Mayan cosmology is essentially holistic and looks upon everything in creation as connected.
The Maya see the cosmos as energetic wave movements associated with specific time periods and they learned about “prophecy” by studying the nature of fundamental cycles, as well as astronomical cycles, and the synchronicity they had to human events. They are deeply spiritual and very aware of the role human consciousness plays in connecting to, and interacting with, life and nature.
Their tradition has been primarily oral: they have passed on their sacred teachings, visions, ceremonies and prophecies of the ancestors in this way. The glyphs of the Maya point to an evolution of human consciousness toward a goal of unification or Oneness. These prophecies do not provide specific direction, but instead, they speak in general terms about higher levels of awareness in the present moment and an awakening of humanity. The Mayan elders alive today are in dialogue with these energetic forces that they believe influence human and earthly evolution.
Scholars of non-Mayan descent estimate that the Mayan Long Count calendar began at approximately 3114 BCE and they speculate its end to be on December 21, 2012. They believe the length of the calendar is about 5200 years. Many living Mayan Elders neither recognize this date as the end of their Long Count, nor do they believe it will be the end of the world.
The Maya wrote detailed histories and used their calendar to predict influences in future and astronomical events. Their sacred calendar, or Cholqij* (pronounced chol keh), does not correspond to any known astronomical cycles, but follows instead, a 260 day cycle where each day has a spiritual quality and symbolic meaning. The Maya Day-Keepers have been honoring and maintaining this movement of life for thousands of years, and the so-called “2012 prophecy” is based on the Maya understanding of time.
In modern culture we view time in a progressive, linear fashion. The Maya experience time fully in the present moment. To them every moment is alive and presents dynamic and interactive possibilities that may be acted upon. In Mayan time, life unfolds intuitively, with a natural rhythm They live fully in the “now”.
This worldview and the relationships the Maya have to the cosmos may help non-Mayans make sense of where we find ourselves at this time in history. According to information from the Tortuguero Monument 6 in southernmost Mexico, the ancient Maya looked upon the end of creation as the simultaneous descent of nine different deities or manifestation of nine cosmic forces that will bring about a change or a major shift.
They speak of a year “zero” approaching soon, thought to be in the next few years, but the Maya offer no firm timing for year zero. This is an epoch of time, or a passing of an age. The “Shift of the Ages,” between the Fifth and the Sixth Suns, there is speculated to be darkness for 60 to 70 hours. After that, we will see light again and this will be the beginning of the new Sun, the Sixth Sun — some say Fifth Sun — or a new age of human consciousness, and the beginning of a new cycle of the Long Count.
* Cholqij is the word used by the Maya in Guatemala to refer to their sacred calendar. The word “Tzolkin” is used by the Maya Yucatec of Mexico to refer to the same calendar.
Timeline
Year Zero: 3,114 BCE
The beginning of a new cycle of the Sun, approximately 5200 Gregorian calendar years. Also this was the beginning of modern history, a cosmic season to the Maya. Mayan Elders tell us this is the fifth or sixth Sun that they’ve been tracking: a period of roughly 5200 years.
Maya Pre-Classic Period: 2,000 BCE – 200 BCE
The Pre-Classic Era came with the rise of large-scale ceremonial architecture, writing, cities, and states. Many of the distinctive elements of Mesoamerican civilization can be traced back to this period, including the dominance of corn, the building of pyramids, the calendar, astronomy and the honoring of the gods of nature. During this period, many great civilizations developed and flourished: the Olmec at La Venta and San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, the Zapotec in the Valley of Oaxaca, the Teotihuacan civilization in the Valley of Mexico, and the Maya in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in modern-day Chiapas, Guatemala and the Yucatán Peninsula.
Gregorian Year Zero; the Mayan Staff of Authority Story Begins: 0 CE
The Mayan Staff of Authority begins holding the history and memory of its people.
Maya Classic Period: 200 BCE – 1000 CE
The Classic Era is thus called due to the development and expansion of highly sophisticated arts in the realms of stuccowork, architecture, sculptural reliefs, mural painting, pottery, lapidary and more. It was a time when regional differences between cultures manifested. The Classic era was dominated by numerous independent city-states in the Maya region and also featured the beginnings of political unity in central Mexico and the Yucatán.
Maya Post-Classic Period: 1000 to 1697 CE
According to archeologists the Postclassic period is the time between the year 1000 and the conquest of Mesoamerica by the Spaniards, which occurred between 1521 and 1697. It was a period during which military activity gained importance. The political elites associated with the priestly class were relieved of power by groups of warriors. In turn, at least a half century before the arrival of the Spaniards, the warrior class was yielding its positions of privilege to a very powerful group that was unconnected to the nobility: the pochtecas, merchants who obtained great political power as a result of their strong economic influence.
Columbus Arrives in the Americas; Eagle and Condor Separate: 1492 CE
With Columbus eventually comes the Spanish Conquest and the separation of the Eagle and Condor Nations begins.
Hernando Cortés Leads Conquest of Aztec and Mayan Empires for Spain: 1518 CE
Spanish Conquest of the Incan Empire: 1524 CE
Catholic Bishop Diego de Landa Burns Nearly All Mayan Codices and Texts: 1562 CE
Catholic Bishop Diego de Landa orders an Inquisition in Mani ending with a ceremony called auto-da-fé. During the ceremony on July 12, 1562, at least forty Maya codices and approximately 20,000 Maya sacred images are burned. Landa’s Inquisition inflicts a level of physical abuse upon the indigenous Maya that was viewed as excessive even by other members of the church. Scores of Maya nobles are imprisoned and large numbers of Mayan Aj Q’ijs, nobles and commoners are subjected to examination under cruel and excessive forms of torture. The violent methods of Landa’s inquisition made many Maya flee into the forests to avoid further abuse.
Popol Vuh Transcription by Dominican Friar Francisco Ximénez: 1741 CE
The Popol Vuh is a set of structured texts relating to mytho-historical narratives of the Post Classic Maya K’iche kingdom in Guatemala’s western highlands. The title translates as “Book of the Community,” “Book of Counsel,” or more literally as “Book of the People.” Popol Vuh’s prominent features are: the creation myth, the great flood story, epic tales of the Hero Twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué, and its genealogies. Popol Vuh encompasses a range of subjects that includes creation, ancestry, history, and cosmology.
Mayan Lands Become “Guatemala” and Independence from Spain is Claimed: 1821 CE
After the new independent nation of Guatemala is formed in 1821, it is ruled by a series of dictators, assisted by the United Fruit Company. Guatemala suffers the regional socio-economic legacy of the “banana republic”: inequitably distributed agricultural land and natural wealth, uneven economic development, and an economy dependent upon a few export crops — usually bananas, coffee, sugar cane. The inequitable land distribution is the principal cause of national poverty and the low quality of Guatemalan life, and the concomitant socio-political discontent and insurrection. This inequity led to a violent civil war in the mid-to-late 1900s and it continues to this day.
Wandering Wolf, Alejandro Perez Oxlaj, is Born: 1929 CE
Born in the highlands of Guatemala on a day in the Sacred Calendar that is considered ideal for a prophecy carrier, Wandering Wolf embarks on his life journey through time.
Wandering Wolf Receives Mayan Staff of Authority: 1941 CE
Just before his passing, Wandering Wolf’s father gives his young son a sacred and very special Staff. “This Staff of Authority has the power of a hurricane… always to be used in the service of others.”
Guatemalan Civil Unrest and War: 1954 - 1996
Jacobo Árbenz Guzmán was elected President of Guatemala in 1951. Árbenz adopted a major land reform policy called Decree 900, which ordered redistribution of uncultivated lands, thereby increasing production of crops and providing many peasants with income. His popular program of land reform, credit, and literacy began to diminish the extreme inequality in Guatemala. Árbenz was overthrown in a coup orchestrated by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). After his land reform, the CIA intervened to protect the property of the United Fruit Company (later Chiquita Brands International Inc.) and because it feared that a socialist government would become a Soviet beachhead in the Western Hemisphere. Carlos Castillo Armas, a former military officer who lead the CIA-backed invasion from Honduras, was installed as president in 1954. Castillo reversed Decree 900 and ruled until he was assassinated by a member of his personal guard in 1957. Similar socio-economic iniquities and social unrest invade all of Central and South America, including Bolivia and Peru, while the Cold War and the threat of Communism to the United States grows.
Wandering Wolf becomes a Mayan Day Keeper, An Aj Q'ji: 1981 CE
At the age of 52, having lived all the days of the Mayan Sacred Calendar, Wandering Wolf is initiated by his elders as an Aj Q’ji: a Mayan Day Keeper. He accepts his destiny, reactivates the Staff of Authority given to him by his father, and begins his journey as an elder.
Wandering Wolf Elected Head of the Mayan Council of Elders: 1985
Wandering Wolf is elected head of the Mayan Council of Elders of Guatemala and the Mayan Elders begin asserting themselves into society and politics. Peaceful indigenous movement continues.
Harmonic Convergence, Pope Receives Wandering Wolf and Public Apology by Religious Leaders: 1987
First globally synchronized meditation, honoring the Maya and their contribution to a new era – a new Sun – as it approaches. The convergence is purported to have “corresponded with a great shift in the earth’s energy from warlike to peaceful.” Wandering Wolf meets Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome. Public declaration and apology is issued by religious leaders for atrocities and disrespect of Native Americans.
Wandering Wolf Forms International Council of Indigenous Elders and Spirit Guides of the Americas; Rigoberta Menchú Wins Nobel Peace Prize: 1992
As the non-violent peace movement gains momentum in Central America, Wandering Wolf forms the Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas. Rigoberta Menchú, an indigenous of the K’iche Maya in Guatemala receives the Nobel Peace Prize for her book I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala. She dedicates her life to publicizing the plight of Guatemala’s indigenous peoples and to promoting indigenous rights in the country.
Wandering Wolf and the Elders Hold First Continental Council Gathering in Guatemala: 1995
Working with the Mayan Staff of Authority to unite, Wandering Wolf and the Elders hold the first Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas gathering. The Elders travel long distances to journey to Guatemala, many without money or documentation, to take part in this historic event.
Guatemala Civil War Ends: 1996
After nearly 40 years, the violent civil war, which took hundreds of thousands of lives, including some of Wandering Wolf’s family, finally ends.
Second Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas Gathering: 1997 CE
Condor-Nation Elder Francisco Navarro received the Mayan Staff of Authority at the first Continental Council gathering in 1995 to empower and unite indigenous nations of the South. He successfully holds the Second Council Gathering in Columbia. Eagle and Condor nations are represented.
Third Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas Gathering: 1999 CE
After receiving the Mayan Staff of Authority, Eagle-Nation Navajo Elder and Spiritual leader Leon Secatero successfully holds the Third Continental Council Gathering in New Mexico, United States. Eagle and Condor nations are represented. Condor-Nation Elder Valentin Mejillones from Bolivia receives the Mayan Staff of Authority to host the next Continental Council gathering. Common Passion begins globally synchronized meditation and prayer events through its predecessor InfinityAffnity.org.
Valentin Mejillones attempts to Hold Fourth Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas Gathering: 2000 CE
Condor-Nation Elder Valentin Mejillones attempts and fails to hold the fourth Continental Council gathering in Bolivia. Too few countries in the Americas are represented. He keeps the Staff of Authority with the intention of organizing another Continental Council Gathering.
Valentin Mejillones Fails Again to Hold Fourth Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas Gathering: 2003 CE
After Valentin fails once more to host the Fourth Continental Council Gathering; Wandering Wolf requests the return of the Mayan Staff of Authority to Guatemala. Valentin refuses.
Staff of Authority Used to Inaugurate Evo Morales, President of Bolivia: 2005 CE
Valentin keeps the Mayan Staff of Authority, ignoring Wandering Wolf and the Council of Elder’s requests for its return. Valentin uses the authority of the Staff for political causes in Bolivia. This is the year that Wandering Wolf meets Shift of the Ages film director, Steve Copeland in Joshua Tree, California, after sponsoring he and his translator Elizabeth Araujo to attend a cross-cultural dialogue between indigenous wisdom keepers in Big Bear California. During this time, Wandering Wolf asks Copeland to make a film about his own journey and the story of the Maya, from the perspective of the Maya. Copeland agrees and concepts are exchanged for the Shift of the Ages movie.
Shift of the Ages Production and Filming Begin: 2006 CE
Director Steve Copeland brings film crew to Guatemala to begin filming Shift of the Ages. Filming continues for another four years in many countries. The Film project helps fund and orchestrate a recovery mission for the Mayan Staff of Authority. This is the year that Common Passion’s founder and director Joseph R. Giove meets Wandering Wolf and Grandmother Elizabeth Araujo in India at a global Gathering for World Peace near Chennai. They also decide to collaborate in their mutual interests for world peace and cultural exchange.
Mayan Staff of Authority Recovered, Winter Solstice 2007 Tiwanaku, Bolivia: 2007 CE
After years of misappropriation of the Mayan Staff of Authority by Valentin Mejillones, Wandering Wolf recovers the Sacred Staff at the Winter Solstice in Tiwanaku, Bolivia. It is here, an ancient Aymaran sacred temple in the land of the Condor – the land of the Heart – that Wandering Wolf recovers authority over his destiny. The film project is instrumental in the Mayan Staff of Authority’s recovery for Wandering Wolf; the Staff now returns to Guatemala for some much-needed work at home and for Wandering Wolf’s ongoing mission to unite the Eagle and Condor and the entire human family. We are all connected, “like the fingers of the hand.” Shift of the Ages film project connects with Chief Phil Lane, Jr., Hereditary Chief Phil Lane Jr. – Ihanktonwan Dakota & Chickasaw Nations – Eagle Nations. Shift of the Ages film project connects Rolando Urrutia, a filmmaker in Guatemala who had been filming Wandering Wolf, Council Gatherings and chronicling the Guatemalan civil war.
Wandering Wolf’s Student Alvaro Colom Wins Presidency of Guatemala: 2008 CE
The Mayan Staff of Authority inaugurates Alvaro Colom, student and friend of Wandering Wolf and the indigenous Maya, as president of Guatemala. Common Passion connects with the Shift of the Ages film project. Collaboration immediately ensues.
Wandering Wolf Becomes Ambassador: 2009
Wandering Wolf speaks at Colom’s Inauguration and becomes the first ambassador in the Guatemalan government representing the indigenous people. Wandering Wolf confirms that he will have the support of the Maya as long as he keeps his promises. A Mayan flag hangs for the first time at the nation’s capital building. This is the year that Indigenous Maya start to gain rights for the first time in history; prejudice and injustice continue.
Joint Declaration for World Peace and World Indigenous Leaders Gather in Canada: 2010 CE
Wandering Wolf and Alvaro Colom’s Political Terms are Fulfilled: 2012 CE
End of the World or Beginning of a New One? December 21, 2012
The Maya never predicted the end of the world. They predicted that now is the time for their prophecies to be fulfilled, for the human family to recognize it is united, like the fingers of the hand. They tell us that those who listen to the voice and spirit of the ancestors will be the return of the men and women of wisdom. These wise ones will be the Children of the New Sun. We will greet the new day as we heal our deep ancestral wound, and welcome a new Sun, a new era of 5200 years of an awakened humanity.
Transition to the New Sun – a new Cosmic Season – Continues: 2013
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The Shift of the Ages isn’t a date on a calendar, whether Mayan or Gregorian. The Maya anticipated a period of time during which the human family would awaken to its greater potential as the New Sun approaches. We are in that shift now: the end of one cosmic season and the beginning of another. We will create a new story for future generations. [source]
What will our story be?
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