ANTINOUS SHOOTS HIS ARROWS INTO YOUR HEART

THE PERSEID meteors streak across the heavens from late July to reach their peak in mid-August. Go outside on a clear night and you will see dozens of meteors.

They appear to originate in the Constellation of Antinous right in the middle of the July and August night sky — as though Antinous is shooting arrows at you.

The CONSTELLATION OF ANTINOUS is directly right overhead in mid-heaven at this time of year. Go outside about 10 p.m. when it is good and dark and look up. You will see the Milky Way bisecting the sky from north to south. Look for the "Summer Triangle" formed by the stars Vega, Deneb and Altair — they seem to straddle the brightest part of the Milky Way.

Altair is the head of Aquila the Eagle — and Antinous is directly under the Eagle. 

The PERSEIDS are a great opportunity for ANTINOUS STAR MAGIC. 

How you cast the wish is up to you. If you re a Druid, Wiccan or even just a lapsed Catholic, you know some simple rituals. You can write a wish on a piece of paper and then go outside and look up and, as you repeat the wish aloud while tearing up the piece of paper, a shooting star will catch your eye — and you hold the palm of your hand in front of your mouth and blow away the bits of paper.

The Shooting Star does the rest.

There are many, many other ways of working ANTINOUS STAR MAGIC. As always with such things, the "magic" is within your heart and soul. So there are no firm-and-fast rules ... it all depends on you. 

If you are an ARIES, you probably don't believe in such foolishness as "wishing on a star" — but you love to gamble, and so you'll make a wish. And when it comes true, you'll be all the happier.

If you are a TAURUS, you know precisely what you want to wish for, something you've wanted for a long, long time. A leatherette recliner, for example. You love the romance and beauty of a summer evening. You've brought along a lawn chair and a hamper full of food and drink. 

If you are a GEMINI, you will be out with friends and you will be talking, laughing or else texting and twittering so much that you may forget to look up and make a wish.

If you are a CANCER you will be overwhelmed by the sheer romantic beauty of it all. You love the cosy setting and being with close friends or family. When you look up, you will make a special wish upon a star in hopes of finding that certain someone. You may stop pouting about how that other special someone broke your heart.

If you are a LEO, you will be convinced that Antinous is indeed shooting these love arrows your way — just for your own personal benefit, of course! And you will make a very grand wish, and you can't wait to show off and brag when it comes true.

If you are a VIRGO, you don't believe in luck, only in thankless hard work, and so you doubt that any wishes ever come true. You are wary of lying back on the grass because you are worried that a tick might bite you and you would contract Lyme Disease. It would be just your luck — Besides, you know it's selfish to wish for things for yourself. And anyway, you think you don't deserve to have a wish come true. But you DO deserve it!

If you are a LIBRAN, you can't decide on just one wish. So you make two wishes (at least). You secretly know you deserve to have your wishes come true more than anybody else, but you are far too diplomatic and tactful ever to say so openly. Your wishes involve matters of love and grace and beauty. You publicly wish good luck to all the others and they all thank you and think you're so nice. Everyone thinks you're their friend and you encourage them in that. Of course, secretly you think they're all morons, and if their lame wishes come true and your lovely wish doesn't come true — then there's no justice in this world.

If you are a SCORPIO, then you will also wish for love — but skip the grace and beauty and get down to the hot and heavy. Something with gleaming black leather and chrome steel chains. That wish better come true, too. You demand obedience.

If you are a SAGITTARIUS, your wish comes true instantaneously — or perhaps has already come true before you actually made the wish. Sagittarians have a direct hotline to the stars, so you always get your wishes -- and don't mind letting others know about it, either.

If you are a CAPRICORN, you don't believe in such frivolous nonsense as wishing on a star. But you have a list of very practical things you would like to wish for. Good dividends on investments, for example. So there's no harm in making a wish. If it comes true, it was "coincidence".

If you are an AQUARIUS, you will be counting the shooting stars ("Wow, 60 in just one hour, that's one a minute!") and you will be estimating what speed they must be traveling to reach the burn-out temperature. You're indoors, of course, watching the spectacle on NASA's streaming video website. You wrote down a wish for a new iPhone on a slip of paper, but you forgot where you put it, maybe it's stuck to the cheese under the Domino's Pizza next to your keyboard. Who cares? There are so many shooting stars to count.

If you are a PISCES, you have made elaborate plans to position yourself on a hilltop where your friends the UFO space aliens will be sure to spot you in your glow-in-the-dark jump suit. Your wish is for the aliens to abduct you ... again.

Make a wish!

HERNESTUS  

ANTINOUS IN PHAETHON'S CHARIOT

WE CELEBRATE July 15th as the date of the triumphal arrival of Hadrian and Antinous at Tarsus in what was the biggest "celebrity arrival" in that city since Cleopatra had landed with her barge two centuries earlier.

Passing through the Cilician Gate, the famous mountain road used by Alexander to cross the Taurus Mountains, the Imperial court arrived at the city of Tarsus, the guardian of Asia Minor.

It was outside of Tarsus that Alexander battled against the Persian Army and defeated Darius, after which he soon took control of the vast Empire of the Persians, the traditional enemies of Greece. Tarsus was the crossroad between the Hellenic west and the Persian-Phoenician East.

The people of Tarsus were rapturous and espcially adored Antinous, according to Antinous authority Royston Lambert, who writes:

"Tarsus added Adriana to its name, provided a splendid festival and seems to have taken very special note of Antinous."

It was here that Hadrian and Antinous first encountered the devotion that the Phoenicians and Canaanites held for the Sun God, whom they called El, Baal, or Elagabal.

The Greeks called the deity who was the orb, heat and light of the Sun, Helios, and he was pictured riding a chariot pulled by burning horses, who made their way across the sky.

Phaethon was the son of Helios, and he one day tried to drive his father's chariot but lost control, so that the sun moved erratically out of its course and scorched Ethiopia. Zeus struck Phaethon down before he could do further damage.

Flamen Antonius Subia explains the parallels:

"So it is that Antinous, on his journey towards Ethiopia, would find himself unable to control the mighty horses that pulled Hadrian's chariot, and would be struck down by the jealous Sun. We pray to Father Helios of Tarsus on this day."

KARL HEINRICH ULRICHS SAINT OF ANTINOUS

ON JULY 14 the Religion of Antinous honors Saint Karl Heinrich Ulrichs, the world's first gay activist, who lobbied governments 100 years before Stonewall for repeal of anti-gay laws, and who was also Chief Priest of Antinous worldwide in the latter half of the 19th Century.

Even before the term "homosexuality" had been coined, Ulrichs came out to his friends and families and proclaimed in 1864 that he was a "Uranian" — or "Urning" in his native German — and thenceforth waged a one-man campaign for gay rights in Germany.

Sanctus Carolus Henricus Ulrichs, Chief Priest of Antinous in the 2nd half of the 19th Century (worldwide!) wrote incredibly long poems — nearly in epic form — about Hadrian and Antinous.

He wrote a manuscript for a mammoth scientific work on Antinous in history, art, coins and his influence on ancient and modern culture. The manuscript was confiscated and destroyed in a police raid.

As part of his gay-rights lobbying effort, he wrote dozens of pamphlets with titles such as "Researches on the Riddle of Man-Manly Love" aimed at dispelling homophobic myths about same-sex love.

Late in life Ulrichs wrote: "Until my dying day I will look back with pride that I found the courage to come face to face in battle against the spectre which for time immemorial has been injecting poison into me and into men of my nature. Many have been driven to suicide because all their happiness in life was tainted. Indeed, I am proud that I found the courage to deal the initial blow to the hydra of public contempt."

Forgotten for many years, Ulrichs is now becoming something of a cult figure in Europe. There are streets named for him in the German cities of Munich, Bremen and Hanover. His birthday (August 28th, 1825) is marked each year by a lively street party and poetry reading at Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Square in Munich.

The International Lesbian and Gay Law Association presents an annual Karl Heinrich Ulrichs Award in his memory. He died on July 14th, 1895, in L'Aquila, Italy.

PRIEST HERNESTUS UNVEILS THE ANTINOUS MOON MAGIC BEADS

THERE are Catholic rosary beads, Eastern Orthodox beads, Swedish Lutheran Frälserkransen beads, Islamic prayer beads, Buddhist meditation beads, Hindu japa mala beads and even Wiccan prayer beads ... now several adherents of Antinous are designing prayer beads.

Earlier we unveiled the FLAMEN ANTONIUS SUBIA PRAYER BEADS.

Today we show you the beads designed by Priest Hernestus ... his "Antinous Moon Magic" beads.

They consist of 52 beads symbolizing the 52 primary annual lunar phases, each of which represents a specific archetypal spirit in Antinous Moon Magic. 

In addition, there are some 30 additional beads representing various major "Saints of Antinous," "Blessed Souls of Antinous" and also what Hernestus calls his "Sorgenkinder" (German for "special needs children") ... beads for persons or situations which require urgent spiritual attention.

The beads have a very Egyptian flavor, reflecting the mysteries of the Land of the Nile where Antinous died and was deified. The strand has beads of quartz crystal, amber, carneol, turquoise and red-green glass.

A gold filigree Egyptian ankh with six semi-precious gemstones dangles from the keystone bead at the end of the strand ... a bead which Hernestus calls the "Rekhenef" bead symbolizing the KA of the prayer beads.

Each bead represents a particular lunar phase of the year or saint or individual person/situation. 

The strand is over three feet long ... nearly one meter long. 

The length means that it variously can be worn around the neck during most hours of the day or wrapped around the wrist during intensive prayer or spell work.

"During the cycle of a lunar phase, of course, I meditate on that particular moon," says Priest Hernestus. 

"But the whole point of Antinous Moon Magic is to be able to call down the power of Antinous the Moon God at any time of the lunar year."

He explains, "So, for example, if someone consults me about asking their boss for a pay increase, I focus my attention on the 'Merchant Moon' representing the employer, and the 'Denarius Moon' for money as well as a special bead representing that person asking for a pay hike."

He says it does not matter that the Merchant Moon and Denarius Moon are lunar phases which occur at two totally different times of the year.

"Antinous Moon Magic exists beyond linear time. Antinous himself dwells in the Egyptian occult concept of SEP TEPY ... a state beyond Time and Space in which the universe is being created on a continual basis," Hernestus says. 

"The job of the magician-priest of Antinous, both in ancient times and now, has always been to enter into SEP TEPY and cast the prayer spell there."

He adds that the beads have a way of communicating special needs which require his attention.

"I wrap the beads around my wrist at random, paying no attention to the order of the beads," Hernestus. "Then during meditation, I look down and notice which bead or beads are right over my pulse on the underside of my wrist ... those beads indicate a person or situation that needs my attention."

He has found that the prayer beads can use this means to alert him to a person who is thinking of him or who is about to contact him very shortly. 

"I beads tell me a certain person is in trouble. So I consult the Antinous Oracle and go deep within myself to see what the specific situation is. Then when the person calls me, they are surprised to learn that I am already on top of their plight," he says.

"They seem to think I am psychic or something, but in fact, it is just the Antinous Moon Magic beads ... they really do work," he insists.

THESE SEVEN ANCIENT PRIESTS DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO ANTINOUS

IN many religions the number seven is sacred ... Christians honor the Seven Archangels … but (typically) apocryphal texts and regional denominations can't agree on the lists of seven. The big four are certain: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, but after that things get a bit iffy. 

Depending on which "church" is involved the seven may include: Raguel, Sariel, Baracael, Ieadiel, Sealtiel, Peliel, Gamael, Jerahmeel, Izidkiel, Hanael or Kepharel.

Oh and at least one list includes Lucifer, the fallen angel.

In Santeria Las Siete Potencias Africanas (Seven African Powers) are the best known and most powerful Orishas of the Yoruban pantheon. There are endless variations worldwide.

Many Protestants, of course, denounce all mention of angels, potencias or even saints as idolatrous, further confusing the situation for many modern seekers.

The Religion of Antinous has no "angels" (fallen or otherwise) in the Judeo/Islamic/Christian sense.

But the Romans depicted many ascendant souls as having wings and assisting in elevating mortal humans to attain celestial realms.

By sacred synchronicity, we know the names of Seven Ancient Priests of Antinous. They are:

JULIUS FIDUS AQUILA, Epistrategos and Architect of Antinoopolis.

ARISTOTIMOS, Priest of Delphi.

HOSTILIUS MARCELLUS, Priest of Corinth.

ISIDORUS DIDYMUS, Priest of Alexandria.

NICIAS, Priest of Rome.

PUBLIUS SUFENAS LUPERCUS, Fratriarch and Eunostos, Naples.

MARCUS DOMITIUS EUPHEMUS, Mysteriarch, Bithynion-Claudiopolis

There were many other priests, of course. But alas, their names went unrecorded.

We have no portraits of any of these Seven Ancient Priests. And their mortal appearance is of little importance.

Priest Hernestus wears prayer beads and a bracelet with seven charms and beads representing the Seven Ancient Priests. He prefers to think of them transcending Time and Space ... serving as mediators in modern guise for all of us.

Rather than worshiping mythical angelic beings, we honor these seven human beings of flesh and blood who really lived and who devoted their lives to Antinous. 

They were priests of Antinous ... we honor them ... men who lived and breathed and who remind us that angels come in many guises ... angels are all around us in our everyday lives.

THE WELL OF CASTALIA — HOW DELPHIC ANTINOUS CAN TEACH YOU TO TAME PEGASUS

ON JULY 11th each year, the Religion of Antinous takes a moment to ponder the esoteric reflections in the Well of Castalia at Delphi — where Antinous took a sacred bath, and where he was initiated into the Delphi Mystery Teachings.

It is also where one of the most mysterious and inspiring statues of Antinous was found.

The Well of Castalia is a fresh-water spring that flows from Mount Parnassus at Dephi, the sanctuary of Apollo. 

The Castalian Spring is located about 500 yards/meters from the Apollo Sanctuary itself. Busloads of tourists are whisked through the ruins of Delphi, but few ever stray away from their groups to wander off over to the spring site, which makes it an even more secluded and magical and mysterious place. 

It really is like stepping into the scene pictured here — Tarot Trump XVII "The Star" — the trump card which was inspired by the Well of Castalia. 

The spring was created when Pegasus, the winged horse, struck his hoof against a rock at the base of Mount Parnassus and water gushed forth, creating a wellspring of divine inspiration for the gods of Olympus. 

The name Castalia is derived from a Nymph named Castalia, a daughter of the river Achelous, who, when pursued by Apollo, threw herself in the spring that took her name. It was the most holy spring at Delphi and was said to be the place where Apollo and the Muses bathed. 

Pilgrims washed in the sacred water before visiting the Pythoness at the Delphic Oracle. According to Euripides, washing one's hair was sufficient for the average visitor, but persons who had transgressed more seriously against the Gods (he mentions habitual murderers as an example) had to strip off and wash themselves completely in the purifying waters.

The ancients believed the name Pegasus came from an even more ancient word meaning "wellspring of magical inspiration" and it was said that Pegasus was drinking from the Castalian Pool when Bellerophontes (or in later versions Perseus) sneaked up on him to harness Pegasus to do battle against fearful monsters.

In the Delphic Mystery Teachings,  the initiates were called upon to harness the magical inspiration of Pegasus for their own quest against the inner-demons of darkness towards spiritual enlightenment.


It was also said that the water of Castalia possessed the gift of prophecy, and any man who drank there would derive prophetic vision. Castalia is also a metaphor for the Well of Knowledge, and was said to be the fountain from which wisdom and learning poured from the heart of Apollo.

We know that Hadrian and Antinous visited this spot and it seems certain that Antinous purified himself in these waters — or at least washed his luxuriant hair.

An exquisite statue of Antinous was discovered at Delphi. The forearms had been broken off, but the ancient priests had lovingly buried the statue standing upright — which was the way it was found in the 19th Century, incredibly intact except for the missing forearms.

Alas, Antinous would drown in the similarly magical waters of the River Nile only a few scant months after visiting Delphi, during what we call the imperial "Three-Year Peregrination" — the wondrous and fateful final three-year Eastern Empire travels of Hadrian and Antinous. 

Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia explains why this special day, July 11th, is venerated by us Antinoians:

"We venerate the wisdom-gushing Well of Castalia on this day, half a year distant from the Well of Juturna, and bathe in preparation for the transition of the Peregrination year. We pray to Castalia to sweeten our tongue, as Antinous once bathed there, exposing the pure beauty of his flesh to the cold, fresh-gushing pool that imparts inspiration of the mind. In reverence of the wisdom and poetic elegance  of Antinous, we bathe in our own Fountains of Castalia."

The imagery of this purifying plunge into the magically inspiring waters of the Castalian Well has been used throughout history — even adorning the walls of early Christian churches, as seen in the mosaic (above) found in Libya. 

The imagery lives vibrantly in the XVIIth Greater Trump in the Tarot as The Star.

Open your Mind and your Heart to the Mystery Teachings of Delphi. Permit yourself to be carried aloft upon the magical wings of Pegasus, whose name means "wellspring of magical inspiration". Become one with Antinous through the wonder of HOMOTHEOSIS and allow yourself to conquer your demons and to soar to glory amongst the stars.

THE DAY HADRIAN DIED

ON JULY 10th the Religion of Antinous commemorates the Apotheosis of Hadrian. After a prolonged illness, at Baiae, on the Bay of Naples, Hadrian died on July 10, 138. 

His ashes were placed in the mausoleum on the bank of the Tibur that is now called Castel Sant'Angelo.

After the death of the gentle Antinous, Hadrian became embittered and mistrustful, capricious and cruel. 

When Hadrian died, the Senate wished to condemn his memory for atrocities against them during his final years. 

But his successor, Antoninus Pius, persuaded them to declare Hadrian a God. 

A temple was built for him known as the Hadrianeum on the Campus Marius, the remains of which are now part of the Roman Stock Exchange.

Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia explains:

"Hadrian the God is venerated as the manifestation of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Earth, the ruler and guiding force behind the Antonine Dynasty, the most sacred family of emperors, whose reign is the Golden Age of Rome, because of the peace and prosperity that it maintained, which was the result of the wisdom of Hadrian's far-sighted and divine plan stretching out over the world. We worship and adore Hadrian the God, Savior of the Cosmos."