SLAIN GAY PARISIAN POLICEMAN IS A BLESSED SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON April 20th we honor gay French police officer Xavier Jugelé who laid down his life when an Islamic extremist opened fire on Paris' Champs Elysees on 20 April 2017.

He is a saint of Antinous. 

At a memorial ceremony, Jugele’s husband, Etienne Cardiles, paid loving tribute to his late partner.

"This pain makes me feel closer to your comrades who suffer in silence like you and me," Cardiles said, holding back tears. He described Jugele as a man who lived "a life of joy and huge smiles."

"I have no hatred, Xavier, because it is not like you and does not fit with what made your heart beat," he added. "Nor what made you a guardian of the peace."

A spokesperson for the French association of LGBT police officers described Jugelé as "a simple man who loved his job, and he was really committed to the LGBT cause."

"He was aware of the risks of the job and the terrorist threat," said Mickaël Bucheron, "although we did not speak a lot about it."

Jugelé, 37, grew up in Romorantin-Lanthenay in central France and was in a civil union with Cardiles.

He had been among the first responders when DAESH Islamic State terrorists attacked Paris' Bataclan theater in 2015, and was actually preparing to leave the Paris gendarmes to join the Judicial Police, which pursues suspects and serves search warrants, among other duties.

After his death, flags at police stations across France flew at half-mast, and President Francois Hollande made him a posthumous knight of the Legion d’Honneur.

JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS SAINT OF ANTINOUS THE GAY GOD

THE Religion of Antinous honors St. John Addington Symonds, the English poet and literary scholar who shocked Victorian sensibilities by openly promoting the cause of same-sex love.

John Addington Symonds was born on 5 October 1840, to a wealthy middle-class family in Bristol England. His father was a liberally minded doctor with connections and close friendships with many of the most illustrious and forwards minds of the time.

It was this environment of Victorian middle-class sexual repression that caused John Addington Symonds to blossom into one of the first and most prolific proponents for the cause of love between men.

While teenager in school, he was awakened by Plato to the awareness of love between boys among his schoolmates and almost immediately and unhesitatingly came out of the closet, even to his father, who was initially dismayed but ultimately supportive.

From then on, Symonds devoted his entire life to the study of homosexuality through art and history. He was the most pronounced defender of the ancient and glorious legacy of love between men, and a champion of social change.

He was a deep admirer of Walt Whitman, and later worked closely with Edward Carpenter, and Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, co-founding the British Institute for Sexual Science, which advocated a methodical study to overturn the laws against homosexual love.

For his life-long work and devotion, and for his early recognition and exultation of his sexuality, John Addington Symonds is a canonized Saint of the Religion of Antinous.

The most sacred of his many contributions to the enlightenment of our freedom are the words that he wrote about Antinous, whose beauty he glorified with poetry and elegance in the language of a lover of the homosexual, erotic beauty of Our God. John Addington  Symonds died in Rome on the 19th of April 1893.

THE ICARUS ASPECT ENABLES YOU TO SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND SOAR

THROUGH the ages, any audacious youth has been compared to Icarus, whose desperate attempt to escape the Minotaur's Labyrinth turned out rather differently than he and his father Daedalus had planned. 

He escaped all right ... but in his elated exuberance, he soared a bit too high. 

Today, children are taught the myth of Icarus as an admonition to children to be obedient and not take risks. 

But in ancient times, Icarus symbolized audacity. Icarus could have stayed in the labyrinth and grown old and died. 

Instead, he spread his wings and took a great leap of faith.

And ... for one brief, soaring moment ... he was free! 

Ever one of us has felt this scary elation when coming out of the closet. It is risky ... disaster could ensue ... but it is better than wasting your life trapped in the confinements of a dark closet.

Jupiter aligns in conjunction now with Uranus in headstrong Taurus for the first time since 1941. We feel trapped and these planets join forces to urge us to take action.

They are urging you to strap on your wings tonight and fly away to new heights. 

Yes, of course, a certain amount of caution and navigation is necessary.

But the important thing is to take a flying leap!

If you have been dithering and fretting for the longest time about taking some risk in order to achieve a long-cherished dream ... then now is the time when the planets will give you the confidence and derring-do to accomplish it.

Antinous the Gay God is telling you go ahead, jump, take the plunge, dive in. Don't just sit there thinking about doing it ... DO IT!

Saturn/Uranus are saying get ready for a big surprise! Not necessarily a bad surprise (as happened to Icarus). 

No, instead the big surprise may turn out to be that you in fact wing your way to new freedom (as happened to Daedalus).

In Light and Life and Fluttering Feathers,

HERNESTUS

ASTRO FORECAST: APRIL 18th—28th, 2024

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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APRIL 18th to 28th, 2024

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THURS-FRIDAY, APRIL 18th-19th, 2024

This week, Jupiter and Uranus align in perfect conjunction in the sign of Taurus for the first time since 1941. As one of the most major astrological events of 2024, this celestial meet-up involves Jupiter, the planet of abundance, fortune, and expansion, joining forces with Uranus, the planet of sudden, electrifying change, rebellion, and revolution. This conjunction will inspire a whole new cycle of spiritual breakthroughs and innovation, as well as surprising financial wins and relationship changes. That's because Taurus is ruled by Venus, the planet of romance and money. Science and technology (the domain of Uranus) could majorly refashion our day-to-day lives. Global relations and foreign policy (Jupiter’s specialty) could be shaped in concrete ways that redefine society. And since Taurus is an earth sign that rules the material world, the Jupiter Uranus conjunction could impact the economy (from cost of living to crypto), sustainable practices (reducing consumption and prioritizing climate solutions) and the body (from the food we eat to the ways we dress). Here are two things you should do: 1. Step into the role of visionary or simply step OUT of the role of anything that feels confining, overly safe and too small for what you’re capable of bringing to the world. 2. Seize opportunity. A sudden opportunity to travel, teach or share your message could arise. Act on it!

SAT-SUNDAY, APRIL 20th-21st, 2024

This weekend, batten down the hatches because storms and earthquakes are in store when the Sun forms a 90-degree right angle with Pluto — a configuration which happens twice a year and which invariably spawns strife, conflict, warfare and even bad weather. The good news is that this configuration lasts only about 48 hours.

MON-WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22nd-24th, 2024

This week, we come to the Scorpio Full Moon ... a moon for penetrating the veil of lies and illusion and seeing clearly who are your friends (and who are not) and also seeing yourself for what you are. For that reason, we call it the ENEMY MOON in Antinous Moon Magic.

THURS-SUNDAY, APRIL 25th-28th, 2024

Aren't you tired of all the computer glitches, "lost" files, travel delays and snafus of recent weeks? Take heart! Now 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.

SNEAK PREVIEW OF NEXT WEEK:

Another exciting week lies ahead between April 29th and May 5th, 2024, when the Moon squares off against the Sun for the Aquarius Third Quarter Moon which in Antinous Moon Magic we call the FORUM MOON. This is the best Lunar Phase of the year for oracles or spell work involving interaction with groups or a public setting. Gathering place. Club. Work place. Any place where numerous people gather. It is also the best moon for rituals focusing on parks, gardens and the outdoors in general, such as working rituals for protecting a back garden or outdoor venue ... More details next time ....

ACTIVISTS IN SOUTH AFRICA PETITION FOR AN LGBTQ LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE

EFFORTS are underway by a small group of activists in South Africa to establish an LGBTQ library and archive at a university with an unfortunate human-rights history.

Students & alumni at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein city in the Free State province of central South Africa have started a petition asking the university to found an LGBTQ history archive and library on its campus. Alternatively, they ask merely for permission and premises to be granted for them to do so themselves. 

They are in dire need of help and rely as heavily on international as on local support, and they ask people from elsewhere in the world as well as in South Africa to sign the petition. Theirs is going to be an uphill struggle and they face near overwhelming odds, but the support that has been coming in is bolstering them & they believe in their quest and its worthiness.

YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM OR YOUTUBE.

SAINT SOR JUANA INÉS DE LA CRUZ

ON April 17th the Religion of Antinous honors Saint Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 17th Century Mexican nun, scholar, poet, scientist, playwright, musician and lesbian.

She was exceptional not only for her intelligence and beauty, but also because she wrote literature centered on intellectual and sexual freedom.

In the poem "Redondillas" she defends a woman's right to be respected as a human being. "Hombres necios" (Stubborn men) criticizes the sexism of the society of her time, and pokes fun at men who publicly condemn prostitutes, among other things, but privately hire them.

She also has a philosophical approach to the relative immorality of prostitution. This was exemplified when she posed the question, "Who sins more, she who sins for pay or he who pays for sin?"

In the romantic comedy entitled "Los empeños de una casa" about a brother and a sister entangled in a web of love, she writes using two of her most prominent themes, love and jealousy.

She did not moralize, but rather, in the spirit of her lifetime interests, inquired of how these deeply emotional matters shaped and carved a woman's pursuit of liberty, knowledge, education and freedom to live her life in self-sovereignty.

Her revolutionary writings brought down upon her the ire of the Roman Catholic Church at the end of the 17th Century. She was ordered to tone down the sexuality of her writings. She did not.

However, powerful representatives from the Spanish court were her mentors and she was widely read in Spain, being called "The Tenth Muse". She was lauded as the most prominent poet of the post-conquest American Continent. Her work was printed by the first printing press of the American Continent in Mexico City.

She is believed to have penned 4,000 works, but only a few have survived. They were rescued by the Spanish Viceroy's wife, who was rumoured to be her female lover. In April 1695, after ministering to the other sisters struck down by a rampant plague, she is said to have died at four in the morning on April 17th.

For her love of learning and her devotion to the beauty of sexuality and for her courage to write about controversial things in the face of the Spanish Inquisition, we honor Saint Sor Juana as a Prophet of Homoeros.

THE NARCISSUS MOON OF ANTINOUS THE CANCER FIRST QUARTER MOON

TONIGHT's Cancer First Quarter Moon is the Lunar Phase of reflection and insight which we call the NARCISSUS MOON in Antinous Moon Magic.

Each Lunar Phase represents a Divine Spirit or Archetype. The Spirit of the Narcissus Moon is the Lover of the Self. It is the Spirit which tunes out all distractions and all other people in order to focus on the Divinity within. It is the Spirit of Self-Love and Same-Sex Love.

It is forever gazing into its own reflection and whispering to itself: You are Divine! The reflection and the viewer are one and the same. The Spirit of Narcissus is the Divinity which holds a mirror up to ourselves.

It invites you to look into the depths of yourself — find your Spiritual Twin. You may call this twin your "Soul," "Higher Self," "KA," "Spirit Guide" or "Guardian Angel." The terminology is unimportant. What is important is that you become aware of your Second Self.

In the Religion of Antinous, we call this the NARCISSUS PRINCIPLE, which is one of the founding principles of our religion. It is at the basis of the Spirit of Homosexuality -- Love of the Divine Self.

Most of us go through life unaware of this Other Self. We do what is expected of us. We do what we feel others want us to do. We put the perceived wants and needs of others ahead of our own. We think that it's "selfish" to put our own interests first.

But the Narcissus Moon reminds us that there is another Self ... a Spiritual Self ... without which we are not spiritually whole. For it is only by "looking out for Number 1" that we are physically, mentally and spiritually able to love ourselves. And only then can we truly love others.

The Narcissus Moon invites you to take a deep and profound look at yourself, with all your strengths and all your weaknesses, all your virtues and all your faults, all your courageous achievements and all your failures. Become aware of your Spiritual Twin, so that together, as one spiritual entity, you can fulfill your destiny.

Meditations and rituals on this night are well suited for delving into your inner self, for exploring the spiritual being which dwells within. This is also a good time for determining whether you are perhaps too self-centered and introspective and whether you focus on yourself to the exclusion of others.