While Europe was still dwelling in the Dark Ages, the Mayan people had already mapped the heavens, were master mathematicians, had developed the only writing system native to the Americas, and had come up with the calendars we use today.
On our upcoming Sacred Journey to Mexico in December, we will get a firsthand taste of this culture that was way ahead of its time. One of the amazing sites we will visit is that of the famous Mayan pyramids of Chichén-Itzá. These ruins are over 1,500 years old and cover an area of approximately six square miles. Actually, hundreds of buildings once stood on this site, and though many of them are just mounds at present, there are still about 30 buildings that remain.
One of the main relics we will visit is the central pyramid, also known as El Castillo. This structure served as a temple to the god Kukulkan, and is believed to have served as a calendar. Interestingly, each of the structure’s four stairways has 91 steps. Including the top platform as a step, in total El Castillo has 365 steps, one step for each day of the year. During the spring and autumn equinoxes, sunlight bathes the western balustrade of the pyramid’s main stairway and causes seven triangles to form a shadow in the shape of the body of a serpent. The shadow appears to creep downwards until it joins the huge serpent’s head carved in stone at the bottom of the stairway. It is an amazing site to behold.
This is just one of the amazing features of the fabulous Chichén-Itzá, the principal ceremonial center of the Yucatán, and just one of the sacred sites we will experience on our Maya Sacred Path to 2012 journey. Join us!
