THE SACRED MAYAN CALENDAR That which we call the Mayan Calendar might more accurately be termed “the Mesoamerican Calendar,” for it was common to almost all the peoples of ancient Mexico. The use of the Mesoamerican Calendar, along with pyramid temples, shared mythologies, and a reverence for jade, almost defines the entire region as a civilization. The calendar may well be as old as Mesoamerican civilization itself; many scholars have credited the invention of the Mesoamerican Calendar – often called the Sacred Calendar because of its powerful spiritual significance – to the Olmecs, the oldest of Mesoamerican cultures, which began about 1000 BCE.
At its most basic and fundamental level, the Mesoamerican, or Mayan, Calendar is made up of:
the Tzolk’in or “ritual almanac” of 260 days, comprised of 20 symbolic day signs and a series of 13 numbers (13 x 20 = 260), plus.. a solar calendar of 365 days, called the Haab in Yucatec Maya. The Tzolk’in and the Haab interlock and intermesh with one another like cogs in a wheel. The same combination of numbered days in the Tzolk’in and the Haab (for example, 13 Akbal in the Tzolk’in and 10 Yaxkin in the Haab) will re-occur once every 52 years. This 52-year cycle is known as a Calendar Round.
The Tzolk’in and the solar calendar were common to almost all peoples of Mesoamerica. They are still in use today among traditional peoples, especially the Tzolk’in; the ancient solar calendar is much more rare, but both of these calendrical factors are still used by the Ki’che’ Maya of highland Guatemala. The Tzolk’in forms the basis of much Mayan magic and ritual; it is a system of astrology as well as divination. The daysigns of the Tzolk’in comprise the essential myths and archetypes of ancient Mexico and the Mayan lands.
Bottom line, Ancient Peoples the Of Virtually Every Known Culture, ***Did NOT Subscribe To The Concept Of ***LINEAR TIME*** {Time moving endlessly from "past" to "future" in a straight line.} They followed Natural Teachings Of ***CYCLIC TIME*** and The Circle/Spiral Course Of NATURE & LIFE.
THE SACRED MAYAN CALENDAR
ReplyDeleteThat which we call the Mayan Calendar might more accurately be termed “the Mesoamerican Calendar,” for it was common to almost all the peoples of ancient Mexico. The use of the Mesoamerican Calendar, along with pyramid temples, shared mythologies, and a reverence for jade, almost defines the entire region as a civilization. The calendar may well be as old as Mesoamerican civilization itself; many scholars have credited the invention of the Mesoamerican Calendar – often called the Sacred Calendar because of its powerful spiritual significance – to the Olmecs, the oldest of Mesoamerican cultures, which began about 1000 BCE.
At its most basic and fundamental level, the Mesoamerican, or Mayan, Calendar is made up of:
the Tzolk’in or “ritual almanac” of 260 days, comprised of 20 symbolic day signs and a series of 13 numbers (13 x 20 = 260), plus..
a solar calendar of 365 days, called the Haab in Yucatec Maya.
The Tzolk’in and the Haab interlock and intermesh with one another like cogs in a wheel. The same combination of numbered days in the Tzolk’in and the Haab (for example, 13 Akbal in the Tzolk’in and 10 Yaxkin in the Haab) will re-occur once every 52 years. This 52-year cycle is known as a Calendar Round.
The Tzolk’in and the solar calendar were common to almost all peoples of Mesoamerica. They are still in use today among traditional peoples, especially the Tzolk’in; the ancient solar calendar is much more rare, but both of these calendrical factors are still used by the Ki’che’ Maya of highland Guatemala. The Tzolk’in forms the basis of much Mayan magic and ritual; it is a system of astrology as well as divination. The daysigns of the Tzolk’in comprise the essential myths and archetypes of ancient Mexico and the Mayan lands.
Bottom line, Ancient Peoples the Of Virtually Every Known Culture, ***Did NOT Subscribe To The Concept Of ***LINEAR TIME*** {Time moving endlessly from "past" to "future" in a straight line.} They followed Natural Teachings Of ***CYCLIC TIME*** and The Circle/Spiral Course Of NATURE & LIFE.
ReplyDelete