(Mayan) Vortex, Magickal-Archeology Options

I've just finished reading a book about Mayan civilisation& came across a description of the 'psycho-duct'. It was/is (preserved examples exist) an internal vent that leads from the burial pyramid's base through nine layers (representative of the nine levels of Mayan underworld) into the actual, sealed burial chamber of the deceased. By blood-letting (Mayan gnosis-of-choice...) the relatives& shamans could communicate their desires to the deceased, or receive visions in the form of 'Obsidian Serpents' (examples of this ritual visitation are also preserved).

Still there? As though all this weren't interesting enough, I've got something else to add! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/yahoo.gif)

The idea of a psycho-duct made me think of all those places that exist as vortices. Not only are physically manifested vortices common in the world (as most of us, trained in energy detection or not, can agree to; the strength of certain places and the emotional/spiritual effects they create), but so are 'symbolic vortices' like the heart chakra when it is profoundly meditated upon, or the mouth when a wiccan consumes a Samhain food-representation of the old god. Both open into a 'sacred' space, one that is different and yet present in physical reality. One really good example is the sphagnum bogs in Denmark- the ground Tollund Man was thrown into was not simply a convenient grave for a sacrificial subject or even a 'connecter' with the Earth; it was a portal into another place of reality, in this case the cthonic Underworld, admitting a now 2,400 year old Dane.

Might this have been the reason behind these 'psycho-ducts'? They were first mistaken for air-vents, but this seems unlikely; the logic behind them came from a purely religio-magickal perspective. By opening a path into another world, through the act of blood letting, bereaved relatives could contact the deceased (it seems as rational a reasoning as any, compared to the idea that the spirit would 'pulled' back to the burial pyramid). Even the appearance of Serpent gods could be explained as contacted entities come through the vortex.

The reason behind all this isn't just a game of 'fill in the paradigm' though... I've got a point!

By creating a 'controlled vortex' a magician could feasibly open direct links with certain levels of reality (or reality as it appears to different levels of consciousness), activating them by achieving gnosis etc.

Would this sort of 'direct link' work? Dedicating a space or area to continuous connection, awaiting activation? (maybe something less extreme then sacrificial deaths or self-abuse by cactus spike...)

So long as belief is present, the Mind will make Reality. We all accept this as true, but I'd rather not create (another) grand delusion and call it my vortex. So anybody with any practical advice... there's lotsa room down there.

Alekhine, what do you mean by 'Obsidian Serpents'?

The all inclusive term mayanists use is 'vision serpent' (the actual nature of the serpent seems to have been subjective and open to shamanic interpretation).
Serpents were thought of as the vehicle by which planets/stars travelled across the sky; it's not surprising to find them also playing the role of intermediary guide. One description by a Mayanist of the vision serpent (as seen in uncovered base-relief and in the codices) is this:
"It was usually bearded and had a rounded snout. It was also often depicted as having two heads or with the spirit of a god or ancestor emerging from its jaws". {Schele}
The serpent acted as psychopompos, connecting deceased/god with the shaman (basically, the serpent was the projected 'means' by which the spirit could manifest and communicate with the invoker).

This post has been edited by Alekhine: Jul 18 2005, 11:44 AM