The total solar eclipse of today would have been something that the ancient Maya considered very important. The two most observed heavenly bodies are coming together in an action which will briefly turn day to night, which will stop birds from singing and make the people pay attention to what is happening above them. The temperature will drop as we are reminded where the energy which drives our life on this planet comes from. Many great articles have been inspired by this event, I just thought to add a little of my own perspective.

Apparently, there is a K’iche folk story in which the moon is the wife of the sun. The eclipse occurs due to a quarrel between the two, and the wife “takes a bite” out of the husband. Could this be seen metaphorically for the division which is currently so obvious, not just in the USA, but in many other parts of the world? This has been happening for some time, but right now the pressure really seems to be building, to me it feels the most chaotic that I recall in my lifetime. Society seems to be diverging between what could be seen as the brash, materialistic, masculine energy and the compassionate, caring feminine energy. This eclipse is literally drawing a line of division across the USA, cutting it in two, and beneath the line of totality lies the darkness. Perhaps this might serve to remind us of many things. The feminine (moon) is removing the power of the masculine (sun) as she takes her bite, her answer to their disagreement. With his power removed all becomes darkness, the energy of life disappears from our world.

This is all happening in the year 5 Iq’ (according to the traditional Highland count) and at a time when Venus is in the morning sky. The year 5 Iq’ has been with us since February, teaching us to work on our communication, but also bringing sudden and unexpected changes. The number 5 is also known to bring cause people to rush into things without thinking, suggesting that words may be said in haste and regretted later. This is how 5 Iq’ teaches us to be aware of our words. Venus was generally seen as male in the Maya pantheon, and the time of the morning star was also seen as an upset in society, particularly of the leaders. This may happen by shining the bright light of the morning star on the things which had been hidden, this is a time when scandals are brought to light. According to the Borgia Codex, when the heliacal rise of Venus (the day it appears to rise with the sun) occurs on a K’at day (as it did on 8 K’at in April of this year), it is the king/male ruler who is targeted by the Venus deities. Is this once again suggesting that the patriarchal system, or its figurehead, is particularly vulnerable at this time? Venus will continue to rise in the morning sky until 10 Ajpu (25th November 2017) when it will disappear for 50 days (90 days in the codex table) as it travels behind the sun from the perspective of the Earth in its superior conjunction with the sun.

Perhaps this suggests that the feminine energy needs to be listened to, that the quarrelling needs to be resolved before the feminine shows its full potential to eclipse the energy of the patriarchal society, and bring down its leader. This all happens of the day 5 K’at which might also suggest that we, as a society, need to work on bringing things together, it won’t just resolve itself. K’at has the possibility to gather great wealth, great abundance, but it also has the possibility to become the burden, the net in which we become ensnared. Of course, totality will pass, and the light will return, but perhaps this is a decision point. Will we choose to embrace the feminine and work together to our mutual profit, or will we choose to continue to be divided and trapped in the darkness?

For more information on the eclipse calculations of the ancient Maya, I would highly recommend visiting Biblioteca Pleyades. This is a very thorough and well written explanation of the eclipse table within the Dresden Codex.