THE PLEIADES TO THE MAYANS
One of the important associations made with the movement of the stars of the Pleiades is that of time-keeping. Many calendar systems utilized the positions of the Pleiades, some agricultural and some sacred. Every 52-years a celebration in Mesoamerica was timed to when the Pleiades were directly overhead at midnight.
The Pleiades were used to orient many sacred sites. The pyramid and temple complex of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, is an example of a site oriented to where the Pleiades set along the horizon. The temples in Greece and Ancient Egypt were oriented in space to these stars. The Great Pyramid at Giza is also said to have been built in alignment with the Pleiades. Many temples, stone circles and other rock formations in Polynesia and numerous other places on the planet indicate Pleiadian alignments.
During the peak period of Mayan civilization 300 to 800 AD, the Pleiades passed directly overhead of the ceremonial temples of Tikal (17°N13') and Palenque (17°30'), every day. In the late 900s, Chichén Itzá it is reported that this site was "reactivated" by the historical Quetzalcoatl. Not only the Pleiades passed directly over this site, but the star called Maia passed directly over the zenith of Chichén Itzá (20°N41'). The passage of the Pleiades over the Yucatan no longer occurred by the time the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.
Starting about the middle of May the Sun is aligned between the Earth and the stars of the Pleiades. The Sun is astrologically conjunct these stars at this time. The stars of the Pleiades are not visible at any time of the night during this time of the year due to their close proximity to the Sun. The Pleiades are visible and can be seen rising at dawn staring about ten days later around June 1 and is called the heliacal rising of the Pleiades. This time period is regarded as sacred to those who honor Pleiadian cycles.
The 5000-year Mayan calendar cycle ends in 2012, the same year as a Venus passage through the stars of the Pleiades. Also in 2012, on May 20, there will be a solar eclipse astrologically conjunct the stars of the Pleiades. This alignment will be of the Sun and the Moon between the Earth and the stars of the Pleiades. See: All About 2012
It is said that our spiritual guidance comes from this area of the stars - - - The Pleiades.