HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAMELA COLMAN SMITH WHOSE TAROT CARDS FEATURE ANTINOUS

YES! This is Antinous! February 16, 1878, is the birthday of Pamela Colman Smith, who is a canonized Saint of Antinous. Happy Birthday to Pixie (as her friends called her). 

When she was working on the Waite Tarot Cards in 1909, the British Museum had a special exhibition featuring the Sola Busca Tarot Cards ... the only Tarot Cards in which all 78 cards were illustrated. 

Traditionally, only the Trump Cards were illustrated, and the other 56 Lesser Trumps had numbers and suit emblems but were otherwise not illustrated. 

Pamela was so impressed by the Sola Busca Cards that she dragged Waite to the British Museum and insisted that ALL 78 cards must be illustrated and that she would create the art for each and every card. 

She forced Waite to agree, despite his reservations that it was unorthodox to illustrate ALL of the cards. 

Her version of the Three of Swords is inspired by the Sola Busca deck as you see above right.

Pamela put her heart and soul into each and every card, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources. 

The "Seven of Cups" shows the seeker of the Higher Trump Seven (The Chariot) choosing which goal to pursue. 

He has "Seven Visions": 

On the lower plane are earthly stability (the castle), earthly riches (jewels), earthly fame (a laurel wreath in a death's head chalice representing fleeting fame) and earthly power (dragon). 

On the higher plane he can decide between divine perfection of magic (the serpent from the Magician's belt), divine perfection of illumination (the glowing figure), and divine perfection of spiritual beauty ... symbolized by the face of Antinous! 

Pamela Colman Smith clearly took her inspiration from the Townley bust of Antinous in the British Museum.

Be sure to read our FULL TRIBUTE to Pamela Colman Smith, the visionary artist who was forgotten in her own lifetime and who died penniless ... but who is immortalized in her Tarot art, which continued to inspire seekers of spiritual illumination ... as exemplified by the seeker in the Seven of Cups.

ANTINOUS PRIESTS CONVENE WORLDWIDE TO CELEBRATE THE LUPERCALIA

ANTINOUS worshipers on both sides of the Atlantic tonight celebrated the Lupercalia.

Taking part via Zoom were priests and worshippers from North America, South America, Europe and Africa. They watched and participated as Flamen Antonius Subia officiated at ceremonies held in the Hollywood Temple of Antinous.

Hadrian and Antinous would not have known the precise origins of the Lupercalia  ... the ancient rite of spring when young nobles stripped off naked except for fur pelts and ran around the Palatine Hill flinging rawhide strips at females.

But Antinous might well have visited the cave-like grotto ... the Lupercale ... at the foot of the Palatine Hill. 

The cave-like structure was found a few years ago and experts are carrying out an extensive archaeological dig at a site which they believe is the ceremonial site of the Lupercale grotto where the caesars honored Romulus and Remus.

It is intriguing to think that Hadrian and Antinous took part in the rites in this subterranean chamber.

For centuries, the cave-like grotto was revered as the sacred site where the "She-Wolf" suckled the orphans Romulus and Remus. Young nobles called Luperci, taking their name from the place of the wolf (lupa), ran naked from the Lupercale grotto around the bounds of the Palatine, and used strips of hide to slap the hands or buttocks of girls and women lining the route ... reenacting a prank attributed to Romulus and Remus as randy teenagers.

Here is how Flamen Antonius Subia explains its significance for the Religion of Antinous:

"The Lupercalia is the festival of the wolf mother of Rome, and sacred festival of Antinous Master of Hounds.

"The Lupercalia remembers the she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Venus and Mars, who later founded the city of Rome.

"The wolf-like nature of the twins and of the Roman character was imparted through the milk of the wolf-mother.

"The spirit transferred through the loving milk of the ferocious mother is celebrated on this day, and is integral to the concept of Antinous the Hunter.

"Antinous took his place at Hadrian's feet, and accompanied him bravely and loyally through the forests and lived by the Emperor's side for seven years, which is equivalent to the life of a strong hunting dog."

In conclusion, Antonius says:

"The Canine nature of Antinous is celebrated on this day and is seen as an allegory for the Priesthood of the Religion of Antinous.

"This is a time of renewal and restoration, a time to set new forces loose in our lives, and let go of old faded energies. 
May Antinous flood our hearts with his power and presence and may the gods be with us!

Ave Antinous et Roma"

ANTINOUS RUNS IN THE LUPERCALIA IN MARTIN CAMPBELL'S BRILLIANT NOVEL

THE brilliant novel about the life of Antinous "The Love God" by Martin Campbell describes how Antinous joined Roman Patrician youths in running the Lupercalia on 15 February 127 AD as "luperci" runners. 

As part of the ancient ritual, a priest sacrificed a dog and a goat and  then smeared their blood on each boy's forehead. Here is the passage from the book (edited for space):

"Hadrian wiped each boy's forehead with wool saturated in milk, stating, 'Romulus and Remus were saved by Lupa who howled her joy at receiving a fresh kill from the Gods. In return Romulus and Remus laughed for joy at receiving fresh milk from the teats of Lupa'."

(Then the priests wrapped the goat's skin around each boy's waist as a loin cloth.)

"This was perhaps the worst part for Antinous. He felt pretty sick as the warm, still bloody skin was tied around his precious nether regions.

"The boys now had to run around the edge of the inner city walls using the strips of goat skin to fake flog as many people as they saw. Each person flogged would receive luck and fertility for the coming year.

"Antinous found no shortage of willing subjects. There was much hilarity. Some offered hands, others offered naked behinds … some attractive, some distinctly not. The latter got the biggest laughs … particularly if they were older men or plump ladies.

"It took Antinous two hours to 'run' a very short distance. Everyone wanted to be flogged by him specifically.

"It was clear that although this was, in theory, a fun event, to be whipped ritually by Antinous was taking on a more serious meaning.

"Women in particular seemed to be calling out to him with some desperation as if calling out to a God...."

Martin Campbell's book "The Love God" is available in paperback or Kindle: CLICK HERE.

ANTINOUS AND THE LUPERCALIA

EVEN Hadrian and Antinous would not have known the precise origins of the Lupercalia  ... the ancient rite of spring when young nobles stripped off naked except for fur pelts and ran around the Palatine Hill flinging rawhide strips at females.

But Antinous might well have visited the cave-like grotto ... the Lupercale ... at the foot of the Palatine Hill. 

The cave-like structure was found a few years ago and experts are carrying out an extensive archaeological dig at a site which they believe is the ceremonial site of the Lupercale grotto where the caesars honored Romulus and Remus.

It is intriguing to think that Hadrian and Antinous took part in the rites in this subterranean chamber.

For centuries, the cave-like grotto was revered as the sacred site where the "She-Wolf" suckled the orphans Romulus and Remus. Young nobles called Luperci, taking their name from the place of the wolf (lupa), ran naked from the Lupercale grotto around the bounds of the Palatine, and used strips of hide to slap the hands or buttocks of girls and women lining the route ... reenacting a prank attributed to Romulus and Remus as randy teenagers.

Here is how Flamen Antonius Subia explains its significance for the Religion of Antinous:

"The Lupercalia is the festival of the wolf mother of Rome, and sacred festival of Antinous Master of Hounds. 

"The Lupercalia remembers the she-wolf who raised Romulus and Remus, twin sons of Venus and Mars, who later founded the city of Rome. 

"The wolf-like nature of the twins and of the Roman character was imparted through the milk of the wolf-mother. 

"The spirit transferred through the loving milk of the ferocious mother is celebrated on this day, and is integral to the concept of Antinous the Hunter. 

"Antinous took his place at Hadrian's feet, and accompanied him bravely and loyally through the forests and lived by the Emperor's side for seven years, which is equivalent to the life of a strong hunting dog. 

"The Canine nature of Antinous is celebrated on this day and is seen as an allegory for the Priesthood of the Religion of Antinous."

Antonius goes on to explain that the Lupercalia festival is a purification rite, cleansing the way for Spring, nourishing the winter spirit of the dormant wolves within so as to fuel the ruthless courage of Roman warriors. A Dog and a Goat were sacrificed, and the young noble youths raced around the city naked except for goat, or wolf skins, whipping any girls or women who they encountered.

Antonius explains, "The Festival is also sacred to Faunus, the Roman Pan...the one who 'drives away the wolf from the flock.'...we usually think of Pan as Goat-horned and cloven hooved, but 'the one who drives away the wolf'...could quite possibly be a sacred Dog. Lupercalia is therefore quite possibly a dog festival...and it is interesting to note that it falls almost exactly opposite the calendar from the rise of the Dog Star."

Antonius elaborates by adding, "For me, Lupercalia is a time of cleansing and light...the lighted lamp that precedes the coming dawn of Spring...a preparation for the Flowering....

"So a celebration or ritual to observe the Lupercalia should focus on purification. ..self-purification primarily, but also the purification of the home, and surroundings. A cleansing of negative, stagnant, dusty, mildewy, settled, sedimentary influences that we are ready to clear away...from within and without."

He also outlines rituals for purification and cleansing which members of the worldwide Religion of Antinous will be performing this weekend.

Antonius says the Lupercalia harkens to the most ancient of rites of Spring, and he says the cleansing must come from within.

"And then look into your soul, observe your interactions...make changes for the better...be kinder, more polite, or just simply be friendlier to people...and do something strictly for your own pleasure," he says in his Lupercalia Epistle.

He stresses, "It is really a matter of deep and meaningful concentration on cleansing your mind and heart of negative internal influences...so as to strengthen your fortifications against external negative influences."

DID ANTINOUS MEET ST. VALENTINE? BOTH IN ALEXANDRIA AT THE SAME TIME

IT is a little known fact that there is a connection between Antinous and the original St. Valentine ... Valentinus of Alexandria. Hadrian and Antinous visited Alexandria in the year 130 AD ... and could possibly have crossed paths with the man who would one day become one of Christianity's most misunderstood saints.

Here is how our own Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia explains our own special view of Valentine's Day ... the Day of Love:

"Valentinus was the Gnostic Father who was a bishop of the Catholic Church. He tried to change orthodoxy by introducing the Gnostic speculation.

"Valentinus was from Alexandria and was there, studying with his teacher Basilides, when the court of Hadrian and Antinous arrived.

"He believed that Love was the creator of the universe, and the cause for the fall of Sophia (wisdom) ...

"He believed that Jesus came to reverse the fall of Sophia, that Jesus was the consort of Sophia, the Aeon called Christos.

"The love between them was the reason that Jesus descended to save the world. Valentinus began his teaching in Rome, and gained so much support that he was even nominated for the Papacy but lost by a narrow margin.

"Eventually exiled for heresy, the Gnostic Father formed his own rival church that became an influential and widespread Gnostic sect, influencing Gnostic thought down to our own time.

"Because Valentinus was a witness of the Passion of Antinous, and because he attempted to change the Catholic Church, we sanctify his name and venerate him on this sacred day of Eros, the Day of Love."

THE FEBRUARY FAUNALIA IS PERFECT FOR VALENTINE'S EVE LOVE MAGIC

FEBRUARY 13th is the Eve of St Valentine and, of course, a day for all sorts of love magic. (Image above entitled "Cupid's Kiss" is by Felix d'Eon.)

In Ancient Rome, February 13th was the start of one of the two feasts of Pan called the FAUNALIA (the other starting on December 5th) ... and it was originally the start of the Ancient Roman festival of LUPERCALIA, which was concerned with fertility, lust and passion ... semi-nude boys chasing virgins around the walls of Rome, whipping their bottoms with thongs dripping with white goat's milk.

It is possible that Hadrian and Antinous encountered Valentinus during their stay in Alexandria in 130 AD, or at least heard of this controversial figure.

Valentinus was a Gnostic firebrand who believed that Love was the creator of the universe, and the cause for the fall of Sophia (Wisdom). He believed that Jesus came to reverse the fall of Sophia, that Jesus was the consort of Sophia, the Aeon called Christos.

The love between them was the reason that Jesus descended to save the world, according to Valentinus, who defied the Christian sect of radicals who created the simplistic concept of hell and damnation for those who did not accept their beliefs.

He said there is no hell ... aside from the hell we create for ourselves on this earthly plane ... and that Love is the key to heaven ... not fear of eternal hellfire and brimstone.

Valentinus began his teaching in Rome, and gained so much support that he was even nominated for the Papacy ... but lost by a narrow margin. Had he become pope, Christianity would be very different today ... and so would Islam.

But the hellfire-and-brimstone brigade triumphed and ... as they would do so often in centuries to come ... they branded Valentinus a heretic ... condemning him to suffer the torments of hell for all eternity. (Image at left: Dancing Fauns by Carlos Barahona Possollo)

One story says that when St Valentine was waiting in prison for execution he cured his jailor's daughter of blindness and they fell in love ... a metaphor for Sophia (Wisdom) and Amor (Christos) uniting in Gnostic mysticism.

After he had been executed it was found he had left a message for the girl, scratched into the wall of his cell: "Always your Valentine."

He was dead and gone, burning in (non-existent) hell. But he was too influential and too popular to be disregarded entirely ... so he was canonized ... perhaps the only Catholic heretic to become a Catholic saint. 

His detractors cloud the issue by saying he was never properly canonized and is only a "folk saint" like St. Nicholas. 

Others insist there were many man named Valentinus so the heretic and saint could be different people ... but the Gnostic teachings of them all are heretical.

So one of the most popular saints is a heretic ... condemned to eternal hellfire and damnation ... because he insisted that Love, and not Fear, is the key to eternal life.

If you are a Protestant, of course, you don't believe in saints. You risk hellfire and damnation if you buy a Valentine's Day box of chocolates or allow your children to share Valentine's cards at school with their classmates.

If your Protestant Sunday School class even mentions Valentine's Day, Martin Luther will spin in his grave.

If your Roman Catholic Sunday School honors St. Valentine ... you are honoring a heretic ... worse, a Gnostic mystic.

If you are a pagan, perhaps you celebrate the Faunalia and the Lupercalia.

Regardless what you do ... you're going to Hades as far as many fundamentalist evangelical Christians are concerned.

So if you're going there anyway, you may as well try a little Valentine's Day Eve love magic. Here's what you do:

To dream of your lover, fasten a bay leaf to each corner of your pillow and one in the centre. Then when you lie in bed with your head on the pillow say seven times:

"Sweet angels in my dreams tonight
"My true love's face, reveal the sight
"Send me a Valentine imbued with love
"Both true and constant may he prove."

Count up to seven between each repetition of the spell ... and your dreams will be "ominous," as the Pagans and the Gnostics would say.

RAISE A GLASS TO THE DEAD DURING THE ANTINOUS FEAST OF CUPS

ANTINOUS traditionally is identified with Dionysus, god of ecstatic transcendence over death ... and 12th February is Choes Day or the Day of Cups, a feast dedicated to Dionysus. In ancient Greece the purpose of this festival was to become as drunk as possible as quickly as possible. Also, the spirits of the dead were said to be allowed out of Hades to visit those of their loved ones who were receptive to their spirits. So today is a good day to try spirit communication, or at least to light a candle and remember loved ones who have died ... or to raise a glass and simply enter an altered state.