In case anyone is curious, this is my day-sign, known as "Cauac" or Rain nagual. This is my "heart" nagual, associated with the day of my birth.QUALITIES OF "CAUAC" OR RAIN NAGUAL
•Youthful personality, very likely involved with teaching or healing in some way. Rain is more inclined to imitate than to innovate, which is why many of its natives become teachers or instructors.
•Acts like a child even as an adult. Restless mind – constantly needs exercise in some way. Compassionate personality – acquired through a lot of personal hardship and pain. Rain is considered an unfortunate nagual for this reason. It was also feared in traditional Mayan culture because it was said to be a time when sorcerers were born and demons came to earth.
WHAT'S THE UPCOMING ARTICLE ABOUT?
There's a new article in the works on Mayan astrology, and I'm hoping to have it up by early July, depending on my work schedule, and a lot of other daily, ongoing annoyances=]
Mayan astrology is a quirky blend of both astrology and numerology, in my opinion. This article will only briefly touch on the numerology, and focus instead on personality delineation associated with natal astrology.
Mayan astrology has a wonderfully detailed system of "naguals", or day-signs, that describe personality, and an interesting system for describing the qualities of a subject's mind, and the personality that one grows into as one ages. Mayan astrology is one of those fascinating areas outside the mainstream that often gets ignored (and it always surprises me how many people have never heard of it at all), so I think it is an excellent topic for a blog dedicated to alternative, under-appreciated areas of astrology.
"Mayan" astrology is also a blend of Mayan and Aztec astrological traditions. Both systems are fragmented, and probably represent a fraction of what was originally practiced by traditional day-counters, or astrologers. The naguals available to us today have been reinterpreted by astrologers who practice in a modern context. There is a lot of debate among practitioners among which of the competing traditions is most valid - getting too caught up in this is counter-productive, in my opinion.
This article is not going to be an introduction to Mayan astrology - that is beyond the scope of this blog. Rather, it will focus on my observations on how to actually use the system - some parts of the system are more applicable than others for quick, at-a-glance insight, particularly if one is not a practicing Mayan astrologer or researcher and does not have extensive knowledge of Mayan mythology.
For this reason, I am going to put the sources up front in this "teaser" article, in hopes that readers will do some reading up on the basics before they jump into the upcoming main article.
The first thing that most readers will want to do is to find out their day-sign. Bruce Scofield has a free report available on his website that everyone should check out. Folks born after 8:00 pm at night should use the next day as their birthdate - trust me on this! Folks born between 7:00 and 8:00 pm should try out the nagual of their birth date, and the one for the following day, and pick the one with the closest fit. Other than this, Mayan astrology is not dependent on birth time.
SOURCES
www.onereed.com
Click on "Mayan-Aztec Report" located on the top banner across the home page, and then click on "Order Maya-Aztec Astro-Report". Choose the option of a "Free Sample Report" or a "Full Report for $14.95"
Scofield, Bruce & Orr, Barry C.How To Practice Mayan Astrology: The Tzolkin Calendar and Your Life Path,Bear & Company; First Edition, 2006.
This book is highly recommended. It will teach you a lot about the Mayan naguals, in a far more thorough fashion than I can do in this article. Also, anyone wishing to understand why the Mayan calendar did not predict a new era beginning in 2012 (a popular New Age belief) should definitely take a careful look at this book. In fact, Scofield and Orr argue that the tradition points to a culminating period of tremendous change occuring between 2012 and 2032.
Maransky, Bob.Barack Obama's Mayan Horoscope, The Mountain Astrologer Magazine, February/March 2010.
This article explains how naguals corresponding with body parts such as the heart, feet, and head are used to develop a full profile for each native, using Barack Obama as an example. Wonderful example of what is likely to be a significant Aztec innovation to Mayan astrology.
