THE ASSUMPTION OF GANYMEDE

OUR Father Jupiter descended upon the slopes of Mt. Ida in the form of an eagle and carried away Ganymede, the beautiful young prince of Troy, ravaging him, and elevating him to live among the immortals.

At the table of the Olympian gods, Jupiter installed his Ganymede as the divine cup-bearer who pours out nectar-wine from the cup of eternal life.

This love affair between the Phrygian prince and the Father of the Gods is a divine parallel of the love between Antinous and Hadrian.

Ganymede is the emblem of the coming Age of Aquarius, when peace and love will rule the hearts of all men.

On this day, the beginning of the sign of Aquarius, we observe the deification of Antinous as having made union with the Thunderbird-Phoenix-Eagle, and having been elevated to reign among the immortals in the manner of Ganymede. And we pray for the hastening of the coming age.

SAINT SEBASTIAN

ON January 20th the Religion of Antinous honors SAINT SEBASTIAN who, despite being a Christian martyr, has been identified by homosexuals of all beliefs over the centuries as a symbol of our persecution and suffering.

Sebastian was an officer in the Imperial Guard of Emperor Diocletian, and he was a Christian.

In 302 A.D. Diocletian subjected the Christians to a brutal persecution, and it was during this period that Sebastian was "outed" to the Emperor as a practicing Christian.

When asked to sacrifice before a pagan altar, Sebastian refused and  was sentenced to death. He was tied to a column before Mauritanian archers, who shot him with arrows...but to no effect. 

Sebastian was strengthened by his faith, and did not die. He was finally clubbed to death in front of Emperor.
  
Homosexuals over the centuries have looked to Sebastian as a patron saint. His manner of death, which is like an affliction of Eros, and the sight of the beautiful young soldier plumed with arrows, has moved our hearts over the ages more than all other Christian saints.

In the Middle Ages, he was said to have power over the plague. And during the Black Death, his popularity grew among the penitent flagellants.

His image was a favorite subject of homosexual artists during the Renaissance who were fascinated by the erotic charge of his death. 

During the early 19th Century he was taken up as the model for homosexual suffering and persecution, some writers even claiming that he was the young lover of Diocletian and that his martyrdom had a jealous, sexual subtext.

In our time, the power of St. Sebastian over the Plague has made him a spiritual force in the fight against AIDS. And so we recognize his sanctity as the patron saint of homosexuals and as a protector from our modern plague. 

We consecrate him to the Religion of Antinous and offer our own quivering-hearts as a target for his thousand arrows of love.

ASTRO FORECAST: JANUARY 19th—29th, 2023

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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JANUARY 19th-29th, 2023

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THURS-FRIDAY, JANUARY 19th-20th, 2023

This week, the LGBT spiritual revolution gets a big boost when the Sun is in conjunction with Pluto and both are aligned with the star of Antinous in the sign of Capricorn ... sending transformative healing energies that can radically alter gay spirituality for centuries to come. Pluto takes more than 250 years to orbit the Sun. To give you some perspective, the last time Pluto was in Capricorn was in the late 18th Century ... the dawning of the Age of Reason and the revolutions in France and America. This time around, Capricorn Pluto is once again revolutionizing global political and economic structures along with belief systems. This is an opportunity for LGBT advancement that will not come again in our lifetimes. Seize the opportunity for transformational healing to prepare you for the world that will exist when Pluto leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius ... in 2023. More on how Capricorn Pluto and the Star of Antinous can change your life: PLUTO ALIGNS WITH THE STAR OF ANTINOUS.

SAT-SUNDAY, JANUARY 21st-22nd, 2023

This weekend, we come to the AQUARIUS NEW MOON — which in Antinous Moon Magic we call the OBELISK MOON — the lunar phase embodying knowledge in all its forms, knowledge which is gained through study and learning. The Aquarius New Moon is also always CHINESE NEW YEAR and 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious, virtuous, reserved, and refined. It is easy to admire and trust Rabbit people. And to top it off, they are often financially lucky. So even if you are not a Rabbit, this year try to emulate them and allow their refined talent and great luck into your life.

MON-WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23rd-25th, 2023

This week, Venus aligns with Saturn in Aquarius, meaning you will meet someone who will be a wellspring of bright new ideas and inspiration for you in the coming month.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26th, 2023

On Thursday, the Sun forms a sextile with lucky Jupiter. This is the sort of day that the Latin expression "Carpe Diem" (Seize the Day) was created for. Be sure to buy a lottery ticket ... and be sure to share the winnings with everybody around you.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27th, 2023

On Friday, romantic Venus leaves emotionally cold Aquarius and dives into the romantic depths of Pisces. 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 next four 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.

SAT-SUNDAY, JANUARY 28th-29th, 2023

This weekend, we come to the Taurus First Quarter Moon, the lunar phase of young love which, in Antinous Moon Magic, we call the ANTINOUS AMOR MOON ... this moon is perfect to get you in the mood for Valentine's Day!

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between January 30th and February 5th, 2023, when we come to the lunar phase we call the LION HUNT MOON, the LEO FULL MOON. It is a reminder that Antinous slew a man-eating lion in Egypt. Antinous peered out into the barren wilderness with all its deep and hidden dangers. He charged forth, his bridle-reins in one hand and an adamantine-tipped spear in the other, and he faced the beast unafraid. For Antinous knew he would triumph over death. The Spirit of the Lion Hunt is the bravery of Antinous the Lion Slayer ... More details next time ....

THE GOING FORTH OF ANUBIS

ON January 20th is the Ancient Egyptian Feast of "The Going Forth of Anubis" (Yinepu) when his statues are carried through the streets for worshipers to honor ... in hopes that Anubis will convey them through the darkness of death to eternal light and life. 

This feast occurs between the completion of the mummification of Antinous on January 11th and the birthday of Hadrian on January 24th.

Anubis leads the new god Antinous to the Home of the Gods amongst the Imperishable Stars.

FEATURED ANTINOUS STATUE OF THE DAY THE ANTINOUS OF ELEUSIS

THIS statue of Antinous from Eleusis - Ἐλευσίς - is the only one that seems to refer back to an incident in his life, his initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries of death and resurrection in September 128 AD.

The sculpture was erected after his death in the outer courtyard of Eleusis and captures this instant of his life, though officially it depicts him as the god Dionysos Zagreus, a divinity of suffering abd resurrection associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Technically it is not one of the best of the depictions of Antinous, but it evokes a mood and a moment.

The sulptor clearly envisaged the young lad draped in his himation, standing in the darkened Telesterion (the initiation hall) and confronted with the Eleusinian Mysteries of death and resurrection.

He clutches at the folds of his himation anxiously, insecure, staring wide-eyed, his mouth pursed in awe, with an expression of apprehension, intent rapture and awareness of the tremendous significance of what was being revealed to him.

Even though it is a mediocre statue in workmanship and details it is redeemed by its expressiveness and pathos.

This statue is now housed in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis: Antinous as Dionysus Zagreus, Inv. 5092, 1.83 m, in marble of Thasos.

HADRIAN AND ANTINOUS ENJOYED THIS ANCIENT GREEK DRINKING GAME

HADRIAN loved all things Greek ... especially Antinous ... so he would have known of this Ancient Greek parlour game ... called kottabos ... and very possibly played it with Antinous at their all-men's drinking parties.

Now a modern scholar has shown her students how to play this time-honored game.

The Ancient Greek SYMPOSIUM (drinking party for men) was a cultural event at which elite men, young and old, reclined on cushioned couches that lined the walls of the andron, the men's quarters of a household. 

They had lively conversations and recited poetry. They were entertained by dancers, flute girls and courtesans. 

They got drunk on wine, and in the name of competition, they hurled their dregs at a target in the center of the room to win prizes like eggs, pastries and sexual favors. Slaves cleaned up the mess.

"Trying to describe this ancient Greek drinking game, kottabos, to my students was always a little bit difficult because we do have these illustrations of it, but they only show one part of the game — where individuals are about to flick some dregs at a target," said Heather Sharpe, an associate professor of art history at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

"I thought it would be really great if we could actually try to do it ourselves," said Sharpe.

So, with a 3D-printed drinking cup, some diluted grape juice and a handful of willing students, Sharpe did just that. 

She found out that it wasn't impossible to get the hang of kottabos, but the game did require a skilled overhand toss. 

She presented her findings at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America.

Ancient texts and works of art indicate that there were two ways to play kottabos. In one variation, the goal was to knock down a disc that was carefully balanced atop a tall metal stand in the middle of the room. 

In the other variation, there was no metal stand; rather, the goal was to sink small dishes floating in a larger bowl of water. In both versions, participants attempted to hit their target with the leftover wine at the bottom of their kylix, the ancient equivalent of a Solo cup.

The red-and-black kylixes had two looped handles and a shallow but wide body — a shape that perhaps was not the most practical for drinking but lent itself to playful decoration.

Big eyes were sometimes painted on the underside on kylixes so that the drinker would look like he was wearing a mask when he took a hefty sip. 

And the relatively flat, circular inside of the cup, called the tondo, often carried droll or risqué pictures that would be slowly revealed as the wine disappeared. 

The team made mock-up kottabos targets to play both variations of the game. For their andron, Sharpe and her colleagues used one of the art department's drawing rooms (which had a linoleum floor for easy cleanup), and they grabbed a couple padded benches to serve as their couches. Instead of wine, they used watered-down grape juice.

To achieve the best results in kottabos, the participants had to loop a finger through one handle of the kylix and toss the juice overhand, as if they were pitching a baseball. 

Sharpe said that playing the game proved to be challenging, but she was amazed that some of her students started to hit the target within 10 to 15 minutes.

"It took a fair amount of control to actually direct the wine dregs, and interestingly enough, some of the women were the first to get it," Sharpe told LIVE SCIENCE.

"In some respects, they relied a little bit more on finesse, whereas some of the guys were trying to throw it too hard."

"Another thing we quickly realized is, it must have gotten pretty messy," Sharpe said. "By the end of our experiment we had diluted grape juice all over the floor."

She added, "In a typical symposium setting, in an andron, you would have had couches arranged on almost all four sides of the room, and if you missed the target, you were likely to splatter your fellow symposiast across the way.

"You'd imagine that, by the end of the symposium, you'd be drenched in wine, and your fellow symposiasts would be drenched in wine, too."

Sharpe would eventually like to attempt to play kottabos with real wine, to fully understand how the game would devolve as the participants got tipsy.

"It would be fun to actually experiment with wine drinking," Sharpe said. "Of course, this was a university event, so we couldn't exactly do it on campus. But really, to get the full experiment, it would be interesting to try it after having a kylix of wine, or after having two kylixes of wine."

ANTINOUS IN THEBES

IN January the Religion of Antinous remembers the arrival of Hadrian and Antinous in the Greek city of Thebes, which is the sacred city of Dionysus ... they were present for the Bacchanalia.

Flamen Antinoalis ANTONIUS SUBIA explains:

"This occasion is sacred as a commemoration of the death of Pentheus, and it is here that Antinous is initiated into the Mysteries of Dionysus.

"Thebes was the first city to which Dionysus brought his blessings in Greece. Only the wise and the foolish were able to comprehend and believe in his power, those who were level-headed rejected him and were driven mad and utterly destroyed.

"So it is with the religion of Anti-Nous, who is contrary to the Mind.

"The initiation into the mysteries of Dionysus, that Antinous received, was in preparation for his departure from the ordered sphere of our cosmos, into the chaos of the dark abyss. We must cast ourselves into the void where Antinous dwells by the side of Dionysus, the stranger-god."