Aztec Astrology: The Energetic Influence of 2020
The stars never lie, Chico
You can’t help but notice all the strife that has been going on around the world and within our microcosm. According to Aztec Astrology this year will be a heavy hitter for most.
Those were my thoughts at the beginning of February.
I did not know what the future would look like for the world in the coming months. The truth is that I was gritting my teeth and biting my tongue. The reason for that is because the prior year I had sought counsel from the stars.
Useful Suffering
Many people are no doubt thinking, what will the rest of the year look like?
The real questions should be, “Will this suffering be useful for us”?
“Will it create a paradigm shift needed to bring about a (r)evolution?
Because at this point there is no going back to “normal”.
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
Danza in the Time of Covid-19
This year I was looking forward to the March celebrations that bring in the Mexika (Aztec) New Year. Usually, the gatherings are quite large. There is plenty of food, dance, ritual, wisdom teachings about Aztec Astrology, vendors, and entertainment. Our regalia is worn with honor and our best jade adorns our neck. It is a sight not to be missed. However, due to the coronavirus, all large gatherings were banned. As a result, the Mexika New Year festivities were canceled.
Blade Runner
Last year I was called by the obsidian blade. Subsequently, I found a book with a phrase that piqued my interest entitled, “Muerte A Filo De Obsidiana” (Death By The Obsidian Blade). The phrase itself is poetic, and it stirred in me a sense of admiration. A death fit for a warrior, and we are all indeed warriors.
"A warrior leads with their heart"
Ek Balam
I wanted to bask in the splendor of this blade that inspired our ancestors.
My mind was set on acquiring an obsidian blade. Therefore, during our annual Mysteries of the Maya symbolist tour of Yucatan I made it my mission to acquire one. As we were walking out of Ek Balam, I saw the blade (pictured below) and so I made the purchase.
Then I firmly held the blade and ran my fingers down its sharp jagged edges. Next, I raised the flint up to the sunlight. In doing so, its thin outer edges became translucent. For a moment time stood still. That moment was only discontined by a local Maya healer and his xolotl (Aztec hairless dog) who I had to take some time out to connect with.
By now, you may be asking yourself the question, “What exactly does this blade have to do with Aztec Astrology?”
Xihuitl Chicyei Tekpatl (New Year Eight Flint)
After the tour I started researching next year’s energy charger. (If you are not already familiar with what an energy charger is, you can learn more in my previous blog here.)
To my surprise, the year to come — 2020 — was to be ruled by Tekpatl energy. A Tekpatl is a flint or obsidian knife with a lanceolate figure an double-edged blade.
A magnetic force that I could not shake was guiding me. So here is where one must ask, “What is the difference between destiny and fate?”
Sacrifice: The Allegory
There is an allegory in a Mesoamerican tradition that tells us about the Teteo. The Teteo are cosmic principles who allegorically slit their throats with a Tekpatl. They did this as an act of sacrifice to bring about life in all realms. Their blood was the sacred fluid that watered creation.
We are animated through the blood of the Teteo (cosmic principles). As a result, there is a covenant between humans and our creators. Therefore, we must sacrifice just as they have sacrificed for us. In this way, we can repay our debt and repeat the cosmic cycle of creation.
Aztec Calendar
One of the tools for intepretating Aztec Astrology is the Aztec Sun Stone – commonly referred to as the Aztec –or Mexika– Calendar.
On the Aztec Sun Stone, we can see the symbol of Tekpatl placed in the middle. Its the representation of Tonatiu (the sun in Nahuatl) sticking its flint tongue out at us. The tongue sticking out in the form of a knife, signified the need for the cosmic to feed on essence ladened with vital life force.
Symbolicaly, that flint tongue represents a light ray eminating from the sun. According to the indigenous understanding of my ancestors, the ray illuminates our heart while it also drips with the sacred fluid that feeds both the material sun and our inner sun.
The information above tells us that Tekpatl energy charger is a mediator between life and death. A mediator between light and shadow. It reflects the realms of the cosmos and inversely the nine levels of the Mexika underworld, Mictlan.
Tecpatl, flint knife, is one of the most complex symbols of iconography and Mexica worldview. And we say symbol because Tecpatl contains multiple meanings that reveal it as the bearer of a complex vision of the world in which we find closely associated the notions of origin and sacrifice.
Principles to Remember:
- The beginning of energy — the solar ray — is the light that shines upon earth.
- The solar ray is the marker of years and day.
- Tekpatl represents the tongue that emits the word; oral tradition, or communication.
- This energy charger is one of the four year bearers.
- The energy charger was the beginning of one of the Twenty Trecenas of the Tonalpohualli.
- Tekpatl is represented by the eigth day in the twenty day count.
- The date Ce Tekpatl is sculpted next to the central solar ray that’s between the Nahui Ocelotl square. Here the Flint carries a glyph of Tezcatlipoca.
The takeaway from this lesson here is be ready to sacrifice and be the sacrifice.
Sacrifice your ego, sacrifice indulgence, sacrifice jealousy, and sacrifice yourself in service to others.
Tekpatl & Pandemics
Five hundred years ago, biological warfare waged by Spaniards devastated the Mexika capital (it is still debated whether it was viral or salmonella poisoning). The year was 2 Flint or 1520 in the Gregorian Calendar.
The Maya leave us with this ominous prediction for the years 2012-2032;
This time of total collapse where everything is lost. it is the time of the judgment of Hahal K'uh (Jajal K'uh), there will be epidemics and plagues and then famine."
The greatest light has always been born from the greatest darkness.
"There was the breaking of the lands; there was the shaking of the heavens. Flower food, flower water were the burden of the katun. And there was the beginning of the gathering of the Sages."
Tekpatl is known for being a tough year. This is why we have to rely heavily on our wisdom and preparation.
Historically, the years that correspond to the energy charger flint or Tekpatl are years of suffering, hurt, and pain. Therefore, since according to Aztec Astrology we are in the year of tekpatl it should come as no surprise that we are experiencing such tumultuous times.
Keep in mind that suffering only becomes useless when it is not transformed into a source of change or inspiration.
Cutting cords to a previous era will usher in a new cycle. Practically we need to cut the cords to relationships or toxic practices that are not healthy and have overstayed their welcome.
Morphin Power Flint
The flint was often anthropomorphized. It was given eyes, an eyebrow, and teeth. It became a divine deification of the sacrificial instrument. Thirty-three skull-masks were unearthed during excavations at Tenochtitlan.
These skull-masks represented the principle of death, Mictlantecuhtli. Similar to the wooden statue of Sheikh el-Balad and others in Egypt, these skulls were given life-like eyes.
The skull’s nose and mouth were replaced by sacrificial flint knives which held a deeply profound symbolic signifnance.
The Last Airbender
The knife inserted into the nose represented a cutting action. When we cut off our air supply death ensues. Therefore, air is a vital element needed for all life.
From a Rosicrucian point-of-view, we know that it is not until we take our first breath that the flesh vehicle is endowed with a soul. Consequently, it is not until our last breath that all our subtle bodies depart from our mortal coil.
Ollin Flow
Ehécatl, the Mexika principle of air, wind, and breath was capable of keeping the sacred movement of air flowing in an Ollin (motion). Ehécatl is present in our breath. The principle brings life to that which is inert just as the blood circulates oxygen from the air we breathe which in turn vitalizes us our human body.
Temples consecrated to the principle of air had a circular form offering the least resistance to the element helping its circulation.
Mictlanpachécatl is one of the various representations of the principle Ehécatl. It is the wind principle of the north pole of the Mexika underworld level called, Mictlampa. Here is where one would enter the dark void of eternity and finally rest in stillness. This is the place where our ancestors give us advice and guidance.
"Every moon, every year, every day, every wind departs and passes too. All blood reaches the place of its stillness, ... "
Kámpa Ka Moyolo? ❤
Kampa Ka Moyolo is Nahuatl for Where is your heart?
Teyolia is the name of one of the three Mexica centers, which animate human beings. The very blood that pours out from our spiritual wounds is permeated with our heart energy.
1. Tonalli
In Mesoamerican tradition, the head was the seat of thought. Tonalli is the name of this energetic center. It is our waking state, radiating heat, or solar power. Subsequently, the head held a piece of our being. Keeping the head after death was done as a symbol of planting a seed. This gives meaning to the poetic phrase: “They tried to bury us but they didn’t know we were seeds”.
2. Teyolia
It is the energetic center located in the heart, where the human essence and higher mental faculties reside. When we die our Teyolia travels to one of the etheric worlds. It is that which animates us, this our will our memory.
The Teyolia of dead warriors that died in combat or through sacrifice went to the sun realm. They could also reincarnate as hummingbirds. This is why when we see hummingbirds we say we are being visited by our ancestors. During the burial, a stone was placed inside of the dead person’s mouth. This stone would either be made out of jade or obsidian which represented the heart.
" Cry. Tears must travel with the wind, not flood the heart."
3. Ihiyotl
Is the motor functioning of our passions or emotions. This subtle energy would stay grounded upon the earth and could become a gaseous fantasm or it would circulate as a physical sickness called yohualehécatl or night wind. Our Ihiyotl is associated with our breath and respiration.
Subtle Bodies
For the Nahuas, indigenous people of central Mexico, death was a dispersal of the esoteric components that animated the human vehicle. This concept is similiar to Hermetic formula from the Emerald Tablet of the alchemical tradition in western esotericism, where the subtle must be separated from the gross.
Onacico in nacian, in nopoliuhya, in noxamanca, in nopoztequia. What it means: "I reached my reach, my destruction, my break, my fragmentation"
Principles To Remember
- We can cut the ties that bind us
- Sacrifice for others. Only then will a path for a better future be paved.
- The flint is both a tool and a weapon.
- Gripping the double edge flint will harm us but suffering is necessary for growth and learning.
- The flint is always thirsty for Teyolia energy, the spiritual heart.
- This energy will amplify intuition, trust your instincts.
- It is the beginning and the end, as the alpha and omega.
- Origin of fire and creation. Focus on the inner sun and become the light bearer
- Keep the intellect sharp
- The north wind is associated with Tekpatl. This is the place of solitude and calm. Here we can reach our ancestors and ask for guidance.
- Friction polishes a stone.
- Accept yourself, relflect, and find your Tezcatlipoca.
The Number 8-Chicyei
The word Chicyei is derived from the following root words in the Nahuatl language: Chic is understood as will power. Ce mean unity and Onyei translates to blood Flow.
The awakening of our blood is linked to the number Eight. Our blood gets activated through the four cardinal directions and their four intermediaries. In humans, this galvanizes the heart center and moves our teyolia.
According to the indigenous understanding, the number Eight corresponds to light, comprehension, and profound analysis. It is through this number that we mature and blossom.
The Beat Don't Stop
The drum carries a beat that has primal beginnings and primal endings.
During our November 2019 tour of the Yucatan, at the archaeological site of Xkichmook (the hidden beauty), we sat down for ritual. I led our group in an exercise to help our hearts synch up with all principles seen and unseen.
When I pulled the drum out of my bag, I noticed that it was battered by the jungles’ humid weather. Part of it had bubbled up due to the heat which in turn made drumming almost impossible
As I started drumming, I suddenly heard someone or something drumming along with me. I stopped and thought:
“What is that?”
I started drumming again, trying to steady the beat.
“No way is this a branch banging against a tree”, I thought.
The unknown drummer persisted...
Listen To Your Heart
The more I listened to the pattern, the sound became distinct. It was a woodpecker pecking to the drumbeat, I guess we had become bandmates. Albeit, it’s drumming was more succinct than mine.
The unsteady drum beat led to an unsteady heart.
We are to busy looking with our first sight that we miss everything our second sight is showing us. Looking at the shadows is the best way to interpret any signs. Here, everything will be illuminated.
When a sign appears it doesn’t come with a loud bang, it comes with a whisper. So, when the signs speak we must listen closely.
After that, I found out that the woodpecker is the Nawal or power animal of this year’s Maya charger.
"Signs and symbols rule the world, not words nor laws."
No'J
Under the sign of No’J (Ki’che Maya for reason), knowledge is transformed into wisdom through the filter of experience.
This energy charger will help connect us with the Universal Cosmic Mind while the subtle realms are perceptible to the material world. It symbolizes cosmic movement, human growth, and seismic activity.
This sign activates the manifestation of the positive part of spirit in this dimension. You can expect a unification of synchronicity, waves of amplified vibrations, and collective memory awakenings.
Aztec Meets Maya: The Convergance of Tekpatl and No'J
How do we merge these two energy signatures, Tekpatl and No’J?
The sharpness or mindfulness of the Aztec energy charger, Tekpatl mixed with the attunement of the cosmic mind under the Maya energy charger of No’j will allow us to experience subtle realities. In turn, we can tap into this fusion of energy chargers to gain collective insight. Tekpatl brings in a time of darkness when self reflection is necessary. Change starts from within and radiates outward.
Stay strong and look inward because NO-THING is outside of you.