The Maya saw time as cycles, very much like cog wheels within cogwheels. The great count that began 5,125 years ago is an example of a very large cogwheel of time. The ‘Tzolkin’ the 260 day count is the smallest cog wheel and the one which we follow daily. The solar year is divided into 13 moons rather than 12 months. When you divide the year by 13 you get ‘months’ each lasting 28 days (13x28=364). Add one day and it all adds up to 365 days. This odd day is called the ‘day-out -of time’ and is celebrated the day before the Maya New year. The Maya began their new year on July 26th when the star Sirius rose at the same time as the sun.. Each ‘month’ or ‘ moon’ had an animal allocated to preside over it. The animal was chosen by the constellation that dominated the sky at the time and the Maya had 13 animal constellations.
People have often asked ‘why did the Maya not follow the cycle of the moon if it is supposed to be a moon calendar’? There is a very good reason why they didn’t. The Maya observed (and they were incredible astronomers) that the sidereal cycle of the moon, that’s the one where the moon reaches the same point again in the sky, took 27.3 days. Yet the time it takes between one new moon and the next new moon is 29.5 days. This is because the moon is spinning around us as we spin around the sun. If you take those two measurements of the moon cycles and make an average the result is 28 days. The Maya were attempting to create a solar year that was divided by lunar cycles. Furthermore the Maya would not only keep track of the animal moon there were in and what day it was in the calendar but they would also celebrate the phases of the moon too. The Maya, like all indigenous people, held sacred all things natural.
They gave importance to all animals and saw them as sacred teachers. This is why they saw their constellations as animal figures. In a sense they were placing creatures in heaven and giving them god-like powers .Totemism is the art of understanding the messages of the animals . In Native American culture, finding your totem involves discovering which animal protects and guides you through life. We all have an animal totem.
Most people know someone who is big and soft and good at giving bear hugs. Their totem Is obviously a bear. Can you think of someone you know who is very cat like? Very feminine but with sharp claws?
Finding your own totem can be quite simple. Can you think of which creature has most inspired you? Have you had dreams all your life with a certain animal in it? Do you have pictures all over your house of dolphins? Are you horsey mad and spend every spare moment riding? Sometimes we can have more then one totem and sometimes we can have a particular totem that is with us growing up and then we have a different one in adulthood.
We do not choose our totems, they choose us and they always find away of getting our attention somehow.
Sometimes finding your totem is a simple as discovering which animal moon you were born under. Each animal moon has distinctive characteristics and you can discover some interesting things about yourself when you find which animal presides over the moon that you were born under. More importantly, if you keep track of what animal moon it is, you can work with that animal message whether it is your totem or not. (Mayan Times)
