The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012 - Dr. Synthia Andrews Nd [28]
The Maya had the ability to understand time as a formative principle. It was for this purpose that they required such precision and accuracy in their measurements. Time was not a succession of days; it was the enactment of a cosmic plan. The calendars contained the map of this plan.
The Calendars
There are between 17 and 20 authentic calendars presently known in the Mayan timekeeping system. The easiest way to think about this is to consider them as almanacs. Each almanac recorded a different type of cycle and each almanac was complete to itself. Many of these calendars are still in use by the traditional Maya.
We use almanacs today to keep track of farming cycles, the fiscal year, the academic year, and so on. In our system, we record our almanacs against a constant timekeeping calendar based on the earth’s solar year. Our current-era calendar is called the Gregorian calendar.
The Mayan system was different. Each of the Mayan calendars relates to the cycle it measures. They created calendars for the solar year of Venus, for the zenith passage of the Pleiades constellation, for the rise and fall of insect cycles, and for the cycle of the precession of the equinox. Some of the calendars do not measure physical cycles, but spiritual cycles, the periodic release from the gods of spiritual qualities. It’s not correct to say that there was no timekeeping constant, like our Gregorian calendar, but it didn’t reside in any single cycle. It resided in the synchronized interaction of all the calendar cycles.
def•i•ni•tion
The Gregorian calendar is the solar calendar in use throughout most of the world, sponsored by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 as a corrected version of the Julian calendar.
One Calendar per Cycle
Each calendar represents a different cycle; each cycle was important, both physically and spiritually. All the cycles are interrelated. The calendars are sacred to the Maya and information about them is not released lightly. The following information is condensed from two sources: Carlos Barrios, an anthropologist and Mayan Elder; and Aluna Joy Yaxk’in, a modern-day mystic who works with many indigenous Elders. This is an abbreviated list of what some of the calendars measure and how long their cycles are:
◆ Agricultural cycles: Two calendars relate directly to agriculture; one was 130 days long and measured growing cycles of corn, the other was 180 days and measured insect cycles. Some insects are needed for fertilization, others are damaging to crops. Knowing the cycles was essential information.
◆ Human gestation of 260 days: Also related to the Venus cycle. It describes the connections between astronomical events and the human body. This calendar is called the Tzolk’in. It is a very sacred calendar at the heart of the system and will be explained in detail in the next chapter.
◆ The solar year of 365 days: This is the Haab cycle, which you will see in more detail in Chapter 5.
◆ Prophetic calendars: These are secret calendars in use by at least ten Mayan tribes today. There are five strictly prophetic calendars plus the Long Count, which has prophetic application.
◆ The moon cycle of 29.5 days: Measures the length of time it takes the moon to go through a complete phase from new moon to new moon.
◆ The galactic cycle of 26,000 years: Measures the precession of the equinox.
◆ The 13-baktun cycle (5,125 years) of the Long Count: Measures the changing of the “suns” in the precession. The Long Count is where the date 2012 comes from. We’ll describe it more fully in Chapter 5.
◆ Spiritual cycles: Measures cycles of energy released to the planet. They vary in length.
Three to five calendars are yet to be released but are believed to be prophetic.
Why So Many?
All the different cycles were important to daily living. Knowing the zenith passage of the sun, for example, helped farmers know when to plant crops. Knowing the patterns of insects helped farmers know what type of crop would have