THE GEMINI NEW MOON THE MERCURY MOON OF ANTINOUS

TONIGHT's Gemini New Moon a good time to set a goal for the coming four weeks. And given the presence of Gemini energy, it's an auspicious time to begin gathering the information you will need to set this mission in motion.

In Antinous Moon Magic we call the Gemini New Moon the "Mercury Moon of Antinous" because the mercurial and seemingly fickle energy of Gemini is in the spotlight during this New Moon period, amping up agitation and nervous energy.

Be patient with yourself if you find it more difficult to make decisions while also making space for others if they seem to be more capricious than normal.

If you're finding yourself indecisive, consider whether it’s because you are more clearly seeing the two sides of the proverbial coin and the fact that both of them have grace and value. Reflect upon whether it really is even necessary to choose between them; potentially you can create a structure where you are able to enjoy both paths.

Curiosity and wonder fill the air on the night of the Gemini Moon. Rituals and meditations carried out on this night are best aimed at learning and collecting information. And yet, don't be surprised if it may seem as if your attention is pulled in a spectrum of directions, since there's a heightened sense of "interesting" to the facts and figures you come across.

So if your mind begins to drift during meditation or a magical ritual, perhaps you should permit the Mercury Moon to take it off into a new direction ... which may turn out to provide the answers and results you were looking for.

THESE CRYSTALS FOR THE MERCURY MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR astrology adviser Hernestus has prompted me that today's moon phase is the Gemini New Moon which is the Mercury-Hermes Moon for those who are companions of the Antinous faith.

Hernestus describes this moon as being about learning (about yourself or situations around or ahead of you) so you can set goals for the coming 4 weeks. 

As I indicated for the last moon phase, crystals are mostly there to help you to focus on your needs in the moment rather than helping you to achieve anything ahead of time. 

Consequently my advice is very similar to the last moon phase.

However there are some crystals which are attuned to the future so will attune you to it too. 

I recommend that you write down your wishes/desires and hold them as you meditate (with or without crystals). Focus your attention through the paper and crystal/s and back into your heart. 

I recommend using:

Sillimanite - Shown at the top of this entry, these uncommon (although reasonably obtainable) crystals help you to maintain your intentions for positive outcomes to the things you are intending for your life.

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

Apatite - These are the best crystals to use for manifesting your desires. They are both attuned to the future and past lives so you can consider the spectrum of your lives and set out your wishes for your future and your future selves. They are typically blue or yellow. Choose the blue for manifesting your desires."

Light and Life,

MARTIN

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

ANTINOUS SEES THE SEVENTH WONDER OF THE WORLD IN EPHESUS

ANTINOUS and Hadrian may not have seen all Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (they didn't make it to Babylon), but they definitely visited most of them ... including the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus in June of 129 AD.

Antinous and Hadrian visited TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS in June of 129 AD.

The temple honoured a local goddess, called Artemis by the Greeks, their version of Diana goddess of the hunt, the wild, and childbirth. 

The temple was constructed of marble and was built by King Croesus of Lydia to replace an older site destroyed during a flood. Measuring 130 meters long (425 feet) and supported by columns 18 meters high (60 feet), it was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The image above gives you something of an idea of what greeted the eyes of Emperor Hadrian and Antinous as they entered the fabled city of Ephesus during the cycle of the Summer Solstice in the year 129 AD as part of their three-year tour of the Eastern Empire.

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 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 Dydimus.

The Ephesus form of Artemis looks strange to our eyes ... and looked strange to Roman eyes as well.

The Roman Artemis ... called Diana ... is a virgin huntress. She carries a bow and wears a short, simple tunic suitable for the chase.


But Artemis of Ephesus ... presumably more ancient ... stands stiffly upright with her bent elbows against her body, her forearms extended and her hands open. 

She wears a crown, and outlining her head is a nimbus decorated with winged bulls.

More bulls and other animals adorn the stiff garment that covers her lower body, almost like a mummy casing.

From her neck hangs a necklace of acorns  and a ring of zodiacal figures, and below this you see the most striking feature of Artemis of Ephesus .. a mass of pendulous, gourd-shaped protrusions that hang in a cluster from her upper body. 

At first glance, they appear to be multiple breasts. But in fact these protrusions are bulls' testicles.

We can only imagine the festive procession of the goddess through the streets of Ephesus and the sacrifice of scores of bulls to the virgin goddess at the temple ... a ritual which Antinous must have seen with his own eyes.

The 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 Event:

"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."

KING LUDWIG II of BAVARIA SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 13th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the life of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who died on this date in 1886 under mysterious circumstances in an Alpine lake. As with Antinous, his death is shrouded in myth and legend and it will never be known whether he drowned accidentally or whether he was assassinated.

Born August 25, 1845, Ludwig was only 18 when he ascended to the throne of Bavaria in 1864. He was the  last truly sovereign monarch of that Alpine nation, which was engulfed by Prussia during his reign and very much against his wishes.

While the king of Prussia was planning a war against France, and various other crowned heads of Europe were scheming and conniving to commit war and bloodshed, "Mad" King Ludwig (as he was called) devoted the entire resources of his land to the performing and visual arts, commissioning operas by Richard Wagner and building the most astounding fairy-tale castles and palaces.

In the build-up to the Franco-German war, as troops were marching off to battle, Ludwig did not bother to see off his military forces. Instead, he went off on a jaunt to Switzerland to confer with Wagner on plans for a Wagnerian opera house in Munich. The opera house was never built, due to opposition from local critics. Instead, it was built at the Bavarian town of Bayreuth to the specifications of the composer, paid for by Ludwig personally.

Shockingly, in a staunchly Roman Catholic land, Ludwig never married and instead surrounded himself with handsome manservants, artists and architects.

Indeed, Ludwig is best known as a closeted gay man whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture, as he commissioned the construction of several extravagant fantasy castles (the most famous being Neuschwanstein below) and was a devoted patron of Wagner, who might never have finished his "Ring" cycle without Ludwig's ostentatiously generous support.

In an age of fiercely militaristic nationalism, Ludwig came under intense pressures from his advisers to abandon his artistic projects and to devote himself to empire-building. Feeling harassed and irritated by his ministers, he considered dismissing the entire cabinet and replacing them with fresh faces. The cabinet decided to act first.

 Seeking a cause to depose Ludwig by constitutional means, the rebelling ministers decided on the rationale that he was mentally ill, and unable to rule.

Medical psychiatry was in its infancy, and a panel of "experts" assembled mostly anecdotal evidence of the king's "madness" to satisfy the ministers.

The list of "mad" behavior included his extreme shyness, his distaste for politics and state affairs, his complex and expensive flights of fancy (including moonlit picnics at which his young groomsmen were said to strip naked and dance), conversations with imaginary persons, sloppy and childish table manners and sending servants on lengthy and expensive expeditions to research architectural details in foreign lands.

He was deposed on June 9, 1886, and placed under house arrest at a castle on the shores of Lake Starnberg south of Munich where he was under the constant watchful eye of a psychiatrist.

On June 13, around 6:00 pm, Ludwig asked the psychiatrist to accompany him on a walk along the shore of Lake Starnberg. The doctor agreed, and told the guards not to follow them. The two men never returned. At 11:30 that night, searchers found both the king and his doctor dead, floating in the shallow water near the shore.

Ludwig was known to be a strong swimmer, the water was less than waist-deep where his body was found, and the official autopsy report indicated that no water was found in his lungs. Nonetheless, the official death certificate listed suicide by drowning. The death of the doctor was never explained.

Most other monarchs of his era have been forgotten, or else their names have been cursed by succeeding generations for laying the groundwork for the First World War. But Ludwig was only interested in laying the groundwork for grand architecture and enduring cultural masterpieces. His legacy of art and architecture ... and homoerotic romance ... continues to inspire and to enchant.

FELIZ DIA DOS NAMORADOS WHEN ANTINOUS SPROUTS WINGS OF CUPID

Feliz dia dos namorados! 12 de junho ... Happy Valentine’s Day in Brazil! 12th June (English below)

ANTÍNOO-EROS

Como a última divindade clássica do panteão romano, Antínoo, o Deus Gay, se fundia com muitos outros deuses antigos, que melhor expressavam determinado aspecto do Garoto ou ajudavam a disseminar o culto em determinada região. Antínoo foi comparado a (e identificado como) Dionísio, Apolo e até Diana, a Caçadora.

E, dentre as entidades nas quais Antínoo se metamorfoseava, estava Eros, o Cupido.

É Flamen Antonius Subia, Supremo Sacerdote da Religião de Antínoo, que diz: "Como Eros, Antínoo é Amor, é a força que a Beleza inspira nos homens. Antínoo é o amante que seguimos em nossos corações. Essa veneração da beleza e da sensualidade masculina é a pura expressão do amor de Antínoo-Eros.”

“Antínoo-Eros é o mais poderoso de todos os deuses, o mais inegável, aquele que nos domina quando menos esperamos, que facilmente nos abandona e nos deixa desolados, que é capaz de nos levar às raias da loucura, forçando-nos a cometer todo tipo de extravagâncias. Em Seu nome, estamos dispostos a entregar nossas vidas e morrer por quem Ele nos determinou amar. Nenhum outro deus tem esse poder. Antínoo-Eros é a única força a superar a Morte.”

Sim, é Antínoo, com as asas do Cupido, que se encarrega pessoalmente de flechar o coração de todo gay que se apaixona. Foi Ele que uniu os amantes-guerreiros de Esparta e o Batalhão Sagrado de Tebas. Que uniu Aquiles a Pátroclo, Felipe a Bartolomeu, Verlaine a Rimbaud.

Hoje, dia 12, quando você se perder no olhar do seu namorado, quem vai te encontrar vagando, sem rumo, e te guiar até o coração dele é ninguém menos que o Garoto em pessoa - Antínoo, o Deus Gay.

JUNE 12th – Valentine’s Day in Brazil

As the last Classical deity, Antinous the Gay God morphed with many previous deities, that better expressed some aspects of the Boy or helped the spreading of the religion to different regions. Antinous was compared to (and identified with) Apollo, Dionisos, even Diana the Huntress.

And among these deities Antinous also morphed into Amor/Eros, the Cupid.

Flamen Antonius Subia says: "As Eros, Antinous is love, the force that beauty inspires in men. Antinous is the lover after whom we follow in our hearts. The veneration of beauty and sensuality in men is an expression of the love of Antinous-Eros.”

"Antinous-Eros is the most powerful of all deities, the most undeniable, the one who overtakes us when we least expect him, the one who as easy deserts us and leaves us destitute, the one capable of driving us over the edge of insanity, forcing us to commit all manner of extravagances. In His name, we are willing to surrender our lives and die for the one whom he has deigned that we should love. No other god has this power. Antinous-Eros is the only force that can overcome death…."

Yes, it’s Antinous, sprouting Cupid’s wings, who personally sends an arrow through the heart of every gay man who falls in love. It was He who united the lovers-warriors of Sparta and the Sacred Band of Thebes ... who joined together Achilles and Patroclus, Phillip and Bartholomew, Verlaine and Rimbaud.

Today, when you lose yourself in your boyfriend’s eyes, He will find you wandering alone and guide you to your boy’s heart – Antinous the Gay God.

ASTRO FORECAST: JUNE 11th—21st, 2026

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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JUNE 11th to 21st, 2026

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THURS-FRIDAY, JUNE 11th-12th, 2026

This week, spiritual healing energies get a sudden and dramatic boost when Venus aligns in 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.

SATURDAY, JUNE 13th, 2026

This week, the planet of love, leaves down-home Cancer and struts into show-off Leo, where she remains for a month. This is a chance to put on high heels and strut your stuff and make yourself attractive to others so your popularity soars. When you look good, you feel good so treat yourself to a new outfit or a facial or a haircut or any other pampering session that boosts your self esteem. Old-school astrology texts like to call Leo a Drama Queen. They like to paint planets in the sign of Leo as people with superiority complexes. This happens occasionally, but mostly it doesn't. Leo is the sign of Royalty, and royalty, the kind that stays in power, doesn't lord over others. True royalty is generous, humane and often quietly dignified. Venus in Leo gives you the expressive dignity of a Queen or King, you have creative dominion over an artistic field… and the hearts of others.

SUNDAY, JUNE 14th, 2026

Overnight Sunday-Monday, we come to the Gemini New Moon — a good time to set a goal for the coming four weeks. And given the presence of Gemini energy, it's an auspicious time to begin gathering the information you will need to set this mission in motion. In Antinous Moon Magic we call the Gemini New Moon the MERCURY/HERMES MOON because the mercurial and seemingly fickle energy of Gemini is in the spotlight during this New Moon period, amping up agitation and nervous energy.

MONDAY, JUNE 15th, 2026

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

TUESDAY, JUNE 16th, 2026

In ancient times Antinous was famous for love spells and you can see for yourself this week when love goddess Venus forms a powerful trine aspect with Neptune. Venus trine Neptune means you see the world through rose-colored glasses. This is a good day for smooth-talking gigolos who pay fanciful compliments to you — and you find yourself actually believing them ... And why not? Is that such a bad thing? Why not enjoy the fantasy as long as it lasts ... and as long as you know it's a fantasy?

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17th, 2026

This week the Earth may shake for you when Venus moves into opposition with Pluto. Venus opposition Pluto is something that happens only once a year. There is equally the possibility of making a profound commitment at this time, particularly in a sexual relationship. Power struggles are also possible in this phase. Venus opposition to Pluto can also literally cause the Earth to shake ... in the form of earthquakes. There is equally the possibility of making a profound commitment at this time, particularly in a sexual relationship. Power struggles are also possible in this phase. Venus opposition to Pluto can also literally cause the Earth to shake ... in the form of earthquakes.

THURS-FRIDAY, JUNE 18th-19th, 2026

Chiron the cosmic healer enters Taurus on 18 June 2026, after spending over eight years in the sign of Aries, and will stay there on and off until 2034. TAURUS CHIRON brings with it a cycle in which we will be improving our confidence, including body image. These are sensitive topics that can have a big effect on us. Personal and health problems that were hindering our progress are about to be revised and resolved. We will be learning to assert ourselves and focus on our needs in healthy doses without feeling guilty in the process. This transit emphasizes the concept that healing begins within oneself.

SAT-SUNDAY, JUNE 20th-21st, 2026

Overnight Saturday-Sunday, 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.

Overnight Sunday-Monday we come to the first of two Libra First Quarter Moons in succession, which is the SUMMER BLUE MOON, coinciding with the JUNE SOLSTICE.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between June 22nd and 28th, 2026, when we come to the Capricorn Full Moon, which is the lunar cycle we call the TOWER MOON in memory of the observatory tower which Emperor Hadrian built at his Villa to study the stars. This is the moon for reaching for the stars ... seeking job promotions ... stretching on tiptoes to grasp something previously unattainable ... More details next time ....

YOU CAN CONTACT YOUR INNER HEALER WITH CHIRON IN THE SIGN OF TAURUS

CHIRON the cosmic healer is now in Taurus. The wounded centaur Chiron entered Taurus on 19 June 2026, after spending eight years in the sign of Aries, and will stay there on and off until 2034.

This minor planet brings with it a cycle in which we will be improving our confidence, including body image. These are sensitive topics that can have a big effect on us. Personal and health problems that were hindering our progress are about to be revised and resolved.

We will be learning to comfort ourselves and focus on our needs in healthy doses without feeling guilty in the process. This transit emphasizes the concept that healing begins within oneself.

This transit of Chiron is unusually long, with the heavenly body spending eight years in Taurus. 

That is even longer than a Uranus transit. For comparison, when Chiron transits Libra, it takes it less than two years which is less than a Saturn transit.

Honestly, there are many issues that require resolving which is why Chiron spends so much time in Taurus. 

Aries is connected to our identity. Chiron is popularly known as the wounded healer. When transiting Taurus, Chiron's goal is to heal the deepest wound of them all: our personal identity wound.

What does it mean for you? Chiron leaves a part of your chart and moves into an area you have not really explored into depth, or have not even touched at all. Chiron transiting Taurus will point to the area you need to heal so that you integrate all your parts and become whole again.

It is good to remember who Chiron is ... the wisest and noblest of all the Centaurs in Classical Mythology. 

While all the other centaurs galloped off to riotous ruin and drunken oblivion, Chiron alone shared the knowledge he had inherited from the Titans ... tutoring a series of sensitive youths ... Achilles, Jason, Perseus, Theseus, Ajax, Dionysus, Hercules ... an endless list of heroes and demigods. He schooled them in the arts and sciences ... teaching them to be musicians and physicians.

It is said that Aesculapius himself became the god of medicine only through the skilled hands of Chiron ... "Chiron's skilled hands" in Greek "kheirourgos" living on today in the word "chirurgie" ... "surgeon."

Alas ... to use another word found in most Greek Myths ... Chiron was accidentally wounded by a hydra-venom arrow whilst teaching Hercules archery.

Rather than use all his powers to heal himself ... leaving nothing for his pupils ... Chiron voluntarily relinquished immortality and died ... whereupon his half-brother Zeus placed him amongst the stars as the Constellation of Sagittarius.

Grieving Hercules went on to tutor a series of twinkish youths himself ... most notably his beloved Hylas ... who was abducted by nymphs, never to be seen again ... prompting Hercules to search the world ... shouting "Hylas! Hylas!" everywhere he went.

Hylas is the source of the English word: "Alas!"

Drawing on Classical Mythology, Carl Jung coined the term "wounded healer" to describe how psychotherapists must connect with the archetype of Chiron. Jung said that the best psychoanalysts are themselves in desperate need of healing ... and that, by identifying with their inner "wounded healer," they can heal their patients ... even if they are unable to heal themselves.

THE RISE OF THE STAR OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 11th, the Religion of Antinous celebrates the Rise of the Star of Antinous.  This is the date in our Liturgical Calendar when the Constellation of Antinous begins to rise over the horizon at sunset. It is visible on the eastern horizon along the banks of the Milky Way.

Wherever you live on Earth, you can see the Constellation of Antinous on starry nights from mid-June through late October when, in synchronicity with the Death of Antinous in late October, the Star of Antinous descends below the western horizon in the glare of the setting sun. 

The Constellation of Antinous is no longer recognized by astronomers (just as Pluto has been demoted to the rank of "dwarf planet"). But it is still visible from any point on Earth nestled between Sagittarius and Capricorn and in the talons of Aquila (the Eagle Constellation) representing the Imperial Eagle which carried Antinous to lofty heights.

The most visible identifiers are the three bright stars of Aquila — Altair at the crown of his head, Tarazad, and Alshain. Alshain is derived from Arabic for "Two Friends" which astrologers have cited as a hint as to how to interpret the Sign of Antinous.

The Star of Antinous is however difficult to see. Most people cannot see it at all. You won't find it on any star chart. Like the Star of Bethlehem, it is a mystery and a conundrum about which many theories have been written.

And even if you could see it, the light which reaches your eyes would have left the star thousands of years ago — perhaps about the time that Emperor Hadrian discovered the star.

The simple truth of the matter — and the most beautiful facet of all — is the fact that Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous with his own tear-filled eyes as he looked skyward in grief after the death of his beloved Antinous. Distraught and weeping, the emperor stood under the canopy of the star-studded heavens and looked up the River Nile towards the spot where his Beloved Boy had died. And he saw a new star which he recognized as a celestial sign that the gods had taken Antinous to be one of them.

You have to realize that Hadrian was a keen astronomer/astrologer himself. He knew the heavens like the back of his hand and he was so adept at casting horoscopes that it was said he had determined the exact hour of his death. He built an observatory at his sumptious villa outside Rome. And the tour of Egypt had brought him into contact with the finest Egyptian magician/priests, one of whom taught him how to cast a binding spell which could give him dream-visions and could also cause someone to fall hopelessly in love with him or — depending on how it was cast — even cause that person to die in agony.

Hadrian was that sort of control freak. Despite the fact that he was the mightiest man on Earth who could send a man to death on a whim (and did so, on occasion), he also wanted control over the future. And he wanted to be able to force someone to love him and never, never leave him.

Much has been theorized about those fateful final days leading up to the death and deification of Antinous and Hadrian's discovery of the STAR OF ANTINOUS.

Yes, much has been written about these events and about Hadrian's obsession with magic and astrology and soothsayers. One of the more fanciful versions was published in a novel in the mid-1950s by the German author Ernst Sommer. Entitled simply Antinous, the novel suggests Antinous sacrificed his own life to save his beloved emperor during the imperial tour of Egypt in the year 130 AD.


The dramatic climax of the plot has Hadrian lying in a villa in Hermopolis, feverish and at death's door after having been bitten by a mosquito. The emperor writhes in bed, calling out Antinous's name. The Empress Sabina and heir-apparent Lucius, jealous but also fearful that the presence of Antinous might further agitate the emperor, issue orders that the boy be kept away from the emperor.

After several daring attempts to sneak into the villa, Antinous is finally put under house arrest aboard an imperial vessel anchored a few miles upstream near the fallen-down Temple of Bes (the future site of the Sacred City of Antinoopolis). Lucius has ordered that he be put in irons to prevent him from sneaking off to visit Hadrian. But the guards cannot bring themselves to place the beauteous boy in irons, in defiance of Lucius's orders. Instead, they merely confine him to his quarters below deck with a single porthole overlooking the nighttime waters of the Nile.

Sensing that the emperor is dying, Antinous realizes his love for Hadrian is boundless and that nothing can keep them apart. Thinking back to his discussions about life and death with Jewish Rabbis, Christian clerics and Egyptian priests of Osiris, he realizes that the day has come. The hour has arrived. It is time to surrender everything he has — in a pure act of love that will transform everything.

He opens the porthole hatch and sees an unusually bright star which seems to beckon. He steps out of his clothes and leaves them (his last earthly possessions) lying in a heap on the floor. He climbs deftly out the porthole and slips quietly into the water.

At the same moment, Hadrian breathes his last breath, to the horror of Sabina and Lucius and the others who are gathered at his bedside. In a state now beyond physical life, Hadrian opens his eyes to see Anubis standing before him with outstretched hands, lifting him out of bed and guiding him away down many dark corridors. At last, Hadrian is taken through a massive portal and into a chamber where Thoth is waiting beside scales placed before Osiris.

Thoth begins the Weighing of the Heart ceremony as Osiris asks who this person is who seeks admittance to his realm. In the midst of the solemn proceedings there is a loud banging at the portal and Anubis announces that someone has arrived to offer his own heart in exchange for the emperor's heart, so that Hadrian might live and walk the earth again. That person is standing unseen just outside the portal. After brief discussion, the Egyptian deities acknowledge that the Law of Maat specifically envisions such an exchange and that, indeed, it is the most sacred and powerful of covenants — surrendering one's own heart on the Scales of Truth for that of a loved one. Such love cannot be denied. The offer cannot be denied.

Genesthoi — So Be It Done!

Back at the death bed in the Hermopolis villa, Hadrian gasps suddenly and his eyelids fly open, to the amazement of everyone who thought he had just expired. Sensing what has happened, he speaks hoarsely of a vivid dream involving deities. He looks around and demands to know where Antinous is.

"Where is he? What have you done with him? I know he would be here at my side if he were physically able. Bring him to me at once!"

But as Sabina and Lucius stammer excuses, and before the runners can summon Antinous, a boat crewman bursts into the room with the news that Antinous is missing and presumed to have drowned in the Nile.

Hadrian suffers a relapse, but the Egyptian magic is well done. So he cannot die this time. As the search for Antinous continues, with hope waning each day, Hadrian retreats to the rooftop observatory of the villa in Hermopolis which has been placed at his disposal by a wealthy Hermopolite. The emperor stares into the heavens night after night, refusing to give up hope that Antinous might yet be alive, perhaps dazed and confused and lost somewhere along the river.

Then one night he looks into the heavens and sees the proof that he has been looking for since the disappearance of Antinous. He summons the empress and Lucius and the entire court and also calls for the chief astrologer of the Temple of Thoth in Hermopolis to come quickly.

He informs them that a new star has appeared in the heavens and that it is a celestial sign that Antinous has left this earthly existence to ascend to the pantheon of the gods. He has surrendered everything on behalf of his beloved emperor, just as he had always said he would. Everyone thinks Hadrian has suffered another relapse and is delusional with fever. But the astronomer arrives and swiftly confirms that the sharp-eyed emperor has indeed discovered an uncharted star.

As Hadrian leaves to issue orders for the deification of Antinous, construction of the city at the spot where he drowned and erection of temples throughout the world, the astronomer remains behind in the rooftop observatory with the wealthy owner of the house. Where precisely is this new star, the owner asks. "I know quite a bit about the stars for an amateur, but I can't for the life of me see anything at the spot in the heavens where Caesar was pointing just a while ago."

The astronomer says that the new star is definitely there and that astronomers throughout the world will confirm its existence and it will be recorded duly in all the star charts.

"Yes, but can't you point it out to me?" the wealthy man pleas. "I'm straining my eys looking, but I just can't see anything."

The astronomer answers, "And that is why you will never be a good  astronomer. You scan the heavens with your eyes, but not with your  heart."

So Hadrian looked into the nighttime skies and discovered a new star to point the way to that new religion. As a scholar and man of science he was able to see it with his own two eyes. Perhaps it was a super-nova which flared and then went out — who knows? He saw it and his court astronomers confirmed it and the Constellation of Antinous was recorded in the star charts for 19 centuries to come.

But more importantly, Hadrian discovered the Star of Antinous shining in his heart. The Death of Antinous showed him a way to make his vision of the perfect religion a reality on Earth. It was the Light he was seeking. It was the Light of Antinous.

So when you look up into the nighttime skies tonight in search of the Star of Antinous, don't be surprised if you can't find it with your physical eyes. You can't find it in physical space, which is why Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia calls it the Dark Star of Antinous. Look inside your heart and you will find it shining there with all the beauty of a dream of perfection ....

Lumen Antinoi Adiuva Nos!

(Light of Antinous, Sustain Us!)

WE WEEP FOR THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER HEROIC PROTECTOR OF ANTINOUS

IT was on 10 June 323 BC that Alexander the Great died at the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon, according to the Babylonian astrological calendar.

His subjects wept and shaved their heads in mourning, some killed themselves, unable to imagine a world without their golden-haired leader.

Many theories have been put forth about the cause of death … poisoning … a decayed liver from alcohol excess … typhoid fever … malaria.

Egyptian and Chaldean embalmers who arrived on June 16 are said to have attested to Alexander's lifelike appearance. This was interpreted as a complication of typhoid fever, which causes a person to appear dead prior to death.

It was said to have taken two years to build an enormous funerary catafalque to convey the body from Babylon.

On its way back to Macedonia, the funerary cart with Alexander's body was met in Syria by one of Alexander's generals, the future ruler Ptolemy I Soter. 

In late 322 or early 321 BC Ptolemy diverted the body to Egypt where it was interred in Memphis, Egypt. 

In the late 4th or early 3rd Century BC Alexander's body was transferred from the Memphis tomb to Alexandria for reburial.

It was seen there by Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, Augustus and possibly Hadrian and Antinous.

At some point, however, the whereabouts of Alexander's body became unknown.

In May 2014 Polish archaeologists claimed they found the LOST TOMB OF ALEXANDER in Alexandria.

Later in 2014 Greek archaeologists made a similar claim to have found the Tomb of Alexander at AMPHIPOLIS, but they eventually said they had been wrong.

We, the modern priests of Antinous, praise the glorious warrior Alexander of Macedonia, and elevate him, and worship him as a God, an example of the greatness of homosexuality, and a heroic protector of the Divine Antinous.

THE LANUVIUM INSCRIPTION EXPLAINED By Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia

THERE was a group in the town of Lanuvium, outside of Rome, who started a Fraternity, dedicated to Diana and Antinous. 

It was basically a Funeral organization, kind of like a Life Insurance Policy group, only with religious overtones. 

What is interesting about this document is that it was open to slaves, freedmen, and Roman Citizens, with specific requirements of how much each person was required to contribute to the Funeral of a Member. 

A proper Roman funeral was very expensive and certain ceremonies were believed to be indispensable if the dead person was going to find peace in the afterlife. 

This group insured that if you were a member, that a Full Antinous themed Roman ceremony would be conducted on your behalf even if your family did not have the money to pay for the ceremony. 

It's a beautiful document really, and represents how significant Antinous was during the zenith of his religion. 

Another matter that makes this document important is that it is the only place where the Birthday of Antinous was recorded as 5 days before the Kalends of December ... or November 27th.

This inscription was posted at the doors of the now lost and forgotten Temple of Antinous of Lanuvium a completely insignificant town outside of Rome. 

Which leads us to wonder how many other towns had Temples of Antinous ... and groups like this .... There is also a reference to the Fratria of Naples and the Adriatic League.

The Cult of Lanuvium were dedicated to Diana and Antinous, this is also one of the strongest connection that we can make historially to Diana as the Witch Goddess

Diana and Antinous are the same

male and female version of the same power essentially

The Lanuvium Text is extremely powerful...this is only an abbreviation of the first part:

LANUVIUM TEXT

"In the consulship of Lucius Ceionius Commodus
And Sextus Vettulenus Civica Pompeianus,
5 days before Ides of June.
At Lanuvium in the Temple of Antinous,
In which Lucius Caesennius Rufus, patron of the town,
Had ordered that a meeting be called through Lucius Pompeius
To us, Quinquennalis of the Cult of Diana and Antinous,
He promised that he would give from his liberality
The interest on One Sixth of 1,000 sestertii
Namely 400 sestertii on the birthday of Diana, the Ides of August
And 400 sestertii on the birthday of Antinoos, 5 days before Kalends of December
And he instructed the by-laws passed by us to be inscribed
On the inner side of the port of the temple of Antinoos
As recorded below.
In the consulships of Marcus Antonius Hiberus and Publius Mummius Sisenna
Kalends of January,
The Benevolent Society of Diana and Antinoos was constituted
Lucius Caesennius Rufus son of Lucius,
Of the Quirine tribe
Being for the third time sole magistrate and also patron…"

JOHANN JOACHIM WINCKELMANN SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON June 8th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the flamboyantly gay man who is the father of modern archaeology, our own Saint Johann Joachim Winckelmann.

Born in Stendal, Germany, on December 9, 1717, he is called the father of modern archaeology because of his scientific studies of the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy.

He was a student of classical art and his many writings, including the famous History of Ancient Art, are a testament to his adoration of the male form as manifested in Greek and Roman sculpture. He wrote openly about his homosexual relationships as early as 1763, and eventually found employment with Cardinal Allesandro Albani, whose art collection he catalogued.

Winckelmann is among the first to conduct a serious study of the art of Antinous, and to have written openly about the significance of the relationship between Hadrian and Antinous. 

He is also believed to have been part of the first revival of the Religion of Antinous, and Priapus, led in secret by Cardinal Albani.

Winckelmann was murdered in his hotel room in Trieste by a young man with whom he was having a casual love affair, on the 8th of June 1768.

He was stabbed multiple times including repeated wounds to the groin, evidently out of sexual violence.

For his work as a student of the art of Antinous, and as an early believer the Religion of Antinous, and for the violence of his death, Johann Joachim Winckelmann is revered as an Innocent Martyr of the Religion of Antinous, perhaps the most specifically Antinonine of all those who died as a consequence of their desire for beautiful men.

Notice the painting above by Anton Von Maron. Winckelmann sits in a magnificent costume, gazing on an engraving of Antinous and writing his thoughts, as though the painter has distracted him from his meditation ... but we can be be sure that Winckelmann wanted us to know that Antinous was at the forefront of his thoughts.

THE LOTUS MOON OF ANTINOUS

THE LOTUS MOON is what we call the PISCES THIRD QUARTER MOON which occurs at this time of year around the time when we celebrate the rise of the STAR OF ANTINOUS.

Tonight's LOTUS MOON means the next week will be a time of joyous anticipation of something big which is just beyond the horizon.

In ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC each phase of the Moon represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the LOTUS MOON is the Spirit of Yearning. It is the Spirit which lives in the hearts of people who sit and wait by the phone for their lover to call, or who look out the window in anticipation of the arrival of their beloved. It is the Spirit of the child who cannot sleep on Christmas Eve. 

It is perhaps the most spiritual of all the Lunar Phase Spirits because it knows that its wait will not be in vain. It is waiting for something it knows must and will come to pass.

It is what the Portuguese call "SAUDADE," a bitter-sweet longing for someone or something just out of reach. Waiting for your ship to come in — and knowing it WILL come in. It is the anticipation of waiting at an airport arrivals lounge for a special friend you have met online in a chat room, but never met in person — the inexpressible joy/anxiety of knowing something big is about to happen. 

This is a very special emotion that every gay knows how to savor. It is like putting off unwrapping the birthday present from your sweetheart as long as possible, just so you can savor the anticipation a bit longer. 
  
This is the SACRED ANTINOUS LOTUS which rises from the surface of the Nile and which slowly opens its blossoms during the day — yearning for sunlight — and closes its petals again at night in anticipation of the next sunrise.

The key to understanding the LOTUS MOON in your life, and working with it in ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC, is that it represents a yearning for something you are certain will most definitely occur. It is not an illusion. You are not waiting in vain. Like waiting for the lotus to open its petals again, you know it will happen and you yearn for it to do so.

ANTINOUS LOTUS MOON SPELL

TO OBTAIN YOUR HEART'S DESIRE

You Will Require: A candle of the color symbolizing your heart's desire.

Choose a pink candle for love, sex and passion; red/orange for energy; a Nile green candle for health; gold/yellow for confidence, attraction or persuasion; turquoise for serenity, vision dreams, clairvoyance; lapis-lazuli blue for success, luck; a white candle for purification and protection from enemies.

Light the candle during the LOTUS MOON phase tonight or tomorrow, depending on your local time zone. The "CURRENT MOON" box in the right-hand column on this page is calibrated to your local time. When it displays "Third Quarter" and shows the left-hand half of the moon's face illuminated while the right-hand half is dark — then you can light your candle and concentrate on your wish, believing wholeheartedly that it WILL come to pass.

Call out to ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD to see into your heart to fulfill the wish that resides there. Continue meditating on the flame until the candle burns about halfway down, or until your heart tells you to extinguish the flame.

Re-light the candle on succeeding evenings until the next New Moon seven nights later. Don't worry if the candle burns all the way down prior to the New Moon. It means your wish has been heard. Remember ALWAYS to follow your gay spiritual heart. Do that, and the Archetype Spirit of the LOTUS MOON ensures that your yearning will not be in vain

ORANGE CALCITE FOR THE LOTUS MOON By Our Crystal Meditation Advisor Martin Campbell

OUR astrology adviser Hernestus has prompted me that today's moon phase is the Pisces Third Quarter - the Antinous Lotus Moon.

Hernestus describes this moon as being about wish-fulfilment through determined faith.

Now crystals are mostly there to help you to focus on your needs in the moment rather than helping you to achieve anything ahead of time.

However there are some crystals which are attuned to the future so will attune you to it too.

I recommend that you write down your wishes/desires and hold them as you meditate (with or without crystals).

Focus your attention through the paper and crystal/s and back into your heart.

I recommend using:

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

Apatite - These are the best crystals to use for manifesting your desires. They are both attuned to the future and past lives so you can consider the spectrum of your lives and set out your wishes for your future and your future selves. They are typically blue or yellow. Choose the blue for manifesting your desires.

Love and Crystalline Light,

MARTIN

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

WE HONOR SAINT ALAN TURING WHO WAS CASTRATED FOR BEING GAY

ON June 7th we remember Alan Turing as a Saint of Antinous ... the scientist who broke the Nazi's Enigma code machine during World War II but who was convicted of sodomy after the war.

The namesake of the A.M. Turing Award, the "Nobel Prize of computing," Turing was castrated in 1952 as part of his punishment.

Having chosen chemical castration over a prison sentence, Turing killed himself on 7 June 1954.

He is credited with breaking the previously unbreakable Nazi code machine called "enigma" during World War II, which many say helped lead to an Allied victory over Germany's Adolf Hitler.

In 2014 he was officially pardoned posthumously by Queen Elizabeth II.

"A pardon from the queen is a fitting tribute to an exceptional man," British Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement. "Dr. Turing deserves to be remembered and recognized for his fantastic contribution to the war effort and his legacy to science."

Turing was just one of nearly 50,000 men who were sentenced under the 1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act that made homosexuality a crime. 

IS THIS A MOSAIC OF ANTINOUS?

IS this a mosaic depiction of Antinous? Archaeologists in Italy theorize that this mosaic north of Naples in the volcanic area known as "Campi Flegrei" could depict Antinous.

The mosaic represents what they indicate to be a bust of Antinous as god or genie of the vegetation.

Below that depiction is the image of Amor/Eros carrying a hare, surrounded by a sash with two heart-shaped ends.

In Classical art symbolism, a hare or rabbit was given by a man to another male as a symbol of amorous intent.  Amor/Eros/Cupic served as bunny courier.

The hypothesis of the Italian experts is that this mosaic also represents Antinous sacrificing himself (the hare) for love (Eros and the hearts) for the longevity and good fortune of Hadrian. If so, it would be the absolutely first image of a heart in the "modern" shape we all know.

FEDERICO GARCÍA LORCA SAINT OF ANTINOUS

THE religion of Antinous honors St. Federico García Lorca, who was openly gay and who is one of the greatest poets of the Spanish language.

Born June 5th 1898, he was executed by the Fascists on August 19th 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. García Lorca's central themes are love, pride, passion and violent death, which also marked his own life.

The Spanish Civil was just getting underway in August 1936 and García Lorca was seen by the right-wing forces as an enemy. The author hid from the soldiers but he was eventually found.

An eyewitness has told that he was taken out of a Civil Government building by guards and Falangists belonging to the "Black Squad". García Lorca was shot in Granada without trial. The circumstances of his death are still shrouded in mystery. He was buried in a grave that he had been forced top dig for himself. 

According to some sources, he had to be finished off by a coup de grâce. One of his assassins later boasted, that he shot "two bullets into his arse for being a queer".

It was the end of a brilliant career as a poet and dramatist who was also remembered as a painter, pianist and composer.

In the 1920s he was close friends with Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, among many others who later became influential artists in Spain. Despite the accolades from artists and critics, he suffered from bouts of depression brought on largely by his inner conflict about his homosexuality.

He was tortured by the demands of being a celebrity in a homophobic society and the yearnings of his gay soul.

During his lifetime only a handful of close friends were allowed to read the collection of gay poems which would be published many years later as his Sonnets of Dark Love. Here is one of them, entitled Love Sleeps in the Poet's Heart:

You'll never understand my love for you,
because you dream inside me, fast asleep.
I hide you, persecuted though you weep,
from the penetrating steel voice of truth.
Normalcy stirs both flesh and blinding star,
and pierces even my despairing heart.
Confusing reasoning has eaten out
the wings on which your spirit fiercely soared:
onlookers who gather on the garden lawn
await your body and my bitter grief,
their jumping horses made of light, green manes.
But go on sleeping now, my life, my dear.
Hear my smashed blood rebuke their violins!
See how they still must spy on us, so near!

With the Catalan painter Salvador Dalí and the film director Louis Buñuel he worked in different productions.

Dalí and Lorca had met in 1923. From the beginning, Lorca was fascinated by the young Catalan's personality and looks. Also Dalí had admitted that Lorca impressed him deeply.

When Buñuel and Dalí made their famous surrealist short film Un Chien Andalou (1928), García Lorca was offended: he thought that the film was about him.

Lorca's friendship with Dalí inspired a poem, a defense of modern art and at the same time an expression of homosexual love. Dalí dedicated his painting of Saint Sebastian to his friend, who often compared himself to the tortured homoerotic martyr.

"Let us agree," Lorca wrote to Dalí, "that one of man's most beautiful postures is that of St. Sebastian."

"In my 'Saint Sebastian' I remember you," Salvador Dalí replied, ". . . and sometimes I think he IS you. Let's see whether Saint Sebastian turns out to be you."

García Lorca was capable only of a "tragic, passionate relationship," Dalí once wrote — a friendship pierced by the arrows of Saint Sebastian.

The Religion of Antinous honors this great artist who lived and loved tragically and passionately and who died tragically for being gay.