The Astrology Center of America, 207 Victory Lane, Bel Air, MD 21014 Tel: 410-638-7761; Fax:410-638-5154; *Toll-free (orders only): 800-475-2272*
	Home	Author Index	Title Index	Subject Index	Vedic Books	Tarot	E-Mail: Dave

MesoAmerican Astrology

Efforts to reconstruct the sciences of the ancient Mayas of Central America continue. All but a handful of their original codices were deliberately destroyed and only a few of the later researchers bothered with the astrology of it. So here is what we've rediscovered - so far:

Bruce Scofield

Barry Orr

HOW TO PRACTICE MAYAN ASTROLOGY: The Tzolkin calendar & your life path - Bruce Scofield & Barry C. Orr, $20.00
Contents: Introduction: Mayan astrology for modern times; List of figures.
Part 1: Building & reading the Mayan pyramid chart:
1. The Sun & the day signs
2. The Moon & the Trecena
3. The lords of the night
4. The years & the yearbearers
5. The planet Venus
6. Putting it together - individual Mayan charts
Part 2: Further studies in Mayan astrology:
7. The burner days
8. The cycle of the thirteen Katuns
9. Dispelling myths about the Mayan calendar
10. A Mayan planetary horoscope
Part 3: The Mayan almanac, 1920-2020
Table 1: Tzolkin day-signs, Trecenas & lords of the night
Table 2: Mayan new year dates
Table 3: Phases of Venus
Table calculation notes
Bibliography
Comment: Scofield & Orr (and others) have taken the various parts of Mayan timekeeping, and by assigning symbolic values to the various parts, spun them into an astrological system. This is similar to how western astrology assigns value to the 12 signs of the zodiac, or the pandits of India assigned values to the 27 lunar Nakshatras.
But not quite. In western parlance, we describe a birth in two distinct ways: 8:15 AM PDT, June 1, 1973, Los Angeles, and as Cancer rising, Sun & Moon in Gemini, etc. (No, that's not me, or anyone I know.) In India, there are the ascendant, Sun, Moon, Nakshatra & Navamsa, in addition to tithi, karana & yogi. In other words, civil time as well as its symbolic conversion. With the Mayan calendar, we have only one. It might be that they only had a single, unified system. At various points in the book, Scofield & Orr mention that Mayan culture, its arts & science, is still being passed orally from one generation to another. If what K.N. Rao has overheard in railway carriages in India is any indication, there is a great deal of Mayan culture that still exists, but has not yet come to light. In this regard, while I have zero knowledge of this area, I was struck by the absence of Augustus Le Plongeon's works in the bibliography.
The Mayan astro-calendar, as we understand it, amounts to a way of identifying discreet blocks of time, much as we talk of days, weeks, months & years. This book attempts to convert day-signs, Trecenas, Lord of the Night, Tuns & Katuns (etc.) into natal charts. Yet, in the west, natal charts did not come to dominate astrology until people wore time on their wrists, or found it conveniently placed in their pockets. Before then, horary and mundane dominated. I am curious if the same might not have been true of Mayan astrology as well. It seems to me that what Scofield & Orr are describing can easily be converted into a powerful mundane system.
I am dancing around the main point, which is this: Until someone goes to Central America, and, like Le Plongeon a century ago - or like Robert Svoboda in India - spends years in the culture, assimilating some good part of it, we really won't know what sort of astrology was - and doubtless is still - practiced there. And even then, the first pioneer to emerge will likely bring us incomprehensible puzzles that only further research will decipher (I've tried reading Le Plongeon). Part of the problem is that a highly literate culture is trying to comprehend a culture that is now highly illiterate. I suspect that pictogram cultures, such as the Maya, may have been fundamentally illiterate. Literate & illiterate cultures are almost completely incompatible, which is why K.N. Rao knows so little about the one in his own midst. Mayan astrology, as presently understood, exists without direct reference to planetary movements. In this, it resembles Chinese astrology. If this is true, then Mayan astrology, like Chinese astrology, has presumably always been an oral tradition, right from the start.
Bear & Company, 327 pages.

MAYAN ASTROLOGY: A complete guide - Aluna Joy Yaxk'in, $22.00
Contents: The Vision (Beginning your journey in cosmic time);
Part 1: Fundamentals of Cosmic Time: Mayan astrology, Tzolk'in - understanding the pieces of the sun, Ol - introduction to the 13 sacred numbers, K'in - introduction to the 20 sacred suns, Yun - masters of direction, Masters of consciousness, Seasons - portals - cores, Haab - the solar cycle of earth, Cycles within cycles;
Part 2: Doors to Solar Destiny, Faces of the Creator 1. Imix - the sea dragon, 2. Ik - the spirit of the wind, 3. Akbal - the power of darkness, 4. Kan - the cosmic seed, 5. Chicchan - the celestial snake, 6. Cimi - the bridge between worlds, 7. Manik - the hand that heals, 8. Lamat - the Venus star, 9. Muluc - the changing moon, 10. Oc - the loyal heart, 11. Chuen - the power of illusion, 12. Eb - the heart of the huma, 13. Ben - the pillars of light, 14. Ix - the wisdom of the shaman, 15. Men - the power of vision, 16. Cib - the cosmic warrior, 17. Caban - the navigation of earth, 18. Etznab - the mirror of self, 19. Cauac - the thunder being, 20. Ahau - the solar lord);
Spirit of the Creator (the 13 sacred numbers);
Power of Spirit (the 20 light pulses);
Part 3: Mayan Astrology: The Mayan solar destiny reading, How to work up a Mayan astrology reading, Converting dates - Gregorian to Mayan, Elements of destiny, Tunben K'ak the 52 year Pleiadian cycle).
Appendices: A. Quick conversions: Quick reference guide; B. Mayan solar destiny reading - master copy; C. Tunben K'ak' the 52 year cycle - master copy; E. More about March 21, leap year, moon cycles;
Sources for further study, About the author.
Comment: The author credits Jose Arguelles, Bruce Scofield, Ariel Spilsbury & Hunbatz Men for their inspiration. Uses the frozen Earth year called Haab, with the 260 day Tzolk'in. Describes the personality traits for each of the Sacred Suns & Sacred Numbers, brief explanation of the effects of each light pulse (13 day Mayan week). A useful introduction to a complex subject. Formerly titled, Mayan-Pleiadian Cosmology.
Center of the Sun, 124 pages, wirebound.

SIGNS OF TIME: An introduction to Mesoamerican astrology - Bruce Scofield, $11.95
Contents: Forward;
Section 1: Mesoamerican astrology explained: 1. The prehistoric origins of astrology;
2. Introduction to Mesoamerica: History, The sources, The cosmos & the gods, Space, Time & the 260 day calendar, The individual, society & fate, Comparisons with western day-counts;
3. The 260 day astrological calendar: The Aztec & Maya symbols for the 20 day-signs, The calendar, the years & the four directions;
4. The 20 named days: Day-signs / Aztec gods, Crocodile, Wind, House, Lizard, Serpent, Death, Deer, Rabbit, Water, Dog, Monkey, Grass, Reed, Ocelot, Eagle, Vulture, Motion, Knife, Rain, Flower;
5. The Tonalamatl, or book of fate: The 13 day periods, The burner periods, The lords of the night;
6. Quetzalcoatl & the planet Venus: The cycle of Venus, Quetzalcoatl, The ball game, Venus-regulated warfare;
7. Maya time constructs & the long count: The long count, The cycle of the 13 Katuns, The ages of the Aztecs;
8. Mars, eclipses, planetary periods & a zodiac: Mars, Jupiter & Saturn, Eclipses, The planets & the day-signs, A 13 sign zodiac.
Section 2: Mesoamerican Astrology in Practice: Forward to the second edition;
9. The astrology of time: Delineations of the day-signs, The Trecena or 13 day periods, Day-sign tests, The burner periods & critical days, Delineations of th lords of the night, The years of the yearbearers;
10. The phases of Venus: Inferior conjunction, Morning star, Superior conjunction, Evening star;
11. The cycle of the 13 Katuns: Katuns: 1027 to 2012.
Appendices: A. Day-signs & yearbear tables; B. Reconstructed Tonalamatl; C. Sun/Venus conjunctions. Footnotes, Index.
Comment: From the back cover:
[This book's] primary purpose is to acquaint the reader with the Mesoamerican system of astrological symbols & time cycles, which contains a richness, beauty & depth of meaning beyond anyone's initial expectations.... The Mesoamerican [astrology] system is at a stage of development that is long past in the Western tradition. Yet it is by no means "primitive". Its sophistication is equal to, even exceeds ours in some ways. And there are special features that can enrich anyone's astrology." - Ken Negus

It occurs to me the 20 named days of Mesoamerica have relation to various sequences of North American Indians. See Medicine Cards, by Sams & Carlson.
One Reed Publications, 216 pages.

The Astrology Center of America

207 Victory Lane, Bel Air, MD 21014
Tel: 410-638-7761; Fax:410-638-5154; Toll-free (orders only): 800-475-2272

Home Author Index Title Index Subject Index Vedic Books Tarot E-Mail: Dave

Established 1993, The Astrology Center of America is owned & operated by David Roell.
This entire site (AstroAmerica.com) is copyright 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 by William R. Roell.
All rights reserved.

Bruce Scofield Barry Orr	HOW TO PRACTICE MAYAN ASTROLOGY: The Tzolkin calendar & your life path - Bruce Scofield & Barry C. Orr, $20.00 *Contents:* Introduction: Mayan astrology for modern times; List of figures. Part 1: Building & reading the Mayan pyramid chart: 1. The Sun & the day signs 2. The Moon & the Trecena 3. The lords of the night 4. The years & the yearbearers 5. The planet Venus 6. Putting it together - individual Mayan charts Part 2: Further studies in Mayan astrology: 7. The burner days 8. The cycle of the thirteen Katuns 9. Dispelling myths about the Mayan calendar 10. A Mayan planetary horoscope Part 3: The Mayan almanac, 1920-2020 Table 1: Tzolkin day-signs, Trecenas & lords of the night Table 2: Mayan new year dates Table 3: Phases of Venus Table calculation notes Bibliography *Comment:* Scofield & Orr (and others) have taken the various parts of Mayan timekeeping, and by assigning symbolic values to the various parts, spun them into an astrological system. This is similar to how western astrology assigns value to the 12 signs of the zodiac, or the pandits of India assigned values to the 27 lunar Nakshatras. But not quite. In western parlance, we describe a birth in two distinct ways: 8:15 AM PDT, June 1, 1973, Los Angeles, and as Cancer rising, Sun & Moon in Gemini, etc. (No, that's not me, or anyone I know.) In India, there are the ascendant, Sun, Moon, Nakshatra & Navamsa, in addition to tithi, karana & yogi. In other words, civil time as well as its symbolic conversion. With the Mayan calendar, we have only one. It might be that they only had a single, unified system. At various points in the book, Scofield & Orr mention that Mayan culture, its arts & science, is still being passed orally from one generation to another. If what K.N. Rao has overheard in railway carriages in India is any indication, there is a great deal of Mayan culture that still exists, but has not yet come to light. In this regard, while I have zero knowledge of this area, I was struck by the absence of Augustus Le Plongeon's works in the bibliography. The Mayan astro-calendar, as we understand it, amounts to a way of identifying discreet blocks of time, much as we talk of days, weeks, months & years. This book attempts to convert day-signs, Trecenas, Lord of the Night, Tuns & Katuns (etc.) into natal charts. Yet, in the west, natal charts did not come to dominate astrology until people wore time on their wrists, or found it conveniently placed in their pockets. Before then, horary and mundane dominated. I am curious if the same might not have been true of Mayan astrology as well. It seems to me that what Scofield & Orr are describing can easily be converted into a powerful mundane system. I am dancing around the main point, which is this: Until someone goes to Central America, and, like Le Plongeon a century ago - or like Robert Svoboda in India - spends years in the culture, assimilating some good part of it, we really won't know what sort of astrology was - and doubtless is still - practiced there. And even then, the first pioneer to emerge will likely bring us incomprehensible puzzles that only further research will decipher (I've tried reading Le Plongeon). Part of the problem is that a highly literate culture is trying to comprehend a culture that is now highly illiterate. I suspect that pictogram cultures, such as the Maya, may have been fundamentally illiterate. Literate & illiterate cultures are almost completely incompatible, which is why K.N. Rao knows so little about the one in his own midst. Mayan astrology, as presently understood, exists without direct reference to planetary movements. In this, it resembles Chinese astrology. If this is true, then Mayan astrology, like Chinese astrology, has presumably always been an oral tradition, right from the start. Bear & Company, 327 pages.