On the surface of things, a calendar with 260 days seems absurd.\u00a0 Of what use could it be?\u00a0 Obviously, there 365 days in a year\u2014who needs a calendar missing 105 days?<\/p>\n
The ritual calendar of ancient Mesoamerica is just such a calendar, however.\u00a0 This is the famed Mayan Calendar, of which we hear so much about these days related to the year 2012.\u00a0 And it’s the Tonalpoalli<\/em>, the sacred Day Count, as it was known in the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs.<\/p>\n The 260-day ritual calendar runs concurrently, side-by-side with the 365-day solar calendar.\u00a0 It doesn’t replace the solar calendar but it does infuse its days with more meaning.\u00a0 Each of the 260 days is experienced as being influenced by a particular spiritual force, such as the god of rain or the goddess of fertility.<\/p>\n What makes the 260-day calendar so fascinating to students is its unexpected synchronization to certain important astronomical cycles, notably those of the sun, Venus and Mars.<\/p>\n To begin with, we need to recall that there was a long-standing traditional ceremony in Pre-Columbian Mexico called the New Fire ceremony, in which time started over.\u00a0 This is often referred to as their version of a “century” and was treated no less consequently.<\/p>\n This 52-year century provides us with a baseline from which to proceed\u2014<\/p>\n 365 days x 52 = 18,980 days<\/p>\n This synchronizes to the Day Count of 260 days every 73 cycles of the ritual calendar\u2014<\/p>\n 260 days x 73 = 18,980 days<\/p>\n This synchronization can be thought of as the odometer in your car turning over and re-starting at zero:\u00a0 in this case, both<\/em> the 365-day and 260-day calendars start over on the same day precisely after 52 years.<\/p>\n These cycles are further synchronized with the synodic revolution of Venus, which is 584 days long.\u00a0 After Venus makes 65 such revolutions, it falls into perfect rhythm with \u00a0two<\/em> New Fire ceremonies (104 solar years) and 146 cycles of the ritual calendar\u2014<\/p>\n 584 days x 65 Venus cycles = 37,9860 days<\/p>\n 365 days x 104 years = 37,9860 days<\/p>\n 260 days x 146 Day Count cycles = 37,9860 days<\/p>\n Beyond this, there is a final astronomical correlation to the Day Count.\u00a0 The synodic revolution of Mars is 780 days long, which is, of course, precisely three times the length of the ritual calendar\u2014<\/p>\n 260 days x 3 Day Count cycles = 780 days<\/p>\n Is the study of the Tonalpoalli<\/em> vastly deeper than the above?\u00a0 Yes, vastly.<\/p>\n But it is these surprising correlations that have captured the imagination of all those who have undertaken the deeper study.<\/p>\n William Douglas Horden is the co-author of The Toltec I Ching<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On the surface of things, a calendar with 260 days seems absurd.\u00a0 Of what use could it be?\u00a0 Obviously, there 365 days in a year\u2014who needs a calendar missing 105 days? The ritual calendar of ancient Mesoamerica is just such … Continue reading