After profound experiences in Mayan ceremonial centers, I began to seriously question some commonly used ideas concerning the Mayan calendar. Why is the Haab/Mayan New Year not in sync with natural cycles, such as the equinoxes and solstices? If we are to merge with natural time, shouldn't we following the natural cycles of the actual SUN?

When we ask ourselves how the indigenous peoples of Earth keep track of the seasons, we come to a natural conclusion. All indigenous cultures are solar in origin and follow the solstices and equinoxes. Many have built profound and complex structures, utilizing advanced geometry and astronomy, to map these cycles. The equinoxes and solstices makes perfect sense, as anyone could validate these by simply going outside and ascertaining for themselves. From the Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon, to the Temple of the Sun in Peru, the indigenous peoples are definitely giving us a BIG clue about the importance of the natural timing of the equinoxes and solstices.

During the 1995 equinox I visited Dzibilchaltun (zee beel chal toon). With the moon and Venus still visible, the Sun rose slowly in the east, illuminating the length of the Sacbe, a sacred road of light. Here the sun rises through a precisely placed doorway in a pyramid that looms on the horizon nearly 1/4 mile away. As the sun rises through this doorway, the light illuminates a precisely placed stela, marking the first day of the year. This solar event can be observed in its entirety from a stone platform at the opposite end of the sacbe, and only on the equinoxes. It was at this sunrise that I became acutely aware of the importance of the equinoxes.

After the sunrise solar display at Dzibilchaltun, I visited another Mayan ceremonial center that also marks the emerging of spring and the first day of the year. This sacred site is Chichen Itza. With forty-five thousand other observers we witnessed a solar event that displays a spectacular angular alignment on the pyramid Kukulkan with the setting sun. The Equinox sun creates an image of a descending serpent formed by seven triangles of sunlight.

The sacred site that gets the most attention for the Spring Equinox is the sacred site of Teotihuacan near Mexico City. On equinox a estimated one-million plus covered the huge Pyramid of the Sun. Why all this attention on March 21? What are a million people trying to awaken us to?

When I returned home I began to see other powerful clues as to the importance of the Equinoxes. Jim Vosseler of Caban Alliance, just returning from the Yucatan, shared another little known piece of truth. After the Spring Equinox sunrise through the door of the temple at Dzibilchaltun, the first full moon thereafter also rises through those doors. Additionally, Alberto Ruz, author of Rainbow Nations Without Borders, revealed to me that the pyramid of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza marks the Spring Equinox with the light of the first full moon after March 21. This piece of just blew me away! Both of these sacred sites mark the first day of spring with the light of the sun and the light of the first full moon with one temple! I discovered that the Sun Dagger in Chaco Canyon also marks the extreme positions of the Sun and Moon with one stone monument.

Six months after my sunrise experience at Dzibilchaltun, I received new information from Mayan Elder, Hunbatz Men. Among the three pages of text released by the Maya Mystery Schools was this confirmation: "It must be noted that our initiation year is to commence on March 21, the first day of the yearly count.... After this date when the first full moon is visible, we will start counting the lunar cycles... On that first day March 21, a perfect balance of energy will be present all over the planet earth. Working positively with this sacred energy, we can send it, together with our message, to any corner of the world and correct any faults in modern society".

With this bit of from Hunbatz Men, I began to look at all the evidence supporting the spring equinox as Mayan new year. I was amazed how we have overlooked this obvious date as the starting date for the Haab. Even modern astrology points to March 21 as the first day of the Zodiac, with the entrance into Aries. Not only were my gut instincts pushing me toward this conclusion, but now information from a internationally known daykeeper confirmed it.

According to Hunbatz Men, the Haab and the Tzolk'in can't be used separately. As long as we are in physical bodies on planet Earth, we are influenced by both cycles simultaneously. Separating these two cycles would be like separating our spirit from our body. By using the Tzolk'in and Haab together, we can create our reality. The Haab's 18 months of 20 days each is the root system of the Tree of Life, the "Wacah Chan". The sacred Tzolk'in is the leaves of the tree that radiate and transmit a continual harmonic universal frequency. We can cut branches off the world tree and it will grow new ones. This happens during every dark cycle. But, if we cut off the roots of the Wacah Chan, the world tree dies! This is indigenous wisdom. When we work with these two cycles together, Haab and Tzolk'in, we build a bridge between the stars and the stones.

Humanity resonating with the sacred cycle is also like a living tree. The cosmic ones who receive from the stars are the leaves blowing in the wind grasping profound new truths. The branches and the trunk of the tree are the ones who transduce this cosmic knowledge into tangible forms. The roots are the indigenous peoples of the Earth, keeping the ancient knowledge and world tree alive, the Wacah Chan. We cannot cut the root of truth without destroying the entire tree. Leaves come and go with the seasons but the roots survive through the winters of our civilization. This root of wisdom deserves to be honored.

This began a new direction that evolved my understanding of Mayan cycles beyond the honored and respected truth in which I emerged. In my work with the Mayan calendar, I have validated the Tzolk'in dates (sacred days/Kin) revealed in The Mayan Factor and Dreamspell by Jose Arguelles as absolutely correct through exhaustive research with blind Mayan solar destiny readings. These sacred days are the frequencies emanating from the universal source, through our galactic core, though the Pleiades, and then through our Sun to Earth. Unfortunately, I initially accepted the rest of the story without question, including the Haab date/Mayan New year of July 26, the Mayan months and Mayan years.

I discovered that July 26 is based on the work of a Mexican artist, and uses the post-classic Year Bearers of Muluc, Ix, Cauac, and Kan. This came as quite a surprise, as I was under the impression it was classic Mayan information, rooted in indigenous wisdom. Another piece to the puzzle was in a letter I received from John Major Jenkins, author of Tzolk'in, Visionary Perspective and Calendars Studies. John shed some light on the reasoning behind July 26 as new year. According to John, "at the 20 degree latitude of Chichen Itza and Dzibilchaltun, a zenith passage of the sun occurs on July 26.... If you were at Dzibilchaltun at noon on July 26, you would observe the Sun passing right though the center of the heavens, the exact center of the sky." I also discovered that Bruce Scofield of Signs of Time, stated that August 11 is also considered the zenith of the Sun. The Sun at zenith point leaves no shadows. The foundation and reasoning for using the zenith point of the Sun as the New Year, or first day of the solar year, is weakened when we realize everyday, somewhere on the globe, there is a zenith passage of the sun, reducing this idea to a common daily event.

If the zenith of the Sun is an important date for the Maya, where are the stone monuments that mark July 26 or August 11? To date, I know of no archeological sites that mark the zenith passage of the Sun. Additionally, this concept is limited geographically and would only work at locations equal to the latitude of Chichen Itza on July 26. What about the rest of the world? Understanding the Maya as cosmic beings, I am sure that they would have considered the entire planet in their calculations for Mayan new year. Well, they did! March 21 is the zenith path of the sun at the equator, making the Suns solar force equal in all four directions on the entire planet! If the zenith path of the Sun is a marker of the new year, then March 21 is the day. Remember, the ancient ones marked the equinoxes in monumental stone markers, distinguishing these days apart from any other. Hunbatz Men was quite clear. March 21 is the beginning of the "sacred world calendar". Wisdom passed down though many generations is difficult to disregard.

To make the switch to March 21 for Mayan new year, I needed to rework my conversion system so that the correct Tzolk'in dates used in The Mayan Factor and Dreamspell would remain the same. I was anxious to see what Year Bearers would arise. Year bearers are the 4 sacred suns that fall on each Haab new year, being March 21, and set the energetic tone for the coming year. I knew they would not be Kan, Muluc, Ix, or Cauac as used in The Mayan Factor. It was at this moment that another beautiful piece arose and I was astonished at the outcome.

As I merged truth from the Mayan factor with the indigenous wisdom of March 21 as New Year, the new year bearers that arose were those used by the classic Maya and were also the years bearers that Hunbatz Men shared with me during a visit in 1993. The four Mayan years that have been influencing our lives are Ik, Manik, Eb, and Caban. The on March 21, 1997 the year is 7 EB. I felt great excitement when this piece fell into place and upon seeing the years working together, they felt right. The spirit of the wind (breath), IK; healing, MANIK; humanity, EB; on Earth, CABAN. I was exhilarated about the perfect integration of Jose Arguelles' sacred days merged with ancient wisdom from Hunbatz Men and the root of the tree. This was unification through individual diversity at its best!

The sacred sun (Kin) and number (Tone) revealed in Mayan Astrology, the Mayan Factor and Dreamspell will still share this common and profound link, and now by using March 21, the indigenous Mayan wisdom is honored and reestablished into a tangible form. The sacred Sun (Kin), Number (Tone), light pulse (wavespell) and season remain the same.

When we switch to the new Mayan new year of March 21, the Haab months and years will be different than other systems. To discover the new Mayan years and Mayan Haab months, refer to the ephemeris. If you are working with a date that comes before March 21, use one year prior to the year in which you were working with. (See the ephemeris and Mayan month chart provided with this article)

In my continuing journey in truth, I am constantly reminded that each human being has a sacred message to share. I also realize that it is necessary to integrate information from many directions to see a larger and more encompassing picture. Each is being challenged to accept what feels true, regardless of outer contradictions. There is no greater or lesser authority than ourselves and we are beyond the times when we are dependent on outside authority. Truth is rising up inside each of us and it is our duty to share it with love, honor and respect for others and their perspectives. Truth never dies, but is only momentarily forgotten. We are collectively remembering the truth together. Unification of humanity comes from individual expression of diversity. When we walk in truth, we give others permission to also walk in the same way.

In this article, I have shared my truths, perspectives and discoveries regarding the sacred cycles. It is not my intention to invalidate the truth of others. I share these insights as a student of truth and hope you accept them as such.

Aluna Joy Yaxk'in . . . A Star Messenger - Earth Oracle - Soul Reader - Sacred Site Junkie was literally born awake and in the company of her guides, the Star Elders. Today she has evolved into an author, spiritual life coach, sacred site guide, alternative historian, ordained minister and modern mystic. In the Inca world, Aluna is considered a Qawaq (cow-wak), a clairvoyant or seer of living energy. Aluna acts as a spiritual archaeologist using her clairvoyant / clairsentient gifts to excavate current messages from the masters of ancient, enlightened cultures to uncover what affect this has on humanity and the collective consciousness. She is well known for her down to earth, accepting attitude that makes each one feel like they have come home. She inspires and encourages others to recognize and accept their own authentic divinity and connection to the Creator. "Our groups are family, and each one is a teacher and also a student. We work together as a team to unravel the sacred mysteries of life." Aluna coined the term "sacred site junkie" because she is one herself. After her first trip to Tulum, Mexico, her life changed dramatically, and she was sent on an entirely different path in life. Since this time, her work has been influenced by uncountable shamanic experiences in sacred sites of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, Egypt, Greece, England, Australia and New Zealand. Aluna has been leading groups in the Maya world since 1986, the Inca world since 1996, and the Egyptian world since 2008, and the mystical world of Avalon (England and Scotland) since 2007. Aluna offers Star Elder Sessions, formulates Sacred Site Essences and a free newsletter. She is the author of "Mayan Astrology" and her articles have been published worldwide. Website: www.AlunaJoy.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/alunajoyyaxkin YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/feelthelove2012

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