The Mayan Calendar

[Mephisto]

To the moderators: I'm not sure what section this falls under. Feel free to move it to whatever section of the forum you see fit.

During a recent trip to Mexico I was impressed with the degree to which the Maya developed a cosmology of great intricacy. As far as I know this has not been correlated with the Hermetic School, i.e. the correspondences have not been developed. This is something that I've been working on as of late.

Here is an introduction to the Mayan Calendar that I wrote for my Anthropology class:

"The Calendar System of the Maya"

    The Ancient Maya conceived of time much differently than we do today. In our modern society, time is of great importance; in a general sense, time dictates our relation to society. Time, in this sense, is a convention by which we establish a common ground between individuals. This provides order and cohesion in our daily lives. This is as true for us as it was for the ancient Maya. Like them, we have our holidays, feasts, celebrations and such delineated by a calendar. Nobody questions the calendar; we accept it as a necessary system, without which our dealings would amount to chaos. The Mayan calendar, however, is much more than a linear series of dates: it is a complex and revolving symbol of the cosmos. This Mayan conception of our world is one of cycles; it is non-linear. In this Calendric system all events, no matter how great or trivial, are subject to repetition. The Maya developed and recorded a vast, complex conception of their universe. Seeking to map the workings of the heavens, the Maya left for posterity a great legacy, much of which has yet to be deciphered.

It should first be stated that to the Ancient Maya time was sacred. Their society, influenced directly by the changing elements of nature, had ample reason to devote to the study of time. To the Maya their calendar was not only a manner of convenience, but was a direct link to the gods. They used images of their gods to represent individual days. The god was thought to lend his influence on this particular day. Certain activities were considered lucky or unlucky on certain days. The gods of the days are one of many ways the Maya maintained cohesion in their society. This order and cohesion was essential to survival and prestige--perhaps the two most important commodities in a society frequented by war. 

To the ancient Maya the calendar was the guiding principle of their life, from birth to death. The calendar systems of the Maya was not only a "civil" calendar, such as we use ourselves, but also incorporated various inter-related cycles, such as their "ritual" calendar, the Tzolkin. These are the two main cycles once used by the Ancient Maya in their comprehension of time. The calendar of the ancient Maya is an incredibly complex system. This is the reason it has taken so long to decipher

There are two primary dating systems used by the Maya: the sacred calendar, the Tzolkin, and the civil calendar, the Haab. The Tzolkien is the 260-day ritual calendar and held primary importance. The Haab consists of a 365-day period divided into 18 months. The Tzolkin regulated certain kinds of dress, calculated periods of agricultural labor, and indicated the best times for religious ceremonies. The Haab was used for civil purposes; we use ours for the same purpose today. "Civil" means that the calendar exists to coordinate the activities of society as a whole. This calendar provided cohesion and structure for the Maya, allowing them to work in unity. The Tzolkin served as sacred calendar. This means that the Tzolkien served as the structure by which the Maya people approached their gods. 

The Haab calendar had a structure similar to modern calendars. The Maya civil year (haab) was composed of 18 months of 20 days each, with a closing month of five days. This corresponds to the 365 days of our modern year. Each month of the Haab, called a Uinal, is represented by its patron god. These gods influenced each of these months according to their nature. Each of the 20 days of the month pertained to the god's qualities. The 18 months of the Haab left a remainder of 5 days known as Uayeb, "the years sleepers." These days were considered unlucky, and children born during these days were shunned by society; many of these unfortunates were left to die of exposure after birth. 

The Tzolkin was integral to the individual Mayan and determined they individual character as they related to society. The day in which a Mayan individual was born represented their character, and they were considered to be of the nature of the god who ruled that day. The Tzolkin presents a very unique organization compared to other calendars. Its 260 day cycle was divided into 13 groups of 20 days each. These days also correspond to a particular god. These gods influence the various days in ways either beneficial or detrimental, according to the nature of the god and the god's position in the calendar. 

The Mayans were obsessed with the movement of the heavens. They became one of the most learned and advanced cultures known to history, rivaling the Egyptians and Greeks in knowledge and ability. The Mayan priests and astronomers developed a mathematical system to rival that of any other ancient culture, and their astronomical tables and cycles are of great interest for their complexity. 

These two calendar systems formed the primary system of social exchange in Ancient Maya society. It was to these conventions that the populace conformed, filling a need for unity, structure, and purpose as a people. Unlike our modern systems, however, the Maya held time to be sacred, and devoted no small amount of energy to its study.

[Jim Eshelman]

I was always taken with the fact that 260 is one of the great numbers of Mercury - the value of each column and row of an 8x8 kamea.

I don't know what this means... but it seems necessarily locked into the pattern of the numbers.

[Mephisto]

@Jim Eshelman said

"I was always taken with the fact that 260 is one of the great numbers of Mercury - the value of each column and row of an 8x8 kamea.

I don't know what this means... but it seems necessarily locked into the pattern of the numbers."

Well, from what I understand the Maya paid particular attention to the planet Venus, but used its place in the calendar to predict auspicious days for warfare. The fact that the Tzolkin cycle of days (I just wrote Tolkien out of habit, ) relates to Mercury might relate to the fact that the Tzolkin, or sacred calendar, was essentially related to the Scribe-God of the Maya, as the Priest-Scribe relationship in their culture was as tight as that in ancient Egypt.

In fact, as I stood at the ritual apex of many of these temples and chanted the mantram of Thelema, I had the distinct impression that I was in touch with energies related to that of Egypt. Both were the most advanced civilizations of their time and had similar cultural hierarchies and so forth.

I thought there would be more interest on a thread devoted to such an interesting topic. The Mayan cosmology is so beautiful and intricate--and it's right at our back door!