До Леонид Мартин

Юкатан е място, на фините съкровища, замаскирани в на зрелищни руини и интригуващи природни творения. Варовик плато, който поддържа савана и сухи тропически гори се преплетени с подземни водни пътища. Няма реки текат на повърхността, но под пещери и водни тръби, като голям швейцарско сирене Когато повърхността на водните пътища носи тънка, тя може да рухне да формират cenotes, (кръгови отвори, разкриващи чиста вода.), Докато някои cenotes са близо до нивото на земята, повече са на дълбочина от 20 до 50 фута. Корените на дърветата мандахерца, търсещи препитание във водата по-долу, докато лозя заставам грациозно над ръба и поглъща гнездо под скални стрехите.

Женски елемент, вода, прониква трудно формирането на карста. Свещената женственост витае точно под повърхността на ъглови камъни и линейни пирамидите в древните градове на маите. Mayalands се смятат за женствена от местните хора: Pachamama, сърцето на земята.

След като бях живял в Юкатан в продължение на две години, мой приятел и духовен сестра дойде да посети. Тя е пътувал, преди в този район на Мексико, да го намерите доста груба енергично и интензивни климатични. Като поклонници на богинята, общи интереси в изпитват Нейното присъствие, където и ние пътувахме. На полуостров Юкатан, на моята приятелка, изглеждаше най-вече мъжки. Плоски равнини, Скалисти полета, скрити води и рязко ъглови руини прогнозира мъжки тежестта. Аз я покани на търсене за свещената женственост в Юкатан.

Uxmal

Puuc хълмове се издигат леко в западния край на Юкатан равнините. Техните криви са меки и заоблени, покрити с буйни зеленина. Вие се чувствате обгърнати в лоното на Майката Земя. Uxmal е доминираща Мая сайт в Puuc, с останки на набраните пътища наречени sacbe) свързване към други близки градове. Основана около 600 CE, Uxmal достигна апогея си в 800-1000 CE и е до голяма степен изоставени век по-късно. Той има някои от най-изящните стенописи и най-богато украсени сгради в света на маите.

Първостепенната смисъл, вие получавате в Uxmal е хармония. Това е може би най-визуално удовлетворяващо на обекти, открити площи между извисяващите структури, определени при диференцирани платформи. Няколко дървета пречат на изглед, и трева носи злачен спокойствието, където някога бели площади отразяват слънчевата светлина. Най-впечатляващото обаче е хармоничното разположение на сградите, на целия сайт излъчва благодат и баланс. Старейшините казват, Uxmal притежава перфектен баланс на женските и мъжките енергии. В маите свещената геометрия, Uxmal структури са нагодени към слънцето, луната и повторната поява на Венера.

На първото ми посещение в Uxmal, аз се почувствах трептене около сърцето ми, тъй като ние се приближи. Усещайки, преди моите дългосрочни връзки тук, интуицията ми каза, че сайтът служи като център за обучение за жрици и свещеници на богинята IxCheel. Няколко години по-късно, Мая Старейшина Hunbatz Мъже, описани в нашата група, как това място е университета, за да се образоват жените, особено в изкуството на свещена сексуалност. Седейки на стъпките на четириъгълника на женски манастир, той посочи основната символика във фреските, за всеки кардинал посока: Сградата на юг имаше малки колиби и зърнени храни за земята и семейството, сградата на изток имаше бухал на мъдростта в небето мрежа с девет двуглавия змии на двойствеността сграда на запад са преплетени змии на Кундалини с панел на цветя (символ на вулвата), и сградата на север са подредени Чак лица (бог на дъжда и животворен течности) и мъжки фалически символи.

Учител Мая учители Мигел Анхел Вергара призовава Uxmal "Градът на добротата на Луната" и казва, че това е космически женски университет за жрица посвещения. IxCheel бе отличена в много аспекти като Лейди Rainbow и Майката Земя, с лицето на луната лечител, билкар и акушерка.

Източно от четириъгълника стои извисяващ Пирамидата на магьосника. Посетителите, влизащи руините се забавляваше с гледката на това 117-метровата структура и отнема дъха си далеч. За разлика от почти всички маите пирамиди, които са квадратни и четиристранна, тази пирамида е с овална форма. Стръмни стълби се издигат на изток и запад страни. Западно изложение, огромна маска чудовище, осигурява достъп до вътрешността чрез своите зейнали челюсти. Кацнала на върха на маската е малък площад храм. Взема под внимание издуването страни пирамидални предполагат, бременност, и овалните съвети, форма на женската криви. В рязък контраст, прави линии на стълбите са определено мъжки. През нощите на пълнолуние, жрици на Uxmal изпълняват своите ритуали на височина на пирамидата, сливане на творческите сили на Вселената, в чест на плодородието и изобилието.

Право на юг на пирамидата, огромна тристепенна тераса се издига в подкрепа на Двореца на налагане на управител, който всъщност е храм на слънцето В предната част са две забележителни малки структури. The double-headed jaguar throne sits on a low square platform, one head on each end facing out. With various friends, I've experiences the different energies of the two jaguar heads. One person stands facing each jaguar, hands held palm open toward the jaguar. The smaller head draws energy gently toward itself, as though receiving. The larger head blasts energy out, its power almost overwhelming for some people. Archeologists say the Uxmal ruler used this throne for ceremony. I think it brought his feminine and masculine sides into balance.

Between the jaguar throne and middle steps of the Governor's Palace stands an elongated stone about eight feet tall. Now tilted about 45 degrees but originally upright, this stone phallus symbolizes the fertilization of earth. Possibly it was empowered to draw down masculine creative forces and focus them in the person of the leader who manifested creative cycles for the people.

Southeast of this broad platform, now surrounded by brushy overgrowth, is the House of the Old Woman. The structure is crumbling, with vines and bushes growing between stones. Few tourists visit here. The old woman is IxMucane, goddess of the center of the earth, the convergence point of planetary energies and place of transformation. Called the Grandmother, she is the legendary sorceress who hatched her dwarf son from an egg, and magically aided him in his contest to overcome the Uxmal ruler. During this process, the dwarf created the imposing Temple of the Magician in one night.

Determined to do ceremony for IxMucane, a friend and I braved the narrow thorny path and found a small clearing in front of the House of the Old Woman. We spread our altar cloth on the ground in typical indigenous manner, and placed objects for earth, water, fire and air at the four corners. Making offerings of copal (resin of the copal tree) and ground maize (corn), we offered prayers and salutations quietly. In our meditation there, we caught glimpses of Uxmal when it functioned as a center where Maya women received both human and cosmic knowledge, learned the ceremonies of the elements and directions, and celebrated the power of creation in song and dance.

My friend was deeply moved and felt the Feminine Divine presence strongly. We agreed that Uxmal offered an amazing balance: sky-earth, sun-moon, masculine-feminine.

Xcambo

An hour from Yucatan's capital city, Merida, lies hidden the small coastal site Xcambo. My friend and I drove past palm-stippled beaches lining the calm Gulf of Mexico to Telchac Puerto, a sleepy fishing village. A short sandy road took us into the Xcambo ruins, a collection of modest structures. The tallest building, composed of five levels, rises 50 feet. On top, a large flat platform gives unobstructed 360-degree views of the surrounding marshes and the nearby gulf. Palmettos dot the marsh and water birds abound. Around the central plaza are four structures, the southern one presenting masks in deteriorated condition. The architecture is simple, mostly without adornment.

Xcambo is full of stillness and the song of the wind. It brings you in touch with the vastness of seas, the meeting of water and earth. Meditating on the high platform, we easily communed with the goddess of the sea, IxYumHa. She embodies the life of the seawaters, her crown elongating into a sea bird holding a fish. Shells rattle at her wrists and ankles, and seaweed forms her hair. Her special bird is the pelican, and she protects both birds and fish.

We reveled in the gentle feminine energy of Xcambo. Not much is known of this mysterious site, and few tourists visit. In the spring, the local Mayan villagers make a pilgrimage walk to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe with ceremonies on the high platform. A small open-sided Catholic church was appended to the structure long ago. To us, the energies of IxYumHa and Guadalupe merged, as they undoubtedly do on a deep level for the local Maya.

Although the more famous sites of the Mayan Goddess IxCheel are on the Caribbean islands Cozamel and Isla Mujeres, we discovered a strong Sacred Feminine presence in Yucatan. Just as the underground channels hide abundant water, the land and sites here conceal the Goddess; but gladly reveal her energies to those who really look.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leonide Martin lives in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where she gives classes and excursions focused on ancient Maya teachings, goddesses and calendars. She received training as a Maya Solar Initiate and Fire Woman, and is an ordained Priestess of Isis. Her book “Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun: A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness” reveals how indigenous wisdom supports global transformations. Experiences of the Sacred Feminine through the Maya goddess tradition are offered with Trudy Woodcock at Iluminado Tours: www.iluminado-tours.com

By Merridith Allen

Thousands of ancient footsteps pound on the stones which lead all the way up the Temple of the Sun. Taught bronze bodies glisten in the afternoon light; their breathing comes in low rumbling gasps as they ascend higher, where the air is thin and the stairs below become increasingly steep. Once at the top, their eyes reach across the land to watch over their sacred home; the lush green fields, the Temple of the Sun and of the Moon, and the ceremonial platforms connected like freckles by a stretch of road called 'The Avenue of the Dead.' And then comes the whistling of their handmade instruments; carried over the site by a crisp wind. This is the feeling of Teotihuacan.

I find it no small wonder that Teotihuacan is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico. Located approximately twenty five miles northeast of Mexico City, it is easily accessible by bus from Mexico City and also most regions in central Mexico, including Monterrey, San Miguel de Allende and Leon. Personally, I traveled three and a half hours from San Miguel de Allende by bus, which is a pleasant, flat ride through vast desert land peppered with the largest Aloe and Cacti plants I have ever seen.

On the ride to Teotihuacan, my tour guide told me a bit about the site, starting with the mysterious nature of its former inhabitants.

“It has been agreed,” He said, “that Teotihuacan contained many different ethnic peoples. The Totonec, the Zapotec and then the Maya, and then lastly, the Aztecs.”

This was actually news to me, since I always thought of Teotihuacan as an Aztec site. Indeed they were the last inhabitants before Hernan Cortez traveled to Mexico in the hopes of expanding the Spanish Empire, and ended their entire civilization in 1521. My tour guide went on to say a few things about the Aztecs, including what is most widely known about them; the act of human sacrifice. When Cortez first landed in Mexico, the Aztecs mistook him for a God and so decided to perform their ritual sacrifices to make him happy. This included decapitation, bludgeoning and most famously, cutting out a still-beating heart. Cortez was appalled by this display, but at the time it was common practice for the Aztecs in honor of their Rain God and Feathered Serpent God.

Nowadays the Rain God and Feathered Serpent God are honored in such practices as carving shot glasses in their image, which can be found at the resident Teotihuacan tourist trap on the way into the site. It is the first place you will enter and it is filled with many cozy shops offering crystal pyramid paper weights, mock sacrificial knives and other obsidian trinkets, reminiscent of Aztec tools.

In place of these stands, in the time of the ancient civilizations, there stood a great market. I found that the modern market contains the resonance of the previous one; the look of ancient times coupled with modern merchandise. In fact I venture to say that the entire journey through Teotihuacan felt like a journey back and forth through time; a place where two eras exist simultaneously in the same space. The native peoples have been replaced by khaki-sporting tourists and locals and the indigenous music is now played by craftsmen selling their work on the sides of the Avenue of the Dead. I walked on this road with my sneakers when in the 1500s only bare feet and simple shoes touched the ground. I looked to the temples as I was told their story, when so many years ago they were living it. And finally, huffing and puffing, I reached the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, and looked out to the altars, the Avenue of the Dead and the green paradise around me with the same adoration I know the ancient peoples did.

As it began to rain, I followed my group into the Museum of Teotihuacan. Inside, a string of exhibits and short scripts line the walls, telling stories of the Aztecs' inconceivable advances in astronomy, medicine and mathematics. (Interesting to note that the meticulous grid of Teotihuacan is aligned to precisely 15.5 degrees northeast) I learned that Teotihuacan translates to 'birthplace of the Gods.' During the first millennium CE, Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. The influence of Teotihuacan was wide-reaching, as evidenced by the similar architecture found in other areas of Mexico which is believed to be modeled after the great site.

Obsidian was used to make tools and all sorts of other artifacts; some of which are now poised proudly behind glass cases. I was struck by the artistic precision of these artifacts including the pottery and masks. Every contour has a purpose; no line out of place. Anyone who took pottery in high school will know first-hand the difficulty of spinning a simple bowl, let alone such perfectly constructed items as these. Finally I read about the fall of Teotihuacan; the environmental issues and malnutrition, and my tour guide told me about how, later on, Cortez was able to conquer the Aztec civilization in three months.

When I finished reading up on the archeological and anthropological facts about Teotihuacan, I thought about the almost absurd placement of this museum. I have never been to one which is placed directly in the center of the actual site it was created for. I have stood in the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, my hands hovering inches away from an altar, trying to feel the energy of those who used it. I have looked up at a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Museum of Natural History, wondering how fast it could run and how I would feel if I suddenly stumbled into Jurassic Park. And I have frequented the Hayden Planetarium, gazing up at the dark silky imitation sky, my arms spread out like a bird thinking about zero-gravity and what would be the most out-of-this-world view ever. In this way the museum of Teotihuacan is no different than those experiences; it pales in comparison to the real thing.

I found that once I stepped outside of the museum's doors I was teleported back into the past and no modern educational exhibit could possibly duplicate the sense of what surrounded me. No hovering hands necessary to feel the energy here. Once again I traveled down the Avenue of the Dead, past the altars and fields, all the while looking up to the tops of the pyramids and listening to the music of a time long since past. This is what I will remember most about my Teotihuacan experience; the resonance of the native people in the stones, the wind, the rain and the sky. It is the feeling that these voices will always echo beyond the boundaries of time.

Merridith Allen is a writer living in New York City. She is currently enrolled in the Low-Residency Creative Writing Program at the University of New Orleans, which brought her to Mexico in the summer of 2008 to write, learn and explore the Mexican landscape. Merridith.Allen83@gmail.com