The Mayan calendar is associated with nine creation cycles, which represent nine levels of consciousness or Underworlds as symbolized by the Mayan pyramids. This pyramidal structure of consciousness development can explain things as disparate as the common origin of world religions and the modern complaint that time seems to be moving faster. Time, in fact, is speeding up as we transition from the materialist Planetary Underworld that still governs us to a new and higher frequency of consciousness, the Galactic Underworld, in preparation for the final Universal level of conscious Enlightenment. The Mayan calendar is thus a spiritual device that enables a greater understanding of the evolution of consciousness driving human history and the concrete steps we can take to align ourselves with this cosmic evolution toward Enlightenment.

The Calendar

For simplicity, the Mayan calendar system is usually referred to as “The Mayan Calendar”. This term then really refers to a system of interconnected calendrical cycles of the Maya. It would however also be a misunderstanding if we said that the Maya had many different calendars. Everything in the Cosmos is related, and the same is true for the calendrical cycles that the Maya were using to describe its evolution and changing energies.

Hence, the various calendrical cycles of the Maya are related much as the cogs on the cogwheels in a machine. In principle this is not very different from the Gregorian way of counting time, where not only the date in the month changes every day, but also the weekday. In the same way, as the day sign changes in the sacred Mayan 260-day calendar, so does the number of that day and its place in the longer Heavens and Underworlds. A given day is hence defined with symbols that belong to many different calendars or counts.

What makes the Mayan calendar fundamentally different from other calendars in existence in the world is that its various symbols are reflective of the evolution of consciousness in the cosmos. This is in contrast to calendars from other cultures or religions that are based on astronomical cycles in our own solar system, such as the solar year or the moon cycle. It is from this that the Mayan calendar derives its immense importance at the present time as we have entered the Apocalypse and may want to understand what is happening around us.

This is not to say that the Maya completely disregarded physical cycles. For instance, they followed a so-called haab calendar of 365 days, which is practical for agricultural purposes even though it does not have a set starting point in the solar year. The ancient Maya were also outstanding astronomers and sought to relate the planetary cycles, such as those of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter to their sacred 260-day calendar. What we should be very much aware of however is that they did not regard the Sacred Calendar as based on any astronomical cycle. Instead the Maya were interested in how the astronomical cycles were related to the Sacred Calendar. This they regarded as the most basic rhythm of the cosmos that had been given to them by the gods.

This may be such an unusual way of looking at time that it is difficult for most modern people to comprehend. Today, we are so focused on everything material, such as the astronomical cycles, and on measuring things that a qualitative, spiritual way of following time seems alien to most. Yet, if we are to understand the divine plan for the cosmos and our own place in this we will have to make such a fundamental shift in how we regard time.

To give you an idea of how a few of the different calendrical cycles are related to each other you may take a look at the cogwheels below.

The Mayan Calendar End date

Many people hear about the so-called end date of the Mayan calendar, and today some people have even created the illusion that the Mayan calendar was designed only to point out this end date. In reality, there is nothing to indicate that the ancient Maya who developed the Long Count calendar had any interest in what would happen as this calendar came to an end. Instead what the ancient Mayan scriptures talk about is its beginning. The exact date for this beginning was apparently based on the day of the year, August 11, when the sun was in zenith in Izapa, where most likely this calendar first came into use. Ancient Mayan inscriptions also talk about this time as the time when the First Father erected the World Tree so that the light could enter, a significant event in creation. The various dynasties in the different Mayan city-states would then try to track a relationship to this seminal event by First Father and legitimize their power based on this.

The fact that the Mayan Long Count was based on the day the sun was in zenith in Izapa, has however created a very significant misunderstanding among modern people, and this is that it would end on December 21, 2012. The particular date the sun is in zenith in this location obviously has no relevance in the rest of the world, but because of the power of tradition some will still adhere to it. In reality, the creation cycle that began as the First Father erected the World Tree will end on October 28, 2011. This day is also 13 Ahau in the sacred Mayan calendar, an energy with great prophetical relevance.

The Mayan Use of the Calendar

In addition to its role as a contact to the ancestors, the Maya used the calendar for celebrating significant energy shifts (see picture below). At these times the shaman kings would make prophecies about the time ahead in the new energy. A base of knowledge had been created as to how the energies would shift according to the calendar, and, in combination with the shamanic connection to the World Tree, prophecies of relevance to the present moment and the immediate time ahead were developed. This is how I suggest that we ourselves should use the calendar based on the considerably deeper understanding we today may have at our disposal regarding its meaning. As I describe in my books we now have access to a vast amount of knowledge of cosmic history that was not available to the ancient Maya.

The aspect of the Mayan calendar system that has survived to the present time is the uninterrupted use of the Sacred Calendar of 260 days. Mayan day-keepers daily pray to the Creator and perform ceremonies that honor the day signs. Among the living Maya the 260-day calendar has various roles:

1. To keep track of the energies of the day,
2. To calculate birth energies of different individuals,
3. To determine the celebration of holidays,
4. To base healing practices on,
5. For prophecy, and
6. For divination of individual destinies.

Mayan elders will offer courses for serious adepts who want to learn about the Mayan spiritual traditions and for those interested in participating in such with Don Alejandro Oxlaj, head of the council of elders of the Maya, please contact Elizabeth Araujo at guacamaya11@yahoo.com.