Maya * Aztec Astrology Report

Introduction - The Astrology of Time

The most important time cycles in ancient Mayan and Aztec astrology are those of the day, 9-days, 13-days, and 20-days. Additionally, years are counted also, in groups of 4 and 13. Each day is then part of several other cycles, so no two days are exactly the same. Your Maya/Aztec horoscope below shows exactly where in each of the cycles you were born. Each category below examines a specific cycle and a specific aspect of your personality. Keep in mind that our personalities are complex and contain many contradictions. All of us present a different "face" depending on who we meet. The delineations below will reflect this, but they will also give you a clear picture of who you really are. The true value of astrology lies in self-knowledge, the first step to wisdom.
 
 

Your Most Personal Traits -- The Day-Sign of Your Birth

Rain: One of your most obvious characteristics is your youthfulness. You may be involved with children as a career, or perhaps simply just act like one. You are not the type to grow old, you just keep moving. Curiosity and an openness to new ideas characterizes you, though you sometimes fail to capitalize on what you discover. You are somewhat nervous and restless and need to exercise your mind constantly in some way. Some of you may actually talk for a living. Your nervous energy and driving curiosity has led you to develop along several lines, making you a multifaceted, interesting, and consequently popular, person.

Rain personalities are more inclined to imitate than to innovate. You respect tradition and the forms created by those that came before you, whether this be in art, science or business. It is from imitation that you learn, but it is also imitation that leads you to conform with the times. Perhaps you imitate because you are so receptive and easily influenced by others. Although some real characters are born under this day-sign, most Rain personalities follow a beaten path, and few are pioneers. It is precisely this imitative and non-deviant streak that makes you an excellent teacher or instructor. You are believable and understandable to others, not intimidating or incredible.

You probably have an interest in the deeper side of life. You may be religious, or at least have a deep respect for religious institutions, or you may approach spirituality in a more personal way. Meditation and other consciousness-raising techniques may appeal to you. Philosophy may also be of great interest and you may use this knowledge to put your life experiences into perspective. You want to know what is really going on in this life and seek answers to your questions. Perhaps it is your powerful intuition that stimulates you to look beyond the limits of the mundane world.

You are a compassionate person who will devote time to helping those in need. You have probably been an activist for one cause or another. You have a deep concern for the welfare of others and can be very nurturing in times of crisis. You may find an outlet for your strong protective and nurturing needs in public or volunteer work of some sort. You can be a loyal friend and devoted parent. In close love relationships, you tend to become over-involved, sometimes to your detriment. You value sex as a shared ritual, not just as entertainment.

You have a pronounced hunger for life that may be expressed in a number of ways. You may try to do, or learn about, too many things and consequently fail to attain mastery in any one area. This pattern is a result of your natural curiosity fueled by your primal gratification urges. On a more basic level these drives manifest as a strong oral needs, perhaps in response to a sensed lack or distortion of maternal nurturing (feeding) and emotional bonding in early childhood. Unconsciously trying to nurture yourself, you may become compulsive about food or drink. Smoking is another way of having something in your mouth and thereby feeling nurtured. But bad habits must be changed and this triggers a more positive trait that can transform your life and that of others around you -- healing.

The cleansing and healing process may have a special importance for you. Many Rain personalities become doctors or healers of some sort. Your natural instincts to protect and nurture, combined with an excellent intuition, technical aptitude, and a mind capable of grasping details, makes you well suited for such work. Cleaning in and of itself is probably a sacred ritual to you, whether it be yourself, your home, an object or another person. It is not simply a matter of controlling your environment, it is more a case of taking proper care of it. On the other hand, you can be excessively neat and make the rest of the world anxious about disturbing the "perfection" around you.

The Aztecs called this day-sign Quiahuitl, which means rain. It is the nineteenth of the twenty day-signs and it was symbolized by the head of the rain god Tlaloc, but it may have been ruled by the home and hearth goddess Chantico. She was the goddess of the central cooking fire in the home and also a goddess of precious stones. Persons born under this day-sign were thought to be victims of ill-health, or, on the other hand, sorcerers and soothsayers. Perhaps this is how healing, health and psychic abilities were experienced in Aztec society.

The personality of your day-sign is reflected in the planet and sign emphasis in your Western astrological chart. In your birthchart the zodiac signs Gemini and Scorpio, or the planets Mercury and Pluto, may be emphasized in some way. These symbolize your penetrating mind and desire to change things. The Moon and Saturn, symbolizing your intuitive and responsive instincts, may also be strongly placed.
 
 

Your Deeper Self -- The 13-day Week of Your Birth

You were born on the tenth day of the 13-day period beginning with 1-Dog. Beneath your surface personality you are a person who is consistent in belief and very loyal to others. You will continue with a program or activity for years and can be an inspiration to others -- but you can also be extremely stubborn. No matter how conventional or radical your lifestyle, once committed to it, you are there for life. Loyalty and dedication to family is one of your best features. You are a joiner, and often the founder or leader of a group or association.

You are a sincere person who takes life seriously. You strive to improve yourself and those around you. You detest waste, inefficiency, and sloppiness, and will correct it when you can. Ultimately, you are quite conservative and even materialistic. What you can measure or count, or perhaps touch and feel, has more importance to you than an abstract ideal. Even if you are spiritually motivated, which you may very well be, your interest is practical and your expression concrete. You will be remembered for your solid contributions to society.

Rain is a sign of the West, a direction symbolic of encounter and cooperation with others. Dog, however, is a sign of the North, a direction symbolic of rationality and understanding. This combination suggests a tendency to relate to others primarily on the mental level. You probably prefer friendships or casual relationships over deeply emotional ones, and you may have some anxieties about getting too close to others.
 
 

What You Share With the Others of Your Birth Year

You were born in the year called 1-East. The eastern direction is where it all begins. The day begins when the Sun rises in the East. The Moon rises there also, as do all the other planets and stars. The East is the direction that symbolizes the energy behind the "coming into existence" of something. For those born during a year ruled by the East, life itself is an opportunity to demonstrate self-worth and to celebrate individual existence. In a very general sense you are a person who is striving to be someone, a seeker of self-realization. Life is about you and the development (the rise) of your personal identity.

You are a self-starter. You don't always need others to help you achieve your goals. You quickly see what has to be done and then you roll up your sleeves and get to work. You are competitive and will quickly move to the top of whatever organization you are in. You are also an activist and a progressive, generally staying near the "front of the wave." Your worst tendency is to become too self-involved and neglectful of others and their concerns.

The number 1 preceeding your birth direction indicates that it is a starting year, the first of 13, for the direction you were born under. You experience the energies and general orientation of the direction in its most pure form.
 
 

Your Deepest and Darkest Motivations -- the Night Lord

You were born under the second Lord of the Night. Itzli (EETZ-lee), the Aztec god of the stone knife, is your ruling deity. The stone knife, made of obsidian or volcanic glass, was used in sacrificial rituals. Like the stone knife you can be hard, yet you can cut deep and clean. You are a hard worker, often quite compulsive and thorough about cleaning things up. You have a strong service instinct and tend to quickly step aside for others -- you will make a personal sacrifice if it seems appropriate to you.

If there is one thing about you that stands out to others it's your dedication to your work. Whether you are actually an employee, run your own business, do volunteer work, or just work around your home, it's the same -- you stick to the job and get it done. Your sense of responsibility is quite high. In this regard you seem to be compulsive to others. They perceive you to be obsessive and compulsive about certain things and think that maybe you are doing more than needs to be done. Your persistence is commendable, but who are you doing it all for? You are often in the dark about your own motives.

One of your most basic reactions in any situation is to stand aside for someone else who is simply more pushy than you. At best you are ambivalent about being the boss so you maneuver yourself into jobs or situations where you take orders from above. At worst, you make a large personal sacrifice (your time, your money, etc.) to do something that is really not on your agenda. You can be overly polite, accomodating, considerate, and respectful. This will do fine for you most of the time, but not always. There are times when you must decide whose life is it anyway?

One of your life's challenges lies in giving meaning to your sacrifices. If you must stand aside for another, make sure that person deserves your support. You need to focus your tremendous capacity for giving.
 
 

Your Patterns of Relationship -- The Phase of Venus

You were born with Venus in its Evening Star phase. According to the Maya, this is a 250-day period when Venus is visible after the Sun sets. This phase follows the Superior Conjunction phase and precedes the Inferior Conjunction phase.

For you, feelings and emotions arise after an action has been taken. In making judgments, which you do very well, you evaluate what has happened against the background of society's rules and values. You instinctively understand the power, and perhaps the correctness, of the world as it is and has been. The values and morals of the past are important to you and your vision is one that has probably been strongly influenced by tradition.

There is a sense of inevitable compromise in your life, possibly a reaction to your awareness of having been strongly imprinted by society, culture or your parents. One result of this may be seen in your stance towards the powers that be. It is possible that deep down you are troubled by your conditioning and how it causes you to evaluate and interpret the world in a certain way. But this is very subtle and most of you will only notice this pattern in a general way, far more obvious when viewed over the course of a lifetime.

One positive manifestation of evening star Venus is that you may become, consciously or unconsciously, successful due to the fact that you personify certain family and traditional values. In extreme cases, you could become a hero, a person who represents what your society truly believes in. It is through participation with the traditions and cultural definitions of reality that you achieve emotional satisfaction and success in life.

Your Days of Peak Experience

You will probably find that your experience of life becomes more intense about five days before the peak date and then builds. Keywords displayed next to the dates are a suggestion of how to focus your energies.
 
 

Critical day list for Al Gore (born Mar 31, 1948)

Report start date: Jan 01  2002
Report end date:   Jan 01  2007

Critical Day         Phase      Day No./Name   Direction      Keyword

Sun Mar  3 2002         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Tue May  7 2002        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Thu Jul 11 2002         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Sat Sep 14 2002         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Mon Nov 18 2002         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Wed Jan 22 2003        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Fri Mar 28 2003         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Sun Jun  1 2003         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Tue Aug  5 2003         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Thu Oct  9 2003        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Sat Dec 13 2003         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Mon Feb 16 2004         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Wed Apr 21 2004         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Fri Jun 25 2004        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Sun Aug 29 2004         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Tue Nov  2 2004         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Thu Jan  6 2005         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Sat Mar 12 2005        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Mon May 16 2005         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Wed Jul 20 2005         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Fri Sep 23 2005         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Sun Nov 27 2005        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Tue Jan 31 2006         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Thu Apr  6 2006         1/2       10 Water       East          channel
Sat Jun 10 2006         3/4       10 Ocelot      North         heal
Mon Aug 14 2006        Full       10 Rain        West          be open
Wed Oct 18 2006         1/4       10 Lizard      South         enjoy
Fri Dec 22 2006         1/2       10 Water       East          channel

Background - The Nature of Maya/Aztec astrology

All of the Mesoamerican civilizations, Olmec, Toltec, Maya, Zapotec and Aztec, used essentially the same astrology. Although the names of symbols varied, the concepts remained the same. Because the Aztecs were the predominant civilization at the time of the Spanish Conquest, we have chosen to use their symbol names in this modern reconstruction of the Mesoamerican astrological tradition.

At the core of Mesoamerican astrology are the 20 day-signs. Like the 12 signs of the Western Zodiac, these are signs descriptive of both personality and possibility. In other words, the signs can be used to describe a person, or they can describe an event. In the Western 12-sign zodiac, the signs are sections of space spread across the sky along the path of the Sun, Moon, and planets. The Maya/Aztec day-signs are very different. They are based on time and are actually names of days. Each sign lasts only one day, until it comes up again twenty days later. Like our 7-day week, which is astrological and named for the planets, the Maya and Aztecs used a 20-day week for astrological purposes.

There is no presently known reason why the Maya and Aztecs used only 20 signs. Perhaps they had discovered an important biorhythm or cycle. But besides the 20-days, they also used a 13-day cycle (or sign) and these intertwined with each other. While the days of the 20-day cycle each have a name, the days of the 13-day cycle are numbered from 1 to 13. If you start both cycles together, the first day of the 20-day cycle coinciding with the first day of the 13-day cycle, it will take exactly 260 days for all possible combinations of day and number to occur. This period, 260 days, is the length of the sacred Mesoamerican astrological calendar that this program is based on.

The 20 day-signs each have a name and a symbol. The names of these with a brief meaning are listed below.

Alligator (east) - protective and dominating.

Wind (north) - agile, clever and multifaceted.

House (west) - deep, thoughtful and conservative.

Lizard (south) - active, dynamic and sexual.

Serpent (east) - powerful and charismatic.

Death (north) - sacrificing and helpful.

Deer (west) - cooperative and nomadic.

Rabbit (south) - clever and playful.

Water (east) - emotional and imaginative.

Dog (north) - loyal and helpful.

Monkey (west) - clever and demonstrative.

Grass (south) - careful and useful.

Reed (east) - knowledgable and crusading.

Ocelot (north) - intelligent and secretive.

Eagle (west) - free and independent.

Vulture (south) - authoritative and wise.

Earthquake (east) - intellectual but practical.

Knife (north) - self-sufficient but romantic.

Rain (west) - helpful and healing.

Flower (south) - loving and artistic.

You may have noticed that each of the signs is connected to a particular direction. The signs of the east are initiating and forceful. Those of the north are intellectual and critical. Signs of the west are cooperative and compromising. Signs of the south are emotional and reactive.

The day-sign a person was born under is the named day that occurred on their birthday. It delineates their most obvious personality characteristics and traits. A person is also born during one of twenty 13-day periods, periods that begin with a day-sign linked to the number 1. The 13-day period delineates their more subtle, possibly subconscious, personality qualities. It shows their deeper instincts and yearnings. The combination of day-sign and 13-day period yields a quite complete personality description, perhaps as good or even better than does the Western 12-sign zodiac. It should be said that these two signs represent only a partial reconstruction of what was once a more complex system. The rest, including signs ruling the year and the hour of birth, have been lost or completely recovered and made workable.

Because the day-signs signify general meanings and themes as well as personality configurations, they were used by the Aztecs for divinations. Like the I-Ching, a random drawing of beans or stones would allow a reader to find one of the 260 sign/number combinations and thus an answer to a question. Even today, the 260-day astrological calendar is used by Native American daykeepers in remote parts of Guatemala and Mexico. The divination section of this program utilizes computer technology to randomly select the sign/number combinations that may yield insights into a question asked.

Because the Maya and Aztecs did not have a developed writing system, and because most of their astrological knowledge was destroyed by the Spanish friars, little was known about this great product of theirs, and other Mesoamerican, cultures. The delineations used in this program were arrived at after several years of historical investigation, deep thought, and trial and error experimentation. Long lists of persons famous or known to the author, yet born under the same day-sign, were compared with each other. Eventually, this process led to some key concepts about each of the signs and the results, in the form of personality descriptions, are found in this program. The meanings for the signs when used in divinations were extrapolated from this information also.

We hope you find Maya/Aztec astrology to be not only interesting and fun, but helpful and a source of insight into your life.
 
 

The Year of Birth

East: creative/mental -- fertile/abundant

North: violent weather -- barren/dry/cold

West: wild/losses/illness -- cloudy/evil

South: good business/health -- variable

A second factor is a cycle of 52 years. In this longer period, 13 repetitions of the basic 4-year cycle are counted. As each year arrives, it is identified with a number and a direction. Four cycles of 13 years each make up the 52-year calendar round or Xiuhmolpilli.

Not all ancient Mexican cultures applied the cycle of years the same way. There was a lack of consensus about which year was linked to which number. The Aztecs used Reed (east), Knife (north), House (west), and Rabbit (south). The Classic Maya used Caban (east), Ik (north), Manik (west), and Eb (south), which correlate with Earthquake, Wind, Deer, and Grass. During Postclassic times the pattern was changed. The Classic pattern is used by the Quiche Maya who have kept the astrological traditions alive in Guatamala. The author believes that the year correlation established by the Classic Maya and continued by the Quiche Maya works.

Four and eight-year cycles have been found in nature by cycle researchers, a strong suggestion that there may be a real material basis to the cycling of the years. It is also interesting to note that the Olympics and United States presidential elections are held in the same year, years that are ruled by the east, according to the Quiche. Further, the Chinese cycle of 12 years correlates with this pattern if you look at it as three groupings of a 4-year cycle.
 
 

The Lords of the Night

The Lords of the Night are not a calendar per se, but a kind of symbolic cycle. The Maya linked the Lords to the Long Count. We know that on August 11, -3113 the ninth Lord was ruler. Start ing from this date we run a 9-day cycle along with the day-signs which allows the program to find the ruling Lord of the Night for any date. The 260-days of the tzolkin do not mesh perfectly with the 9-day cycle and it takes 9 cycles of 260 (2,340 days or 6.4 years) before the same combination occurs again.

Much less is known about how the Aztecs used the cycle. It appears that they ran the 9-day cycle against the 260 days and had the last two Lords ruling the last of the 260 days. In this manner the cycle would start again at the same place. In Maya/Aztec Astro-Report we have chosen to follow Maya usage.

Some writers have suggested that the Lords of the Night are actually a division of the nightime hours. Like the planetary hours of Western astrology, the night was divided into 9ths with the 5th Lord's rule centered around midnight. In this line of reasoning the day was divided into 13 hours.
 
 

The Cycle of Venus

According to the Dresden Codex, an ancient Maya manuscript that is one of the most authoritative sources on Maya astronomy and astrology, the cycle of Venus began when its rays first appeared in the twilight of dawn. This event usually occurs several days after the Inferior Conjunction of Venus with the Sun. The Inferior Conjunction is so-named because Venus, the lesser body, passes in front of the Sun, the greater body. In this conjunction, Venus, which disappears in rays of the Sun for over a week during this time, comes closest to the Earth. The Maya allocated exactly 8 days for this phase of the Venus cycle. After its heliacal rising, the second phase of the Venus cycle, its phase as a morning star, commenced. The Maya allocated 236 days to this period.

As Venus ends its time as a morning star, it once again disappears into the rays of the Sun. As it moves to conjoin the Sun again, it does so at its greatest distance from Earth. The conjunction in this part of its cycle is called the Superior Conjunction, because here Venus passes behind the Sun. The Maya allocated 90 days for this third phase of the cycle, a phase where Venus is not visible. After it re-emerges from behind the rays of the Sun, Venus begins its phase as an evening star, a phase for which the Maya allocated 250 days. These four phases of the Venus cycle, 8 days, 236 days, 90 days and 250 days add up to 584 days, the full cycle of Venus. The duration of these phases is a symbolic approximation of the astronomical facts, which actually vary somewhat from cycle to cycle.

The Maya and Aztecs believed that the cycle of Venus depicted the experiences of the god Quetzalcoatl in his descent to Earth. The first rising of Venus as a morning star symbolized his arrival on Earth. During the morning star phase Quetzalcoatl was overcome by desire and lust and committed sins; he pushed against the boundaries of society. During the disappearance of Venus at Superior Conjunction, a warlike athletic duel with the Sun took place and during the evening star phase, Quetzalcoatl, now fully sober, walked the Earth until his sacrificial death during the Inferior Conjunction. He was then reborn as the new Venus and the cycle began again.

This report calculates the phase that Venus was in at your birth according to the figures used and recorded by the ancient Maya. For each phase, the program offers a brief interpretation of the possible significance of Venus, symbol of both impulsive personal desire and collective social values, in your life.
 
 

Maya/Aztec Predictive Techniques

In the modern world where the individual comes first, experience has shown that dividing the 260-day cycle into fourths beginning from one's birthday reveals "critical" points that mark shifts or changes in personal matters. In many cases rather extreme events do occur precisely on one of the critical days, in others the effects occur a few days earlier. In some cases the effects are more subtle or psychological in nature. In understanding these critical dates it is helpful to view them from two perspectives, cycle and direction.

From your birthday, every 260 days represents one completed cycle in life. If this cycle of 260 days is divided by 4, or quartered, four sets, or "seasons," of 65 days is the result. Using the symbolism of the Sun/Moon cycle as a model, the occurrence of the birth day-sign is like the New Moon, the beginning of the cycle and a time of personal centering and new, barely conscious, beginnings. 65 days later corresponds (symbolically) to the first quarter, a time of crisis that demands action and adjustment. The midpoint of the cycle, 130 days, corresponds to the Full Moon, a time of separation or perspective. 195 days from the start of the cycle compares with the third quarter, a time of crisis requiring conscious choice.

The second perspective on the critical days is to recognize that each of the four dates in the cycle corresponds to one of the four directions. These are listed below.

East: Alligator, Serpent, Water, Reed, Earthquake. These are points that emphasize the need to be creative, to do something new and to move forward.

North: Wind, Death, Dog, Ocelot, Knife. These are points that may indicate crisis and the need to protect oneself from negative energy. The mind is under pressure during these times.

West: House, Deer, Monkey, Eagle, Rain. These are points of encounter with others, times of sharing and loss of ego. Relationships are important now.

South: Lizard, Rabbit, Grass, Vulture, Flower. These are points of strong feelings and emotional extremes. These may also be times of accomplishment and activity in the outside world.

Combining cycle symbolism with directional symbolism gives deeper insight into the patterns of the critical days. For example, if a sign of the north coincides with one of the quarters, a stressful time might be expected. If a sign of the west coincides with the opposition, important developments in relationships may be a prominent theme. A keyword has been given for each of the combinations that may suggest the direction in which the energies and trends are heading around that time. Experience has also shown that the effects of the critical days often become apparent several days before the exact day computed in this report.