround the ancient Egyptian capital currently known under its Greek name, Memphis.

The success of the Russian effort to bring to light part of the 5,200-year-old walls was confirmed by Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty.

"Several white limestone fragments of the ancient capital's wall were discovered during excavation work," he said.

The Egyptians called their capital city Mennefer (Location of Beauty) or Memphis in Greek. Another ancient name for the city was Ineb-hedj, meaning "White Walls" or "White Fortress".

The White Walls were such a landmark that the sprawling Temple of Ptah compound … The House of the Ka of Ptah (Haut-Ka-Ptah) … became synonymous with the land itself: Hautkaptah, Aegypto, Egypt.

Memphis was founded 5,200 years ago by the First Dynasty Pharaoh Menes – who is believed to have united Upper and Lower Egypt into one single kingdom. He became something of a mythical figure, with ancient texts saying he inherited the throne directly from the god Horus.

He is thought to have reigned for 62 years and was eventually killed by a hippopotamus.

Memphis was located at the mouth of the Nile Delta and held the royal palaces of the Pharaohs.

Kamal Wahid, director of the administration of Giza antiquities told The Cairo Post: "Unlike royal tombs, pyramids, mortuary and cult-related temples and any other buildings related to the afterlife, ancient Egyptian royal palaces, administrative offices, houses and other life-related buildings were often made of mud brick."

But the main reason why few ruins have been found at Memphis is because the city was used as a quarry when Cairo was founded just a few kilometers down stream. Palaces, temples and walls were dismantled and carried stone by stone to build the new capital of Egypt.

In a sense, Memphis never ceased to exist ... it lives on as Cairo.

In 130 AD, Hadrian and Antinous arrived in splendor at Mennefer/Memphis the ancient capital of the Old Kingdom.

Pictured here is the Memphite triad with a very white-skinned king who resembles Antinous.

The Memphite cosmology held that the god Ptah was the creator of the universe, that out of fire he created Atum and the Ennead of the Heliopolis. 

Ptah created the Atum from his burning heart and speech, and then the Atum created the world with his hands and semen. 

In later days Ptah would become a ruler of the underworld, or more specifically, of what lied beyond these world, he was the root of the root. 

He was accompanied two other goddess, Sekhmet-Bast, the Lion-Cat Goddess who represents destruction and Nefertum, their son, whose name means "the accomplisher of Atum" and represents preservation and healing.

Another son of Ptah and Sekhmet-Bast was Maahes, the lion-headed boy god of war, protection, knives, lotus blossoms and also vanquishing enemies of light and justice.

Yet another deity associated with Ptah at Memphis/Mennefer was the dwarf deity Ptah-Pataikos ... who at first glance resembles BES, but who appears to represent all Egyptian dwarf deities.

Ancient Egyptian dwarfs were assumed neither fully adult or pre-pubescent and assumed part of both human and animal realms. Patakoi symbolised youthful solar gods. 

The symbolic aspect was the solar affinities of dwarfs reflecting the idea of regeneration.

They assumed the role of protectors of small children and were strongly connected with fertility and magical amulets. 

The dwarf Ptah-Pataikos-Sokar amulets were concerned with both the living and the dead ... the Ptah-Patakoi guarded the living, especially children, and what appears to be an insignificant figurine is in reality a beautiful and magical amulet.

Hadrian arrived at Memphis in the spring of 131 on his return trip down the Nile. Memphis was the original capital of the Old Kingdom founded by King Narmer who unified Egypt, and founded the city where the two kingdoms met.  

The Memphite cosmology held that Ptah was the creator of the universe, that out of fire he created Atum and the Ennead. Ptah created Atum from his burning heart and speech, and then Atum created the world with his semen. 

Ptah was accompanied by his consort Sekhmet, the lion goddess and Nefertum, their son, whose name means "the accomplisher of Atum" and represents regrowth, healing and beauty.  

Ptah was the patron of builders, artists and craftsmen and his priests created the most advanced library of mathematics, geometry and architecture in the ancient world.  

He was later seen as a god of the underworld through association with tombs.  

The name for the Temple of Path is the origin of the Greek word for the whole country of Egypt.  It was the Priests of Ptah who constructed the Pyramids of Saqqara and Giza using their mystical understanding of geometry.  

Among these priests was one of the few non-royals to be deified, the enigmatic magician Imhotep.  The capital of Egypt was moved to Thebes during the New Kingdom, but Memphis continued to be the largest city. 

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras studied mathematics for 20 years at Memphis, but when the Persians invaded, he was taken captive to Babylon where he learned from the Chaldeans before returning to Greece to found his own school.  

The Persians burned Thebes and transferred the capital back to Memphis and when Alexander invaded, it was at Memphis that he accepted the surrender of the Persian Satrap.  

Memphis was the first Ptolemaic capital, where the body of Alexander was kept until Alexandria was constructed and the capital moved again.  

Memphis was still vibrant during Hadrian’s visit but was in slow decline until it was completely destroyed for the building materials of Cairo. 

The earliest recorded gay couple in history lived in Memphis, Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum who were chief manicurists for the 5th dynasty Pharaoh, they are buried together at Saqqara and are shown embracing and kissing. 

We praise the ancient sacred city of Memphis and may the blessings of the great god Ptah be with us.

ASTRO FORECAST: MARCH 27th—APRIL 6th, 2025

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 27th
to APRIL 6th, 2025

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THURSDAY, March 27th, 2025

This week turns romantic when love goddess Venus and emotionally deep Neptune align in conjunction in dreamy Pisces for a final time because Neptune leaves Pisces on March 30th and will not return to Pisces for 165 years. So, passion and compassion are the bywords and the good-bye words — but watch out for over-indulgence in Neptunian party drugs and alcohol.

FRIDAY, March 28th, 2025

This week your mind shifts into visionary mode and you revisit dreams from the past when Mercury aligns with Neptune in dreamy Pisces for the second time in four weeks because Mercury is Retrograde ... and for the final time for 165 years because Neptune leaves Pisces on March 30th and will not return for 165 years. Pay special attention to your dreams ... and that includes day dreams.

SATURDAY, March 29th, 2025

This weekend 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.

SUN-WEDNESDAY, March 30th to APRIL 2nd, 2025

Now a sea change occurs when Neptune, the planet of dreams, illusions, spirituality, and creativity, leaves dreamy Pisces and enters aggressive Aries for the first time in 165 years ... since the American Civil War. Neptune will remain in Aries until 2039, creating a more confrontational emotional environment for us all. Neptune's move creates ripples in the collective consciousness and sets up a new generational cycle to work with. Full details on NEPTUNE IN ARIES.

THURSDAY, APRIL 3rd, 2025

This week, ambitious Mars forms a positive trine aspect with industrious Saturn to give you the drive you need to push forward projects which have been stalled in recent weeks. It's now or never. Trust Mars to give you the determination. Trust Saturn to give you the cautious determination.

FRI-SATURDAY, APRIL 4th-5th, 2025

Overnight Friday-Saturday, we come to the Cancer First Quarter Moon. It is the Lunar Phase of reflection and insight which we call the NARCISSUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... Narcissus is the Spirit which tunes out all distractions and all other people in order to focus on the Divinity within. This Lunar Phase is the Spirit of Self-Love and Same-Sex Love. It is forever gazing into its own reflection and whispering to itself: You are Divine! The reflection and the viewer are one and the same. The Spirit of Narcissus is the Divinity which holds a mirror up to ourselves.

-SUNDAY, APRIL 6th, 2025

This weekend, Venus trine Mars creates a magical moment. 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.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between April 7th and 13th, 2025, when 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 ... More details next time ....

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

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:

THE HADRIAN'S WALL MOON OF BARRIERS THE CAPRICORN THIRD QUARTER MOON

TONIGHT's Capricorn Third Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase 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 is the personification of all that stands in your way. It is all barriers and obstacles to progress.

This Spirit locks you up in a prison cell, either literally or figuratively.

It rises up like a mountain to see if you have the stamina and ingenuity to scale it or get around it. But remember that Hadrian's Wall was not impregnable. It was not particularly high. It was not meant to be an impenetrable barrier, but only a hindrance to mass assault or rampant smuggling of goods and livestock.

Thus this Spirit is not insurmountable. It can be overcome, a way can be found around, under, over or through it. This Spirit challenges you to find that way.

The key words are: Barrier. Hindrance. Setback. Confinement. Blockage. Unyielding stubbornness.

This can be a physical barrier, but it can also be an emotional, financial, job or relationship "prison" which blocks your progress.

Meditations and rituals conducted tonight 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!

LARIMAR FOR THE HADRIAN'S WALL MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

THE Hadrian's Wall Moon is a time of stubborn intransigence and immovable barriers'. 

Anyone who visits Hadrian's Wall is confronted with that incredible, imposing, 79 mile division that separated the Romans from the terrifying and annoying Pict tribes of Caledonia (from whom, of course, I am descended!). 

Visitors are also reminded that here was the 'end' of Rome. Britannia was safe, prosperous but strictly controlled and emphatically Roman. Beyond the wall was freedom of expression and the continuity of ancient traditions and religious practices. 

We may experience obstacles in our paths but they are not always bad. We can reflect on the life either side of that obstacle and may sometimes find that the life we have on the side seen as less desirable may actually be the most liberating one.

Meditations during this moon phase are best enhanced by the use of the following crystals:

Amethyst - One of my regular recommendations (I hope I'm not boring you with it!) it is a beautiful multi-purpose crystal.

As you wage an internal battle with an emotional, social, work, artistic or intellectual blockage you will want a feeling of resolution.

Among many other attributes Amethyst can help you overcome blockages and even addictions. It can help you to transition to a new state of being.

Red Calcite - These crystals help remove blockages emotionally and shift negative energies. It also helps constipation!!!

Larimar (AKA Dolphin Stone) - These beautiful, pale turquoise coloured, stones have only recently been found and mined in the Caribbean.

They help to remove self-imposed blockages.

Love and Light,

MARTIN

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

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."

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."

ASTRO FORECAST: MARCH 20th—30th, 2025

Antinous is a Moon God. He is, of course, many other things and he wears many hats. But one of the ways he was worshiped in Antiquity was as ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD.

His worshipers looked skyward and saw His beautiful face perpetually turned towards the Earth. The Man in the Moon was actually the Blessed Boy in the Moon for the ancient priests and worshipers of Antinous. Swiftest and most youthful of all the Zodiacal deities, Antinous speeds through an entire year's worth of Astrological signs in just 28 days.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our deepest personal needs, our basic habits and reactions, and our unconscious gay selves. Where Hadrian the Sun acts, Antinous the Moon REACTS. How do we instinctively react or respond to problems? What do we feel we need for a sense of security? Look to ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD for answers.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is both our inner boy child and our inner lover. His ever changing phases, as he sweeps past all the other Planets in all the Signs, make us at turns responsive, receptive, and reflective. Eternally youthful, ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD represents our childlike spontaneous and instinctual reactions.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD beams down on us to make us imaginative, creative, intuitive, sentimental, adaptable, introspective, and protective. On the negative side, and depending on where he is in the Zodiac, he can make us moody, restless, and irrational.

Antinous Astrology Forecast

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MARCH 20th to 30th, 2025

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THURSDAY, March 20th, 2025

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 2025 IS THE YEAR OF VENUS, according to an ancient astro-alchemical calendar. The previous 12 months were ruled by the Sun. It is time to emerge from the glaring heat of 2024 ... it is time to open our eyes to the soft light of new possibilities. Thus 2025 is the Year of Venus.

FRIDAY, March 21st, 2025

This week, healing energies get a sudden and dramatic boost when the Sun aligns in perfect conjunction with CHIRON IN ARIES. This is a good time for health checkups and medical treatment ... also, you can expect a positive and expansive outlook, which can benefit your well-being at this time. You may be more open-minded with regard to experiencing new things, which will allow healing of your mind, body, and spirit. For instance, you could seek higher understanding and meaning in your life through a guide, mentor, or spiritual person or increase your inner knowledge by means of educational processes, religion, or meditative practices during this period. An urge to travel to far-away places (real or imaginary) may also be experienced. You may discover new perspectives on your beliefs, faith, and sense of hope. Restoring peace and harmony in your personal life and relationships is possible now through your interest in healing your own wounds, as well as extending compassion and generosity to others.

SAT-SUNDAY, March 22nd-23rd, 2025

This weekend, 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!

MONDAY, March 24th, 2025

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

TUES-WEDNESDAY, March 25th-26th, 2025

This week it's deja vu all over again when romantic Retrograde Venus backs out of emotionally cold Aquarius and re-enters the romantic depths of Pisces, which it left in early January. This sign change marks a major change not only in love but also in finances. Pisces Venus is not only loving and compassionate but also creative and generous. The motto for the few weeks is: "Give, and you shall receive!" Pisces Venus is super-compassionate and over-generous. For the next month you may find yourself obsessed with spirituality and consumed with compassionate charity for others. On the negative side, common-sense practicality may be hard to muster.

THURSDAY, March 27th, 2025

This week turns romantic when love goddess Venus and emotionally deep Neptune align in conjunction in dreamy Pisces for a final time because Neptune leaves Pisces on March 30th and will not return to Pisces for 165 years. So, passion and compassion are the bywords and the good-bye words — but watch out for over-indulgence in Neptunian party drugs and alcohol.

FRIDAY, March 28th, 2025

This week your mind shifts into visionary mode and you revisit dreams from the past when Mercury aligns with Neptune in dreamy Pisces for the second time in four weeks because Mercury is Retrograde ... and for the final time for 165 years because Neptune leaves Pisces on March 30th and will not return for 165 years. Pay special attention to your dreams ... and that includes day dreams.

SATURDAY, March 29th, 2025

This weekend 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.

SUNDAY, March 30th, 2025

This weekend a sea change occurs when Neptune, the planet of dreams, illusions, spirituality, and creativity, leaves dreamy Pisces and enters aggressive Aries for the first time in 165 years ... since the American Civil War. Neptune will remain in Aries until 2039, creating a more confrontational emotional environment for us all. Neptune's move creates ripples in the collective consciousness and sets up a new generational cycle to work with. Full details on NEPTUNE IN ARIES.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between March 31st and April 6th, 2025, when we come to the Cancer First Quarter Moon. It is the Lunar Phase of reflection and insight which we call the NARCISSUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic ... Narcissus is the Spirit which tunes out all distractions and all other people in order to focus on the Divinity within. This Lunar Phase is the Spirit of Self-Love and Same-Sex Love. It is forever gazing into its own reflection and whispering to itself: You are Divine! The reflection and the viewer are one and the same. The Spirit of Narcissus is the Divinity which holds a mirror up to ourselves ... More details next time ....