WEREWOLVES WERE WELL-KNOWN IN THE DAYS OF ANTINOUS

FEBRUARY 6th is National Werewolf Day, when we remember that even a man who is pure in heart ... and who says his prayers by night ... can become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms ... and the Moon is full and bright.

It is difficult to say precisely when the story of the werewolf first developed, but wolf-men were well-known in Greek and Roman times. 

The twins Romulus and Remus had been suckled by a she-wolf, and so the idea of the human/wolf hybrid was ingrained in the Roman psyche from an early date.

Shape-shifters were quite common in Greek and Roman mythology.

One of the very earliest depictions of a wolf-man is on an Etruscan Black Figure Plate from the 5th Century BC with decoration representing Hercules pursuing the centaur Nessos in the presence of Deianira ... and at center a wolf-man.

Usually, the metamorphosis from human to animal form often occurred as a direct result of divine punishment ... the gods condemning an individual on the basis of pride, boastfulness or blasphemy.

Pliny the Elder described the lycanthropic shape shifting of a man into a wolf by the gods following an act of cannibalism.

Early in the 1st Century AD, the Roman poet Ovid wrote "Metamorphoses," in which which King Lycaon (from whom we get the term "Lycanthrope") offended the gods by serving them human flesh.

Wanting to see if Zeus/Jupiter was truly omniscient, he slaughtered men and served them for dinner.

In return, Zeus turned Lycaon into a man-wolf and killed his 50 sons with lightning bolts. He is shown here holding a wicked meat axe.

Forget the Hollywood full-moon myths ... a werewolf can change at any time ... if the wolf-man has the right clothes! Some ancient myths speak of cloaks or belts which enable a human to become a wolf.

In the "Satyricon," Petronius writes of such a transformation: "And when I looked for him ... I was appalled to see he had stripped off naked and placed his queer garments by the roadside ... whereupon he walked in a circle round the heap of clothes, urinating a protective ring about them upon the ground ... and then ... as I watched in dread ... he transformed into a wolf!"

Emperor Hadrian had a fascination for magic and strange customs ... he must have told Antinous many weird bedtime tales of uncanny things he had heard in his travels.

ANTINOUS HOLDS YOU IN HIS HEART AND SENDS YOU LOVING SUPPORT

MILLIONS of LGBTIQ people are feeling angry, depressed, isolated, frightened and abandoned in these troubled days.

Remember always that #Antinous holds you in his heart ... Antinous sends gratitude and love to you for all you do and for being you. 

Here are a few survival tips:

- If you are feeling depressed, isolated, scared, remember that you aren't alone. Reach out for support. If you don't know who can support you, send priests of Antinous a message. We are here and can also refer you to other places. 

- Avoid burnout while resisting. Find a sustainable way to resist. Sign a petition, write a letter, go to a demonstration, donate money if you can, reach out and talk to people. Do what you can and remember that this will be a long struggle. Keep yourself strong. 

- Act locally ... do something concrete to help people who are struggling right now. Stay connected to community. 

- Practice self care. Do things that keep you grounded, strong, and healthy.

- Limit consumption of depressing news and posts. Stay informed, but don't overdo it. 

- Remember the beautiful things in life. Don't ignore what is hard. Just remind yourself that there is much beauty and much love in the world. 

Wherever you are, whatever woes beset you, take heart because #Antinous promises that #LoveWins! #LoveAlwaysWins. 

THE RIDDLE OF THE ROMAN DODECAHEDRON IS UNRAVELED AT LAST BY NIMBLE FINGERS

MORE than 100 of these strange objects are known to exist, and their purpose remains a puzzling mystery that has baffled archaeologists since their first discovery.

All throughout Europe, small geometric objects known as Roman dodecahedrons have been recovered. 

As far north as Hadrian's Wall, and further south toward the Mediterranean, the dodecahedrons, usually made of bronze or stone, are seldom larger than about eight to ten centimeters in size. 

So what was their purpose?

No written records mention them, and experts have come up with many suggestions.

They could have been gaming pieces or weapons or even impediments strewn ahead of invading armies to cripple cavalry horses.

Others have speculated that they may hold religious or cultural significance, and some have gone so far as to presume they could have been useful in determining the proper times for planting various crops throughout the year.

But was there a simpler and more practical use … a use that was literally at our fingertips?

And for one man, this kind of practical thinking led him to finding a unique use for the Roman dodecahedrons… as well as a possible solution to their creation in ancient times.

In the video below, YouTube user Martin Hallett offers his own thoughts about what the Roman dodecahedrons might have been used for, demonstrating a fascinating potential solution to their design … and an interesting, but creative outcome as well.

Using a 3D printer, he had a scale replica of one of the dodecahedrons made, and then went to work experimenting… with knitting yarn.

His breakthrough came when he realized the holes in the dodecahedron always come in five different sizes ... just as human fingers always come in five different sizes. 

He deduced that these strange objects must have served some practical purpose related to fingers.

And the answer was indeed right at his fingertips ….

WAS THIS LAPTOP TAKEN BACK IN TIME? OR IS IT JUST AN ANCIENT GREEK TABLET?

ANTINOUS and Hadrian visited the Oracle of Delphi, which connected priests with super natural beings who passed along advanced technology and information.

NOW conspiracy theorists claim that is how a modern-day laptop ended up in a Greek sculpture from 100 BC.

But historians say the sculpture is just a deceased woman "touching the lid of a shallow chest".

"I am not saying that this is depicting an ancient laptop computer,"  StillSpeakingOut, conspiracy theorist, said in a video he released on YouTube.

"But when I look at the sculpture I can't help but think about the Oracle of Delphi, which was supposed to allow the priests to connect with the gods to retrieve advanced information and various aspects."

The sculpture, "Grave Naiskos of an Enthroned Woman with an Attendant" is on display at The J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, California.

"Lounging in a cushion armchair, a woman reaches out to touch the lid of a shallow chest held by a servant girl on this funerary," reads the historian's description.

The concept of this image has been a part of Greek funerary art for centuries and most likely pertains to the hope they that will still have the same earthly pleasures in the afterlife.

It depicts an object that closely resembles a modern laptop or handheld device with USB ports, explained StillSpeakingOut.

Another picture taken by a tourist, we see the object is wide but the structure is too narrow to be a jewelry box and it doesn't match the depictions of the mythical Pandora Box either, he explained.

The myth says the Oracle of Delphi would allow priests to connect with the gods, aliens or time travelers who would share 'advanced information and high-tech devices.

Those who don’t believe in aliens or time travel, say the object is a wax tablet that ancient Greeks used for writing with a stylus or pen, reported Inquisitr.

But paranormal investigators argue that the "wax tablet" shown in the funerary relief sculpture does not resemble any other wax tablets seen in Greek art.

StillSpeakingOut says the object shown etched in the sculpture is much thinner than the wax tablets and that the woman isn't holding stylus, also seen in Greek art with individuals using the wax tablet.

Believers do not see the box as a jewel box or a wax tablet, but a modern-day electronic laptop computer with USB ports on the side, which have never been seen in other examples of jewel boxes or wax tablets.

The woman's eyes are focused on the inner lid of the object, the same location of a laptop monitor, conspiracy theorists claim.

And even go so far to argue that the way her fingers are touching the lid looks like she is using a touchscreen device.

"I can't help but think that Erich von Däniken had been right all this time and that most of these myths of magical artifacts given by the gods to a very restricted group of individuals in ancient civilizations were high-tech devices similar to what we have today," said StillSpeakingOut.

ANTONIUS SUBIA'S STATEMENT OF FAITH

ANTINOUS AND THE ZOROASTRIAN ORIGINS OF GROUNDHOG DAY

ON February 2nd we remember the travels of Hadrian and the Blessed Boy throughout the Eastern Empire where they encountered ancient rituals of greeting the newborn sun which endure to this day ... culminating in the ridiculous folk holiday known as Groundhog Day.

This is the farthest East that Antinous was ever to travel and is observed here in conjunction with Imbolc, also known as Candlemas (Dia de la Candelaria), a Festival of Newborn Light. 

In many countries today, February 2nd is the day when people take down their Christmas decorations.

This is the day when Christmas trees are removed from front rooms after having been set up on Christmas Eve.

It is an odd phenomenon that, in the English-speaking world, people put up Christmas trees about a month PRIOR to Christmas and then take them down right after the Big Day.

But in other cultures, trees go up on Christmas Eve and decorate living rooms for weeks AFTER Christmas.

Thus Imbolc/Candlemas is an arcane and largely forgotten non-event in the English-speaking world. 

Yet in fact, it is the evening when the God of Light becomes manifest in the world ... part of an ancient celebration that goes way  back before Christianity and even before Celtic tradition.

Hadrian and Antinous got a first-hand glimpse of these celebrations which, even in their time, were truly very ancient.

Hadrian, who was fascinated with ancient cultures, was intrigued by the Armenians, which explains why he made this particular side trip over the mountains in the dead of winter.

On February 2nd, we invite you to turn out the lights in your home and light a simple beeswax candle symbolizing the end of the Northern Hemisphere's Winter Festivals (Halloween through Christmas) and the beginning of the Spring Festivals of New Birth and New Light. In fact, this is the start of the Carnival season.  And, indeed, in some years Mardi Gras occurs in early February. And even in years when Carnival starts later, this night is always considered party night by those people who design and make Mardi Gras floats and costumes ... in Rio and in New Orleans and in Venice, Carnival aficionados will by partying all night tonight.
	And the following morning ... bright and early on February 2nd ... people in another obscure part of the globe will be watching for a Groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil to emerge from his burrow to catch a glimpse of the God of Light.
	These seemingly disparate customs are all remnants of a religious festival so very ancient that it was archaic even in the time of Hadrian and Nations. Today it is little more than a day to pack away ornaments or a day to get drunk at a pre-Carnival party.  It is scarcely more than media hype surrounding a mammal held aloft at dawn by Pennsylvania Dutch descendants of immigrants from Central Europe.  And it is a day when garbage men throughout Europe stagger under the weight of dried-out old Christmas trees. But if you turn out the lights and leave just one simple candle burning brightly in the darkness … you may just catch a glimpse of the God of Light. That is what Hadrian and Antonius were hoping to catch a glimpse of on this day so many centuries ago.

ANTINOUS ON MOUNT IDA WHENCE GANYMEDE WAS SWEPT ALOFT

ON February 1st the Religion of Antinous commemorates the ascension of Antinous to the summit of Mount Ida.

Landing in Asia Minor in early 129 AD from Eleusis, Hadrian and Antinous stopped at Troy, visiting the grave of Achilles, and then scaled sacred Mount Ida, home of the Great Mother of the Gods, and spot where Phrygian Prince Ganymede was taken up by Zeus to be his immortal lover.

Mount Ida is the most sacred of three mountains in Phrygia including Didymus, and Agdistis, named for Zeus's hermaphroditic offspring Agdistis whose powers so frightened the gods that they chopped off her male genitals.

The mountain was famous for its sibylline prophecies, and its mysterious springs and waterfalls are still a place of mystery.

From the summit of Mount Ida, called Kaz Daglari today, Antinous looked down over the plain of Illium, and across the land of his Phrygian ancestors.

Flamen ANTONIUS SUBIA has pointed out that Mount Ida is sacred to an aspect of the Great Mother of the Gods known as Agdistis, who was served by drag queen priests.

Antonius has equated her also with the Mexican-American folk saint La Santisima Muerte … "Most Holy Death"

Antonius has said: "La Santisima Muerte is the Dark Lady...Proserpina and Magna Mater all at once...she is all regarded as the darkside f the Virgin Mary.  Her cult is spreading all over the US right now ... wherever there are Mexicans ... in little shrines are cropping up with this skull faced lady. Her religion and the Religion of Antinous are two new (ancient) faiths that are resurfacing. .. the connection to Magna Mater and Antnous makes me feel that Our Lady Death and Our Lord Antinous are part of a similar resurgence."

Santa Muerte is increasingly popular amongst LGBTI people, including worshipers at the TEMPLO DE ANTINOO MÉXICO who created this exquisite papier-maché figure of her. 

She is garbed in a gay wedding dress on her Holy Night October 31st. She is often offered cigar smoke rather than incense...she is also fond of Tequila and Roses.

The ascent up Mount Ida must have been spooky and awe-inspiring, with transgender priests accompanying them amongst clouds of incense and much wailing and chanting.

May Our Lady Most Holy Death watch over you!