An Exciting Announcement... and a Message from Pleiades
I’m about to publish my first novel, Message from Pleiades. And I’ve loved writing it!
The story revolves around Jenny (“J.P.”) Moody, the youngest member of the US Senate. She travels to Tikal, one of the most spectacular and largest of the excavated Mayan cities (and a place where I take small groups of people every year to learn from the Mayan Nanas and Tatas – female and male shamans/spiritual guides). This vast city of excavated pyramids is surrounded by a 220 square mile national park of dense jungle that is home to jaguars, monkeys, coatis, toucans, and many other species.
The book focuses on two nights when Jenny has been told by her teacher, Nana Juanita Itza, that she must be alone in Tikal and be prepared to . . . well, you’ll have to wait for the book to get the full story.
For now: In this scene, Nana Juanita Itza and Jenny (“I”) are standing in the Grand Plaza, between the 15-story tall Great Jaguar Pyramid and the 13-story tall Pyramid of the Masks. I (Jenny) just asked her about the Mayan Prophecy.
“As you know,” Nana Juanita says, peering up at the Jaguar Pyramid, “the Mayan calendar is divided into periods of 5,125 years. In our mythology, the period that just ended was ruled by Seven Macaw. He was egotistical, vain, materialistic, wore a magnificent headdress of brightly colored macaw feathers and gold and jade jewelry. He cut the forests and filled in the swamps to build these cities of huge stone pyramids and temples. That caused severe climate changes, droughts and massive crop failures. Then wars over the scarce resources broke out between cities. The people rebelled, deserted their cities and returned to simpler lives in the jungle and mountains. Although they no longer built pyramids, they continued to practice their fire ceremonies, calendar and seed readings, and other traditions.”
She stoops, picks up a stick, snaps it in half, and shows me the two matching pieces. “One of those traditions was an ancient prophecy that tells of two siblings, known as the Hero Twins.” She holds up the twigs. “It begins with their journey. After they endured many trials, they were thrown down into the underworld. Eventually, they entered a dark tunnel.” She makes a fist with her left hand and gradually opens it to represent a tunnel and, with her right hand, pushes the two twigs into it. “Feeling their way along the tunnel, they came to a sharp turn that took them out.” She opens the fist and guides the twigs toward the right and upward. “It took them to a new way of seeing themselves and the world, a new consciousness. They understood they had to act to end the reign of terror and mass destruction. They cut off Seven Macaw’s head and threw it into a basket and replaced him with a selfless, compassionate ruler named Hunahpu.” She raises the two twigs over her head and points them at the sky and looks at me. “Higher consciousness.”
“Rather different from the Hollywood version.”
“Totally. This one goes back way before the Spanish arrived and before the Popul Vuh, the Mayan ‘Bible’ that was influenced by Catholic priests was written.” She spreads her arms around the plaza. “And now to modern times, the reason to remember the prophecy today. You know that December 21, 2012 was a very important date?”
“Yes, of course. The world was supposed to end.”
She gives a hoarse laugh. “Well, in a way that’s true, but not in the apocalyptic Hollywood scenario. It marked the end of the most recent 5,125-year period – the one Seven Macaw ruled. You see, even though the Mayan classical civilization ended more than a thousand years ago, other civilizations and empires have continued to follow Seven Macaw’s philosophy, including yours in the United States. Humans have drained swamps, cut trees, and changed the climate on a global level. So, on December 21, 2012, a portal opened for the Hero Twins – a metaphor for us, the people of the world – to replace the old paradigm with the new one of Hunahpu and rise to a new consciousness of what it means to be humans successfully living on this planet. All the Mayan calendars began anew on December 22, 2012.”
“What’s so special about that day?”
“A long time ago, Mayan astronomers predicted that from the earth’s perspective the sun would enter the center of the Milky Way— what’s called the ‘great rift,’ the dark spot in the middle of our galaxy—on December 21, 2012. The sun represents Seven Macaw’s head being tossed into the basket of the great rift. It’s the opening of the portal. The time when the Hero Twins make the turn in the tunnel that will take them out.”
“Incredible.” I give a little sigh of relief. “So, the prophecy says that things will get better now?”
“Only if we humans make that happen. Our current leaders will not cut off their own heads; they won’t initiate the changes that are needed. The portal is open, but we, the Hero Twins, the people, must take actions to make it happen.”
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you will soon receive the first chapter to Message from Pleiades – free. And if you think you want to join me and Mayan Nanas and Tatas in Tikal for magical experiences in March 2025, please check out our Guatemala trip details.