ANTONINUS PIUS, THE ROMAN EMPEROR WHO FULFILLED HADRIAN'S DREAMS

AT the end of February and beginning of March the Religion of Antinous marks Three Holy Days involving the Divine Antoninus Pius.

On February 28th we celebrate the Adoption of Antoninus Pius by Hadrian. And on March 1st we commemorate the Apotheosis of Antoninus Pius . Also on March 1st, we celebrate the Ascension of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.

After the death of Aelius Caesar, Hadrian adopted Antoninus, imposing on him the condition that he adopt two sons, Lucius Verus and Marcus Antoninus to be his successors. Antoninus supported the dying Hadrian for the remainder of his years, and obeyed his commands even after his death. For this Antoninus is called Pius.

As the Fates would have it, March 1st is the date when Antoninus Pius died in 161 AD after 23 years as Emperor. His rule is marked by an almost unbroken period of peace and tranquility. The golden era of Rome, known as the Age of the Antonines, takes its name from Antoninus, because every emperor afterward took up his name as an emblem of glory. Antoninus is the emperor most responsible for the perpetuation of the Religion of Antinous.

He had served as Proconsul of Asia Minor under Hadrian from 130 to 135, while the Religion of Antinous was being formed, and it was during his reign that construction of the Sacred City of Antinoopolis was completed.

The Senate deified Antoninus Pius shortly after his death. The base of the column erected in his honor, shows Antoninus Pius and his wife Faustina the elder, rising up to heaven. They are ascending upon the wings of an Aeon, with Mother Rome on one side, and a beautiful reclining male figure on the other who grasps an obelisk. We believe this figure to be Antinous, guardian spirit of the Age of the Antonines.

Upon the occasion of the Death and Apotheosis of Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus became co-Emperors, both surnamed Antoninus, a name which the ancient Romans equate with inestimable glory.

Marcus being the elder and wiser, was given the title Augustus, while Lucius took the name Caesar. They remained cordial to one another though their vastly different characters were always a cause of discord, though never of rivalry or outright animosity. They were a harmonious and cooperative pair of rulers, the only example of effective imperial brotherhood in the long history of Rome.

PORTAL TO ANOTHER DIMENSION IN THE MIDDLE OF MODERN-DAY ROME

IN a quiet corner of a shady plaza in the middle of Rome stands an ages old portal to another dimension.

The "Magical Doorway" (Porta Alchemica) is all that remains of a 17th Century alchemical laboratory which drew scientists from across Europe ... and which drew the wrath of the Inquisition.

The Alchemy Gate or Magic Portal is a landmark from the Villa Palombara  built in 1680 by Massimiliano Palombara marquis of Pietraforte on the Esquiline Hill.

The Porta Alchemica is the only survivor of the five gates of the villa Palombara. 

There was a lost door on the opposite side dating from 1680 and four other lost inscriptions on the walls of the mansion inside the villa. 

The marquis was fascinated by occult and esoteric sciences. His wealth and social position enabled him to act as a patron to a number of alchemists. 

In his villa he also held meetings, attended by other important personages who shared his interests, such as the Swedish Queen Christina, who lived in Rome after having abdicated, the distinguished astronomer Domenico Cassini, the renowned scholar Father Athanasius Kircher, and others.

Villa Palombara had a small detached outbuilding, probably a laboratory, where the occult meetings and the alchemic experiments were secretly held, and occult rituals were performed.

A young doctor and alchemist from Milan named Giuseppe Borri, who had been expelled from the Jesuit college for delving into the occult, came to Rome and joined the circle of Villa Palombara.

A legend says that Borri, sponsored by the marquis, was successful in transforming lead into gold ... creating the Philosopher's Stone of transformational magic. 

But one night he suddenly fled - this really happened, after being stalked by the pope's Inquisition - and left behind a number of papers inscribed with complicated formulae which nobody was able to decipher. 

So Massimiliano Palombara had them inscribed on the doorways of his laboratory.

Another version of the legend says that an occultist calling himself Antimony (an alchemical element whose symbol adorns the portal lentil) conducted experiments at the villa ... and vanished through the doorway one night ... disappearing into a magical dimension ... leaving behind only a solid-gold apple as proof that he could transform matter into gold.

Unfortunately Villa Palombara was completely demolished in the second half of the 1800s, when the new district was built. 

The other doorways were lost ... along with their alchemical formulae.

On both sides of the surviving portal stand two bearded and bandied-legged statues ... they are statues of the Egyptian deity BES which once stood at a Temple of Isis and Serapis in Ancient Rome.

Knowledge of the Egyptian hieroglyphs had long since been lost when the portal was built.

The marquis could not have known that BES was a worshiped by the Egyptians not only as a protective deity ... but also as a protector of Egyptian SEM magician-priests.

Or perhaps the marquis was very well aware of this ....

ON THE FEAST DAY OF HYGEIA WE HONOR OUR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

THE 26th of February is the Feast Day of Hygeia. A Greek goddess, she is one of the daughters of Aesculapius (Aeskelapios), the god of healing. Her symbols are a water basin and a snake. Hygeia's name means "wholeness" and she is concerned with maintaining the wholeness of the body thus ensuring a long and healthy life. She is goddess of cleanliness, which give us the words "hygiene" and "hygienic". Later she became protectoress not only of the body, but also our environment, the way we live and keep our home clean to help ensure continued health. Offer her pure water and healing incenses such as white sage and lavender.

26 de fevereiro é o dia da festa de Hygeia . A deusa grega , ela é uma das filhas de Esculápio ( Aeskelapios ) , o deus da cura . Seus símbolos são uma bacia de água e uma cobra. O nome de Hygeia significa "totalidade " e ela está preocupada com a manutenção da integridade do corpo garantindo assim uma vida longa e saudável. Ela é a deusa da limpeza, que nos dão a palavra "higiene " . Mais tarde ela se tornou protetora não só do corpo, mas também o nosso ambiente , a nossa maneira de viver e manter nossa casa limpa para ajudar a garantir a saúde continuada. Oferecer-lhe água pura e cura incensa tais como sage branco e lavanda.

26 de febrero es el día de la Fiesta de Hygeia . Una diosa griega , que es una de las hijas de Esculapio ( Aeskelapios ) , el dios de la curación . Sus símbolos son un depósito de agua y una serpiente . El nombre de hygeia significa "totalidad " y que tiene que ver con el mantenimiento de la integridad del cuerpo garantizando así una vida larga y saludable . Ella es la diosa de la limpieza , que nos dan la palabra "higiene " . Más tarde se convirtió en protectora no sólo del cuerpo , sino también el medio ambiente , la forma en que vivimos y mantener nuestra casa limpia para ayudar a asegurar la salud continua . Ofrécele agua pura y la curación inciensos tales como salvia blanca y lavanda .

STEVEN KILGORE'S PILGRIMAGE TO ROME FOR THE HOLLYWOOD TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS

Tiber I went

 Homage to the Emperor God

Father of us all

Ghost of Castle San Angelo

Guardian of Rome

Sacred pathways

Pilgrims triangle

Ara Pacis

 Pantheon

Mausoleo di Adriano

Hadrian everywhere

Antinoo in the air

Amongst the trees

Smiling round every corner

Under transcendental stars

Antinoo Osiris watch's

Echoing the spirit of priest gone

Shaven heads crowned with garlands

No longer seen

Forever felt

Hiding in plain sight

Sacred Obelisk

Watcher of Rome

Sacred grove

Light of the world

Celestial river

Hadrians Rome

STEPHANOS KILGORE
KNIGHT OF ANTINOUS

THIS ANTINOUS FIREPLACE FRIEZE GUARANTEED TO KEEP YOU WARM AND COZY

JUST what you need for your Victorian fireplace mantelpiece ... a 19th Century carved wood Grand Tour mantel frieze decoration ... featuring the face of Antinous as Osiris.

The Portugal-based seller on eBay describes it thusly:

A fantastic carved wood fireplace decoration after an original design by Thomas Hope. The Greek youth Antinous.

It dates from the early 19th Century, circa 1820. I think the actual carving of the head is lime wood although the most of the bracket is pine.

English Neo Classical Countryhouse fireplace decoration.

Size 20 x 10 x 7cm.

The seller is willing to ship it worldwide. Check it out HERE. 

THE 'ANTINOUS BOY MADE GOD' EXHIBITION AT OXFORD'S ASHMOLEAN MUSEUMBy Priest Martin Campbell

Hopefully many of you are aware that there is currently an exhibition about Antinous at a museum in Oxford, England. 

As the UK priest it was my duty to attend, so I did so yesterday. 

Most, but not all, of the items were plaster-casts of the originals but they were excellent. 

The year 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK.

As part of the national celebrations of this the Ashmoleon Museum has put on two exhibitions, one about LGBT history and one about Antinous.

The Antinous, Boy Made God exhibition runs through 24 February 2019.

It is worth seeing if you are in the UK and anywhere near the beautiful city of Oxford. It is housed at the venerable Ashmoleon Museum in the heart of the old city with its magnificent old buildings and universities.

I have taken many photos so that those who cannot attend it will be able to enjoy it (see the pictures below). 

Love and Light

MARTIN

BRAZILIAN GAY ICON ELKE MARAVILHA IS A SAINT OF ANTINOUS

WE honour the Russian-born Brazilian drag artiste extraordinaire  ELKE MARAVILHA as a saint of Antinous.

She was born 22 February 1945 and died 16 August 2016 at age 71.

Our 2014 Antinoeiad chamption PIETRO ADJANO of Brazil nominated Elke to become a SAINT OF ANTINOUS.

Pietro says: "She was an actress, musical artist, TV star, model, and precursor of an innovative, bold and unique style, who opened the possibilities of aesthetic and behavioral path wherever she went and appeared. 

Elke was an artistic personality whose charisma provoked strong popular impact, both the image and the message of joy, intelligence and irreverence. Because of this, she already attained legendary status Carmen Miranda and Arthur Bispo do Rosário.

Merging exoticism, mysticism, joy, madness and deep knowledge of human, her infectious joy inspired hope. Half a century ago she emerged as a firebrand of rebellion and liberation.

Elke Maravilha was a work of art in constant metamorphosis and as an artist she pursued the best of artistic paths: She gambled and bet on the possible dream.

Teacher, translator and interpreter of foreign languages, including Latin, she was the youngest French teacher of the French Alliance and the English Cultural Union Brazil - United States.

She said:

'They ask me how I created this style, this look that characterizes me. I say always sought compose this way, of course it was not as now, because today it is all inclusive, with come time finding me more inside and putting what I find out. I often say that I was always like that, only with time I'm getting worse! In fact, always been a bit different train, you know? As a teenager I decided to tear the clothes, disheveled hair, exaggerated makeup on and go out on the street... took me to spit in the face. But it was good because I understood the situation as if they were putting me to the test. Perhaps if my style was not really my inner reality, I would have gone back. But I knew he would never back down. I never wanted to harm anyone! What I want is to play, show me, communicate. "

"I want to live together! Great art is not living, is live together!'

I Pietro Adjano hereby nominate Elke Maravilha to become a saint of Antinous!"

Elke Maravilha - Элке Георгевна Груннупп (1945 - 2016).

...atriz, intérprete musical, apresentadora, modelo. Precursora de um estilo inovador, ousado e único, vem abrindo as possibilidades de caminho estético e comportamental por onde passa e aparece. Elke é uma personalidade artística cujo carisma provoca forte impacto popular, tanto na imagem como na mensagem de alegria, inteligência e irreverência. Devido a isto, já faz parte do imaginário popular brasileiro e pode perfilar com mitos contemporâneos como Carmem Miranda e Artur Bispo do Rosário.

Mesclando exotismo, misticismo, alegria, loucura e profundo conhecimento do humano, sua vibração contagiante a faz mensageira de utopias e portadora de esperanças.

Dra. Nise da Silveira, criadora do Museu de Imagens do Inconsciente, afirmava que Elke é uma Sacerdotisa Dionisíaca, e que, com tal, ilumina caminhos e aquece corações.

Já na década de 60 despontou como símbolo de transgressão e liberação. Visionária como só os que assumem seu delírio, intuiu o movimento holístico e vem exercendo-o tanto em suas relações pessoais como em sua comunicação com o mundo.

Elke Maravilha é uma obra de arte em constante metamorfose e como artista vem trilhando o melhor dos caminhos da arte: Ela apostou e aposta no sonho possível.

Professora, tradutora e intérprete de línguas estrangeiras, incluindo Latim. Foi a mais jovem professora de francês da Aliança Francesa e de inglês na União Cultural Brasil – Estados Unidos;
“Perguntam-me como criei este estilo, este visual que me caracteriza. Digo que sempre busquei compor este jeito, claro que não era assim como agora, pois hoje a coisa é mais abrangente, com o tempo venho me descobrindo muito mais por dentro e colocando o que descubro para fora. Costumo dizer que sempre fui assim, só que com o tempo estou piorando! Na realidade, sempre fui um trem meio diferente, sabe? Ainda adolescente resolvi rasgar a roupa, desgrenhei o cabelo, exagerei na maquiagem e sai na rua... Levei até cuspida na cara. Mas foi bom porque entendi aquela situação como se estivessem colocando-me em teste. Talvez, se meu estilo não fosse verdadeiramente minha realidade interior, eu teria voltado atrás. Mas sabia que nunca iria recuar. Eu nunca quis agredir ninguém! O que eu quero é brincar, me mostrar, me comunicar”.

“Eu quero é conviver! A grande arte não é viver, é conviver"!

BRONZE STATUETTE OF ANTINOUS DISCOVERED IN BRITAIN

THIS exquisite bronze statuette of Antinous recently sold at auction for an undisclosed sum to an Antinomaniac collector in Europe.

Its provenance is Britannia in the 1st Century AD. A metal detectorist found it in a field in Norfolk England several years ago.

The 20cm (8 inch) statuette is in near mint condition.

It is identified as Antinous because of the ubiquitous lotus blossom on the top of his head. Only Antinous wears this remarkable attribute.

The poet Pancratus says that, when Hadrian and Antinous slew a man-eating lion in the western desert of Egypt, rosy lotus blossoms sprang forth from the soil where droplets of the lion's blood splattered on the ground.

Thus the rosy lotus (pink waterlily) has always been associated with Antinous and such blossoms were affixed to the brow of his statues in ancient times.

His brow is also adorned with the topknot of Apollo ... a deity with him Antinous was often associated in ancient times.


In his left hand, Antinous carries a highly detailed victory wreath.

In his right hand, Antinous is holding a long-necked bird by its feet ... a bird resembling a cormorant.

The cormorant is an aquatic bird native to many parts of the world including the Nile Valley and parts of Britain.

Cormorants are distinctive for their long necks and for their habit of holding their wings outspread to dry their flight feathers after diving into water in search of fish.

The bird held by this little bronze Antinous has a long neck and outspread wings like a cormorant.

Antonius Subia, founder of our modern-day religion of Antinous, says: 

"The cormorant holds a special place in our faith because it may have been the only creature to have witnessed what happened to Antinous on that fateful day in October 130 AD when he died in the Nile."

High Priest Antonius explains that other birds were either on land or in the air ... like the ibis ... or else they were on the water's surface ... like ducks.

But only the cormorant had the ability to plunge into the depths of the Nile to witness the fate of Antinous.

As the curly-haired head of Antinous vanished beneath the waves, only the cormorant would have been able to dive into the Nile and seize his soul and escort it through the Underworld back into the heavens ... and soar with it towards the sun.

In one hand, Antinous holds the bird which witnessed his deification whilst, in the other hand, he holds the wreath of victory over death.

WE KNOW ABOUT THE VESUVIUS VICTIMS BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO ESCAPED?

EVERYONE knows about the victims of Pompeii's Vesuvius eruption ... whose bodies were immortalized as plaster casts.

But what about the thousands of residents who successfully fled the doomed city? What happened to them?

Now historian Steven Tuck of Miami University says he has created a database of Roman last names which has helped him to track down the refugees from the disaster of 79 AD.

His database has led him to match up records from Pompeii and Herculaneum with records from the parts of Italy unaffected by the destructive power of Vesuvius. 

Tuck's goal in doing this work was not just to identify refugees but also "to draw conclusions about who survived the eruption, where they relocated, why they went to certain communities, and what this pattern tells us about how the ancient Roman world worked socially, economically, and politically."

In order to find refugees, Tuck needed to investigate inscriptions on public buildings and tombstones, because historical records only emphasized the physical damage of disasters.

"I looked for names at Pompeii that were prominent in the later years of the city and inscriptions that were as near as possible post-80 AD in the 'refuge communities'" elsewhere in Italy, Tuck explains.

As an example, there are six people from the family Caninia known from 2nd Century AD inscriptions at Neapolis (modern Naples).

That last name appears earlier at Herculaneum but essentially nowhere else, suggesting the family moved because of Vesuvius.

Tuck makes an even stronger connection, though, for a particular member of this family: Marcus Caninius Botrio, whose name is recorded in the Album of Herculaneum.

It is likely that Botrio "is the best surviving evidence of a specific individual from Herculaneum who resettled at Neapolis as a refugee, and then died there as attested by his tomb inscription," Tuck notes.

Another example Tuck presents comes from Roman Dacia, an area of the Empire that is now Romania and Serbia.

On a tombstone there dated to 87 AD, an inscription lists one Cornelius Fuscus, who was a citizen at Pompeii, lived at Neapolis, and was stationed in Dacia as a praetorian prefect who led five legions in Domitian's war. Fuscus "seems to have resettled from Pompeii to Neapolis after the eruption," Tuck concludes.

Tuck's combination of history and archaeology has produced strong evidence that it is possible to trace Vesuvian refugees.

He finds that many refugees settled on the north side of the Bay of Naples, and that families tended to move together and then to marry within their refugee community. 

These people probably "represent either those who fled at the first sign of the eruption," Tuck says, "or those who were away from the cities when the eruption occurred."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MINERVA

ON the 19th of February we celebrate the birthday of Minerva/Athena, goddess of wisdom, trade and commerce, arts and crafts, music, poetry, strategy and weaving.

She was said to have invented numbers and medicine and to have taught weaving. 

She knows war, being the goddess of strategy, but understands that there are both winners and losers, and rather than standing in triumph over her enemies, she empathises with them. 

Ovid called her "Goddess of a thousand works" and she can be approached in many ways. One of her symbols is the spider, as it weaves its web, she weaves the web of destiny, and into it the strands of magic. 

If you have been a victim of theft, then you can also appeal to Minerva for restitution. Image: Athena/Minerva by Chrisra.

19 de fevereiro é o aniversário de Minerva / Athena , deusa da sabedoria, comércio, artes e artesanato , música, poesia , estratégia e tecelagem. Ela foi dito ter números inventados e medicina e ter tecelagem ensinado. Ela sabe guerra, sendo a deusa da estratégia, mas entende que há vencedores e perdedores, e ao invés de em pé no triunfo sobre os seus inimigos , ela empathises com eles. Ovid a chamou de " Deusa de mil obras ", e ela pode ser abordada de várias maneiras. Um de seus símbolos é a aranha , uma vez que tece sua teia , ela tece a teia do destino , e nele os fios de magia. Se você tiver sido vítima de roubo, então você também pode apelar para Minerva de restituição .

19 de de febrero es el cumpleaños de Minerva / Athena , diosa de la sabiduría , el comercio y el comercio, artes y artesanías , la música , la poesía , la estrategia y el tejido. Ella se dice que tienen números inventados y medicina y tener tejer enseñado. Ella sabe que la guerra , siendo la diosa de la estrategia, pero entiende que existen ganadores y perdedores, y en lugar de pie en el triunfo sobre sus enemigos, empatiza con ellos . Ovidio la llamó " la diosa de un millar de obras " y que se puede abordar de muchas maneras . Uno de sus símbolos es la araña , mientras teje su tela, teje la red de destino, y en ella los hilos de magia. Si usted ha sido víctima de un robo , entonces también puede apelar a Minerva para la restitución.

WE HONOR MICHELANGELO AS A SAINT OF ANTINOUS

FEBRUARY 18th is the day when the Religion of Antinous honors Michelangelo, who died on this date.

Saint Michelangelo was the ultimate Renaissance Man, a painter/sculptor/architect/engineer, a man of art and science. A man torn between his passions and his religion. 

In the Renaissance, his voluptuous depictions of the male form were accepted as expressions of the Divine in art. 

It was the Victorians who went into denial over any hint that he may have been gay, despite the fact that he never married.

His male art is done with a passion for detail and obvious love of the male form. The only females he sculpted were maternal figures.

In 1532, he met a handsome young nobleman called Tommaso de Cavalieri. Michelangelo was struck by a romantic feeling that simply would not go away. He wrote sonnet after sonnet for the man as well as producing some rather "personal" sketches for his eyes only.

Michelangelo executed a number of exquisite ink sketches of Jove's Abduction of the beautiful youth Ganymede.

Michelangelo most certainly knew that Jove and Ganymede were synonymous with Hadrian and Antinous. As a man of art and science, all he had to do was look at the nighttime sky and see the Constellation of Antinous (formerly the Constellation of Ganymede).

An older man enthralled with a handsome youth. Our modern concept of "gayness" did not exist. But did he really have to spell it out to Tommaso any more clearly than that?

For thirty-odd years, the two were constant companions, but Michelangelo? s passions did not end there. During his relationship with Cavalieri, he also wrote about some deep feelings for other men in his life, including the 16-year-old Cecchino dei Bracci, for whom he wrote 48 funeral epigrams after his untimely death.

Here is an extract from one of his same-sex love sonnets:

"The love I speak of aspires to the heights; woman is too dissimilar, and it ill becomes a wise and manly heart to burn for her."

For his gentle genius and for his love of male beauty and for representing the best strivings of humanity, we proclaim Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni one of our Blessed Prophets of Homoeros.

Michelangelo reminds us that male beauty IS divine.

SPECTACULAR NARCISSUS FRESCO DISCOVERED IN POMPEII ATRIUM

A stunning fresco depicting Narcissus looking at his reflection in a reed-filled pool has been uncovered during new excavations at Pompeii.

The discovery was made during a dig at the Regio V section of the ancient Roman city, the interim director of the archaeological site, Alfonsina Russo, announced.

The find comes just months after the unearthing of another spectacular fresco, depicting Jupiter taking the form of a swan to impregnate Spartan queen Leda. (photo at right) 

"The beauty of these rooms have led us to change our project and continue the excavation," Russo said.

"In the future it will be possible to open up at least a part of this domus for the public to enjoy."

Officials noted archaeologists also found inside the ancient atrium a dozen glass containers, eight terracotta vases and a bronze funnel in a space underneath a staircase.

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 and in both the Northern and the Southern Hemisphere tonight celebrated the Lupercalia.

Taking part via Skype were priests and worshippers from around the world. 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"