The Wayeb' was the dangerous, unlucky part of the year
in which the gates of the underworld dissolved.
This was the Haab' date in the civil calendar:
8 Kunk'u was the eighth day of the eighteenth month.
The Mayan long count
started over again
on 21 December 2012.
Lords of the night
The ritual calendar had 29 groups of 9 nights,
each represented by one of 9 lords of night.
The lord of fire and sunlight
is life after death,
warmth of a fire on a cold night,
a light in the darkness,
something to eat during a famine.
The lord of wind and the night sky
is the night winds, the cold north,
hurricanes, war, rulership, temptation,
black obsidian reflecting the earth.
The lord of the rising sun
is the protector of children.
He is healing, hallucinogens,
visions to guide our path.
The lord of maize and plenty
is dried corn still on the cob,
the spirit of the harvest,
the fertility of the earth.
The lord of the underworld
is death and sacrifice of human flesh.
He is the god of heroic death,
normal death, and accidental death.
He guarded the bones of the first gods
that Quetzalcóatl stole,
giving rise to all of humanity.
The goddess of water in her skirt of jade
is rivers, seas, and storms.
She is youth, beauty, and passion.
She watches over childbirth and baptism.
She brought the flood to end the fourth world,
but protected humanity from drowning.
The goddess of purification
is vice and disease, love and desire.
She is steam baths and confession.
She eats dirt to free us from our sins.
The lord of the heart of the mountains
is earthquakes, echos, and jaguars.
He is the lord of animals and dark caves.
The spots on his jaguar coat
are the stars in the sky.
The lord of rain, hail, and lightning
is earthly fertility and water,
the giver of life and sustenance.
He is the heron and creatures that live in water.
Counting and naming
We begin counting at the beginning of time.
We give each period a name and attributes
for the meanings of our lives,
for all the things we depend on
and all the things that threaten us.
Life is manifold, death is manifold, power is manifold.
The moon and the sun run circles around us
and array the forces of earth.
The Maya calendar was adopted by other Mesoamerican cultures,
including the Aztec, Toltec, Huastec, Mixtec, Olmec, and Zapotec.
My descriptions of the lords of night are modelled on Aztec mythology.
The Maya calendar was adopted by other Mesoamerican cultures, including the Aztec, Toltec, Huastec, Mixtec, Olmec, and Zapotec. My descriptions of the lords of night are modelled on Aztec mythology.
See also in The book of science:
Readings in wikipedia:
Other readings: