Mayan Calendar

"With no mirror number to complement it, 7 has its unique symmetry relation to 1 and 13, the alpha and the omega, as it were, of the Mayan number harmonic. At the center of the pattern, 7 represents the magic by which the whole holds together."

At this point it might be useful to introduce the first of our matrix tables. It relates to the number 13, and lists the associations corresponding to each of the thirteen divine numbers described above.

TABLE 1: 13 STAGES OF THE ENCHANTED WAVE CYCLE

Notes for Table 1: 1st Column - Number: The Arabic numerals have been placed here for the convenience of modern readers. Mayan point and bar notation can be inserted here by the more advanced student.
2nd Column - Mayan Name: The Mayan word for each number
3rd Column - Significance: These are mnemonic reductions of the metaphysical ideas that each number represents.
4th Column - Quality: Mayan numbers denote qualities as well as quantities. For this reason they are also referred to as "tones." Note that, in Western music theory, there are thirteen tones in a chromatic scale.
5th Column - Power: The magically inclined student will find these associations most useful.
6th Column - Action: These are the activities that will find the greatest success during the day bearing the number in question.
7th Column - Essence: Here are subjects for meditation that will allow you to contact the metaphysical ideas behind the numbers.
(Note that this table does not include the Mayan number "0," since this number has no qualities. In Mayan notation, the zero resembles the shell of a hermit crab. It represents an empty set.)

Unless you happen to be an exceptionally talented psychic, a brief glance at the above table that explains them probably will not put you into immediate contact with the Mayan deities or archetypical forces behind the thirteen numbers. However, don't let this discourage you. It takes time and patience to understand what the Tzolkin is all about. As www.tortuga.com (2005) tells us, "The best way to get to know the properties of the tones is through the thirteen day cycle or Enchanted Wave, which is the conjunction of the thirteen tones with a group of thirteen signs of the twenty that exist. In a given sequence of twenty signs, only thirteen will be inside of each Enchanted Wave. This sequence maintains itself and moves through the sequence of the signs, in the order of the tones, until all of the signs have passed through each of the tones. This total of combinations (260 Tzolkin) is equivalent to twenty Enchanted Waves."

In other words, the thirteen numbers reveal their qualities best when combined with one of the twenty signs, just as various spices bring out the flavor of different foods. Rice by itself might taste bland, but rice with cinnamon or curry will be more memorable, and each combination will be distinct from the others. There are 260 possible combinations of the 13 Numbers and twenty Signs, and the best way to get to know them will be by keeping a journal of the events that occur on any given day and relating these events to the corresponding deities. Like cooking, this gets easier over time. You might even find yourself having more time, since you can look ahead on the calendar to get a better idea of what will be happening in the near future and organize your time to fit the rhythm of events before they occur. Since the Moon takes about thirteen days to wax, and another thirteen days to wane, you can easily keep track of thirteen day cycles. Just make a point of looking for the Moon on the first day that it appears in the night sky. You will find it near the horizon, just after sunset. From that day, keep track of the thirteen day cycle by watching the moon wax full. From the first crescent to the full Moon will be one thirteen day cycle. From the waxing half-Moon to the waning half-Moon another, staggered 13-day cycle passes. A thirteen day cycle can also be observed from full Moon to dark Moon, and so on. Now let's take a look at the twenty signs and their characteristics.

Twenty Sacred Signs Or Kin-Gods

The Sacred Signs are like cartoon characters that can be drawn inside little boxes. They have funny expressions that may evoke laughter and amusement. The Signs are ideographs, not hieroglyphs. What's the difference? Hieroglyphs are symbolic images used to represent words or sounds. Ideographs are abstract images that represent ideas. An ideograph has a complex meaning that can change according to the context in which it is found. The Mayan Factor (1987) has the following thoughts for us on the Signs: "As ideographic symbols, there are many different ways in which these signs can be read. Dense with meanings, the Signs demand an analogical understanding. Analogical thinking randomly floats and leaps to a conclusion by like association linking seemingly dissimilar things. Analogical thinking is also that which creates form on the the basis of like proportions."

Lists of associations for the twenty signs will be found below. At this point, though it may seem like a random leap, we need to learn a bit more about the Mayan number system. As we mentioned before, the point in Mayan notation equals "1," while the bar equals "5." However, this is only true in the first position, or Order, of Mayan notation. Consider for a moment how, in the Arabic notation that we use, the number "1" can signify a value of "one" if it appears in the first position, a value of "ten" in the second position, and so on into the hundreds and thousands. In our notation, the numerical Orders proceed by the power of ten. The lowest Order number appears at the right, and the highest Order number appears at the left. Mayan numbers also can be represented in this fashion. However, the Orders proceed by the power of 20 rather than 10. Thus, a "1" in the first position indicates "one," in the second position, "twenty." A "5" in the first position means "five," in the second position, "one hundred."

To distinguish Mayan numbers from ordinary numbers in Arabic notation, we use a period to separate the Orders. Thus, the Mayan number "20," in Arabic notation, can be written as "1.0." Oddly enough, the number "385" would be written as "1.1.5." This inconsistency occurs only in the third Order, which corresponds to the 360-day Long Count or solar year, called a Tun. The third Order advances by a factor of 18 rather than 20: 18x20=360. The higher orders advance once again by a factor of 20. Twenty Tun (or one Katun) would therefore be represented by the number 1.0.0.0. If we apply the idea of Orders to the 20 Signs, the fact that there are twenty of them begins to take on deeper significance. By analogy, a "1" in the first position might represent one Kin-god or one day, while a "1" in the second position could signify all 20 of the kin-gods or the twenty days (1 Uinal) corresponding to them. Here is a chart showing the relation between the nine Orders of Mayan Time.

TABLE 2: NINE ORDERS (OR "LORDS") OF TIME

Notice how the Orders have a proportional relationship to one another, beginning with the 3rd. The third Order, or Tun, consists of 18 periods of twenty days each. However, the following Orders proceed by the power of 20. Twenty Tun make one Katun, twenty Katun make a Baktun, etcetera. A proportional or analogical relationship therefore exists between the various Orders: i.e., a Tun is to a Katun as a Katun is to a Baktun. Likewise, by extension, a Katun is to Baktun as a Baktun is to Pictun. And furthermore, a day is to a Vinal what a Tun is to a Katun. Thus, the Kin-gods can imprint their divine charge onto, and therefore rule, years and Katun, as well as days. Keep this idea in mind while you take a look at the ideographs that represent the 20 Sacred Signs.

Mayan Calendar: Index >>

20 Sacred Signs (Characteristics & Correspondences)

These lists of associations should be copied into your workbook so you can refer to them on a daily basis and expand them as you find out more about the Signs through direct experience. Note that the planetary attributions are listed as either "solar" or "galactic." These terms indicate an interaction of the planet in question with two of the Earth's magnetic fields. "Solar" refers to the solar field, while "galactic" refers to the lunar field. We will return to this point.

I. IMIX: God of the Earth. Root that precedes all material existence. Source of life. Dragon. Primal water. Blood. Nurturance. Breast. Mother energy. Power of birthing. Solar Neptune.
II. IK: God of the wind, and of life. Spirit. Breath. Wind. Cosmic energy. Inspiration. Vital principle. Respiratory system. Solar Uranus.
III. AKBAL: God of darkness and the underworld. The jaguar-god associated with the nocturnal Sun that moves through this underworld. House. Enclosing darkness. Night. The body. Place of mystery. Heart and internal organs. Solar Saturn.
IV. KAN: Youthful god of corn who brings abundance. Seed. Idea. Ordering power of growth. Generative principle. Sex and reproduction. Solar Jupiter.
V. CHICCHAN: Celestial serpent. Present in the four corners of the world. Makes rainfall. Nervous system. Reptilian brain. Integration and attainment of autonomic functions. Solar Asteroid Belt.
VI. CIMI: God of death. Revelation. Realization of mortality of physical body. Solar Mars.
VII. MANIK: God of the hunt, depicted as a hand. Grasping. Closure. Knowledge of power of completion. Realization of finiteness of physical being. Solar Earth.
VIII. LAMAT: Sky god, incarnated in the planet Venus. Star. Harmony. The octave. Intuitive realization of pattern of higher life. Love. Star Seed. Solar Venus.
IX. MULUC: God represented by jade and water, related to gods of rain. Raindrop. Cosmic seed in gate of awakened consciousness. Principle of communication. Expansion of higher life. Solar Mercury.
X. OC: God represented by the head of a dog. Guides the solar deity through the dark regions of the underworld. Mammalian brain. Emotional life. Guide. Principle of loyalty. Faithfulness that gives strength in the spiritual journey. Galactic Mercury.
XI. CHUEN: Patron deity of wisdom and the arts. Represented by the face of a monkey. Artist. Trickster. Principle of intelligent co-creation of higher life. Galactic Venus.
XII. EB: God who, along with Cauac, brings rain. Human as vessel for penetration of higher mind. Galactic Earth.
XIII. BEN: God who stimulates the growth of corn. Sky-walker. Pillars of Heaven and Earth. Aspiration for uniting Heaven and Earth. Principle of growth of higher mind. Galactic Mars.
XIV. IX: Jaguar-god. Associated with the Earth and the underworld. Sorcerer. Jaguar. Feline Energy. The night-seer. Attainment of magical powers. Highest level of individual conscious development. Galactic Asteroid Belt.
XV. MEN: Lunar goddess. Eagle. Higher collective mind. Planetary mind and consciousness. Galactic Jupiter.
XVI. CIB: God depicted as a shell and also with jaguar features. Associated with the four bacabes, spirits who hold up the corners of the world. Cosmic force. Ability to contact and commune with galactic consciousness. Galactic Saturn.
XVII. CABAN: Youthful goddess of the earth and of corn. In dual aspect, ancient goddess of the moon. Earth. Earth force. Synchronicity and. Power of intelligent synchronization. Galactic Uranus.
XVIII. ETZ'NAB: God of sacrifices, whose emblem is the obsidian dagger. Hall of mirrors. Ritual pattern of "no time." Ritual stroke. Ritual knife. Sword of wisdom and purification. Galactic Neptune.
XIX. CAUAC: Celestial dragon. Deity of storms and torrential rains. Hurricane. Thundercloud and thunder-being. Transformation that precedes full realization. Galactic Pluto.
XX. AHAU: Sun god. Closer of time cycles. Solar mind. Solar lord. Mastery. Realization of solar body. Wisdom. Ability to focus galactic whole. Power to encompass and generate entire cycle. Solar Pluto.

You might not understand all of these associations at first. We will be explaining many of the ideas contained in these lists as the course continues. Understand, however, that the Mayan gods can be contacted directly by means of the imagination. The words used to describe, and the ideographic drawings that represent, the Kin-gods, have been created as a bridge between your imagination and the metaphysical entities or forces that exist beyond the symbols. Meditation and reflection will therefore allow you to fill these thirteen numbers and twenty ideographs with a personal significance in harmony with the ideas from which they originated. Here's a table for the twenty ideographs that you have just been introduced to.

TABLE 3: THE 20 SIGNS OF THE TZOLKIN

Notes for Table 3: 1st Column - Numerals: Lower case Roman numerals have been used to designate the Signs in their cyclic order. Note however that these numerals are used here only for convenience (to distinguish the Signs from the Numbers) and are not traditionally associated with the Mayan ideographs.
2nd Column - Mayan Names: These are transliterations of the god-names in question, and their exact pronunciation probably cannot be determined without more extensive research on the part of the student.
3rd Column - Meanings: Here an attempt has been made to translate the Mayan god-names into English. However, since the gods are represented mainly by ideographs which symbolize entire ideas instead of single words, such translations must perforce be considered incomplete approximations. They serve a mnemonic purpose, to remind the student of the deeper meanings behind each ideograph.
4th Column - Colors: See Table 4.
5th Column - Action: This indicates the kind of activity appropriate to a day designated by the god in question.
6th Column - Power: Here we find the metaphysical abilities granted by the respective gods to those whom they favor. Such abilities will be most accessible to the student on the days ruled by the deity associated with the desired power.
7th Column - Essence: Qualities associated with each deity are listed here. These concepts can serve as subjects for meditations leading to a deeper understanding of the various Kin-gods.

Mayan Calendar: Index >>

5 Mayan Directions

You may have noticed that in column 4 of the above Table 3 there are four colors listed in rotating sequence for each group of four Signs. The Maya believed that the four corners of the world were sustained by four deities known as "bacabes." Much like Norse mythology, each direction had a Place or World associated with it. These worlds had characteristics determined by the movements of the Sun. Thus, the East was considered the birthplace of light since the Sun rises from there. Red was its color, for obvious reasons. The West was associated with death and transformation because the Sun goes there to rest at the end of each day. Its color, Black, matches that of the sky once the Sun has set. From the North came the cold winds and storms which purified the land of the Maya and made the people wise in the ways of preparing for bad weather. The sky full of clouds looks White, and so this color matches the North. The South was called the right hand of the Sun since the lands became hotter as one traveled in that direction, and because the Sun tends to favor the Southern part of the sky when one lives in the Northern Hemisphere. Yellow approximates the color of the Sun at its brightest, as it appears in the hot lands in the Southern part of Central America.

We read in Los Senores Del Tiempo (1994) concerning the Mayan sense of direction, "The observation of the apparent movement of Kin, the Sun, not only gave the Maya their sense of time; it also permitted them to situate themselves, orient themselves, in space. They believed that the sky was held up by four gods (the fifth part of 20) whom they called bacabes, each one situated in one of the four regions or directions of space, and with which they associated a certain color: the North corresponded to white; the South, to yellow; red was associated with the East and black with the West. To each direction were entailed deities, animals, and plants of the corresponding color... With the central region, being the fifth considered, they associated the color green."

The common people among the Maya may have believed in the literal existence of the four Sacred Lands that are said to embody the characteristics of each Direction, and these mythical places may have served as explanations for what happened to the Sun, as the scientific materialist who reads this work will doubtless insist. However, the Initiate, whether ancient or modern, knows that the Directions and the ideas associated with them serve an analogical purpose. The four cardinal Directions provided the Maya with a convenient means of classifying the 20 Signs into four groups of five Signs each. Notice how this makes perfect sense from a human point of view, since we have four limbs that each terminate in a group of five digits. The base-20 or vigesimal number system that the Maya used also makes more sense when we consider the fact that humans have ten fingers and ten toes, for a total of twenty digits. (We could infer that since Central America's warm climate makes it more comfortable to wear sandals, the people living there centuries ago must have found it easy to count with their toes as well as with their fingers.)

So what about the fifth direction? Notice how the four cardinal Directions seem to revolve in a circular fashion, just as the Signs and Numbers do. First comes East, then North, then West, then South, and finally East again. If we visualize the circle and put the four Directions in their places outside of it, we will see the center that these Directions revolve around. This center is the fifth direction, called YAXKIN. The Maya believed that out of this mythical center grew the World Tree, called Wacah Chan, the source of all life. The highest branches of the World Tree stretched to the center of the galaxy, known to the Maya as Hunab Ku. The roots of this Tree descended into the depths of the Underworld, also called Xibalba, the "place of fright."

We read in Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004), "This [Mayan] conception of the world was quadrangular: the four cardinal points were related with the center-whose color was blue-green-and each direction had its own god, bird, and tree associated with it. Inside that center, the Maya saw an axis or tree called Wakah Chan (Sixth Sky or Elevated Sky). This tree coexisted in the three vertical kingdoms. Its trunk stretched from one side of the intermediate world to the other. Its roots sank to the bottom of the watery region of the underworld, while its branches rose up to the zenith, in the highest layer of the celestial region. Wakah Chan was the King and occupied the center of Mayan existence, the supremely divine shaman-priest, he whom they summoned to this reality in order to fall into ecstatic visions..." The center, as this quote shows us, actually consists of three directions: in, up, and down. These three directions in one correspond to the three Kingdoms of which the Mayan world was composed: the Earth, the Sky, and the Underworld.

These three worlds are described in Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004): "The Mayan world consisted of three kingdoms superimposed: the celestial vault full of stars; the dry, intermediate world of the Earth, which was made to flower by the blood of the kings, and to give its fruits; and the black waters of the underworld. These three dimensions of existence were closely intertwined. In fact, they believed that these three kingdoms were alive and imbued with a sacred force. The sky was depicted as a great dragon, which created the rain when it spilled its blood, like a counterpoint to the sacrifices performed below, on Earth. The underworld, sometimes called Xibalba, was thought to be an invisible, parallel world into which the Mayan kings and also shamans could enter by means of an ecstatic trance. Much like the intermediate world, the underworld contained animals, plants, and inhabitants of various kinds, as well as a landscape very similar to that of Earth. When the Sun became hidden, Xibalba rotated over the Earth to become the night sky."

From the preceding passage we can see that the Sky and the Underworld were somewhat interchangeable, unlike the Heaven and Hell of Christian cosmology. In spite of this very important difference, the Maya had no trouble using the Cross of the Spanish conquistadors as a substitute for Wacah Chan, and in this way they continued to practice their own religion inside the Christian churches. The four points of the Cross correspond very neatly to the four Mayan Directions, and the place where the four arms of the Cross meet therefore symbolizes the Sacred Center out of which the World Tree grows. Interestingly enough, the Mayan astronomers used wooden crosses to sight on stars at night. The cross had always been carried by Mayan priests, and so the Spanish Christians who also used the cross were recognized by natives of the New World as practitioners of the Mayan religion. Here is the table of the five Directions or Colors.

TABLE 4: FIVE MAYAN DIRECTIONS

Here, in this simple scheme, we see the most basic of the Mayan calendar cycles. Just as a drummer might play a repetitive beat in 4/4 time, so the Mayan Directions repeat themselves in a four-day cycle. A look at the table of 20 Signs shows that in any twenty day period the colors go through five complete cycles. The Signs bearing the same color have an analogical relationship to one another. They can be divided into "teams," so to speak, and the color indicates to which team a given Sign belongs. To take the analogy further, we could say that each Sign can score points for its team on the day that it rules. For example, a day ruled by Imix would be one in which the Red team would have a chance to score. This means, metaphorically, that Red days give the forces of the East a chance to influence the world. In the East we have Light and Generation, so we might say that Red days are good for starting projects, making discoveries, making new friends, or whatever else we can generally associate with the color red. This allows us to organize our days according to different activities. For example, if we were monks living in a monastery, we might do gardening on Red days, meditate on White days, study on Black days, and exercise on Yellow days. The ordinary person's preferred activities can be divided up in a similar fashion. You can use your imagination to think of other ways to use this idea of the four day color cycle. Jose Arguelles, in his book The Mayan Factor (1987), has equated four of the Signs with states of consciousness or mental evolution in human beings. Here are the four "dimensions of consciousness":

1. CHICCHAN: reptilian brain, autonomic limbic system; metabolic, vegetative, physical garment; East; Red.
2. OC: emotional-conceptual, strategizing, horizontal intelligence; North; White.
3. MEN: higher mind, analogical vertical intelligence resonant with the evolutionary purpose of the planet; West; Black.
4. AHAU: solar mind, mind of light, realm of evolutionary guides of the planet, called by Maya AHAU KINES, or Solar Lords; South; Yellow.

Using this scheme, we can dedicate one day out of each four-day cycle to the activities corresponding to one of the four states of consciousness. Or, better yet, we can watch ourselves switching automatically between the various states of consciousness throughout the days, weeks, and months. Naturally occurring cycles will reveal themselves through this process of self-observation.

Now we have become acquainted with both the thirteen day-cycle and the four-day cycle. Put them together and we get a 52-day cycle. This means that it takes 52 days for the same number and color combination to recur. For example, if we start with the day corresponding to the Number 1, and the Sign Imix, we could call this day Red 1. The next Red 1 day would occur 52 days later, but this time the sign would be Ben instead of Imix. Same team, different Sign. This 52-day cycle consists of four 13-day cycles, as well as thirteen 4-day cycles. The Moon shows its light for about 26 days, or two 13-day cycles, as we noted before. Since a complete lunar revolution takes 29 1/2 days, the dark time of the Moon lasts for about 4 days. In order to equate the Mayan Time cycles with Lunar Time and Gregorian Time at a basic level, we simply add together two 13-day cycles and one 4-day cycle. This gives us 30 days, the rough equivalent of a month or Moon. The way events inside of one month tend to repeat themselves in the next month ought to give you a rough idea of the way that the influences of the Signs and Numbers recur inside of these roughly 30 day-long periods. The same kind of idea can also be applied to the 52 day cycle. In this case, though, we would be adding two four day cycles to the 52-day cycle in order to get two complete Moons or months (i.e., 60 days).

The next cycle can be found by taking five of these 52-day periods together, which gives us 260 days, the length of the Mayan Sacred Year. The Tzolkin or Almanac gives us a picture of this Sacred Year, and shows how the same Number and Sign combination repeats once every 260 days. (See Table below.)

TABLE 4: THE TZOLKIN (13 STAGES X 20 SIGNS = 260 KIN)

Notes On Tzolkin Table:

At first this table may seem like pure Greek to you. However, it's actually quite simple to read. The trick lies in knowing where to start. Begin reading at the top of the "0" column, and continue down. Notice how the numbers advance from 1 to 13, then start over again. This shows the 13 day progression of the enchanted wave cycle. The rows indicate which Kin-god rules the days in the row. Thus, the first day of the Tzolkin or sacred year will always be 1 Imix, the second day will be 2 Ik, and so on. If we look at the previous tables, we can come up with colorful names that will tell us what to expect from each of these days. For example, 1 Imix could be called Magnetic Dragon, 2 Ik would be Lunar Wind, and so on. To find today's date on the Tzolkin, you must first find where the 365-day civil year or Haab begins. The Mayan civil year (Haab) currently begins on July 26. Because of the mathematical elegance of the Mayan calendar system, years always begin on one of four Signs, in the following sequence: MULUC (East); IX (North); CAUAC (West); and KAN (South). The first days of the year for the years 2005-2012 are as follows: 2005 - 13 KAN; 2006 - 1 MULUC; 2007 - 2 IX; 2008 - 3 CAUAC; 2009 - 4 KAN; 2010 - 5 MULUC; 2011 - 6 IX; 2012 - 7 CAUAC. If you are reading this in 2006, for example, simply locate 1 MULUC on the Tzolkin table. You will find it in row ix. (MULUC), column 10. This point (ix., 10) on the graph corresponds to July 26, 2006. If the date is actually August 6, 2006, for example, you will need to count forward eleven days on the table. August 6 will thus correspond to row xx, column 10. The number in the box is 12, so the day-Sign will be 12 AHAU, or Crystal Sun. If you find that your count takes you beyond the end of the table, just start over again at the beginning. This may be confusing at first, but if you persevere it will suddenly become clear how this works.

Mayan Calendar: Index >>

Historical Analysis And Prophecy: Discussion

The Mayan AH KINES, or solar priests, knew the numbers of days relating to many astronomical cycles. Furthermore, they knew how to correlate these cycles with events in their own history. Most interestingly of all, they had ways of calculating the cyclical recurrence of historical events in accordance with astronomical data. The Mayan prophecies therefore have a scientific, mathematical, and physical basis. If we accept the idea that the force of gravitation exerts a tremendous influence on human life, then we must also acknowledge the power and relevance of astronomical influences in our own lives. Indeed, to deny the effects of gravity would be to live in willful ignorance of the facts concerning life on Earth. We all can see for ourselves that water falls from the sky periodically. This rainfall amply demonstrates the Earthly law of gravity. Likewise, anyone who lives on the coast can see the effects of the Moon on ocean swells and tides. Our bodies, being mostly made of water, are also affected by the gravitational forces of the Earth and the Moon.

The spinning rotation of the Earth can be measured by the apparent movement of the Sun. Therefore the Kin or day represents an Earthly gravitational cycle of approximately 24 hours in length. Many numbers of significance to the Mayan solar priests are approximations of astronomical gravitation cycles. The effects of these interplanetary or cosmic cycles can be felt or perceived more clearly at night, when the Sun's rays do not interfere with the magnetic attractions of the Moon and the other planets in our solar system. However, such cosmic effects are also cyclical in nature, and thus their influence becomes apparent on Earth gradually, in stages.

We speak of change happening in society across generations. The Maya also examined generations, but they called them Katuns. A Katun, as you will doubtless recall, lasts twenty Tun (about 19.7 Gregorian years), just as a Vinal lasts 20 Kin. By analogy, a Tun can be under the influence of a specific Number and Sign combination, just like a day can be. Since the Signs and Numbers repeat themselves in all possible permutations every time the Sacred Year of 260 days passes, it follows that Tun would repeat in a similar fashion.

Note on the Tzolkin table how not only the first day, but the entire cycle beginning with the first Vinal repeats after 260 days. Notice how there are thirteen Vinal in the Sacred Year. If we now substitute Tun for Kin on the Tzolkin table, it becomes clear how the same type of Katun will tend to repeat itself every 260 Tun. Thus, the Mayan shaman-astronomers examined the records kept by their predecessors of 256 years (13 Katuns) in the past in order to predict the major events of the coming generation. On this point we read in Los Senores Del Tiempo (1994), "The Maya had been registering in their steles, in a regular manner since the Early Classical Period, the most important events of each katun, and thus made possible the transmission of historical knowledge, from generation to generation, through the Ah Kin." If we apply this kind of historical analysis to U.S. history from the 2006 perspective, we might be interested to note that the current year corresponds to 1750 A.D. The coincidence of two hereditary "Kings" named George existing at both ends of such far removed twenty year periods in history does seem to lend substance to the Mayan idea of cyclical recurrence in time.

The character of the first Katun in a 260 Tun cycle takes even more significance when we take into account the Mayan idea that the first stage of a thirteen stage cycle determines the nature of the entire cycle. As we read online at www.tortuga.com (2005), "The characteristics of the sign with which each thirteen day cycle begins prevail throughout the thirteen days of the cycle. Thus the sign located in the first tone defines the purpose and direction of the entire thirteen days. For this reason the first day of each thirteen day cycle gives us the name of that cycle. If the cycle begins with the sign of the Seed, it would be called the Enchanted Wave of the Seed." By analogy, the first Vinal of a given Sacred Year determines the character of all thirteen Vinal in the entire 260 day cycle. Taking the analogy one step further, we can see how the first Katun in a 13 Katun cycle lays its particular divine charge on all 260 Tun in that cycle. Therefore the first Katun of previous 260 Tun periods must be examined in order for a prophetic picture of the coming centuries to be constructed.

In order for us to determine where we are in relation to the current 260 Tun cycle (also called an AHAU cycle), we must locate where the previous cycles of that length ended and count forward from those dates. According to The Mayan Factor (1987), "By 1927, what is cumbersomely known as the Goodman-Martinez Hernandez-Thompson correlation of Mayan and Christian chronology was completed. This meant that the 'beginning' of the Mayan 'Great Cycle' had been variously located between August 6 and August 13, 3113 B.C. on the Christian calendar. In Mayan chronology, this date is written: 13.0.0.0.0. This date, 13.0.0.0.0., will occur again, December 21, 2012 A.D." If we count forward from 3113 B.C. to 2012 A.D., we find that about 5,125 years will have passed between these two dates. Here we see how the Tunic year becomes more useful for measuring longer periods of time. If we count the number of days in 5,125 years and divide them by 360 (the number of days in a Tunic year), we find them equal to 5,200. Thus, the Mayan "Great Cycle" lasts 5,200 Tun. It consists of 13 Baktuns of 400 Tun each. The 5,200 Tun cycle can also be divided into 20 AHAU cycles of 260 Tun each. The 20th AHAU cycle ends in 2012 AD, and therefore began 256 years earlier, in 1756. The crucial Katun in the 260 Tun period previous to ours, therefore, must be the one beginning in 1756 and ending in 1776 A.D. Students of U.S. history can confirm that this twenty year period defined the pattern that has prevailed in North America for the last 250 years or so. By Mayan logic, the two decades beginning in 2012 and ending in 2032 A.D. will set the pattern for the course of history until 2268 A.D. or so.

Lest this comparison seem isolated, let's roll the calendar back another 256 years from the beginning of the current AHAU cycle and see what we come up with. If you do the math, you'll see that the previous AHAU cycle (being the 19th of the 20 that will pass during the 5,200 Tun great cycle) began in 1499. The crucial Katun of that cycle, according to the Mayan "1st tone of 13 in the enchanted wave sets the pattern" idea, would have begun in 1499 and ended in 1519 A.D. As we mentioned earlier, Hernan Cortez landed in Mexico on Good Friday in the year 1519. Note how the Spanish empire rose to prominence in the centuries following the conquest of Mexico, or what came to be known as New Spain. This year, incidentally, is located 256 years away from the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence in 1776 A.D. In the centuries following the Revolutionary War, the United States has also risen to prominence as a world empire. The eerie correspondence of these two significant historical dates with known Mayan calendar patterns seems to confirm the possibility that the future can be at least partially predicted by mathematical means. The next significant turning point in history, by Mayan logic, will be remembered as having taken place in 2032 A.D. The twenty years previous to this date, beginning in 2012 A.D., will determine the nature of that historical turning point, and define the character of world history for the next 250 years. What we do for the next 20 years between 2012 and 2032 AD will be important for setting a positive "tone" for the future.

Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004) lists the following prophecies for the years 2012 to 2032 A.D.: "Prophecy #2-Which tells of hunger and misery. By half will their bread be reduced, by half will their water be reduced in this time of the Katun 2 AHAU... It is the will of God that his temple will be reduced by half during his empire... This will be the crown of God's word." These prophecies come from the Book Of The Books Of Chilam Balam, an ancient book written in the Mayan language of the Yucatan which was discovered in 1868 and subsequently translated.

While these revelations may be capable of fulfilling themselves under the auspices of tomorrow's Napoleonic leaders, the idea of the all-important Katun takes on an even more sobering significance when we consider that the cycle of thirteen Baktuns also begins again in 2012. Again, if we accept that the evidence of history tends to favor the Mayan ideas so far presented, it will be evident that the first Baktun of a 13 Baktun cycle determines the nature of the entire cycle of 13 Baktuns, or 5,200 Tun (5,125 years). Therefore the first Katun of the coming AHAU cycle, the years 2012 to 2032, will also determine the nature of the first 256 years of the most crucial Baktun of the next 13 Baktuns. By extension, the historical events occurring in the twenty years from 2012 to 2032 A.D. will set the majority of the historical pattern that will prevail on Earth for the next 5 millennia! At such a crucial time, the seekers of Wisdom on Earth might look for the arrival of a new prophet. The Book Of The Books Of Chumayel predicts just such an occurrence for the years 1993 to 2012 A.D., also called Katun 4 AHAU (from Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004)): "The quetzal will arrive, the green bird of Yaxum will arrive, Ah Kantenal will arrive, he of the Yellow Tree; the bloody vomit will arrive for the fourth time. Kukulcan will arrive, Quetzal Serpent, in pursuit of the 'Itzaes'; Wizards of the Water. The fourth time that the Katun speaks, the fourth time that he comes to 'Itza,' Wizard of the Water." Concerning this prophecy, Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004) tells us that "the people identified as seekers of the conscience, the new wizards of the present, those who have not conformed to the official religious traditions, those who inquire into themselves, those who navigate in the dark sea of the conscience, these will be the first to identify with the beautiful prophet of the Feathered Serpent."

Who will determine what happens in the years from 2012 to 2032 A.D.? If we followed the thinking of the Mayan astronomer priests, we would look to the "gods" for this determination. However, today as rationalists we tend to see such divinities as metaphors. A metaphor serves a useful purpose: it helps us to make comparisons between similar things of different orders. In the language of the scientific materialist point of view in which we are now entrenched, we would call these powerful influences "gravitational forces" rather than gods. An astronomical analysis of how the solar system will appear during the next 26 years might yield a rich harvest of prophecies for the coming Great Age. Skilled analysts of history would need to team up with talented archeo-astronomers in order to perfect the new science of astronomical prophecy that could soon be reborn from the ashes of Mayan thought. A computer program that charted the movements of planets and stars in accordance with Mayan calendar cycles might make the prophetic powers of a Nostradamus, or his modern equivalent, available to everyone on Earth.

This speculative scenario begs the question: will we like the things we see coming round the bend? Also: by seeing things before they occur, will we be able to affect the nature and outcome of the things we see? The conscious interplay of fate and freewill may give rise to a new art of living in this new millennium. Since Mayan Time also flows backwards, the cosmic computer containing the entire system of Mayan astronomical cycles may already exist in some future dimension. Such a computer might have the ability to project objects made of light backwards in time. This hypothesis could explain the appearance of UFO's in the 20th century. As Terence McKenna tells us in The Archaic Revival (1991), "I take the flying saucer to be an image of the future state of humanity. It is a kind of millenarian transformation of the human where the soul is exteriorized as the apotheosis of technology. It is that eschatological event that is casting enormous shadows backward through time over the historical landscape."

On the other hand, it seems unlikely that modern computer scientists will follow the Mayan lead. Even the most advanced gravitational and electromagnetic theorists may be unable to swallow the idea of Fate, in spite of the evidence supporting cyclic periodicity and astronomical predetermination. On this point we read in The Mayan Factor (1987): "Ever since the triumph of rationalism and the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth century, it has been an institutionalized truism that modern science represents the pinnacle of human achievement. This belief is the cornerstone of the doctrine of material, technological progress. The notion that there could have been a science more advanced than the prevailing one which, after all, underlies every aspect of global industrial civilization, has been virtually unthinkable. Yet the moment has come when the rationally unthinkable may be the only solution remaining in order to allow safe passage beyond the treacherous onslaught of nuclear militarism and environmental poisoning which now threatens the existence of this planet." In other words, the idea of the Great Cycle's end in 2012, however irrational it may seem to today's hidebound materialists, may be our best tool for preventing the immanent destruction of human life on Earth. As wars continue to escalate and uranium bombs fall with increasing frequency, it becomes more and more difficult to dismiss the idea that nuclear and environmental destruction have reached catastrophic levels. As McKenna notes in The Archaic Revival (1991), "The old metaphor of psyche as the caterpillar transformed by metamorphosis is species wide analogy. We must undergo a metamorphosis in order to survive the momentum of the historical forces already in motion."

Fortunately we have discovered a science of history that allows us to put the current nightmare scenario of world catastrophe into a larger perspective. According to the Maya, 2012 A.D. also marks the end of a 400 Tun cycle known as a Baktun. Each Baktun has a prevailing philosophical paradigm imprinted onto it by astronomical forces, just as the divine charge carried by an AHAU cycle of 260 Tun determines the political events that will take place in those centuries. The current Baktun, which began in 1618 A.D., has been characterized by the development of technology and materialist science. During this cycle we have lost our connection with the spiritual, life-affirming forces of the cosmos. Indeed, as a society we have come to believe and act as if technology alone can sustain us, and that life has no intrinsic value. Ecosystems, classes of poor people, and less advanced nations can all be ruthlessly sacrificed in our day and age to feed the almighty god of profit. The logic of profit justifies the destruction of forests, rivers, animals, and human beings, since these things can most easily be reduced to money when they are dead or dying. We read in The Mayan Factor (1987), "Mythically, the Faustian development of global industrialization represents a turning away from the light-our guiding inner 'soul-light'-to pursue the immediate power gains of a facile technological mastery over our material means. In truth, this turning away is a surrender to the forces of darkness, called by the ancient Mexicans, Tezcatlipoca, the Dark Lord of Time. It is Tezcatlipoca, the trickster counterpart of Quetzalcoatl, who, disguised as Cortez, arrived in Mexico in A.D. 1519 announcing the entry into the present 468-year 'hell-cycle.' Emboldened by the example of men like Cortez, aided and abetted by the raw might which technological mastery has brought certain of us-we have endeavored to build an entire civilization in ignorance of the principles of light and solar rulership." Our hope for a more harmonious way of life on Earth lies in the idea that the next Baktun, beginning in 2012 A.D., will give rise to a new philosophical paradigm.

This new paradigm, or dominant myth if you will, has already begun to make its presence felt. The ecology movement, the New Age or higher consciousness movement, and the peace movement are all partial foreshadowings of this new paradigm. The prevailing myth of the coming Great Age or Aeon could be described as an awakening of the collective, or planetary, consciousness. According to The Mayan Factor (1987), "The tension between the qualities-the one of material transformation, the other of a planetary consciousness harmonically attuned-actually represents the climax of the entire 5,125-year historical process. While the tendency toward material transformation functions as the outer morphogenetic sheath producing the current, dominant paradigm of scientific materialism, the counterpointing tendency accounts for the actual paradigm which emerges through the tension-the paradigm of a resonant unified field of planetary consciousness."

Interestingly enough, such morphogenetic memory fields have been associated with the phenomena of spirits, which in turn tend to manifest in the vicinity of ruins like those the Maya left in Central America. In an interview with Terence McKenna in The Archaic Revival (1991) we read: Question, "Rupert Sheldrake has recently refined the theory of the morphogenetic field-a nonmaterial organizing collective memory field that affects all biological systems. This field can be envisioned as a hyperspatial information reservoir that brims and spills over into a much larger region of influence when critical mass is reached-a point referred to as morphic resonance. Do you think this morphic resonance could be regarded as a possible explanation for the phenomena of spirits?" Answer, "Spirits are the presence of the past, specifically expressed. When you go to ruins like Anghor Wat, or Tikal, the presence is there."

The key to unlocking the memories that relate to the ancient Mayan mysteries therefore lies within the vicinity of the stone ruins that they left behind. Similar ruins in such places as the South of England, Stonehenge, have been associated with spirits and also with UFO's. The Earth's magnetic memory fields may be the most tangible basis for the planetary mind that we have yet to discover, and the 'phenomena' associated with these fields may represent the entering of that larger mind into the field of human consciousness. We read in The Archaic Revival (1991), "There is a belief that there is a hyperobject called the Overmind, or God, that casts a shadow into time. History is our group experience of this shadow. As one draws closer and closer to the source of the shadow, the paradoxes intensify, the rate of change intensifies. What is happening is that the hyperobject is beginning to ingress into three-dimensional space. One way of thinking of this is to suppose that the waking world and the world of the dream have begun to merge so that the laws that operate in hyperspace, can at times operate in three-dimensional space when the barrier between the two modes becomes weak."

The process of mental transformation now taking place among those in tune with the dreamy vibrations of the New Age or New Aeon can be partially accounted for by the changing nature of the Earth's magnetic fields or "morphogenetic sheaths." These fields act as mediators between the surface of this planet and the magnetic forces of other planets. The Mayan Factor (1987) explains the nature of these magnetic fields: "As Tesla observed, the resonance of the Earth functions like oscillations of a giant electromagnetic battery. The key features of this battery are the two shells of the ionosphere, respectively 60 and 70 miles above the terrestrial bottom of the electromagnetic ocean. It is the currents of the ionosphere in direct resonance with the solar and lunar fields which moderate the wind and atmospheric currents of the lowest layers of the electromagnetic ocean. Oscillating at approximately 7.8 cycles per second, the ionosphere is in direct resonance with the human brain, which-when oscillating at 7.8 cycles per second-reflects a condition of samadhi or meditational absorption. This common neural-ionic frequency is a prime key to unlocking the new technology. Far beyond the ionosphere lie the next two components of the earth's electromagnetic battery, the radiation belts-the lower, positively charged, proton lunar-galactic belt, and the upper, negatively charged, electron solar belt. It is these belts, like a cellular membrane, that mediate the larger electromagnetic currents connecting the Earth to the Sun and the other systems of the galactic hub, Hunab Ku. In polar resonance with the outer radiation belts lies the Earth's memory blanket: the PSI bank, the global brain, the noosphere, the realm of the archetypes of the evolutionary cycle, and the mystic kingdom of Shambhala. Corresponding to the interaction of the higher collective mind, represented by the sign MEN, with AHAU, the solar mind, the functioning of the planetary mind and memory field is inseparable from the planetary mediation of electromagnetic energy from the vast galactic ocean."

In light of this passage, the attribution of the Sacred Signs to "solar" and "galactic" aspects of the planets in our solar system becomes clear. The planetary forces mediated by the electron solar belt are represented by the signs with a "solar" planetary attribution. Likewise, the "galactic" Signs represent those planetary forces mediated by the proton lunar galactic belt. Consciousness of the energies acting on us through these fields can be built by use of the Tzolkin. The revival of Mayan calendar science can thus contribute to the creation of a planetary consciousness.

We must not imagine, however, that a mere intellectual understanding of the global brain will suffice. On the contrary, we must learn to sense the invisible magnetic forces imprinted as information into the Earth's PSI Bank with our bodily senses. We are connected to the Earth's magnetic field through our bodies. Consciousness of this fact will enable us to become one with the planetary mind. The planet mind communes with the solar mind, which in turn focuses the cosmic energies emanating from the center of the galaxy, or Hunab Ku. The Mayan Factor (1987) tells us: "Within the context of the morphogenetic field, the 5,200 Tun Great Cycle can be viewed as a galactically activated field of a purposeful resonance divided into thirteen cyclical subfields. As a total field of resonance, the purpose of the Great Cycle is to facilitate Earth's liftoff-the creation and realization of the planetary light body. Through human instrumentation resulting in the transformation of matter and the simultaneous creation of a species-transcending coordination of intelligence, a genuine planetary consciousness is attained. This acquisition of planetary intelligence, represented by the sign MEN, is the prerequisite for attaining conscious resonance with the central solar intelligence, represented by the sign AHAU."

This communication with the "solar intelligence" was performed in ancient times by the Mayan shaman-astronomers, or AH KINES. Today, the rediscovery of these Mayan practices enables us to attain the same contact with the solar mind that the ancients once enjoyed. As we read again in The Mayan Factor (1987), "The AH KINES, 'Servant-Warriors of the Sun,' are those humans who fully realize the dream light body within the physical body and-understanding the circuitry of the human organism-use the light body to navigate the electromagnetic waters which we call the universe. Through attunement of their sensory radar and skilled use of the Kuxan Suum, the 'galactic umbilical cord' that emerges from the solar plexus, the AH KINES, the realized ones of the past and present, are able to become star-mediums, channeling galactic information directly into the terrestrial ocean floor of the great electromagnetic sea. In this way, they hop Zuvuyas and keep the sacred count. Possessing the same circuitry, we may do the same as the fabled AH KINES." The fledgling metaphysical sciences of today that utilize the chakras as centers for energy work have only begun to rediscover the electromagnetic ocean that unites us all. Those with the wisdom to look forward in time will see the necessity of developing the human energy sciences to a planetary level. We must begin to consciously interact with the Earth's magnetic fields.

A modern Mayan shaman expresses this seemingly complicated concept of rediscovering the Mayan shamanic tradition with simple elegance in Las 13 Profecias Mayas (2004) when he said, "There is a flow of events that you cannot dominate. We are all in a river, and who knows where it will take us? It's your decision what to do or not to do inside of this river: oppose yourself to its current, or flow with it, letting it carry you. We are in the beginning of the rebirth of the Mayan civilization, and all of us can be Maya. To be Mayan is not a question of race but rather of spirituality. A Maya is someone who is in harmony with the Earth and with the Universe."

We all possess the equipment necessary to focus electromagnetic energy: our bodies. As The Mayan Factor (1987) informs us, "The elements of the circuitry connecting the third-dimensional physical garment to, and inclusive of, the fourth dimensional light body are well known. First, there is the sensory radar-the five sense organs and "mind;" then, there are the neural canals which carry electrical impulses from the sense organs to the central computer, the brain, for processing; finally, there are the psychophysical centers associated with the glandular system called the chakras and their network of subtle energy flows. The circuit is completed by the subtle currents that flow as resonant transmission from the chakra system directly through the Kuxan Suum, the galactic fibers, to the main currents of the electromagnetic ocean which connect us to the plane of the solar lords and guides and thence to the Sun and the galactic hub." Thus, we are all capable of channeling cosmic energies and directing them into our Earthly environment.

If we are wise, we will attune ourselves to the cosmic forces acting on the Earth at this time and direct the energies that we receive in such a way as to create a harmonious world in which human life can flourish for centuries and millennia to come. If we take the time to visualize and construct "4th-dimensional light bodies" for ourselves, we will find ourselves possessed of a host of new powers. Among these will be the power to send our consciousness to any corner of the universe in a single instant. As we read in The Archaic Revival (1991), "The conventions of relativity say that time slows down as one approaches the speed of light, but if one tries to imagine the point of view of a thing made of light, one must realize that what is never mentioned is that if one moves at the speed of light there is no time whatsoever. There is an experience of time zero. So if one imagines for a moment oneself to be made of light, or in possession of a vehicle that can move at the speed of light, one can traverse from any point in the universe to any other with a subjective experience of time zero." This means that our journeys into outer space do not require high-tech spaceships, since our light bodies are the "warp-speed" vehicles of the future. Nor must we waste precious years en route to other planets and star systems, because light-speed travel occurs instantaneously.

The dawning of planetary consciousness could spell the end of militarized industrialism and mark the beginning of the Earth's natural regeneration. Collective human awareness of cosmic forces could enable the planetary mind, symbolized by the Sacred Sign MEN, to focus more power than technology could ever hope to control. The result of such coordinated intelligence combined with an infinite source of energy can hardly be predicted. As Terence McKenna tells us in The Archaic Revival (1991), "Our wish, our salvation, and our only hope is to end the historical crisis by becoming the alien, by ending alienation, by recognizing the alien as an Overmind that holds all the physical laws of the planet intact in the same way that one holds an idea intact in one's thoughts." We can imagine that such a dramatic shift in human awareness, if it could be achieved, would redefine the political and philosophical landscape of the Earth for many years to come.

In The Mayan Factor (1987) we read: "Though the present, scientifically materialistic power-holders believe that the world is the way it is because they have made it so, in actuality they are playing out roles specified by the harmonic wave phase of which the present era is a function. The belief they hold about the world, the dominant belief subscribed to and accepted by the governing institutions of present world order, define the prevailing paradigm.