The European "man in the moon" was called the "rabbit in
the moon"
in ancient Mexico. This symbol is depicted on Classical (250-900 AD)
Maya
monuments as a goddess seated in the crescent moon with a rabbit in her
arms. See "How
to see the hare in the moon" at Ian's Lunar Pages
The goddess most often illustrated
in the Dresden
Codex and other post- Classical (900-1514 AD) Maya glyph books
is likely a moon goddess. Her name is uncertain, but she is likely Ix
Chel.
The Codices also illustrate an aged goddess, perhaps Chak Chel.
Ix
Chel may represent the young, crescent moon, and Chak Chel
the
old moon.
Right: "Young
Goddess" (Ix
chel) from the Dresden Codex "Moon Goddess" pages,
almanacs of the 260 day cycle called the tzolk'in. .More
about these almanacs
According
to Friar
Landa's 16th Century account, the
principal Maya Goddess at the
time of the Conquest was Ix
Chel,, "Lady Rainbow."He identified her as the goddess
of medicine and childbirth. However, she was likely a
multi-faceted female deity known by many names. She was
likely also the Moon Goddess, patroness of weaving and other womanly
arts, and Goddess of Fertility. The "Young Goddess" and
"Old Goddess" of the glyph books are probably aspects of a single
female principle.
"[Hernandez
de Cordoba] landed on the Isla Mujeres, to which he gave this name
because of the idols he found there, of the goddess of this country,
Aixchel, Ixchebeliax, Ixhunic, Ixhunieta."
----Friar Diego de Landa, Relacion de las cosas de Yucatan,
(1556)
Ix
Chel/Death God
...
Ix Chel
.
Sak
Chel
.
Ix/Na/Hun
The Names of the
Goddess
The
"Young Goddess" of the Dresden Codexis
usually taken to be Ix Chel.
Her name glyph is illustrated centre right.
The earflare and
curlicue
are consistent identifiers. The glyph is usually preceded by a variable
prefix. A common prefix is the glyph for
"white," sak. Perhaps here she is Sak
Chel. An entire chapter in the Dresden is devoted to her. She is illustrated there as the
consort of a number of male deities.
The Goddess may also have been known simply as the "the
Lady." A glyph similar to the Young Goddess' glyph appears
in the names of noble women. It
is read Ix or Na, "lady." The same
glyph also represents the deity associated with the number
one (hun), which may explain
one of the names Landa gave to the Goddess, Ix Hunic.
The "Old
Goddess"
of the codices, usually identified as Chak
Chel,
is
illustrated
lower right (from the Madrid Codex)
as the patroness of weaving. She also appears in the codices as a
water goddess, an agent of life-giving rain and destructive floods
(illustrated top right from the Dresden Codex "flood page"). She
is often paired with Itzamna, and may be his
consort or female
counterpart. Her usual
name glyph is the head of an old woman with a prefix that
reads chak
= "red" or "great." Occasionally, the
head
glyph is replaced by what may be a split moon.
It may be
possible to distinguish water and earth goddesses in the Codices.
Both young and old goddesses have been identified as Ix Kab , "Earth
Lady," by some authorities. The curlicue element in the young goddess'
name glyph
resembles an element in the earth (kab)
glyph.
Identification
of
the goddesses of the codices with the moon is circumstantial.
However, the
Young
Goddess is similar to the Moon Goddess of the Classical
inscriptions. The eclipse pages in the Dresden
Codex portray a young goddess hung from a
sky band, representing the eclipsed moon. In this
guise,
she is sometimes identified as Ix Tab, named by Landa as the
Goddess
of Suicides.
Chak
Chel
..
Ix Tab
....
Chak
Chel
Moon ?
Surprisingly, there is no glyph in either the inscriptions or
glyph
books that can be read unequivocally as u, "moon". In
Classical
inscriptions, long
count dates are often followed by what are called
the
"lunar series" glyphs, which record the age of the moon (days
since
new moon). The glyph at the left sometimes appears in the lunar
series,
and is read by some epigraphers as the moon glyph.
Evidence that this reading is correct is found in the Dresden
Codex
eclipse table page. Here, a very similar glyph is suspended between
darkness
and light, representing the moon as it moves through the earth's shadow
during a lunar eclipse. More
about the Dresden Codex eclipse table
Moon Goddess (Classical vase)
x
Lunar
series glyphs: The first
example
of the lunar age glyph (Glyph D of the lunar series) at left
reads
"the 4th [day ] has arrived." The four dots count the days, and
the
pointing hand is a logograph for hu,
"arrive". The second example reads "the 10th [day] has
arrived."
The two bars count 2 x 5 = 10, and the iguana head (huh
in Yucatec) signifies "arrive." Only the third example includes
what
may be the moon glyph. It may read "the 11th [day] of the
moon,"
but some epigraphers believe the main glyph is just another logograph
for
"arrive." More
about the lunar series.
The Sun
The Maya Sun God is frequently illustrated on monuments of the
Classical
era (250-900 AD) and in post-Classical (900-1514 AD) glyph books
(codices). The identifying features of the god include a four-parted k'in
("day") sign, a squinting eye, and protruding filed tooth. The most
common
solar icon (left) has a human face. A jaguar-faced Sun God (right) may
represent the sun at night, during its sojourn in the Underworld.
The Sun God is the most ancient Maya deity that can be
identified in
the archaeological record. Massive stucco masks recently discovered at
the pre-Classical Maya city of Cival,
Guatemala (200-150 BC) depict the Sun God.
The sun was a symbol of royal authority in the Classical
period. Kings
often bear the solar title K'inich Ahaw(Sun-eyed Lord). This was also likely the name of the
Sun
God.
In Yucatec and Chol, the languages
of the
Maya script, k'in means both "day" and "sun." The symbolic k'in
sign
(right) probably represents a day-blooming flower. It is most commonly
encountered in dates: Together with a number, it is a count of days.
The
glyphs at left substitute the head of the Sun God for the k'in sign.
The prefix is the zero glyph, representing a count of "zero days." More
about calendrical glyphs
This
image is of a reproduction, which may be purchased on-line at
Maya
Art Stones
More
sun symbols:
In the Popol
Vuh, a post- Conquest account of the myths and legends of
theQuiche
Maya, Xbalanque, one of the "hero twins" of the mythic age,
"became
the sun." In the Classical period, he was known as Yax Balam (Great
Jaguar). The Popol Vuh recounts the twins' journey to
the
Underworld....FFor
more about the Hero twins see "The Chinkultic disk"
Yax Balam is
likely also
god GIII, one of the deities of the so-called Palenque
traid.
The Temple of the Sun
at Palenque, dedicated in 690 AD, illustrates a
ritual
"sun shield." Palenque texts recount that the ruler Chan
Balam (Sky
Jaguar) "entered (became?) the sun" during a ritual performance.
The glyphs
at the right
are elite titles and names of the Sun God. K'inich Ahaw (Sun-
eyed Lord) combines the k'in sign with the syllable ich
(afist), and the Ahaw (Lord) glyph. The other title, identified by a "wing" postfix
(= ma), is literally Mak'inah
(Great
Sun), but epigraphers believe this title should also be
read K'inich
Ahaw.
Yax Balam
GIII
name glyph
.
Mak'inah
K'inich Ahaw
.
In the Dresden
Codexeclipse pages, both the k'in symbol and the
face of
the Sun God represent the sun itself. The glyphic text accompanying the
table of eclipse dates and eclipse images contains a glyph that appears
to read "eclipse of the sun." It consists of the k'in sign
and a background representing the sun passing through the moon's
shadow
at the time of an eclipse. It is shown at left incorporated into one of
the eclipse images that illustrate the table. Other images symbolic of
eclipses in the table include the Death God over a k'in sign (right). More
about the Dresden Codex eclipse table
.
Venus
In Maya myth, Venus is the companion of the sun. This no doubt
reflects
the fact that Venus is always close to the sun in the sky, rising not
long
before sunrise as morning star or after sunset as evening star. In the
Classical period (250-900 AD), Venus was associated with Hun Ahaw,
who
guided
his twin Yax Balam, the sun, through the Underworld.
Hun
Ahaw later became Hunaphu in the Hero Twins myth cycle in
the
post-Conquest Popul
Vuh. Translator Dennis Tedlock interprets these myths as an
account
of the apparitions of Venus from heliacal rise as morning star, through
disappearance beneath the night time horizon, to rise again as evening
star. See
"The Chinkultic disk" for more about the Hero twins
X
The association between the sun and Venus appears to date back to the
pre-Classical
period. A huge pair of jaguar masks decorated a temple facade at
Cerros
in about 50 BC. According to Schele and Freidel, the lower
masks represent the sun at each horizon; the upper masks symbolize
Venus
as morning and evening star.
The Venus table in
the post-Classical Dresden
Codex(c. 1200 AD) begins with heliacal rise of the
planet
on the date 1 (hun) Ahaw in the sacred almanac known as
the tzolk'in.
But the post-Classical deity most closely associated with Venus is Kukulkan,
the
Maya counterpart of the Aztec/Toltec culture hero Quetzelcoatl. He
is illustrated in the Dresden Codex Venus table. However,
the
table actually includes a whole pantheon of Venus deities. Kulkukan
is
portrayed as only one of four Lords of Venus at heliacal rise. There
are
also four Lords of Venus as morning star, and Venus Lords for each of
the
other apparitions of the planet. More
about the Dresden Codex Venus table and Venus deities
Kulkulkan glyph
.
GI
Mesoamerican deities
are more amorphous than the gods of Greek and Roman myth. All
were
likely conceived as manifestations of itz or ch'ul, the
sacred stuff that animates the world. Each deity appears to have
had multiple aspects, which over-lapped with those of others. The
multiple Venus gods are perhaps typical. Another example, also
from
Venus mythology, is the confusing identity of GI, one of the deities
of
the Paleneque triad. GI is likely equivalent to Hun
Ahaw, but
his glyph resembles Chak, the Rain God. This is perhaps
not
surprising since Chak has other associations with
Venus.
Chak
.
.
Chak 'ek
The Venus glyph was one of the first non-calendrical glyphs
to be identified.
It is a four-pointed star. Standing alone it reads 'ek, "star",
and may stand for either Venus or a lesser "star." It is often
paired
with a prefix that reads chak, "red" or "great". Chak 'ek, "great
star," probably refers specifically to Venus.
Other forms of 'ek
>
Ah Tzul Ahaw:
Another
Venus deity is illustrated in the Dresden Codex eclipse table
as
a figure with a Venus glyph head hanging from eclipse symbols.
Its name
glyph reads Ah Tzul Ahaw, "Dog Lord." In Aztec myth,
Venus
is sometimes portrayed as a dog who leads the Sun (and dead kings)
through
the Underworld. Ah Tzul Ahaw may have been regarded
as a causative agent of eclipses, and is probably closely related to
the Tzitzimime,a malevolent monster that decended to earth during eclipses
according
to Aztec legend.
According to the Manuscript
of Serna, a missionary report from central Mexico, on the
day Venus rose as morning star (heliacal rise), the people "prepared a
feast, warfare, and
sacrifices".
Perhaps because of its association with war, the heliacal rise of Venus
came to be regarded as a time when dire events could be expected.
The Lords of Venus as morning star in the Dresden Codex (including Kukulkan above) are armed with
spears, and shoot darts into victims.
Most wars recorded in Classical
inscriptions are dated to the heliacal rise of Venus, other
apparitions
of Venus, or to the stationary points of Jupiter and Saturn. The most
frequent
"war glyph" combines the Venus glyph and an emblem
glyph naming a Maya city-state, implying war at the place named by the
emblem glyph.
Mars
Mars does not figure prominently in Maya myth. No god can be
identified
as the "Mars God." However, the Dresden
Codexcontains a table tracking the motion of Mars. The
illustrations
in the table show a strange animal hanging from a sky-band.
Dubbed the "Mars Beast" by scholars, it is likely a peccary. The
beast's name
glyph
appears in the text of the table as a stylized head with a curved
snout.
Mars is also represented, but as a human figure,
in the murals at Bonampak.
Left: Page
from the Mars Table. The Mars beast name glyph is at the top of the
second
column of text. More
about the
Dresden Codex Mars Table
The
Maya Zodiac
In both inscriptions and glyph books,
celestial
bodies are often shown suspended from a "sky band." Each element in the
band is a glyph with astronomical significance, though all of them have
not been deciphered. The sky band represents the ecliptic, the
path
of the sun, moon, and planets through the heavens against the
background
of stars.
In European astronomy, star groups along the
ecliptic mark the 12 constellations of the Zodiac. The Paris
Codex includes a Maya zodiac, divided into 13 constellations.
The constellations are represented by fantastic beasts suspended
from sky bands. Unfortunately, the manuscript is damaged, so
identification
of the constellations is difficult.
Above right:
Turtle (ak) and "3 stones" (Ox Tun)
hang from sun signs and sky band (from Madrid
Codex). The 3 stones and turtle
represent bright stars in Orion. The "3 stones of Creation" are an
important symbol in Maya creation myths.
Conjunction
of planets: A "crossed bands" symbol
may be the glyph for the skyband/ecliptic, but the glyph may also be
read,
perhaps depending on context, as "conjunction,"
a close approach of planets on the ecliptic. The excerpt
from
a Palenque inscription at left refers to a conjunction of Mars,
Jupiter,
and Saturn in 690 AD. The glyph with an inset crossed bands is
prefixed
with the number three (3 dots). More
about this text
The famous Bonampak
murals illustrate a battle and its aftermath that
occurred near the time of heliacal rise of Venus on 16 Aug 792
AD. This was also the time of a near conjuction of Mars and
Saturn in the vicinity of Gemini and Orion. The
murals
include a series of cartouches (right) that likely represent
Gemini (copulating peccaries), Mars, Saturn, and Orion
(turtle).
.
.
The ecliptic is also represented by the two-headed "Cosmic
Monster."
The front head may have deer ears or hooves, and is almost always
marked
with the Venus glyph. The rear head usually has a fleshless jaw,
and is almost always marked with a k'in (sun) sign. The
monster's
body is either a sky band or reptile. As a two-headed snake, it
appears
as the "serpent bar," an emblem of royal authority carried by rulers.
For more about the Cosmic Monster and related symbols, see Bruce
Marcot's "Abstract symbol
links in Ancient America"
web page.
Serpent
symbols: In
Maya languages, chan (sky) and kan (serpent) are
homonyms.
Thus snakes or snake-bodied creatures are often sky symbols.
Left:
Serpent bar representing the ecliptic forms the cross-piece of the
Palenque
"cross" or World Tree.
Right:
A page from the Madrid
Codex. Rattlesnakes twist across several pages in
succession.
These pages may be an almanac connecting celestial events to rainy
seasons.
The World Tree is the most pervasive
Maya symbol
of the creation and ordering of the world. It is the axis of the
Earth-Sky.
Its roots lie in the Underworld, Xibalba,
and its top reaches into the heavens.
In the post-Conquest Books
of Chilam Balam, it is named Yax Imix Che, (first or
green ceiba
tree), "raised in the middle of the world." It is named in the Temple of the Cross at Palenque
as the Wakah Chan, the "raised up sky."
The World
Tree is symbolized by the Milky Way. On the night of August 13,
the
date of creation, the Milky Way stands erect at dawn,
running through the zenith from north to south. It becomes the axis of
the heavens, the raised up sky. See
"Raising the Sky: The Maya Creation Myth and the Milky Way"
On the
sarcophagus of the Palenque ruler
Pakal, the dead king is depicted falling along the World Tree into
the
Underworld. An accompanying text reports that he has "taken the
road."
Sak be, "white road,"isa name for the
Milky
Way known from other sources.
Right: Monster
at foot of Palenque cross represents the entrance to the
Underworld.
Deep pools and caves are Underworld portals, marked by the
"Waterlily Monster" or " Witz' /Kawak Monster." A
glyph
representing a mountain (witz') split
open
by lightning (kawak) often names a portal.
.
.
Wakah Chan: The
glyph Linda Schele identified as the name of the World Tree/Milky Way
in the
inscription in the Palenque
Temple of the Cross is Wakah Chan, "raised
up sky." The main element is the most commonly
encountered
glyph for chan, "sky." The prefix is the number six,
which
is pronounced wak in Mayan languages. The affix above the
main glyph is ah, a verbal affix commonly encountered in the
Maya
script.
The deity who raises
the sky
is named Wakah Chan Ahaw, "Raised Up Sky Lord," in some
creation
accounts. At Palenque he is named Hun-Nal -Ye, "First
Sprout
Revealed," probably a name for the Maize God, and "First
Father"
(God GI'). In some Maya
accounts
of creation, it is the sacrifice and resurrection of the Maize God that
raises the World Tree.
Maize God
Itzamna (Dresden Codex)
Bird deity headdress
Kaminaljuyú (4/100 BC)
Principal Bird Deity: Celestial
Pole
At the top of the Palenque World Tree
is Itzam-Yeh,
the "principal
bird deity." Itzam-Ye is often incorporated in sky bands
and other
astronomical symbols. He likely represents either the zenith or
the
pivot point of the heavens about the North Star.
.
Itzam-Yeh
In one guise, he may be Vukub-Cakix, "7 Macaw," the "false sun"
the hero twins of the Popul
Vuhshot from his perch atop the World Tree to prepare for the
raising of the sky of the present world. The Quiche Maya identify the
Big
Dipper as 7 Macaw. See
"Raising the Sky: The Maya Creation Myth and the Milky Way
On pre-Classical monuments rulers often wear a bird deity
headress,
and are depicted dancing in bird regalia. The rulers in these
scenes
may impersonate the true sun at zenith, which replaced 7
Macaw.
In the Classical period (250-900 AD), the
bird deity
headress fell from
fashion, but Itzam-Yeh seems to have been regarded as the
celestial
aspect of Itzamna, a shaman- god who played a role at
creation. Itzamna is
sometimes portrayed with solar regalia.
Right:"God
C," once identified with the North Star, but now known to be a
personification
of "holiness." Used as a prefix, this glyph
can
be read as ch'ul, "holy."
World Quarters:
Colours
and Directions.
Madrid Codex
(75-76). The 4
quarters/8 partitions of the
world. Chak Chel and Itzamna
sit beneath the World
Tree in the Centre. In Maya
maps,
east or west is at the top. Note the chik'in glyph at top.
...
Kab (Earth)
Chan (Sky)
Witz' (Under world portal)
The Maya World Tree rose in
the centre of the
Earth-Sky. About
this centre, the cosmos was divided into four quarters, each oriented
to
one of the cardinal points, and each associated with its own sacred
tree
and colour. Each quarter is divided in turn, creating eight partitions
of the world. The trees at the cardinal points support the sky, a role
also
assigned in some accounts to deities known as Bakabs, Pawahtuns, or
Chaks.
East (lak'in) is the direction of sunrise, associated
with red
(chak), the colour of dawn. West (chik'in)
is the direction of sunset; its colour is black (ek'). North (xaman)
is white (sak). The colour of the south (nohol) is yellow
(k'an). Green (yax)
is the colour of the centre, of the green ceiba tree (yax imixche), representing the great World
Tree itself, raised in the centre of the cosmos.
Colour and direction
glyphs
are mostly examples of logographs, glyphs that stand for
a
complete word. Some logographs
are pictographs, but others, like the sak sign
are
abstract symbols.
The glyph for lak'in
(east)
is an example of the use of phoneticism in the May script. The
upside
down face is a phoneme, a consonent-vowel syllable, in this
case la. It
is combined with the k'inlogograph to
spell lak'in. The
"wing" post-fix is another phoneme, ni. It serves as a phonetic
complement, indicating the final sound of the word.
Complements
were sometimes added to a glyph to avoid confusion with similar
words.
The Chik'in (west) glyph is composed in much the same
way.
Here, the "fist" element is the phoneme chi.
God A .
God K/GII
God D (Inscriptions)
Note on Schellhas'
gods: In
1904, Paul Schellhas attempted to distinguish the deities illustrated
in
the glyph books (codices), and assigned letter names to each. The
probable
Mayan
names of many, but not all, are now known, but the Schellhas
designations, amended by later scholars,
are still used. See
an
illustrated list of Schellhas Gods
The deities referred
to on this
page include: God A (Kisin or
Yum Kimil, Death God); God B (Chak, Rain God); God C (ch'ul, "holy");
God CH (Yax Balam); God D (Itzamna); God E (Yum
Kaax?, Hun-Nal-Ye, Maize God); God G (K'inich Ahaw, Sun
God);
Goddess I (Ix Chel, young Moon Goddess); God N (Pawahtun
or Bakab); Goddess O (Chak Chel, old Moon Goddess), and
God
S (Hun Ahaw).
Other important
deities include God K (K'awil = GII of the Palenque
Triad,
identified with royal lineages); and God L (An important Lord of the
Underworld
and Merchant God).
God L
God B (Codices)
God N
The Real Maya Prophecies:
Astronomy
in the Inscriptions and Codices...
Michael
John
Finley
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada March 2004
(Revised Nov/Dec 2004)
Ilustrations of Classical
Moon
Goddess, Sun Gods, hero twins, cosmic monster, serpent bar, waterlily
monster,
and bird deity by Linda Schele (see
Schele
archive at FAMSI). Most of the illustrated individual glyphs are
from
Thompson's catalog (see the catalog at MED).
Colourized sky band by Ivan Van Lanighan (Tzuk
Te).
According
to 
Lunar
series glyphs: The first
example
of the lunar age glyph (Glyph D of the lunar series) at left
reads
"the 4th [day ] has arrived." The four dots count the days, and
the
pointing hand is a logograph for hu,
"arrive". The second example reads "the 10th [day] has
arrived."
The two bars count 2 x 5 = 10, and the iguana head (huh
in Yucatec) signifies "arrive." Only the third example includes
what
may be the moon glyph. It may read "the 11th [day] of the
moon,"
but some epigraphers believe the main glyph is just another logograph
for
"arrive." 
According to the Manuscript
of Serna, a missionary report from central Mexico, on the
day Venus rose as morning star (heliacal rise), the people "prepared a
feast, warfare, and
sacrifices".
Perhaps because of its association with war, the heliacal rise of Venus
came to be regarded as a time when dire events could be expected.
The Lords of Venus as morning star in the 
The
Maya Zodiac
The Maya 
(xaman)
is white (sak). The colour of the south (nohol) is yellow
(k'an). Green (
