On Mayan Astrology

People have used astrology for thousands of years to learn about themselves and link their existence to a larger whole. Astrology is used to put life into perspective, to explain what is happening and what might happen. I am going to tell you a bit about how the Mayan calendar is used, and can be used by you, astrologically.

Astrology is both art and science, allowing for creativity within a defined system. Traditional western astrology is based on the 365-day solar calendar and depends on counting days as the zodiac is navigated over the course of a year. The Maya keep a 260-day calendar named the Tzolkin (pronounced chol-kin), their most basic module of time that plugs into the circuitry of their entire fantastically harmonic calendar system. Of course the Maya also keep a 365-day calendar, named the Haab. And there is the Tun, a 360-day cycle. There are other calendars, too.

The Tzolkin (meaning Book of Days) runs its 260-day cycles over and over again. There are Mayan daykeepers living today who continue to count a sequence of days unbroken for well over 2000 years. Each day one of the 20 Mayan daysigns combines with one of thirteen Mayan numbers, weaving theceremonial cycle. While there is much to say about the Maya and their time-keeping, we are going to focus on the basic 260-day cycle that happens to be the length of the human gestation period.

As the same combination of daysign and number arrives every 260 days, I would like you to consider that you experience a "ceremonial birthday" every 260 days. The daysign and number unique to your day of birth are imprinted deep in the template of your existence. Thus the Tzolkin gives us information about ourselves, individually, and serves to place us within a greater whole, like astrology does with its sun and moon signs, rising signs and other aspects.

The Tzolkin goes as far as to place us within a galactic context, but now we are getting ahead of ourselves. The larger wheels of the Mayan calendar will be discussed in a future installment, and we will talk then about the Winter Solstice A.D. 2012 end-date of the Mayan Great Cycle, an event that will happen, for many of us, in our lifetimes.

I find it is often most helpful to begin by discovering our own personal relationship with the Tzolkin. Then we can relate easier to larger cycles.

If you were born into certain Mayan tribes the daysign and number on your birthday could be part of your name. You might be 3 Rain, 4 Wind, 1 Deer or 13 Flower. There are particular qualities, predispositions, strengths and weaknesses implied and, some would say, encoded, in each combination of daysign and number. The daysigns are generally named after aspects of nature and have both earthly qualities and esoteric connotations. Thus Wind is also Spirit, House is also Heart, Death is also Revelation, and Flower is also Knowledge and Wisdom.

The numbers are equally curious. Some numbers make logical sense,such as One representing Unity and two, Polarity. Other numbers are understood by deduction, such as Five, the number of Center, around which the four directions turn. Some numbers such as Eleven and Twelve may ask you to spend some time with them before you can receive their message. Both the daysigns and numbers have reciprocal relationships, just as opposite houses of the zodiac relate to each other.

Learning about Mayan calendrics and cosmology (of course they are intertwined) has added a depth to my life and a perspective on our times that I feel has great value, and I want to share it with others. The wisdom of our ancestors, whether we have direct blood connections with them or not, is here for us -provided we bring it into our lives in a respectful manner with a right intent.

Humanity is on the brink of ending one millennium and beginning another. An astrological shift from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius is in our midst. And the Mayan Great Cycle turns over in 2012, ending one world age and beginning another. This is such an exciting time to be alive! To be continued!

- Jim Papp