compute planetary and calendric positions. During the post-Classic period, a time dur-
ing which the Maya were in decline and the Toltecs, and later the Aztecs, dominated
the Mexican highlands, the astrological tradition continued to flourish, though it did
not develop beyond the high-water mark it had reached in the Classic period. The
Spaniards arrived in the early sixteenth century and quickly brought an end to more
than 2,000 years of native culture and science.
While the Spanish conquistadors and friars were very thorough burning books
and destroying stone inscriptions, the existence of an astrological tradition unique in
all the world was not obliterated. From the conquest to the present, an oral tradition
among the Guatemalan Maya has kept alive some of the most basic principles of the
system. Spanish friars, in their attempts to learn about indigenous practices so as to
better eliminate them, described the ancient astrological system in their writings that
are today available in college libraries. Archaeologists have translated numerous
Mayan inscriptions and also the several surviving Mayan texts, two sources that reveal
a deep awareness of planetary cycles and their meanings. Finally, archaeoastronomers
have examined ancient ruins with precise instruments and have found numerous
astronomical alignments that underscore the importance of celestial phenomena and
cosmically inspired ritual to the peoples of ancient Mesoamerica. All of this supports
the notion that the astrological tradition in Mesoamerica was a central pillar of native
culture, and that it was shared by the several civilizations (Toltec, Maya, Aztec, etc.)
that arose in the region. Today, we are able to piece together enough of it to appreci-
ate its high level of sophistication.
Basically, Mesoamerican astrology gives blocks of time the same importance as
Western astrology gives blocks of space. The Western zodiac, the aspects, and the hous-
es are all spatial elements in a spatial astrological system. In the Mesoamerican system,
blocks of time, with the day being the fundamental unit, serve the same purpose. There
are 20 key signs that move in a consistent order, ruling blocks of time that are one day
or 13 days in length. An analogy in Western astrology would be the 12 signs of the
zodiac and the decans, a set of signs within the signs. In other words, like the zodiac,
the 20 key signs of Mesoamerican astrology depict an archetypal evolutionary sequence
that is applied to units of time, not to space. Celestial events and births were interpret-
ed according to the symbolism of the block of time in which such events occurred.
The 20 signs of Mesoamerican astrology are grouped in five sets of four. Like
the elements in Western astrology, the four directions are important considerations in
any evaluation of a Mesoamerican sign. The signs (Aztec names) and their directional
compliment are as follows:
DIRECTIONS ANDSIGNS(AZTECNAMES)
East North West South
Crocodile Wind House Lizard
Serpent Death Deer Rabbit
Water Dog Monkey Grass
Reed Ocelot Eagle Vulture
Motion Knife Rain FlowerTHEASTROLOGYBOOK [449]
Mesoamerican Astrology