Thursday, December 31, 2020

ANTINOUS HAS A NEW PRIEST
IN RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL




THE modern-day Religion of Antinous has a new priest .. the second priest in Brazil and the eighth worldwide! Michellus Lupercus (right) was consecrated in ceremonies held in at Templo de Antínoo in São Paulo and officiated over by Priest Decus Lupercus (left) at midnight during the cycle of the Cancer Full Moon.


Michellus will found his own temple in Rio de Janeiro. He already has one other founding temple member, Paulo Ricardo, who was in attendance at the consecration ceremonies.


"With Antinous I learned to recognize my sacred homosexuality, I started to see myself as sacred in my sexual expression. The Gods are diversity and they are present in our diversity. This is the perception I want to bring to other LGBT people. I want to be able to awaken the purple flame in the hearts of those who do not feel they belong due to their sexual orientation and gender identity. May the sacredness be in the hearts of those who burn in the purple flame of Antinous. Ave Antinous!" declared Michellus in his first speech as a Priest. 


"The immensity of the stars must be the immensity of your being. Look at Antinous and see the flame of immensity that shines in Him and reflects your essence."


He was consecrated by Decus Lupercus, first priest of Antinous in Brazil.


′′Ave Antinous!", declared Decus Lupercus. "With the arrival of Michellus, the Lupercus line of Brazil grows not only in size, but also in effectiveness and energy. Our new brother will make beautiful work in Rio, starting with the creation of the Carioca Temple of Antinoo, whose foundation stone was also laid at this ceremony."


The Rio de Janeiro Carioca Temple already has two members, as Paulo Ricardo accompanied the new Priest to São Paulo to affirm his devotion to Antinous. "Within the cult of Antinoo I relate greatly to the trans god Hapi and I wish I could dedicate myself to him in the future, helping other trans men like me," he said.


Michellus Lupercus of Rio de Janeiro made his solemn vows at the Antinoo Temple in São Paulo under the auspices of the full moon, which the Brazil adherents call the Roman Moon, as it was considered auspicious to consecrate the priesthood and establish the cult of Antinoo in Rio.


Michellus vowed: "I want to be a priest of Antinous to expand and spread the sacred homosexuality around the world, the sacredness of homosexual and LGBT living, serving him as one of his representatives on Earth, a representative of homotheosis. the purple flame for those LGBT people who need it. I want to be like one of the petals of His lotus, like a spark of His purple flame of love. I want and hope to be able to do the best as my service to Antinous ... this is my will as priest of Antinous. "


The founder of the modern-day religion of Antinous, Antonius Subia of the Hollywood Temple of Antinous, said: "I offer my blessing to Michellus Lupercus as a priest of Antinous. May Antinous protect and guide him."


AVE MICHELLUS LUPERCUS!

AVE ANTINOUS!

THE APOTHEOSIS OF AELIUS CAESAR


ON December 31st we commemorate the Apotheosis of Aelius Caesar.

Hadrian adopted Lucius Ceionius Commodus Verus, and called him Aelius Verus Caesar (portraits by Priest Uendi).

It was said that beauty was his only recommendation. His poor health soon overtook him and Hadrian is reported to have said, "We have leaned against a tottering wall and have wasted the four hundred million sentences which we gave to the populace and the soldiers on the adoption of Commodus."

He died on the Calends of January in the year 138 ... only a few months before Hadrian ... from an overdose of medicine given to help him make a speech to the Senate thanking Hadrian for the succession.

After Aelius Caesar's death, Hadrian adopted Antoninus Pius (September 19, 86 - March 7, 161) on the condition that Antoninus Pius adopt the younger Lucius Verus and Hadrian's great-nephew by marriage, Marcus Aurelius (April 26, 121 - March 17, 180).

Marcus later co-ruled with Lucius as Marcus Aurelius until Lucius' death in 169, at which time he was sole ruler until his own death in 180. Collectively, they are remembered as the Antonine Dynasty of emperors who ruled wisely over a period noted for its peace and prosperity.

In his classic text The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 18th Century historian Edward Gibbon considers the reign of the Antonines, as well as those of their predecessors Nerva, Trajan and Hadrian, the height of the Roman Empire, after which time the empire began its inexorable decline.

Aelius Caesar is a major character in Marguerite Yourcenar's epic historical novel Mémoires d'Hadrien (Memoirs of Hadrian).

Lucius, as we affectionately call him, is the recipient of much bittersweet love and adoration from followers of the Religion of Antinous

For us he represents so many pretty young men whose bright futures are thwarted by tragic illness.


Aelius Caesar is often called the Western Favorite, because of the possibility that he rivaled Antinous for Hadrian's love.

We venerate Aelius Caesar as the fallen Prince of Flowers, the spiritual twin brother of Antinous whose death is the end of the Saturnalia.

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

ANTINOUS WELCOMES ALL


AS we celebrate the Saturnalia on the cusp of 2020/21 we welcome the hundreds of new subscribers and followers on this blog and on FACEBOOKINSTAGRAM  and  TWITTER.

Antinous welcomes you!

Antinous, last of the Classical deities, embraces all others. 

He is the Gay God who embraces all Gays from all cultures and from all nations. 

Just as each gay man is different, His ancient statues depict HIM in the guise of Hermes, Dionysus, Apollo and many others. 

The image on this page by ANDRÉ DURAND shows a new follower adoring Antinous (as Osiris) in the inner-most alcove of the Canopus Pool at Hadrian's Villa.

Antinous welcomes all, regardless of cultural origins or religious beliefs.

There is no record that Antinous has ever fought against or squabbled with any deity. Instead, he prefers to cloak himself in their starry mantle and become one with them.

Antonyus Nikias Subia is the spiritual leader of our religion. Check out the online TEMPLE OF ANTINOUS

Some of us, like Antonius, worship Antinous to the exclusion of all other deities. 

But there are lots of Wiccans in this group, as well as Buddhists, Hindus, along with Jews, Christians and many, many fallen Catholics ... plus the odd Chaos "magickian" as well as none-of-the-above individualists.

All ages are represented, from 19 to 99. They are scattered around the world on all continents ... with the possible exception of Antarctica! 

Temples are being established in Mexico and -Brazil, where there is a huge contingent of Antinous worshipers.

So feel free to introduce yourself to the group and to tell us where you're coming from ... physically and spiritually.

Whether you decide to stay or whether you are "just browsing" and decide to move on elsewhere ... may the love of the Most Great and Good God, the Blessed Boy Antinous, enter your heart and fill it with His love and joy.

May He become one with you, as He has with so many mortals and deities throughout the ages. And may you discover Him in your heart and may you take the spiritual plunge to god-man-sameness," a process Antonius Subia calls HOMOTHEOSIS.

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

EXPERTS DECIPHER TWO MAGICAL SPELLS
FOUND NEAR ANTINOOPOLIS IN EGYPT



TWO ancient Egyptian papyrus magic spells in use in or near Antinoopolis have been deciphered by Italian archaeologists, who say the curious documents had a "fill-in-the-blanks" format for targeting people to bless ... or to curse.


They were written around 1,700 years ago and filed away at the famous library at the town of OXYRHYNCHUS (which Hadrian and Antinous visited) near Antinoopolis and have been translated for the first time. 

The names of those targeted are left blank to be inserted.

Antinoopolis was always a place of "magic, sorcery and strange religious fervor " according to Royston Lambert in his authoritative book about Antinous, BELOVED AND GOD

We know that the priests of Antinous wrote a LOVE SPELL. Lambert notes that even to this day local villagers believe the place to be haunted.

Just last year, scholars in Australia translated a GRIMOIR disguised as a Coptic prayer book which magician-priests at Antinoopolis could have used to cast spells.


But the latest discovery of two spells goes much farther towards enlarging our knowledge of magical skills in the Antinoopolis area.


One text invokes the gods to "burn the heart" of a woman until she loves the caster, said Franco Maltomini of the University of Udine in Italy, who translated the two spells. 

Another spell, targeted at a male, uses a series of magical words to "subject" him, forcing him to do whatever the caster wants.

The two spells were not targeted at a specific person. Rather, they were written in such a way that the person who cast the spell would only need to insert the name of the person being targeted.

The deciphered love spell invokes several gnostic gods. (Gnosticism was an ancient religion that incorporated elements of Christianity.) 

It says that the spell caster should burn a series of offerings in the bathhouse (the names of the offerings didn't survive degradation) and write a spell on the bathhouse's walls, which Maltominitranslated as follows:

"I adjure you, earth and waters, by the demon who dwells on you and (I adjure) the fortune of this bath so that, as you blaze and burn and flame, so burn her (the woman targeted)whom (the mother of the woman targeted) bore, until she comes to me…"

Then, the spell names several gods and magical words. It goes on to say, "Holy names, inflame in this way and burn the heart of her…" until she falls in love with the person casting the spell.

The text of the other deciphered spell calls for the person casting it to engrave onto a small copper or lead plaque a series of LEAD CURSE magical words, including the phrase translated as "subject to me the (name of the) man, whom (the name of the man's mother) bore…" and then to stitch the plaque onto something the man wears, such as a sandal.

The spell, if successful, was supposed to force the man to do whatever the spell caster wanted,the ancient text says.

On the back of that papyrus is a list of recipes that use droppings from animals to treat a wide range of conditions, including headaches and leprosy. Some of the recipes simply say that they help "promote pleasure." 

One recipe says that a combination of honey and droppings from a bittern bird, used in a way that isn't specified, will "promote pleasure," according to the ancient text. 


Monday, December 28, 2020

EDWARD PERRY 'NED' WARREN
SAINT OF ANTINOUS


ON December 28th the Religion of Antinous celebrates the life of Saint Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, who died on this day in 1928. 

Estranged and ostracized by "decent" socialites, Saint Ned Warren was a famed gay Bostonian art collector who virtually single-handedly built up the collections of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and Boston Museum of Fine Arts through his passion for Classical art.

As a sissified schoolboy who suffered the taunts of bullies, he wrote a poem comparing a classmate in whom he was infatuated to Antinous.

He and his lover John Marshall travelled around Europe seeking out and buying art treasures for great museums. They were referred to snidely as "the bachelors of art" among society circles in Britain and America. 

But Warren was so fabulously rich, and museums depended on him  so much, that nobody dared say anything to his face about his blatant homosexuality. His gifts to the Boston MFA made up 90 per cent of its Classical collection, one of the finest in the world.

Even so, he found puritanical Boston deeply disagreeable, and spent most of his life in England when he was not at his apartment in Rome.

The famous Warren Cup and Rodin's statue The Kiss are just two of the most well-known objects he rounded up -- both of which were rejected by museums in Britain and America as being too raunchy. Museum curators feared museum-goers could be lured into thinking unwholesome thoughts.


Warren in fact actually commissioned the The Kiss from Rodin, explicitly saying he wanted large genitals on the man. To this day, photographs of the famous statue tend to avoid a full-frontal male view for that very reason.

The Warren Cup is a solid silver goblet which dates back to the 1st Century CE/AD and was found near Jerusalem. It is believed that it was deposited along with other valuables (some gold coins, jewellery and other precious items) in a cache by the servants of a fleeing Roman nobleman during one of several Jewish uprisings. It is even possible that it was buried during the uprising that was crushed by Hadrian's legions. 

The cup itself is considerably older, and may date to Republican times. And it is done in a retro-style which was a bit archaic even when it was new.

As the photos demonstrate, the Warren Cup shows two scenes (one on each side of the cup) of a man and a youth having sex on a couch. The silverwork is exquisitely done and the hair and draperies and facial expressions are beautifully rendered. It also reflects a bit of tongue-in-cheek wit by showing a servant boy peering curiously around a door frame at the lovers.

On one side a young man (barely more than a boy himself) is having his way with a young boy. On the other side, an older man with a beard is having anal sex with a younger man who is seated on top of him and holding onto what appears to be perhaps part of the drapes of a canopy bed. A servant looks on from the doorway off to the right side.

Saint Ned is believed to have purchased the Warren Cup from an antiquities dealer in Italy.
His efforts to sell it to museums in London and the U.S. were rebuffed.

The Warren Cup's unabashedly gay sex theme is impossible to ignore. The cup has been controversial in the art world ever since it first came to light in the 19th Century.

For many, many years, museums on both sides of the Atlantic refused to obtain it (despite its unquestionable value as a remarkably important historical piece of art) because of Victorian and Edwardian moral objections to its "immoral and beastly" theme.

At one time a curator for the British Museum was interested in acquiring the Warren Cub.

But other experts reminded him that one of the members of the board of directors of the British Museum was the Archbishop of Canterbury. The result was that museum officials were loathe to show his reverence even a photograph of the cup, let alone ask him to condone purchasing it for the collection.

So the cup languished in Warren's personal collection for many years and changed hands many times after his death, never ever being put on public display.

The British Museum finally purchased the Warren Cup for a large sum in 1999 -- and even then there was much titillation in the tabloid press.

Ned Warren wrote extensively about his views that homosexuality is a spiritual state of being, something divinely magical. Taunted as a schoolboy for being a bookworm and a sissy (he would get up at 5 a.m. to read Greek until breakfast), he nonetheless had many crushes on other schoolboys. He wrote about them all in his diary, and even wrote a poem about one especially beautiful boy whom he called a modern Antinous.

As an adult, he continued to proclaim his notion of idealized homosexual love, much to the distress of his family in Boston.

He even wrote a book entitled The Defence of Uranian Love about the same time that Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray was published. 

He also used his wealth to sponsor the educations of numerous boys and young men who showed promise but had no money.

He was very generous and had a big heart. For example, he heard that the daughter of a vicar in his district in England had become pregnant out of wedlock and was going to be forced to give up the child. 

Saying "this is as bad as Boston," he was so outraged that he legally adopted the little boy himself. He allowed mother and son to live upstairs in his home in England at his expense and loudly defied anyone to besmirch her honor or that of Travis, the little boy.

Ned Warren and his lover John Marshall had a stormy, on-again off-again relationship, but they were together at their flat in Rome in February of 1928. On the evening of the 15th, John went to bed early not feeling well. Ned tiptoed in later and kissed him good night and got in bed beside him. John was dead by morning.

Ned never recovered from that blow. He returned to England, where his health declined rapidly. Saying he couldn't face Christmas and New Year's without John, he died in a nursing home in England on December 28, 1928, at the age of 68.

He was cremated on January 1, 1929. But because he had always been blatant about his homosexuality, no members of his family attended the funeral and none of the museums that had benefitted so much from his largesse sent a representative to the memorial service.


His ashes were buried in the non-Catholic cemetery in Bagni di Lucca, Italy, a town known as a spa in Etruscan and Roman times.

We honor Edward Perry "Ned" Warren, 1860-1928, who wrote a poem likening a boy he loved to Antinous.

'MY DEATH NEEDS TO MEAN SOMETHING'
17-YEAR-OLD TRANS GIRL SAID IN FINAL NOTE



ANTINOUS weeps for Leelah Alcorn (November 15, 1997 – December 28, 2014) the 17-year-old US transgender girl who committed suicide to make a statement about the societal standards of transgender people. 

A suicide note was published on her Tumblr page in which she declared that she wanted her suicide to cause an impact and create a dialogue about the discrimination and abuse of transgender people.

Meanwhile, Leelah Alcorn rallies are planned and a candlelight vigil is scheduled to be held at Leelah's high school near Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 3.

Laverne Cox and Emmy Rossum are a few of the celebs who spoke out after Leelah took her own life after struggling for many years as a transgender girl. 

At the Hollywood Temple of Antinous, Antonius Subia said he was devastated by the news, coming on the heels of many hundred deaths this past year involving LBGT youth.

"When these kids say that there is no hope for them, it's because that's all they see," Antonius said.  

"We need to look into our souls and see how we can change the world for them, what we can do to give them hope. The list of Saint nominations for 2015 keeps growing," he said.

"May Antinous take Leelah Alcorn into his arms and give her a place on the Barque of Millions of Years," Antonius added.

Leelah was born in November 1997 to parents Doug and Carla Alcorn. Her birth name was Joshua Ryan Alcorn. One of four children, she was raised in a fundamentalist Christian environment. 

In a suicide note, she referred to herself as Leelah Alcorn.

According to the suicide note, she identified as a transgender female from age 14, when she became aware of the term, having felt "like a girl trapped in a boy’s body" since she was four. 

She subsequently came out online, and turned primarily towards the internet for friendship. 

She attempted to convince her parents that she had to medically transition, but claims she instead received therapy and "biased" counseling from Christian therapists.

The note also describes her coming out as gay at age 16, hoping it would be a stepping stone to coming out as transgender at a later date. 

She wrote that she was instead taken out of school by her parents and cut off from the outside world for five months as her parents denied her access to social media and many forms of communication. She described this as a large contributing factor towards her suicide.

She committed suicide by walking into the path of a tandem-trailer truck on a highway near her home in Ohio on December 28, 2014.

Sunday, December 27, 2020

THE BIGGEST ANTINOUS NEWS OF 2020:
ANTONIUS SUBIA FIRST PRIEST OF ANTINOUS
TO VISIT ANTINOOPOLIS IN 1,600 YEARS



THE biggest Antinous-related news of 2020 came in February when our spiritual leader ANTONIUS SUBIA became the first priest of Antinous in 1,600 years to visit Antinoopolis ... the city founded by Emperor Hadrian on the banks of the Nile in Egypt where Antinous died in 130 AD.


Here is the breaking news that Antonius issued to Antinous worshipers worldwide during the festival of the Lupercalia on February 14th. He said:


I went to Antinoopolis today, and it was wonderful ... everything I had hoped it would be and so much more!

The trip there was long and crazy but a wonderful adventure and I could tell that it has probably been years since any westerners have been there. The local people were so nice and fascinated. All the little kids along the way came out to see us and say hello. It was great.

First we went to Amarna, saw the tombs while accompanied by police with AK-47s ... that was a really cool start to our adventure.

Then as we left, the cops kept talking to our driver about where we were going. The driver needed directions, but then the cops said they needed to go with us, so one jumped in the van and off we went. 

I also wanted to go to Hermopolis but kept saying that was last on the list. They kept saying Sheikh Abada (Antinoopolis) was far and Al-Ashmunein (Hermopolis) was closer and that we should go there first ... as if I don't know where everything is around there.

But finally they agreed to take us to Sheikh Abada ... so off we went. I saw we were going towards the bridge that crosses the Nile, I saw a little road go north on the East bank which I knew leads to Antinoopolis ... but we kept driving past ... I got nervous, thinking they were taking us to Hermopolis regardless. But the driver said to relax, that it was shorter to go around ... so I was like okay fine what am I gonna do about it. 


So we went through the little town of El Minya, which may be little but it is packed full of people and the traffic is just as crazy as Cairo .... then we went into fields of sugar cane, then turned suddenly right towards the Nile, which I knew was away from Hermopolis so I was thinking ... we are headed the right way now ... but how are we going to get across the Nile. 

Then we pulled up to where the road ends on the Nile bank and right there across the water is what I thought was Antinoopolis, but in fact was just a little north. 

Then I realized that we were where the ferry was going to pick us up and carry us across. I could see the ferry on the other side further downstream. 

So I was thrilled!!! We were going to Antinoopolis by boat across the Nile! 

This man came out and asks us if we wanted to wait in his little riverside cafe while waited, so we did. Our friend Daniel had some hookah, I smoked cigarettes and drank Turkish coffee.


Meanwhile, the boat came. We said we needed to go but the policeman said take your time they will wait ... and they did. 


The driver pulled the car on top of the boat while we had our coffee and hookah and then we boarded with the locals. 

The people were totally fascinated by us. They asked where we were from and where we were going I told them "Antinoe" and they understood. 

When we reached the other bank there was a truck of armed cops waiting to escort us! They led the way through the village streets and then suddenly we stopped and There was the little Ramesseum temple which is SO BEAUTIFUL!

We explored it for a while and then I wanted to explore the streets of Antinoopolis, so off I went followed by the others, with about eight policemen following us. 


I very quickly found THE CARDO ... the main north-south street of the city ... it was just where the old French maps said it would be. 

I was astonished to see how much of it was left. You could clearly see it in sections, many of the flat well-worn smooth paving stones were intact. 

And on either side were the granite columns lying in broken fragments or still standing in broken stumps, the limestone curbs on both sides were still in place here and there. 


We found some beautifully carved acanthus leaf capitals here and there ... they had their own particular style which was Corinthian-like but not exactly. 

In the distance I could see some white marble columns which I thought might be the East-West street and I told the guards I wanted to go over there. 

They said they wanted to go by car because it was far, so we got into the vehicle and drove over there. 

It turned out to be the ruins of a Byzantine church ... but on the way we passed the recent excavation site.

At the Byzantine site, the guards chilled out and sat on the fallen columns, leaving me to explore the area around by myself. 

I climbed the top of an enormous ruined building from which I could see the whole city around me and I could see the Hippodrome in the distance (which is HUGE by the way) and realized that I was on the far north end of Antinoopolis near where the theater once was, though I'm sure I was not on it.


While I was alone, a took the time to pray and meditate and take the place in deeply, and feel the spirit of he city flow through me ... all I can say is that it was the most powerful experience of my life to stand there looking over the Enormous ruins of Antinoopolis ... The Holy City!


When I came down, the head policeman said that they were tired so I knew my visit was soon to be over, so we wouldn't be going to the Hippodrome unfortunately, which was too far away.

But I can say that even from the distance I could tell that it was enormous! 


There was a local man walking around by the entrance and, from his size, I could see that the remains were at least two stories tall and this is just the base without any of the limestone seats and arches that might have made it twice as big.

It was almost as large as the Circus Maximus in Rome and must have been able to seat 20,000-40,000 people.

I am the first Priest of Antinous to return to the holy city in over 1,600 years. I feel very blessed to have been able to go there. And from the way the authorities were acting and the reaction of the locals we are probably the only outsiders to have visited there in a long long time ... at least since the archaeological digs two years ago.

So, for our last stop on the way back, I asked to stop at the dig site, which was open and like everywhere in Egypt was full of garbage including goat bones, jaws with teeth and hips and leg bones here and there.

This is where they believe the Antinoeion once stood. There is the outline of a small temple with steps, a circular pit that looks like a cistern with the remains of spiral steps (much like the catacombs of Alexandria) and the opening of a subterranean passage with steps and a peaked stone ceiling that ended in mud. 


The area is surrounded by a pavement and a few broken columns with papyrus capitals.

Even though the guards were right there and the village children had gathered around, I took a moment to say my prayers to Antinous and place a specially made paper ivy leaf between the foundation stones on the Temple.

I took a little piece of the limestone from the Temple and gathered some sand from the foot of the steps.

The guards were totally cool with us taking things that we found on the ground.

I found a perfect little square of cut white marble with a rounded edge that was probably from some stairs and nearby I found a little piece of marble which on closer examination has the remnant of a curl of hair and some drill work which must have come from a broken statue of Hadrian or one of his successors.

I found it along the Cardo, so it might even be a little semi-lock of Antinous hair ... in any case to me it is a treasure. 

The entire site is full of broken pottery sherds. We found way more than we can carry and have no idea what we can bring through customs but we are going to try.

The important thing is that I have been to Antinoopolis ... one of the greatest dreams of my life, and it was so much more than I expected! 

First of all the boat ride across the Nile was an unexpected wonder ... my first trip on a boat on the Nile and it was to Antinoopolis ... and I loved being among the people, they are all so friendly and welcoming ... the police escort was also very cool I have to admit, made us feel very important ... I am after all the High Priest of Antinous.

Antinoopolis was way larger than I anticipated. I also did not anticipate for so much of it to be intact that I could find my way around based on what I have read ... I anticipated a wasteland ... but instead we found a forest of broken columns everywhere ... but all in line showing exactly what the major street must have been like.

I have been to Antinoopolis

If I die now my life is fulfilled

I have been to Antinoopolis.

When we were driving away from Antinoopolis I took one last look at the city which will live in my heart forever. I knew all about the neighboring towns. Our driver even said, "You know your way around. Were you born here?" I said, "Yes ... I am from here."

I am from Antinoopolis.

~ANTONIUS SUBIA

Saturday, December 26, 2020

MITHRAS TEMPLE IN NORTHERN ENGLAND
WAS ALIGNED TO SUNRISE DECEMBER 25



AN ancient temple constructed by a mysterious cult in northern England may have been built to align with sunrise on December 25, to "recall the birth" of the light god Mithras.

A new analysis using satellite maps and a software that can plot the direction of sunrise and sunset revealed that the Mithraeum beside a Roman fort in Carrawburgh, England, lines up with both the winter solstice and December 25th.

Followers of the cult of Mithras often associated these two dates with the god, and were even said to celebrate the New Year on December 25th, as it marked his birth.

In a paper published to Philica, Amelia Carolina Sparavigna of Politecnico di Torino says the temple at Carrawburgh was designed for the birth of Mithras.

Sparavigna used the SunCal.net software to pinpoint the direction of sunrise and sunset at different times of the year for this location.

And, this revealed "good alignment" for the December 25 sunrise along with the winter solstice (December 21), with a difference of just 0.2 degrees.

"As we can see using software giving the sunrise and sunset directions on satellite maps, the orientation of the temple and the direction of the sunrise on winter solstice are in good agreement," Sparavigna wrote.

"It means that, probably, the orientation of the temple was chosen to recall the birth of Mithras on December 25."

Worship of Mithras spurred the rise of a mystery cult during the Roman era.

It was practiced from the 1st Century to 4th Century AD, and is linked to the sun god Sol Invictus.

"The cult of Mithras, such as that of the Sol Invictus, who was the patron of the soldiers, was very popular in the Roman army," Sparavigna wrote.

"Both Sol Invictus and Mithras, who were often identified in the same god, are linked to winter solstice.

"Actually, the followers of Mithras worshipped the New Year on December 25, to celebrate the birth of Mithras."

Friday, December 25, 2020

ANTINOUS EMBRACES GEORGE MICHAEL
(25 June 1963 - 25 December 2016)



MUSIC legend George Michael is a saint of Antinous for inspiring millions of LGBT people. 

Known for hit songs such as “Faith,” “Freedom ‘90” and holiday favorite “Last Christmas,” he died at age 53 on 25 December 2016, of heart failure.

But the legacy of the pop icon, who sold well over 100 million albums in the span of his career, extends far beyond his music.

"George was probably the first gay pop star in the modern era, who was totally unabashed about gay sexuality,” said Martin Aston, a music journalist.

Even though Michael was forced out of the closet, once he was out, Aston noted, "he took a great leap forward" and "came out guns blazing."

Michael's moment of liberation followed what seemed at first to be a time of deep humiliation.

He was blessed with sensual good looks and an exquisite voice, attributes he used to become first a teenybopper heartthrob and then a mature solo artist with videos that played up his considerable appeal.

He kept his own sexual orientation private, until he was arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct in a public toilet in Los Angeles after being spotted by a male undercover police officer.

In an earlier era, that might have doomed his career. Instead of retreating, however, Michael made a single and video ... "Outside" ... that ridiculed the charges against him and mocked the Los Angeles police officers who busted him.

The memorable image of the two uniformed policemen kissing in the video ... both funny and outrageous at the time ... helped Michael come out as a proud gay man.

Despite his infamous outing, “he never dealt with [his sexuality] in terms of shame,” Aston told NBC Out. “He realized he had to be true to himself, and that had to have helped bust that closet door open.”

THE SATURNALIA
THE GOLDEN AGE OF SATURN



IN celebration of the return of Antinous Invictus, for the five days between December 25th and the 1st of January, we commemorate the Golden Age of the reign of Saturn.

This is a time outside of time, and an occasion for joy and freedom from the world when Sol Invictus returns.

The divine twins are born, Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys, Castor and Pollux, Freyr and Freya (for whom this time is also known as Yule).

(Image: Antinous as the Ghost of Christmas Present by S.L. GORE.)


We celebrate the Saturnalia with indulgence and as the festival of Liberty and total Freedom. There shall be no authority and no submission during this sacred period.


There is to be no war, and no form of violence committed, only peace and harmony and the many joys of ecstasy are allowed.

The rejoicing of the Saturnalia ends with the apotheosis of the Prince of Flowers, Aelius Caesar, on January 1st.

Thursday, December 24, 2020

LOVELY 'BIRTH OF MITHRAS' SCULPTURE
OLDEST DEPICTION OF ZODIAC IN BRITAIN



ON what is now Christmas Day, troops on Hadrian's Wall 1,800 years ago were celebrating the birthday of the god Mithras.

Born on December 25, Mithras was worshipped at sites on at least three locations along the Wall.

This stunning sculpture of Mithras was discovered at Housesteads Roman fort in the 19th Century.

The stone relief shows Mithras emerging from the Orphic Egg – the symbol of eternal time.

The god is surrounded by an egg-shaped representation of the signs of the zodiac, representing the cosmos.

This is the earliest representation of the signs of the zodiac to be found in Britain.

It would have been lit from behind to present a powerful image for worshippers entering the semi-underground temple at Chapel Hill at Housesteads.

The sculpture is one of the main exhibits in a collection of Mithraic items from the Wall on show at the Great North Museum in Newcastle.

"It is one of the best collections of Mithraic material in the world," said Andrew Parkin, keeper of archaeology at Tyne Wear Archives and Museums.

It was totally repaired and conserved in recent years and is one of the most breath-taking works of art at the museum.

The carving is on display underneath a relief sculpture which shows a scene of Mithras slaying a bull, which was also found at Housesteads and was a common depiction in Mithraic temples.

"Our Mithras stone is a unique and powerful Roman object that blends several religious traditions," Andrew said. "We still have offerings left at the museum at Christmas time. Previously we've had a pot plant, pine cones, money and even a Chocolate Orange."

The stone is part of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne's collection.

The cult of Mithras was popular amongst the military and originated around 1400 BC in Persia.

It was confined to male worshippers and involved progression through several grades of worship with different ranks and costumes.

Mithraic temples have been identified in Northumberland at Housesteads, Rudchester and Carrawburgh, where three altars were found along with the remains of cockerels which had probably been sacrificed and statues of the god's helpers.

The complex imagery of the Housesteads sculpture suggests the sophistication of the cult at the fort. The celebration of Christmas became superimposed on earlier religious and ritual practices.

"To some extent there have always been mid-winter festivals at what is the darkest part of the year to mark the turning point when it will begin getting lighter," said Andrew. "In the early days Christianity was competing with a lot of different cults around the world."

Mithras was celebrated as the Lord of Ages and a god of light, who is often shown carrying a torch and bringing light to the world.

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

THE SUN GOD SHINES ON ANTINOUS
DURING THE SATURNALIA



DURING the festival of the Saturnalia in late December of the year 129 AD, Hadrian and Antinous visited the city of Emesa in Syria to pay their respects to the androgynous sun deity Elegabal at the Solstice.

The city of Emesa in Syria was sacred to the God Elagabal, a sun deity and patron god of the later Emperor known as Elagabalus ... history's first recorded transgender teen emperor. The god of Emesa was Phoenician in origin, but had become somewhat Hellenized.

Elagabalus the Emperor lived almost exactly one hundred years after Antinous, and died when he was 18 or 19 years old ... almost exactly the same age that Antinous died ... after being emperor only four years.

Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus was born on an unknown date in the winter of 204 AD in the city of Emesa. His birth name was Varius Avitus Bassianus, and he is believed to have been the son of Caracalla, for which reason he was declared Emperor by the Legions of Syria during an uprising against the short-lived Emperor Macrinus who had assassinated Caracalla and taken the throne.

Varius Bassianus was only 14 years old when he became sole ruler of the Roman Empire and took the name of Antoninus. 


He was the last Emperor to bear the sacred name of the most glorious rulers of the world, the Antonines. He is known to history as Elagabalus, because he was from birth the high priest(ess) of the androgynous sun deity Elagabal.

He brought his strange, phallic religion to Rome, and very shortly began to impose Elagabal, going so far as to nullify all other cults and force the Romans to accept his one god. It is even claimed that he closed and demolished the temple of Antinous at Tibur and perhaps others, but this is rumor.

What Elagabalus is famous for is that he was an extreme homosexual phallus worshipper with an insatiable fondness for chariot racers who he often elevated to the highest positions of authority simply based on the size and grace of their penises. 


He is criticized by ancient historians for portraying himself as Venus on Mount Ida, and allowing himself to be sodomized on stage by his chariot racers in the roles of various gods in full view of an audience.

History is slanted by anti-tranny prejudice. Elagabalus is recorded as having been one of the most infamous and degenerate figures in Roman history. 

This despite the fact that he was not particularly cruel or demonstrably mad. He simply offended the sensibilities of later historians ... particularly Victorian historians who were appalled by the fact that a trans teen had been acclaimed emperor of Rome.

Victorian historians record Elagabalus' life as scandalous, yet an examination of their remarks reveal a troubled trans youth struggling with his identity:


"Not only was he bi-sexual, but also a transvestite. He would go to the taverns at night wearing a wig, woman's clothes and makeup and ply the trade of a prostitute. This activity only ended when he met Hierocles, a Carian slave, and became his wife. Hierocles was even permitted to beat the emperor when displeased, as any man might beat his wife. Even more scandalous Elagabalus not only acted and dressed like a woman, but he wanted to be physically transformed into one. He asked his physicians to contrive a vagina for him, promising huge rewards for success."


In other words, he was a transgender teenager who had the power and money at his disposal to create the gender-bending reality he desired to live in.

None of his works, or generous gifts to the people, were sufficient to offset his reputation among the elite, tarnished by his promiscuous behavior with men and women. But we must remember that most teenagers be self-indulgent if they suddenly found themselves with absolute powers. Many of the adult emperors did no less.

He was assassinated by his own Praetorian guards, and his body was dragged through the streets before being hurled into the Tiber, the punishment for the most vile criminals.

Flamen Antonius Subia says:

"He is considered to be one of the most perverted and cruel of all the Emperors, but the open phallicism that he imposed upon Rome, and the dramatic exhibition of his homosexuality warrant his deification. He is included as a saint of Ecclesia Antinoi because he was a homosexual of extreme proportions, and because he was the last Emperor to bear the name Antoninus. Antinous blessed and was blessed by the God Elagabal on this occasion, the Saturnalia in Emesus, and it was from this consecration that the power of the later Emperor Elagabalus came forth. We consecrate ourselves to the Phallic Sun God Elagabal, in memory of the Last Antonine."

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

THE RETURN OF THE CAPRICORN GODS
By Our Flamen Antinoalis Antonius Subia



THE Solstice occurred at 10:02 Universal Time Monday, and worshipers of Antinous in North and South America, Europe and Africa took part in Zoom ceremonies celebrating the Winter Solstice (for those in the Northern Hemisphere) and the Summer Solstice (for those in the Southern Hemisphere.

On this Sacred Night, We celebrate the triumphant return
Of the New Sun, Sol Invictus, Antinous-Mithras
May the reborn god of light cast away the darkness
That has weighed upon us over the course of this year.
May a new hope for the coming age be reborn this night
Father Saturn, who stands at the edge of the cosmos
Father of endless time, clockwork of the universe
We welcome the return your golden age...Ave Saturnalia!
We celebrate the return of the Capricorn Gods,
We praise the wild horned god
We praise both the lesser and the greater Pan.
We ask that Bacchus shall come forth within us
In his incarnate form of Antinous the Gay God,
May the semen of the first god be revealed within us
That we may become aware of our divine nature
On this sacred night of the winter solstice
We ask the blessing of the new born sun, 
The god of light, Sol Invictus!
Ave Antinous!

Behold, the Great Conjunction is at Hand
On this night we observe the miraculous event
Of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
Perhaps one of the greatest astrological events
That any of us will experience in our lives.
Saturn was the edge of the cosmos to the ancient Greeks,
Beyond which was the Celestial Sphere 
Saturn is the god of the Clockwork of the Cosmos
The event which is taking place on this sacred night
Is a sign from Grandfather Saturn of his mystery and power
In our Antinoan symbolism, Saturn is represented by 
Emperor Trajan, the conqueror and adopted father of Hadrian
With whom he held a tumultuous relationship
Hadrian was helped to become ruler by Plotina,
Just as the Great Mother of the Gods helped her son Jupiter
Hadrian is Jupiter-Zeus, the ruler of the gods
The Great Conjunction is significant for four reasons
It is the closest the two planets have aligned in over 800 years
It is happening on the Winter Solstice
It is in alignment with Altair or the Constellation Antinous
It is happening just as Saturn is crossing over from Capricorn to Aquarius.  It would be an major event with only one of these aspects, but that all four come together makes this a very important event full of symbolism for us.
It is being called a Christmas Star in the media
Because it is taking place close to Christmas but also because Johannes Kepler calculated that another Great Conjunction took place in 7BC and may have been the Star of Bethlehem.

But this is Not a Christmas Star, this is a Solstice Star
It has nothing to do with Jesus, it is a Mithras star
Which by coincidence is what the Great Conjunction
Of 7BC was also, the Magi were Zoroastrians who were searching for Mithras who was born December 25th, 

This is the Night of Sol Invictus, the rebirth of the Sun, 
Mithras is the super cosmic god who the ancients believed Caused the equinoxes to move backward in the sky

The Great Conjunction is taking place as Saturn is crossing over into Aquarius, many believe that this is the signal
Of the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius
The end of the age of Pisces, the fish, what the Magi Observed 2000 years ago in their Great Conjunction
What the previous Magi discovered 2000 years before
When the Equinox moved out of Taurus, which is why Mithras is observed killing a bull within a cave of stars.
Saturn is the Mithriac initiation level of the Fathers, the highest elders of the cult, Jupiter is the Lions the strongest and most Powerful initiates, which in sense can be seen as Hadrian the elder and Antinous the lion.
For ourselves, more than for any other observers 
The next important aspect is that the Conjunction is occurring In alignment with Altair, the brightest star of Aquila, 

And with the Constellation of Antinous which makes Antinous part of the event, and if Trajan is Saturn and Hadrian is Jupiter, then Antinous is Ganymede, the Zodiac Into which Saturn is transferring and the next Equinox Age.

Tonight is the Winter Solstice, when the savior gods are born,
Including Mithras, Osiris, Horus, Jesus, and the one to whom Antinous was compared above all others, Dionysus-Bacchus,

The Capricorn god who like the others gave his life to save all mankind from perdition and to make us aware that we are Divine, that we all carry the semen of the first god within us.
The Great Conjunction is a sign from the gods that the world as we know it is about to change and we must embrace it
We must prepare ourselves for the New Era to come
We must awaken to our inner potential to the Homotheosis Power that we all hold within our hearts because the Age of Aquarius is here, we must rise up and overthrow the old and usher in the New Age. This is why Antinous has chosen now to restore his ancient religion, so that we will understand the significance of these signs, which others before or after might not have understood.  We are the chosen people of Antinous
May the blessing of Sol Invictus be with us
May the Power of the Great Conjunction flow through us
May the Blessing of Antinous be with us on this sacred night.

Ave Antinous!
~ ANTONIUS SUBIA

Monday, December 21, 2020

ANTINOUS INVICTUS AND THE SOLSTICE


ON Monday at 10:02 Universal Time (2:02 a.m. at the Hollywood Temple of Antinous) the sun "stands still" ("Sol Stasis") — the 21/22 December Solstice for the year 2020. 

This is a special day every year in the Religion of Antinous for it marks the return of Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun.

The return of the sun is the Conquest of Unconquered Light over chaos and darkness, the emergence of Phanes-Eros-Dionysus from the cosmic egg (image at right).

On this day, we observe the moment when the unknown god Bythus-Narcissus gazed into the pool of the abyss and saw his own reflection. 


His image caused the birth of the thrice-great Phanes-Eros-Zagreus, the saviors, who together are called Antinous Invictus.

The three-fold mystery of their birth is the descent of Phanes-Beauty, Eros-Love and Zagreus-Ecstasy into our world. 


These great spirits are the divine light of Antinous the God, it is their presence at the ground of our soul that is our immortal spark.

Within us all is the perfect image of the perfect face of light and love, a reflection of Narcissus-Bythus gazing down into the darkness of our world.

Antinous Invictus the perfect image of the perfect face of light and love will illuminate the way ahead.


It was Hadrian's dream to create the perfect civilization ... a civilization based on the Hellenistic principles of love, beauty, learning and tolerance. And it was his dream to create the perfect religion ... a religion which would encompass all others.

In the Northern Hemisphere today is the Winter Solstice and the days will be getting longer now. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the Summer Solstice and the days will become shorter now.


Wherever you live on this blue marble of ours, it is the same moment in the eye of Antinous the Gay God.