The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012 - Dr. Synthia Andrews Nd [32]
In Sync
A major reason for tracking so much astronomical information was to gain control and advantage over life events. All aspects of community were connected to the calendars; when wars were fought, when ball games were played, when rituals were performed. Events were planned to take advantage of celestial alignments and the energy released into the earth. Diviners were consulted for weddings, business ventures, and all personal matters. As much as the Maya used this information for material gain, it was even more meaningful spiritually.
Being in sync with the cycles, being able to “sky-walk” celestial connections, was the ultimate goal. For the Maya, the calendars were a map to spiritual evolution. The mythology of humans overcoming death and becoming gods related to the evolution of consciousness and transcending material reality. This was the great motivating force for the Maya. It’s also the underlying prophecy for 2012.
The Least You Need to Know
◆ There are approximately 20 Mayan calendars that work together in an interactive system.
◆ The Gregorian calendar is based on a solar year, while the Mayan “calendar” is a group of calendars that are all based on different celestial and spiritual events.
◆ In Maya-view, time is formative: the quality of a time period forms the events that occur. This is the basis of synchronicity.
◆ Celestial alignments allow interactions, increasing the exchange of k’ul and activating the energy grid.
Chapter 5
The Calendar Clues
In This Chapter
◆ The main calendar systems of the Mayan calendar
◆ The interlocking mechanisms
◆ Writing and reading Mayan dates
◆ Determining the calendar start and end dates
We started our journey toward 2012 exploring the vastness and complexity of the Mayan timekeeping system. We discovered their comprehensive understanding of celestial patterns. Our next step is to look at the calendars themselves. What do they measure? How do they fit together?
The Maya kept meticulous records of the movements of the sky deities. Their data was recorded in the codices; every repetition of the cycle provided more information. Over centuries they refined their knowledge and began to predict future events based on the patterns of the past.
In this chapter, you’ll learn about the main calendars and how they interact. You’ll learn how archeologists correlated Mayan time to our own, and you’ll discover how the date 2012 was determined.
Tzolk’in or Cholqij Calendar
This is the most sacred of the Mayan almanacs. It measures the intention of the gods as they express themselves through creation. The original Quiche Mayan name was Cholqij. This calendar was lost during the Spanish invasion, but the 260-day cycle was maintained by elders in the highlands of Guatemala.
Codex Cues
The Aztec had an equivalent calendar that clearly originated from the Cholqij. In the Nahuatl language of the Aztec it was called the Tonalpohualli.
This calendar was the center of the Mesoamerican timekeeping system. It was in use in the pre-Mayan era of the Olmec at a city called Izapa. It’s believed it was initiated in 1200 B.C.E. and has been in continuous use for the last 3,000 years. Maya today use it in the same way it was used in the past—to determine the timing of religious and ceremonial events and for divination.
Using our cogwheel analogy from Chapter 4, the Tzolk’in is located in the center of the calendar gears; it’s the wheel all others relate back to. It tracks something we can’t really comprehend, the “divinatory year.” It represents the center of the galaxy, and is linked to the center of each person. It brings the universe into alignment.
The Tzolk’in’s 260-day span does not have direct correlation to planetary orbits or repeating astronomical patterns. However, it is the common denominator in the cycles of the sun, the planets of our