HADRIAN'S PANTHEON PUTS ON SPECTACULAR SOLSTICE SHOW

ON June 20th and 21st Hadrian's Pantheon is the place to be during the Solstice. 

Hadrian's Pantheon brings tears to your eyes. Imagine being with ANTONIUS SUBIA as he describes the monolithic columns each carved from a single stone from Egypt ... "as if he could snap his fingers and have such columns appear here" ... and the marble in the interior coming from every corner of Hadrian's vast empire.

Then you stand under the oculus ... the eye of the cosmos ... the most spiritual architectural element anywhere.

ANTINOUS MERGES WITH APOLLO DURING THE GLORIOUS JUNE SOLSTICE

THE JUNE SOLSTICE is one of the most sacred days in the Liturgical Calendar of the Religion of Antinous.

It is the day when Ra Herakhte, the heavenly father of Antinous, stands still for a moment. In the Northern Hemisphere it is the longest day  and from now on the days become shorter and shorter. For our brothers in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the Shortest Day and from now on the days become longer and longer.

That is an important aspect to remember about the Religion of Antinous. The Blessed Boy is beyond such constraints as Summer and Winter or even Life and Death. For Antinous, the days are ALWAYS getting longer and the they are ALWAYS getting shorter.

For HE lives in our hearts — wherever we are.

The Religion of Antinous celebrates a whole cluster of Sacred Events on this magical day, which we call The Delphinea as a collective term. The Delphinea is the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo. 

Antinous would be associated with many deities in the generations to come. Among his many names, the Beauteous Boy was adored as Antinous-Apollo (image above).

The Delphinea is the celebration of the beautiful, golden-haired god of light, Apollo, and of his triumph over the great and monstrous Python which was wrapped around holy mount Parnassus. The Python was the creation of Juno, a creature of jealousy whose coils were meant only to stifle and constrict the grace of that which was to proceed from the Sacred Way of the holy city of Delphi.

Apollo shot the Python and destroyed it, when he was only three days old, which is like the brilliance of the Sun dispelling the covering of night. He set the black stone which had fallen from the sky, called the Omphalos, over the navel of the Earth, and charged a Sibyl, a priestess of the Great Mother to watch over the stone and to convey his wisdom to mankind.

Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia explains the significance for us Antinoians:

"The Oracle of Delphi, called a Pythoness, was overtaken while seated atop a golden tripod, by a fire that is the breath of the God. Apollo is the Flower Prince reborn, he is the Twin brother of Dionysus, the Twin brother of Diana. He is the Son of Zeus, and the inheritor of his Kingdom, just as Aelius Caesar was the chosen son of Hadrian.

"Apollo is the God of wisdom and art, the speaker of truth, the deliverer of radiance, reason and beauty. Apollo is the God of Socrates and Plato, and he is the God of Pythagoras who claimed to be his son, exhibiting a golden thigh as proof. Apollo is the unconquered light, the full manifested brilliance, power and wisdom of Orpheus.

"Of all the gods, Apollo is the most boy-loving, though the touch of his heart was invariably fatal. He is the genius of the dying boy-gods. We pray to Apollo, the great god of homosexuality, and seek his guidance on this day, the longest day of the year."

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

PRIESTS of Antinous wish all gay dads a very Happy Father's Day.

Priest MICHAELUS ISOM, who is a gay father himself, says:

"We honor Hadrian on Father's Day.

"He is the Father of the Empire, so to speak

"And a Father figure to Antinous."

Art by FELIX D'EON.

NICK DRAKE SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON JUNE 19th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the birth of SAINT NICK DRAKE, the sexually ambivalent English singer who died under very mysterious, Antinous-like circumstances at a young age and who became an artistic icon for future generations of dreamers and artists.

Nicholas Rodney Drake was born on June 19th, 1948, to an upper middle class English family living in Burma. His father was an industrialist and there was never much question about Nick's financial future. Indeed, he would have been a wealthy middle-aged man today had he done nothing at all.

But Nick never ceased to wonder and worry about his spiritual future. Despite or perhaps precisely because of his admission to Cambridge University, Nick Drake was convinced that he should shun a financially certain future and pursue a future as a musician.

Nick Drake learned to play piano at an early age, and began to compose his own songs, which he would record on a reel-to-reel tape recorder he kept in the family drawing room in rural England.

In 1966 he spent some time in the South of France where he purportedly became acquainted with "the best sort of pot" and perhaps experimented with LSD — and possibly sex with both females and males.

Returning to England, he realized he was not suited to receive a degree from Cambridge University. Nick abruptly and shockingly (as far as his family was concerned) ended his studies at Cambridge nine months before graduation, and in autumn 1969 moved to London to concentrate on a career in music.

Nick signed to Island Records when he was 20 years old and released his debut album, Five Leaves Left, in 1969. By 1972, he had recorded his second album — Bryter Layter and part of his third, Pink Moon. Neither of the first two albums sold more than 5,000 copies on their initial release in Britain, much less abroad. He never made an American breakthrough, unlike other major British artists of the era.

Nick was devastated and depressed. His excruciating shyness to perform live or be interviewed further contributed to his lack of commercial success. Despite this, he was able to gather a loyal following.

He managed to complete his third album, Pink Moon, recorded in midnight sessions in the winter of 1971, immediately after which he withdrew from both live performance and recording, retreating to his parents' home in rural England. Once again, it did not sell well. He felt he was a failure. On November 25th, 1974, Nick Drake retired to his upstairs bedroom where he took a cocktail anti-depressants which killed him. He was found stretched over his bed next morning by his mother.

The Religion of Antinous honors Nick Drake as a prophet of Homoeros. He was a man who saw through the transparent barriers between sexuality to see the spiritual truth of reality. He was one of those many men who are never sure of their sexuality. But it is unimportant whether he was "gay" or not.

Nick Drake is a symbol of these sorts of dreamy and shy men who live existences of quiet despair. Nick Drake could play better riffs on the guitar than almost anybody of his generation. He had a beautiful voice. He was a gifted song-writer. He knew he had more   talent in his little finger than most well-paid artists would ever possess. But his career never took off. The big break never happened. Nobody appreciated him. He was broke and disillusioned.

His sister says she believes he took an overdose of anti-depressants   thinking he wanted it to either cure him or kill him, because he couldn't go on living in such despair of being an artistic failure. How many people in the economic meltdown of the early 21st Century don't feel the same despair? And yet ....

Nick Drake could scarcely have dreamt as he swallowed a handful of pills on a dreary November evening in his parents' house in the English Midlands that he would become a major recording star with fans around the world — 30 years after his death. His three albums now are cult chart-busters around the world.

When we remember Saint Nick Drake, we must remember too that Antinous is the patron of these sensitive souls who die untimely and tragic deaths at an early age. Antinous is the River Man who drowned in the Nile ....

ANTINOUS IN ARABIA SAW PETRA GARDENS NOW REDISCOVERED AFTER 2,000 YEARS

EXPERTS have made an astonishing find at Petra, the fabled caravan trade route crossroads city which Antinous and Hadrian visited on their way to a rendezvous with destiny in Egypt.

They have revealed a startlingly advanced irrigation system and water storage system that enabled the desert city's people to survive ... and to maintain a magnificent garden featuring fountains, ponds and a huge swimming pool.

The engineering feats and other luxuries attest to the ancient Nabatean capital's former splendor and wealth some 2,000 years ago.

Earlier a GIANT MONUMENTAL PLATFORM was discovered just a kilometer from the ruins of the city in Jordan. The archaeologists describe the unparalleled find as "a large rectangular platform" that measures 55 meters by 50 meters (184 feet by 160 feet) and was essentially "hiding in plain sight."

Petra is perhaps best known for its sandstone canyon that leads directly to Al Khazneh, The Treasury, seen in the climax to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" where the heroes, played by Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, ride out of the canyon and into the Treasury in their quest for the Holy Grail.

However, 2,000 years ago, Petra was renowned for completely different reasons.

It was one of the most famous water stops in the Middle East, where camel caravan routes linked distant cities.

Now archaeologists are discovering the Nabataean capital, situated in the southwestern deserts of Jordan, once was adorned with an exquisite, artificially irrigated garden.

It featured paths likely shaded by vines, trees and date palms, and grasses, which were cultivated next to a huge, 44-meter wide swimming pool.

The Nabataeans’ ability to tame nature, and conspicuous consumption of a precious resource, water, was pure propaganda.

It was a means to display wealth and power, which they could do thanks to the ingenious hydraulic system they invented, which allowed the people not only to reserve enough water for their own needs, but to water the lavish garden with fountains and an open-air pool.

It had previously been unthinkable that water, a scarce resource in the desert wastes, would have been used for anything but necessity.

"The pool marks the terminus for an aqueduct that transported water from one of the springs, 'Ein Brak, located in the hills outside of Petra," Leigh-Ann Bedal, anthropologist from Penn State Behrend College, told Haaretz. "The pool’s monumental architecture and verdant garden served as a visual celebration of the Nabataeans' success at providing water to the city center."

Ongoing excavations in Petra have uncovered a shaft that appears to have led water more than 10 meters downward, from the aqueduct system to the pool level.

The archaeologists have also found underground channels that helped control runoff during the rainy season, revealing the true complexity of the system for the first time.

Occupied since prehistoric times, the lost Nabataean civilization made the part-carved, part-built city their capital and a major caravan center of trade from the 4th Century BC to the first century AD.

During Hellenistic and Roman times it became a major caravan centre for the incense of Arabia, the silks of China and the spices of India ... a crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia.

Hadrian and Antinous stopped at Petra on their way from Antioch to Alexandria.

ASTRO FORECAST: JUNE 17th—27th, 2021

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 17th to 27th, 2021

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THURS-FRIDAY, JUNE 17th-18th, 2021

Overnight Thursday-Friday, we come to the Virgo First Quarter Moon. This is the Lunar Phase we call the MOON OF MELANCHOLY ... but don't worry ... it can be your "lucky" moon ... In English-speaking countries, "Melancholy" is almost a dirty word. Puritan upbringing has conditioned us to grin and bear it, to adopt a stiff-upper-lip attitude ... Other cultures are not so uptight about acknowledging this feeling of sadness. They realize it is a necessary part of life. It is what the French call "larmoyant" — a lovely word which suggests there is great beauty in sadness ... For example, crying at the movies is very beautiful and cleansing for the soul ... it is cathartic and healthy ... Meditations and rituals on this night are best suited for identifying the source of sadness in your life. If you find the source of sadness in your life, then this Lunar Phase provides you with the energy to effect changes which will move you out of melancholy into the next lunar phase.

SAT-SUNDAY, JUNE 19th-20th, 2021

This weekend, Jupiter turns around in space and goes "backwards" (as seen from Earth) from now until October 17th. Retrograde Jupiter occurs once every 13 months and last about four months. Retrograde Jupiter shines a spotlight on areas of the world ... and on people ... who have become consumed with greed, gluttony, megalomania and addiction. Everyone becomes aware of these vices and now there is an opportunity to remedy them Overall, Jupiter retrograde 2021 is very promising for achieving growth and happiness in a particular area of life that is important to you now. Unexpected good fortune is at hand with work, travel, education or a new relationship. Whatever your hopes for the future may be, this year's Jupiter Retrograde is an opportunity to make great leaps towards living out your dreams. If your goals are unrealistic, deceitful or greedy, then the Jupiter direct phase from October 2021 to July 2022 may result in disappointment and loss. Even if you are travelling on the right path at this stage, you will be reminded how important it is to be happy and content with what you have. Jupiter retrograde 2021 requires introspection and an awareness that inner, spiritual growth is necessary for your hopes and dreams to materialize.

MONDAY, JUNE 21st, 2021

Overnight Sunday-Monday, 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.

TUESDAY, JUNE 22nd, 2021

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

Also on Tuesday, 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 23rd, 2021

On Wednesday, Sun trine Jupiter brings you good fortune in all areas of life. A beneficent trine aspect between the Cancer Sun and Pisces Jupiter comes to the rescue. This is a bright spot amidst doom-and-gloom of recent weeks. Jupiter has been Retrograde since June 20th, 2021, and you have experienced introspection and review. You may have felt you were spinning your wheels much of the time. And because Retrograde Jupiter is retrograde in dreamy Pisces, you have to rely more upon hard work than upon luck, despite the fact that Jupiter is the luckiest planet in the Zodiac. When Jupiter turns retrograde, the action of Jupiter is reversed so that the emphasis is upon inner awareness and inner growth. When opportunities arise while Jupiter is retrograde, they are the result of seeds planted in the past from people met or connections made in the past. This week's Sun-trine-Jupiter aspect represents a bright spot for this difficult period.

THURSDAY, JUNE 24th, 2021

On Thursday, 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.

FRIDAY, JUNE 25th, 2021

On Friday, the Earth may shake for you when Venus moves into opposition with Pluto and the Star of Antinous (See: PLUTO ALIGNS WITH THE STAR OF ANTINOUS). 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.

SAT-SUNDAY, JUNE 26th-27th, 2021

This weekend Venus, 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.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between June 28th and July 4th when we come to the Aries Third Quarter Moon, which is the lunar phase of the determined warrior we call the TRIBUNE MOON in Antinous Moon Magic. If you are someone lacking in self-assertiveness, then ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD is sending assertiveness your way on his moonbeams tonight ... so that you can forge ahead in with determination and vigor ... The Tribune Moon is about confronting your fears ... above all, your fear of baring your true self to others. It is about turning your weaknesses into your strengths. It is about transforming destructive energies into constructive ones. It is about finding ... and fulfilling ... your destiny ... Meditations and rituals this night are best suited for finding ways to assert your will constructively ... More details next time ....

WHY ANTINOUS LOOKS SO SAD ON SUCH A 'LUCKY' DAY

TONIGHT's Virgo First Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase we call the MOON OF MELANCHOLY ... but don't worry ... it can be your "lucky" moon.

Each phase of the Moon represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype in ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC. The Spirit of the Moon of Melancholy is the Spirit of Despondency and Despair. It is the worrier, the pouter, the Spirit which feels guilty and inadequate.

It is the negative side of Virgo, not the caring and dutiful side, but rather the side which frets and mopes and feels inadequate for the task at hand. It is sadness for the sake of sadness, without cause. It is the Spirit of Chronic Depression.

In English-speaking countries, "Melancholy" is almost a dirty word.  Puritan upbringing has conditioned us to grin and bear it, to adopt a stiff upper lip attitude. But suppressing this feeling is as bad as wallowing in it. 

Other cultures are not so uptight about acknowledging this feeling of sadness. They realize it is a necessary part of life. It is what the French call "larmoyant" — a lovely word which rolls off your tongue so languidly. It describes a lack of joy, a vague feeling that life is not what it should be. It is Peggy Lee singing that minor-key ballad "Is That All There Is?" 

This moon signals those areas of your life where things are not going well and you have a right to sing the blues. But it also signals those moments when we wallow in self-sorrow and almost enjoy brow-beating ourselves — for no good reason.  

Don't suppress this sadness, but don't wallow in it. Instead, savor it for a moment and discern what your gay spiritual heart is trying to tell you. 

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD uses this lunar phase to invite you to reflect on those parts of your life or your living and job environment which may be making you sad. 

You may come to the realization that the sadness you are feeling is not coming from within yourself, but rather that it is originating elsewhere ... coming from someone else or from some other situation.

As you know, many gay people are highly sensitive to the emotions of others, and to the "vibes" of a location or situation. You know how you can enter a space, such as a room or a house, and you immediately sense whether it is a cheerful or a sad place. You know how the sadness of others can affect you — even at great distances.

You may be feeling sadness and then the phone rings and it is a special person who needs consolation, and you realize that the melancholy you were feeling had its origins with that person, not with yourself.

Most people ignore such "coincidences." But this sensitivity is an integral part of ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC. That is why the "Moon of Melancholy" is important. It is the best time of the year for meditation and rituals concerning sadness ... in yourself and in others.

Examine your own life and see if where the source of your sadness lies.

If you find the source of sadness in your life, then this Lunar Phase provides you with the energy to effect changes which will move you out of melancholy into the next lunar phase.