Indigenous Star Knowledge
Promoting the regenerative authority of Indigenous Star Knowledge, power and control, can become a proven supplement to the harmful ideologies that hold up the structures of illness that perpetuate societal and environmental pollution and global wars, as they are about archetypes that lived with the land and still do. A war between tribes is on a much smaller scale than between countries or religions, when we localize and become present in the here and now, we reduce the worry, the warry, of the future and revenge of the past.
As a socially constructed “white” person, I cannot identify as a First Nations person of this country, and in the past I thought I could call myself race-nonconforming, but I had to reconstruct my ideals in order to realize why that is wrong. Skin color is directly targeted in a systemically racist society, whereas gender-nonconforming is more accepted like androgynous, because it’s less noticeable than skin color. I try my best not appropriate as much as possible, although a lot of white culture is stolen from BIPOC history and regurgitated- I try to make my culture a reimagining of what white is, surrendering to the truth of history and what it means to be responsible for an ancestral legacy instead of being ignorant of it.
There are so many different kinds of Indigenous Aboriginal Star Knowledges, just as there are different kinds of astrology in general- and having to construct my sentence that way shows a main point in critical race theory: the main, or regular astrology or culture is based on the white-constructed themes (Greek/Roman/Christian Mythos), and everything else is other, and considered different than the normal culture that we are all used to. The fact the starting point or blank slate comes from a colonized, white-dominant center, instead of one that is indigenous to the land we are on, shows that we are living in a construct founded in genocide, ethnic cleansing and indoctrination.
Instead of respecting the space that was already occupied, and building relationships over time, Europeans were convinced that killing, poisoning, and renovating what did not need to be renovated, was the only way for them to feel powerful and meaningful in the world. The quote “kill the Indian, save the man” also meant “kill the lifeforms, save the materials”- as if they were two different things that could live without the other! Now the whole world suffers because if you kill the life, the land dies too- the connection to ways of maintaining a healthy land, having honor and mercy, was removed- the pollution of death, and the plastic of pain, became the demon polarity equal to the gods of industry and profit. However, they are not Indians, they never were- that’s a mistake made by the Europeans whom thought they were from Asia- when their DNA has actually been proven to be unique to this land, which has debunked the myth of their ancestors ONLY crossing the Bering Strait, when some studies have found proof of their history before that theory was proven as well.
Tactics of domination included language change as a major aspect- language is like land-gauge, how we gauge what to do upon the land with symbols and sounds. Just as the wind creates canyons, our language creates the paths of society in the physical world- the connection from the minds of thinking, to the bodies of doing, the stories, the holidays, the structure of “employee” and “boss” are all constructs of language design meant to command the physical… The ancient or indigenous languages used more muscles of the throat, lungs, mouth and vocal cords, they could make animal noises and engage in mental states with forms of tone chanting and vocal-listening internal focus, a lost art.
Engaging ourselves with the indigenous practices of the culture we come from is the best way to connect back to our roots, and help guide our intuition with our ancestors. The following refers to the Indigenous people of what’s called “America,” but was not always called that…
For the Lakota, what is known as the Aries constellation, in line with a few other stars, is also known as the Dried Willow constellation. The Lakota people have around 7 different words relating to “Willow” because it is such a sacred tree, as they use it for medicine, bows and arrows, and mix the inside powder of the bark with smoking tobacco. There is also a Lakota Animal constellation that includes various star lines, including the Taurus constellation. The constellation called Great Circle-Black Hills, consists of Pleiades, Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, Castor-Pollux, and Capella stars, which have Lakota names too. 8 out of the 12 stars of the Gemini constellation make the constellation Mahto Tipila (Bear’s Lodge), or colonially, the “Devil’s Tower” (which tribes find to be a very disrespectful name), because it correlates to an actual sacred place on Earth/Makȟówaŋča. Many people believe that Mahto Tipila was once a giant tree, and now an ancient tree-stump- or is a reminder of such.
“The Wyoming State Parks Department were conducting photographic seismic readings below the tower, when they discovered an incredibly large petrified root system below the tower." It does not explicitly make the claim that the popular, mystic rock structure was a giant tree at one point; it leaves it up to readers to make the extrapolation.” (USA Today Fact Check)
For the Mayans, there are many different calendars used for their tracking systems. The planet Venus was especially important for indicating lucid dreaming cycles in connection to the timing of warfare- when to merge the seemingly opposing orders. Venus is also popularly known as a planet of partnership, beauty, values, balance, aesthetic, money making or trade, and art making- and it orbits in a fractal design relating the “Golden Mean,” “Pentacle” symbol, and a rose, further explaining why it tends to represent trade, balance, beauty and love. Many astrologers refer to Venus as a “money indicator,” but due to massive economic inequality, that can be a classist perspective. The Mayans simultaneously use their Tzolkin Calendar (260 days, a bit more than an actual Venus cycle but very close), together with their Haab Sun Calendar, tracking the correlations for a balanced society.
There are different versions of Mayan astrology that people can refer to, just as there are different versions astrology in general. Jose Argüelles was known to have taken ancient Mayan astrology and recreated it into a new model, and that information can be found at The Foundation for The Law of Time. Various Indigenous Mayans believe that Argüelles appropriated their cultural into some kind of neoliberal pyramid scheme that people buy information from. Personally, I don’t think Argüelles meant to appropriate Mayan traditions with his research specifically with the intention to make a buck, but he did reorganize them, and the people whom inherited it after his death are profiting from it- and I don’t find that justified to the actual Mayan people. I have found my sign from Argüelles Starroot calculator, and its description from Astro-Dream-Advisor, to have help myself and others get further context of oneself- but it truly does ignore the reality of appropriation, and that needs to be addressed and called out.
Similar to Argüelles, but using a way closer to the “traditional” Mayan astrology, Vajra Fatih Keçelioglu, born and raised in Turkey, a person whom has studied various cultures- particularly the Mayan, runs the website MyMayanSign.com and YouTube channel, where descriptions are explained by Fatih. Kenneth Johnson from California, was actually initiated as a Mayan aj q’ij ~daykeeper in November of 2017 and explains the Mayan signs and teachings he learned on his website Jaguar Wisdom. Not all nations of the Mayan people would agree with such efforts, since non-Mayan people are profiting from the information they’ve learned from their site readings and teachings (including from me since I have paid for a reading by them)- but a percentage of Fatih’s profits actually do go to real Mayan communities, as they donate to the Meso Foundation, and Kenneth Johnson has a deep connection to Mayan communities, since he was actually initiated as a daykeeper.
This site, sacredroad.org, is the Saq’be, Organization for Mayan and Indigenous Spiritual Studies, and has been the closest Mayan Astrology source I’ve found in English, that is visibly most connected to the actual Mayan peoples in it’s presentation, as it is an actual non-profit meant to support them- and I have donated there too. Their site also categorizes me as the Knife sign (Tijax/Etz’nab). There are various other sites that would tell you your Mayan astrology sign with explanation, but nothing beats getting a reading from an actual Mayan person, or actually studying with the Mayan people- whom probably have better things to do, like fight the colonizing lumberjacks destroying their rainforest and murdering their people- but maybe they’d teach you if you’d helped them fight for their forest and their way of life.
In my personal experience, I’ve truly had memorable dreams and spiritual life events lined up with the days of my personal Tzolkin calendar. All on the same day, I watched an anime called Children Who Chase Lost Voices- (which features a journey to find something like Quetzalcoatl), kicked out an abusive alcoholic roommate, and found a wandering Husky dog named Sunka (Shoon-Ka) which translates to “Dog” in Lakota, that coincidentally belonged to somebody I know and look up to (Dog is also my Argüelles Mayan sign). It was not till later on that day, after all that had happened, I found out it was my Tzolkin birthday. Another time, I had a very memorable dream that also taught me a lesson about life and death, strategy and acceptance, as two giant figures made out of light came out of two obelisk pinkish-grey stones, and taught me symbolic ideas… I also looked out the window in my dream, and noticed a Deer outside… after I had woken up and checked the calendar, I saw it was the time of the Mayan Deer Trecana.
I’d use these resources out of curiosity, but only with the discernment between appropriation and reparation. To take the information for yourself without at least thanking or supporting the Mayan community in spirit or in person, is inevitably appropriation, and if you plan to use that information to help bring liberation to the actual Mayan people, then be sure to make that a part of your way of life, not just a one time act of charitable philanthropy.
Identifying as a White Rhythmic Dog through the Argüelles version has helped me heal, probably because I allowed my subconscious to put full faith in that description of me, as a placebo effect. I still believe in it only because it helped me grow as a person, and I include it in my own personal power. Same with being the Obsidian point or Knife, which is ironically a deep black color (usually), in contrast to being of the “White” direction (polarity), like the Yin-Yang. I’ve used the tone of “Rhythmic” to further solidify being a spoken-word artist, singer and dancer. I laugh at the spelling of Dog backwards and being named after one (Athena goddess of War and Wisdom), and further I ponder how different the meaning of “White” is, being the direction of the “North” in Mayan astrology (and usually Indigenous meanings in general)- verses being a “white person” by colonial standards of “race.” Every time I see white dog, I tune in for some kind of guidance of being on a track of affinity with my purpose.
Indigenous astrology has helped me with my mental health issues around Schizoaffective, which I’ve been working to be undiagnosed from- healing as I learn to understand notions of “truth” more completely. Indigenous cultures saw mental health as a shamanic issue mostly, helping the person with ceremonial plant medicines, enchantments and ritual instructions, as well a collective perspective of their place in community, a practice of intervention- compared to colonial society’s “give em’ a pill and some therapy” type chronic industrial complex that does not dive deep into the roots of the person’s soul on Earth.
Astrology in general can have a healing effect, but it can also have a harmful effect, and I’ve experienced both. Faith is an art of mastering your own sense of will power and self-consciousness, while learning from past and present experiences. Seeking to understand and heal what was once Indigenous within me, is the point of learning about Indigenous astrology, while also dedicating myself to the liberation of Indigenous people, through harm-reduction legacy work.
The truth proves that the Indigenous plight is usually the hardest because of toxic colonialism and white supremacy. The Earth has been dying from pollution, extinction, and disease, because of the illnesses of greed, narcissism, and the chronic dissatisfaction and ignorance those diseases breed. That is why I also find that using faith within Indigenous Economics, Governing, and Star Knowledge systems, will help us heal the pain caused by systems of slavery, trafficking and unhealthy habits- because it helps us recognize the root-causes of issues and their pathology, resurrecting ruins, and researching sustainability.
