FLUSHED WITH PRIDE, WE OFFER THE LATEST UPDATES ON WORLD TOILET DAY

TODAY November 19 is WORLD TOILET DAY and we are flushed with pride to have kept you on the edge of your seats for two years with headlines on what's new in ancient toilets.

We were the first to report the discovery by Philippe Charlier, a Parisian forensic expert, that Ancient Greek ceramic discs which hitherto had been thought to be gaming pieces may actually have been used as a form of ANCIENT TOILET PAPER.

Charlier (pictured here) presented among other things, a Greek proverb stating, "Three stones are enough to wipe one's arse," as evidence that such stones were used to clean up after going to the bathroom.

This blog also was among the first to report on the discovery of the world's oldest WOODEN TOILET SEAT (top of entry) in September 2014 at Vindolanda Roman Fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern England.

The Vindolanda experts also unearthed a WRITING TABLET (shown here) believed to be from 105-120 AD. The tablet was found just 12 inches (30 cm) from the wooden toilet seat. 

The tablet is one of 12 found at Vindolanda this year and one of seven found from the same building level.

Andrew Birley, head of the dig, stated he was "looking forward" to reading the tablet's text.

The site, near Hexham, has earlier revealed gold and silver coins and other artefacts of the Roman army.

Dr Birley stated : "If we are really lucky the person using the seat will have had verbal diarrhoea and we will be able to get their personal thoughts regarding life 1,900 years ago."

The Romans used wooden tablets covered with a layer of wax for writing. They would scratch words into the wax using a stylus.

QUINTUS AURELIUS SYMMACHUS VENERABLE SAINT OF ANTINOUS

WE are proud to consecrate Quintus Aurelius Symmachus as a Venerable Saint of Antinous for his unyielding efforts to uphold the Religion of Antinous in the face of Christian opposition.

A Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters who lived 345 – 402 AD, he held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391.

Symmachus sought to preserve the traditional religions of Rome at a time when the aristocracy was converting to Christianity, and led an unsuccessful delegation of protest against Gratian, when he ordered the Altar of Victory removed from the curia, the principal meeting place of the Roman Senate in the Forum Romanum.

Two years later he made a famous appeal to Gratian's successor, Valentinian II, in a dispatch that was rebutted by Ambrose, the bishop of Milan.

Symmachus's career was temporarily derailed when he supported the short-lived usurper Magnus Maximus, but he was rehabilitated and three years later appointed consul.

Much of his writing has survived: nine books of letters, a collection of Relationes or official dispatches, and fragments of various orations.

Antonius Subia says:

In an age when almost all other Roman Nobility were turning away from our ancient Religion, this gentleman stood strong and faithful and was a voice of dissent against the tidal wave of Christianity that was enveloping the Roman world.  This was the time when the Ancient Religion of Antinous was finally suppressed and destroyed.  We can be sure that this Great Noble Roman was one of the last champions and defenders of our God.

The portrait above shows the Apotheosis of Symmachus ... a relief depicting Symmachus being carried up to the realm of the gods by two divine figures as though he were being deified.  The Zodiac figures may indicate that his Deification took place around the Winter Solstice.

ANTINOUS IN THEBES

IN November 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."

LOZEN, APACHE WARRIORESS SAINT OF ANTINOUS

WE honor Lozen, the two-spirit Apache warrioress and holy woman who fought with Geronimo, and who was with his final band of warriors when they surrendered.

She is a blessed Saint of Antinous.

A contemporary observer said:

"Lozen had no concern for her appearance and, even though she is seen in several famous photos of Geronimo with his warriors, there is nothing to indicate that she is a woman. You would never spot her. She was very manly in her appearance, dressed like a man, lived and fought like a man. She never married, and devoted her life to the service of her people, to the very end."

THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER BRIGHT FIREBALLS IN NOVEMBER

ARE you ready for a good, predictable meteor shower? Then break out your favorite skywatching gear because the LEONID METEOR SHOWER shower is already sparkling the skies.

In the pre-dawn hours on the mornings of November 16th-19th, the offspring of Comet Temple/Tuttle will be flashing through our atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 kilometers per second. You can expect to see dozens of meteors an hour.

ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD will not greatly interfere with fainter meteor trails to keep you from enjoying early evening observations, or enjoying your morning coffee with a handful of "shooting stars" which will be emanating outward from the constellation of Leo.

The Waning Moon is not going to be a major interference, so we could see a rate of about 20 per hour.

Although the Leonids are regular and occur at the same time every year, the are highly variable from one year to the next ... sometimes producing few meteors and other years lots. 

As our Earth passes through the dusty matter left over from a broken-up comet, it may encounter a place where the comet let loose with a large amount of its payload ... or it may pass through an area where the "comet stuff" is thin. 

We might even pass through an area which produces an exciting "meteor storm" like the Leonids produced in 1883! 

For those in the know, the Leonid meteor shower also made a rather incredible appearance in 1866 and 1867 ... dumping up to 1,000 shooting stars recorded even with a Moon present! 

It erupted again in 1966 and in 1998 and produced 3,000 (yes, 3,000!) video recorded meteors during the years of 2001 and 2002.

But remember, human eyes may only be able to detect just a few. And the numbers vary from night to night.

If you want to see the Leonids, it might be good to watch the nights of November 16th through 19th. Instead of just going out one night, you might want to go out twice.

Look for ANTINOUS THE MOON GOD and he will be shooting lion-hunting arrows your way.

HOW TO PLAN YOUR OWN FESTIVE ANTINOUS BIRTHDAY PARTY

ANTINOUS was born on November 27 and worshipers around the world are busy planning their own festivities ... from Chile to Canada and from New England in the US to New South Wales in Australia.

November marks the start of the ancient pagan Festive Season, a season which is still full of fabulous party dates ... including Christmas, New Year's Eve, Twelfth Night and of course American Thanksgiving. Dia de los Muertos and Halloween/Samhain usher in this Festive Season of twinkly lights and over-eating and drinking way too much. 

Our brothers and sisters at the Fundación Epithimia Antinoo in Mexico are busy making final preparations for an Antinous birthday fiesta. 

For worshipers at the Templo de Antinoo México Temple of Antinous in Mexico City, the fiesta requires weeks or even months of preparation because the papier-mâché icons are created by artist Yanko Garibaldi ... each a work of art. Caricaturist Sirius has also created iconic images of the Martyrs and Saints of Antinous.


Other images on this page offer inspiration for Antinous Birthday festivities. 

At right is "Das Gastmahl" (The Symposion Feast) by Anton von Werner (1877) - preliminary color sketch as part of a series of wall murals on the theme of "Roman Life" for the Café Bauer (53 x 89 cm) (Privately Owned).

Images below are courtesy of the gifted artist FELIX D'EON and serve as an inspiration for Antinous Birthday festivities in the open air ... in the Southern Hemisphere, where the jacarandas are in bloom and summer will soon be here.

These ancient festivities go back WAAAAY before Christianity, of course. So it's a safe bet that Hadrian and Antinous would recognize many of the features of these festivities

So when you plan your Antinous Birthday Party, you can mix-and-match customs from all sorts of pagan Festive Season holidays, in full knowledge that Hadrian and Antinous would nod in approval.

It should be celebrated with feasting and drinking and singing and carousing. Green boughs (palm fronds, holly, pine boughs or whatever is native to your climate) should decorate the feast room in honour of the forests of Bithynia, the highlands of modern-day Turkey where Antinous was born.

Electric lights should be turned off in favor of candlelight or at the very least those strings of tiny "fairy lights" Moslems use during Ramadan and Hindus during Divali and Christians at Christmas.

The one really bright spot in the room should be a bust or image of Antinous, which is spotlighted, signifying our belief that Antinous brings light into the world.

The Antinous Rosy Lotus would be perfect. But since not everyone has access to lotus blossoms in late November, orchids would also be fine. 

Bithynia was well known even in Ancient Times for its forest orchids and the Romans loved orchids ... even orchid root beverages!

Orchids would be lovely as well as being a Hellenistic conversation piece. 

If they are too pricey, then your favorite seasonal flower will do. 

Look around and find something that is beautiful and unique to your own locale which you think would be very nice.

The Birthday of Antinous would be a wonderful opportunity for a costume party, also in keeping with the Halloween-Carnaval-Christmas flavor of these ancient pagan holidays. Guests might be encouraged to come as Greco-Romans or Egyptian priests.

The menu could be Mediterranean, with lots of finger foods such as tahini and couscous and humous and pita bread, stuffed olives, eggplant/aubergine, goat's cheese and so on. 

Refried beans (which the Egyptians call "fuul" and eat for breakfast) would be ideal since the theory goes that the Moors introduced "fuul" to the Spaniards, who introduced it to the New World, where it became refritos ... Mexican refried beans.

But you should feel free to go local with favorite regional dishes of your home area. 

There must be lots of good South American dishes which would be perfect, or Scottish specialties, or Aussie barbecued prawns or New England pot pies ... good simple "plebeian" food which is festive and spicy and filling.

In keeping with these pagan festivals, foods should represent birth and regeneration: beans, peas, black-eyed peas, pumpkins, squash, nuts, berries.

It doesn't really matter what food is served, of course, as long as it's delicious and plentiful, and as long as there is plenty of drink to wash it down, wine or beer or just good old iced tea.

Beer is appropriate, since the Ancient Egyptians were brewing beer thousands of years before Antinous was born.

Antinous' last meal may have been refried beans and beer and flat bread.

In a change from holiday cakes and cookies, how about baking Antinous cookies? 

Bake simple sugar cookies which have been cut out to resemble stars, comets, an imperial crown and Bithynian fir trees and lions and so on and decorate them with Antinoian lettering or symbols.

Instead of gingerbread men, make gingerbread Antinouses. The gingerbread man, after all, is thought to come from pagan rituals for honoring Thor or other gods. 

Generally, they are sweet dough which is filled with a nut-date-spice filling representing rebirth and spiritual sustenance. You still find them today on St. Nicholas' feast day throughout Europe.

Whatever you bake, make sure to include a small "surprise" somewhere in the cake or muffin or cookes for some lucky guest to chomp down on. It doesn't have to be a diamond ring, but a trinket of some sort is always fun. 

If that is too challenging for your skills as a confectioner, then just an ordinary cake with the letters "A-N-T-I-N-O-U-S" in store-bought candy lettering would do the job just as nicely. 

Or just a large "A" in icing in the middle of the cake.

Another tradition should be oracle games. This is the first major festival of the New Year in the Antinoian liturgical calendar, so oracles are appropriate.

And when your guests suggest you are robbing traditions from Christian festivals, just look them square in the eye and insist that the Christians stole these wonderful traditions from us pagans because the Christians didn't have any of their own. 

Where would Christian holidays be without pagan traditions?

Who knows? Perhaps Hadrian and Antinous enjoyed these very same pagan traditions in their Saturnalia revelries.

One more thing: Mistletoe. Mistletoe is plentiful in the forests of Bithynia. You can never have enough mistletoe ... as these two 1928 vendors in Paris show.

Antinous would be well familiar with mistletoe. I'm sure he would like it as a reminder of his boyhood hikes through the woods of home.

Use your imagination and you'll come up with lots of ideas.

Let the Festive Season Begin with an Antinous Birthday Party!

ASTRO FORECAST: NOVEMBER 13th—23rd, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

Antinous Astrology Forecast

---

NOVEMBER 13th
to 23rd, 2025

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THURS-FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13th-14th, 2025

As the year 2025 speeds to an end, we come to one of the most anxiously tense times of the year and the hazard lights start flashing when Retrograde Mercury aligns with eager Sagittarius Mars and both form a powerful trine aspect against nebulous Retrograde Pisces Neptune. Imagine yourself barreling down a freeway at high speed ... and suddenly being enveloped in a fog bank which cuts visibility to zero. If you don't reduce speed immediately, you are bound for disaster. Sagittarius Mars is the fast sports car thundering down the highway ... and Pisces Neptune is the fog bank ... and you are in the driver's seat. This astrological configuration spells trouble for people who proceed full speed through life without any regard to their surroundings. They will come a cropper this week. However, this Mars-Neptune Square configuration is excellent for people who have latent intuitive, artistic or spiritual talents ... like Antinous-Dionysus. Mars invigorates and enlivens these talents. So the answer is: Proceed with caution, but keep your eyes open for brilliant new opportunities and insights which otherwise would have flashed past you unseen at high speed.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15th, 2025

This weekend you may feel paralyzed between optimism and pessimism when Retrograde Jupiter forms a trine aspect to Saturn. It is a textbook case of finding fortune in misfortune. You may find that a project you have been counting on to succeed suddenly backfires ... but that this apparent "failure" turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Jupiter-trine-Saturn also often suggests that you yourself become the blessing in disguise for other people. While expecting good fortune for yourself, you suddenly find yourself in the position of helping others ... which is a blessing-in-disguise for you yourself.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16th, 2025

Ready for a good, predictable meteor shower? Then break out your favorite sky-watching gear because the LEONID METEOR SHOWER reaches its peak this week. In the pre-dawn hours on the mornings of November 16th-19th, the Leonids (offspring of Comet Temple/Tuttle) will be flashing through our atmosphere at speeds of up to 72 kilometers per second. You can expect to see dozens of meteors an hour. As Marcus Aurelius says: "Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them."

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 17th, 2025

This week, the Sun forms a brilliant and glowing Grand Trine aspect with both Jupiter and Saturn. First of all, Sun trine Jupiter brings you good fortune in all areas of life. This is a bright spot amidst doom-and-gloom of recent weeks. And because Jupiter is Retrograde, you have to rely more upon hard work than upon luck, despite the fact that Jupiter is the luckiest planet in the Zodiac. Meanwhile, Sun trine Saturn empowers you with perseverance and clear vision to make some serious long-term plans for the future. And because Saturn is Retrograde, you can clean up some problems from the past.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18th, 2025

This week, Retrograde Mercury slips backwards out of optimistic Sagittarius to plunge back into the murky depths of Scorpio (which Mercury left only days ago) where he transforms into canine-headed Hermanubis to sniff out dark mysteries with his keen nose and hear whispered secrets with his powerful ears. On the global level, you can expect public revelations of dark secrets during the coming weeks. And on the personal level, you can expect to see which of your friends are faithful and will stick by you when the chips are down ... and which ones will back off and just leave you standing there alone. Now is the time to talk about all of those shadows and skeletons hiding in the closet. They will be crawling out and rearing their head regardless, so why not work with them so they don't work against you?

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th, 2025

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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20th, 2025

Overnight Wednesday-Thursday, we come to the SCORPIO NEW MOON. In Antinous Moon Magic this lunar phase is called the ZELUS MOON of fear, angst and anxiety ... and using Antinous Moon Magic to triumph over fear.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21st, 2025

Earthquakes. Revolutions. Love (or lust) at first sight. This week sudden and abrupt change can occur with Earth-shattering results when the Sun is in 180-degree opposition to rebellious Uranus while at the same time forming a trine to earthquake god Neptune. This configuration brings unexpected and exciting encounters or events which shake up the world ... including your own personal world. Adapting to any changes requires extra effort, and any excitement may leave your nerves frayed. These unexpected and quite possibly unwanted changes can manifest in yourself, through a partner, or through an external event. Although initially upsetting and you may resist any change, it may offer a better way forward for you if you keep an open mind. You may anticipate something new on the horizon or feel nervous anxiety. Think about doing something out of the ordinary to satisfy your curiosity, otherwise the electric and spontaneous energy may escape in a destructive way such as a minor accident. Odd behavior or a radical about face in someone close to you may cause anxiety too. They may be looking for more personal freedom and any resistance or dominance from you would further encourage any rebelliousness. Arguments or separation may result from impatience or an inability on your part to adapt. It is possible now that someone new may enter your life who brings about much-needed change.

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

This weekend, Retrograde Mercury forms a Grand Trine with Retrograde Jupiter and Retrograde Saturn. Even if you usually never play the lottery, you might want to consider buying a lotto ticket for this week. Mercury's brilliant and glowing trine aspect with Saturn empowers you with perseverance (Saturn) and clear forms of expression (Mercury) to make some serious long-term plans for the future. And because all three planets are Retrograde (going "backwards" as seen from the Earth) you can explect good news from the past..

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between November 24th and 30th, 2025, when we come to the Pisces First Quarter Moon. In Antinous Moon Magic this is the CONSORTIUM MOON of partnership, commitment and belonging ... it is symbolized by the wedding ring ... Because it always occurs towards the end of the year, the Consortium Moon represents the cyclical nature of the year, the ending of one year and the beginning of a new year ... Tonight is a beneficent night for meditation or rituals concerning relationships and all things that are bound by a circle of togetherness ... In health matters, it refers to blood and the circulatory system ... This is the Lunar phase of the Circle of Life, of partnership, commitment and belonging ... it is symbolized by the wedding ring ... Because it always occurs towards the end of the year, the Consortium Moon represents the cyclical nature of the year, the ending of one year and the beginning of a new year ... Tonight is a beneficent night for meditation or rituals concerning relationships and all things that are bound by a circle of togetherness ... In health matters, it refers to blood and the circulatory system ... More details next time ....