Time of Awakening Series

With the projected roll-over of the Mayan Calendar from Bak’tun 13 to the new age of the Fifth Sun this Winter Solstice (Long Count = 13.0.0.0.0), I've been watching and taking note of a parade of interesting celestial events over the last sixth months (starting with the solar transit of Venus, the second of a pair of transits this cycle – the previous transit occurring in 2004). I decided to make a set of commemorative banners to celebrate this unique time period. Of course, to honor the Mayan Long Count vision, I utilized Mayan glyphs, symbology, mythology in these images.

For archeologists and linguists, understanding of Mayan symbols takes on a syncreatic flavor, with some meaning derived from the context of use within codexes and monument carvings, other meaning derived from analyzing the spoken dialects of the region to better “explain” the associations of specific glyphs to various objects, actions, etc. - which often relies upon homonyms of “sound alike” words to expand the meaning context. More visionary archeologists apply a mytho-astromonical analysis to better understand the cultural memes presented, and hope to reveal more esoteric meanings within and between them. The stories and meanings are reflected in the stars. As Above, So Below.

For myself, a mixed astrological / astronomical / archeological / mythical framework flavored by shamanic journey work and dreams enhances my own personal understanding of the mytho-poetic and esoteric meanings originally intended by these glyphs.

Here are the six images that I created:

Venus Transit – June 5, 2012    

1) In the top register, Venus’s path across the solar disk is recorded. Below, in sequence: an image of the solar corona, an image of Venus (with its glyph superimposed), and at the bottom, a glyph for a building or temple (i.e.; earth). Inside this building are two others glyphs: a skull representing the opening to the underworld, topped by one of the 9 Underworld gods. On either side, Vision Serpents open their mouths emitting the heads of ancestor figures - yielding prophecy, instruction, and/or desired communication.

Total Solar Eclipse – November 13, 2012

2) In the center, the total eclipse of the solar disk (marked with the solar deity ‘Ahau’ glyph) reveals the glowing coronal ring in the darkened sky. Directly below, a trio of rabbits guide the full lunar disk through the heavens. (The Mayans saw a rabbit in the moon rather than a human face.) At the bottom stands the goddess Ix Chel in her guise as Grandmother who rules over the moon, the tides, and lunar mysteries. A serpent in her headdress swallows the sun, revealing the total eclipse.

Jupiter / Moon Conjunction – November 29, 2012

3) This commemorates the first of two Jupiter–lunar conjunctions which occur in the last quarter of the year. Jupiter is emerging from the mouth of a Pleiadian sky dragon. (The Mayans believed their ancestors descended from a race of beings who originated in the Pleiades.) At the top, the Pleiades (7 Sisters) watch over this conjunction. The Mayan glyph for this star cluster is a rattlesnake’s rattle.

Pyramid Alignment – December 3, 2012

4) On this night, the planets of Mercury (hummingbird as messenger between the spirit realms, drinking medicine nectar from a Datura flower), Venus (sky jaguar holding the Venus glyph), and Saturn (emerging from a Vision Serpent), come into alignment vertically over the three main Egyptian pyramids in the Giza complex. Such a syzygy occurs once every 2,737 years. The Mayan turtle glyph (i.e.; Earth) in the bottom register of this image shows the three original “hearth stone” stars that mythically founded Mayan civilization. (We now refer to these three stars as Orion’s Belt.) The pyramids at Giza have been shown to exactly map the projection of Orion’s Belt.

Dark Rift Alignment (Winter Solstice) – December 21, 2012

5) On Winter Solstice, during the day, Mayan astronomers understood that the Sun would conjunct the center of the Milky Way (more specifically, the Dark Rift stretching long the central galactic horizon.). Although they could not see the actual alignment during the daylight, they knew that the band of the Milky Way would rotate to a near vertical overhead (in the same way that all of the visible stars rotate during the course of an evening around the axis of the North Star). Likewise, they understood that at midnight on Summer Solstice, the Pleiades (their source of origin) would rise to its zenith in the same sky location.

 The Dark Rift was known as the “Dark Road” or the “Royal Road”. It represented a path to ancestral origins, to the spirits, watchers and gods who resided in the sky realm. The turning of the Milky Way to its most vertical extent during Winter Solstice was mythically envisioned as the raising of the World Tree connecting the three realms (Heaven, Earth and the Underworld). At the base of the tree can be seen a god of the Underworld with his mouth open like a cave entrance deep into the earth. At the top of the tree is found a celestial bird, a symbol of the Polar Star. The arms of the tree (forming the “foliate cross”) symbolizes galactic plane overhead. In the top register appears a blue sky/star band glyphic pattern with a pair of sky gods rowing the celestial canoe across the heavens.

 At this year’s solstice, astronomically both Mars and Venus appear on opposite sides of a linear alignment with the sun. These are shown in the banner on each arm of the foliated cross (along with associated glyphs).

Jupiter / Pleiades / Moon Conjunction – December 25, 2012

6) This commemorates the second of two Jupiter–lunar conjunctions which occur in the last quarter of the year. Jupiter is held by the lunar rabbit and surmounted by a celestial crocodile (related to both Jupiter and the Vision Serpent). At the top, the Pleiades watch over this conjunction. (The Mayan glyph for this star cluster is a rattlesnake’s rattle.) Along the bottom register, a row of Buffo toads dance. This is the species of toad from which Mayan shaman, priests, and royalty extracted a DMT-based potion for use during vision quests.

Starry Night

Incredible Timelapse Video of the Night Sky Recorded Using a Fisheye Lens.

French photographer Stephane Vetter captured this outstanding time-lapse of the night sky using a Sigma 8 mm fisheye lens, meaning that what you see in the video is a true representation of the entire visible sky. Titled Leonid and Zodiacal Light, the brief but jaw-dropping clip was shot November 17th of this year and includes a five-hour star trail and Vetter even takes time to label signifiant stars and other objects visible in the sky. Make sure you watch it full-screen.

 Originally posted on Colossal.com.

CIrcle of Spirits

I just completed a new piece based upon journey imagery that I received a week ago. The work combines three sources of guidance from three different realms - the sky world, the tree world, and the ocean world.

CIrcle of the Spirits

In the nighttime sky, the Pleiades star cluster is overlaid with a constellation of an owl carrying a rattlesnake in its beak. (The rattle is the Mayan symbol of the Pleiades). The ocean quadrant is populated by whale and dolphins singing song lines of the deep (deep ocean, deep time). The forest quadrant presents a cathedral of redwood trees, the spirits of which are gathering in a ritual circle (called forth by Lady One Death, the great dark spirit of nature).

Memory Recalls... Venus Transit 2117

An email received from my cosmic astrologer and Ecstatic Body Posture instructor friend, Marianne:

After watching Venus/Sun events live from a web broadcast on Tuesday, I wondered "what will the NEXT Venus passage over the Sun look like, in 2117?"

Curiosity is a strange thing...when I pulled up the picture of the heavens for that day, I was stunned to see that the position of the Sun/Venus way in the future will be "just a claw away" from where the Eclipse of the Full Moon happened in the constellation of Scorpio just 30 hours before this current Venus passage in 2012! Talk about fore shadowing!!

It also makes me wonder what effect this day in our history will have for future generations to "recall"? Is it the shadow cast by the influence of hidden financial manipulations (Scorpio's realm) in politics, the likes of which this country has never "seen" before until this day in Wisconsin (re: failure of recall election)? 

And will the memory of our future "selves" in 2117 be searching for "clues" from our generation as to what we did to overcome the darkness and hopelessness that many are feeling about "who is really in control" of what sustains life here on Earth?

Read more ->

Conjunction Celebration

Jupiter Venus Conjunction ©2012

In late March and early April this year there was a series of conjunctions between the moon, Venus and Jupiter in the western skies at sunset. I took photos of these and thought that I would create some art to commemorate the energy exchange. Then, I came across a fantastical photo on my Pixable feed. I don't recall now who took this image nor who posted it. But it caught my fancy and I decided that I would use the planet catching meme in my own piece. Below, I have posted these original source (inspirational) images - the found photo is on the left, my photo is on the right.

Solstice Skies

Lunar Eclipse in the Dark Rift

This eclipse occurring on the Winter Solstice is important in that it is one which is amplified by conjunction with the Galactic Core (Sagittarius A black hole) of our galaxy. As the Milky Way rotates over the year, it becomes aligned vertically across the plane of the Ecliptic and across our horizon. The Dark Rift dust clouds of the central galactic region now form a direct path connecting the earth realm with the realm of the ancestors - The Dark Road or the Royal Road of the Maya. They saw this configuration with the galactic band perpendicularly crossing the Ecliptic as "The Rising Up of the World Tree." Due to the coming end of the current 5000+ year long Long Count, the current alignment is a sign of the final calendar cycles leading up to 2012 transformations.

Nearby in the sky, the constellation of the Pleiades helps mark this period. The Pleiades is seen to be the fiery rattle of a great sky snake, here in combat with a owl protector. The snake and owl (or hawk) totem pair are key symbols for Mesoamerican cultures throughout Mexico & Central America.)

Spirit Totem for My Birthday

In a recent journey, I was given an image to create as a totem for this emerging cycle in my life (or at least for the next few months of transition from fall into winter).

Sagittarian Vision Mirror Totem

The image shows a Snowy Owl perched atop a blooming Prickly Pear Cactus. Owl is holding a Snake in its beak. Behind Owl, in the night sky can be seen the blue-white star field of the Pleiades. Some of the major stars of the cluster mark the head and the tail of the Rattlesnake (in Owl's mouth). In many Mayan dialects, the word for rattle and Pleiades is the same.

Below the Cactus is a pair of flaming antlers - a shamanic gateway and protective sign. On either side sits a pair of Smoking Mirror hieroglyphs (based upon the Aztec variant of this Meso-American symbol with the vision plume merging from the mouth of the skull). The mirror represents contemplation, the smoking mirror is that of journey and vision quest by the Mirror Lord.

Owl has come to me over the last few months introducing itself as a new companion and power animal to guide and watch over me in this next phase of my life.

Upon receiving this journey image and during creation of the actual digital image, I was struck by the similarities of the central totem (Owl, Snake, Cactus) with that of the Mexican flag (Eagle, Snake, Cactus) - itself originally based upon an Aztec hieroglyphic place sign for their capital city of Tenochtitlan (where Mexico City stands today). Legend has it their leader was informed in a dream by the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, that they were to settle in the place where they would find an eagle on a prickly pear cactus holding a serpent. The place where they saw this sight was quite inhospitable - a swampy area in the center of three lakes - on a small island in the Lake Texcoco. This is where they settled and built the great city of Tenochtitlan with its Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.

Chords of Light

I received this newsletter and the image of the rainbow cords of light made me think of the Prajnaparamita visualization - or of the full Tara Jewel Tree visualization...

Receiving Assistance from the Star Elders and Pleiadians
March 18, 2010 - A Message received in the Palace Courtyard in Palenque

The following is the first message that we received in the sacred site of Palenque 3/18, 2010. You can find other messages our website at www.alunajoy.com under the link titled "articles". We are sharing this message here with you just as we received it, in present time, with very little editing. We do this for a very important reason. We know the messages that we receive are not just for our groups, but are for humanity. So as you read this, just imagine that you were there with us... the Masters and Star Elders assure me that the message and the corresponding energy will be transmitted to you. You might want to imagine that you are sitting with us in Palenque (you can use this PHOTO for visual help):

We were standing in a circle inside the palace courtyard of Palenque… this is what I saw…

I see chords of light radiating out of the heart centers of everybody in this circle (and those reading this) and merging into a large beam of light in the center. So these chords of light are connecting all of our hearts to this huge beam of light. When they let me look where this beam of light is going out to, I see that it is going to the Pleiades. I am receive a instant feeling back from this area of our galaxy… from the ones watching us here right now. It feels like a really deep sense of gratitude, an appreciation that we are here with this intent, an appreciation for our focus, and our heart's calling to be of service to the earth. It is clear to me that they are our family. I know a lot of you in this circle (and those reading this) already feel this, but I don't see a single thread coming from any heart that is not connected to this place in the sky that the Star Elders came from, the Pleiades.

The Star Elders and Pleiadians are sending us a feeling of thankfulness that we are here because it took courage for us to come here. This reality is dense, it operates in linear time and has gravity. This world we live in is operating from a geometry, chemistry, and laws of nature that is not natural to who we originally are. This is why, even from a young age, we felt a little different from everybody else. We felt like our family was not our family. We felt like outsiders, because we actually are. We came here to anchor our beautiful energy to the Earth. Many of our ancestors had to leave because it was too dangerous for them to stay here. When this happened nearly all the rest of us went to sleep for awhile because it was too dangerous for us to stay awake. But there were little alarm clocks that began to go off, and with each alarm clock that went off, you began to remember again that you felt out of place, that you didn't belong here, that you were from somewhere else, and it made you start searching. These feeling taught you to be compassionate to people that didn't have the same opportunities as you, that had less than you, that felt like outsiders in other ways.

So our alarm clocks are going off in us, because it is safe for us to be here now. It is safe for us to have the knowledge and the wisdom that we went to sleep to protect. It is safe for us to be here, because the world is ready for what we have to offer. The collective consciousness is ready to wake up and to move into a new reality. There is enough awakening people now on Earth to create a tsunami that can't be stopped. It is a process that is already on its way.

The Star Elders and Pleiadians say that we stayed behind because we were the ones that had the most courage. We forgot how challenging day to day in 3D world could be, but yet we are still here. We are still standing up, we are still walking, we are still traveling, we are still talking, we are still writing, we are still doing our art, we are still doing our music, we are still finding ways to express what is deep in our hearts, and the world is ready for it now.

Excerpt from enewsletter by Aluna Joy. To read this mnewsletter in full, go to: http://www.kachina.net/~alunajoy/news04-2010-2.html

Copyright Aluna Joy - aluna@alunajoy.com - website: www.AlunaJoy.com

Bird Omens

I felt in need of reassurances. Guidance... "What about giving me some unmistakable signs?" So I asked the other day during my meditation...

I subsequently received these signs on two separate days - each occurred on "opposite sides" of the Spring Equinox:

1) Looking out across the Hudson River to the Palisades and I see a huge white owl (with white and black checked marking on wings) fly right past me and into the woods - I duck instinctively from the flash of white in my peripheral vision... What was a normally nocturnal owl doing in mid-morning flying like that? Then, a few moments later, overhead I caught sight of 2 circling Red Tail Hawks high above the trees. Did these hawks flush out the owl - trying to protect its nest form predators? Or was it simply "coincidence"?

2) At a client's property, looking at all of his downed trees - Spruce and Pine - down from the wind storms of a week previous...

Overhead I catch sight of a huge hawk circling high in the thermals. As it sinks closer I see two other smaller birds flying around it. At first I think these are birds trying to "scare off" or "fight off" the hawk. Then, I realize that as the large hawk slowly drifts eastward towards the reservoir on the thermals, the other 2 birds are circling with it, playing along in the currents. These must be yearlings following the mother hawk in her sky drifting lessons!

--

A few nights later I had a dream with a Red Tail Hawk which took up residence (unexpectedly) under the eaves at the front of my dream house. Now, to figure out what this all means...

Equinox Sky Show

This Spring Equinox brought an unusually close conjunction of the Crescent Moon with the Pleiades. Just before the Equinox near the time of the new moon, I journeyed to contact the spirit of the Gila Monster - which had shown up in an earlier journey undertaken for me by Kara, the shamanic practitioner who writes the Conduit of Joy blog. I decided that I needed to get to know this new spirit animal better...

During the journey, the Gila imparted various pieces of knowledge to me concerning its powers and strengths: it waits out the noon day heat calmly, underground hidden in cool darkness, emerging to occasionally feed. Here, Gila embodies energy of the underworld. Unlike other lizards, it does not "drop its tail" to escape danger. Gila embodies strength, courage, fearlessness, yet being almost invisible - all traits which have made it a symbol and intimate of the shamanic for many Native peoples.

Gila is closely related to another lizard found in Huichol territories, known as Eemuukwee, which is believed to be endowed with magical healing powers. A piece of this reptile's tail is often seen in a Shaman's medicine basket.

Also related to Gila (as a patron spirit) is the Navajo "Hand Trembling" practice. Individuals become Hand Tremblers by way of a calling: a person may spontaneously enter an alternate reality state and exhibit characteristic trembling during a healing ceremony - thus being recognized as having the gift of divinatory sight, seeing both the cause and the cure (herbal and/or ceremonial) for a patient's disease. The hand-trembler may also draw images on the floor to produce a diagnostic image.

Gila's patterned back is jewel-like, a map of the cosmos? A map of Dreamtime spirit worlds? Could this be where the Huichol's found inspiration for their beaded visionary art?

But Gila seemed to have a real sense of humor - as it informed me that I should not be too surprised to see it show up in my totem since the Southwest U.S. - an area with which I have deep shamanic ancestral connections - is also known as the "Land of the Gilas." The Gila said jokingly, "Gilas Land... Gilliland, Get it?" Chuckling at the cosmic humor.

I created a sky protector piece to commemorate the events of this year's Spring Equinox, especially the visitation by Gila.

Sky Signs: Taurus New Moon Conjunction

Well, perhaps it wasn't quite a new moon last night (Sunday, April 26th), but the moon was certainly at a minimal sliver of silver... Around sunset in the west, the conjunction of Mercury, Moon and the Pleiades stood out to the naked eye!

Today, I meditated on this astronomical event more deeply so as to understand it's possible significance(s)...

Of course, the Pleiades is the snake's rattle constellation for the Maya, the portal to their star ancestors. It's importance is magnified at the Summer Equinox when it's apogee overhead marks the half-year point before the mid-winter opening of the Xibalba Be "dark road" portal to the heart of the galaxy (the land of the ancestors).

The moon confers knowledge of cycles, of transformation, of the Dreamtime and of feminine creative energies. Watching over us at night, the Moon initiates us into the knowledge of the hidden rites, of the great secret of being beyond ego self.

Mercury is the messenger, bringing communication to and from the Gods. In many medicine wheel traditions, the messenger of the Spirit realm is the fleet-winged, nearly invisible Hummingbird.

Thus, this is certainly a moment of high connectivity between us on earth and our ancestors. A time of "Thinning of the Veil". To honor this event, I created the image:


It is based upon the celestial locations recorded photographically last night during the conjunction. The Pleiades is above the moon, here shown in it's rattlesnake form. Below the moon and sightly to the left can be seen the small glowing dot of Mercury. This point marks the focus of the interaction between the hummer and it's flower. The plant is a Datura metel cultivar named "Double Purple" which I grew last year, my favorite Datura flower. (Datura, of course, is known as "Devil's Weed", or in Spanish - la Yerba Del Diablo - but it is known to the Chumash people of California, the Mohave, Yuma, Cahuilla, Zuni and others as toloache from the Aztec toloatizn, "to incline the head". It is used to induce sleep, dreams and divinatory visions.)

Meditations on Lady One Death

Part of my practice to better integrate the Lady's energies has been to work on various thangka images and portraits. Below, I have posted a selection of these meditation images.

Altar of Lady One Death

Totem of Lady One Death

Lady One Death Invocation

Yantra of Lady One Death

The gem seen in these images reveals some of her underlying attributes (symbols within the opal stone): we see an eagle flying, diving, ready to capture it's prey. At the bottom slithers a rattle snake. Between the two floats the rattle itself - a symbol of shamanic journey (rattle), of the Milky Way, as well the time of upcoming galactic Solstice Alignment. The star field behind is that of the Pleiades, home of the Mayan Star Ancestors.

Ritual Posture: Sub-Saharan Soothsayer

The Nupe Mallam Posture

7.02.08 Cancer New Moon - The Nupe Mallam pose is a "divination" pose of the Nupe tribe. It is purported to provide a wide, all-encompassing perspective on a current issue or problem.

My own trance journey begins with witnessing the Mallam repeatedly tossing and reading a set of painted and marked augury bones. Only the Mallam is not African, but rather a lone Lama hermit in a stone hut somewhere in the hills of Tibet. Behind him on the altar is a crystal skull. He finally gives me a reading in a few short phrases indicating that September will be an important time of change, then tells me to give butter lamp offerings to the skull... The journey ends with a vision of a wide blue lake with a flock of white egrets taking flight over the waters, their reflections shimmering. The positions of the birds echo the 9 major stars of the Pleiades. Thus, I am told this is to be a meditation symbol to use for attunement to the Pleiadian Star Ancestors.