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the United Sates of America’s astrological signature from the perspective of the Mesoamerican sacred calendar
its connection to both the caduceus symbol and the Pan-American archetype Quetzalcoatl and the relevance of the Mandãla in those contexts AXIS MUNDI — SPATIAL AXIS American caduceus, serpent-pillar for a 'united state of the Americas' 
Consider the United States of America: a key geopolitical entity of the XXth Century, and, it can be argued, the XXIth Century.
Established on the Mesoamerican sacred calendar date 9BEN (7-04-1776), a day belonging to the 13-day period CHIKCHAN. Complemented by the general symbolism of number 9, the astrological signs BEN and CHIKCHAN operate as the primary set of energies informing the character and destiny of this nation. BEN — PILLAR  E pluribus unum (“Out of many, one”) * A commanding presence, tall and straight like a redwood tree―one that maintains integrity in the face of pressure. Illuminating the way like a lighthouse, inspiring hope like a Statue of Liberty. A Staff of Life, a guiding principle and role model for the world to follow. "The potential is there to be a stalwart supervisor of global justice: to be a nation that holds its eminence with the utmost seriousness; to be a nation that practices what it preaches." 11 Unfortunately insecurity, naivety, lack of maturity, and other low psychological expressions, have created, at the dawn of the Third Millennium, a rather dysfunctional structure―not to speak of an obsolete one. The shadow it projects on the world stage looms long and heavy. If our nation is meant as catalyst to help create and protect an extended, authentic human family, living in a paradigm based on self-determination, equality, and interconnectedness, should the U.S.A. not promote peace, knowledge, and fraternization throughout the world? So often instead, the self-serving and isolationist agenda it long and aggressively pursued has contributed to much political destabilization worldwide—with overwhelming ensuing difficulties in trying to establish lasting peace. “Not only have we failed to realize that we are one people, but we have forgotten that we have one planet”. 12 It is due time that we recognize, once and for all, our membership in humanity as a whole. BEN (the Great Corn Plant) is the sign of the Maize plant. Staple grain of the indigenous people of the Americas since prehistorical times, maize continues to weave American cultures together with the same nourishing fiber. We The People of the Corn...Only by reconnecting with our origins―returning to our native roots―can we instigate regeneration and create healthy growth for future generations. As such, and to begin, we need to humbly and honestly recognize the ruthless suppression wrought by us and the rest of the dominant world on the native cultures of this continent—cultures which to this day continue to be marginalized or assimilated, instead of being honored and listened to? Let us more fully acknowledge the indigenous spirit that lies in the land beneath our feet and has inspired the formation of our cherished constitutional model. We ought to work at consciously integrating “what has been aboriginally present with what has skillfully developed through the civilizing hominization of the planet”. 13 "The human cannot be fulfilled apart from the natural world. We will go into the future as a single sacred community, or we will both fail in our efforts at fulfillment”. 14 As others have done, we may well head the call and enshrine Nature in our Constitution―if not in writing, then in deeds. Deeds respectful of the Earth body, deeds honoring our connection to all living forms. “The quest for sustainable living, more than any other in history, has the potential of being a unifying force for global society as well as a catalyst for a new vision of human destiny.” 23 We ought to live true to ourselves without resisting the ever-rising tide of transformation and change. Let us not be false prophet and uphold our responsibility to the world: supporting the transition to a new civilizational and ecological paradigm―in which we serve as stewards, not masters, of the world around us. CHIKCHAN — SERPENT  Times of great upheavals: the overwhelming challenges of an overpopulated world; a human-induced global climate change that does not abate but aggravates; the 6th largest mass extinction of species the Earth has known; ... Setting an example for the world to follow, this nation should urgently embody Earth wisdom and transform into an engine for planetary health and renewal. Contribute natural medicine, not poison; rejuvenation, not decay. The health and wholeness it can achieve is not only our birthright as humans but, at this point, a critical necessity for all living things. With the long-term health of humanity and the planet at stake, our responsibility in the required overhaul of the way we live our lives cannot be overstated. Alas...This nation is still at war with nature―always has been. Out of bondage to materialism, our relentless excess has reached unprecedented levels. The dragon of compulsive materialism we have become is wreaking environment havoc far beyond its borders. Worsening the effects, our natural charisma in advertising an irresponsible, addicted consumer lifestyle has had entrancing effects on most of the world's people. Around the world, unhealthy, unsustainable lifestyles contaminate bodies and mind―creating ever-increasing amounts of waste we cannot dispose of, ever-more toxified environments we cannot adapt to. Fearful of tapping into the bottomless wellspring of our psyche, we have externalize this need by digging deep into Earth’s ancient resources―fuelling an immature, superficial, largely unsustainable way of life. Fast exhausting fossil fuels and in the process generating much their toxic by-products; playing the sorcerer’s apprentice with hazardous procedures we do not control; ...All at a time when we could harness the power of nature through renewable means. Today, the environmental consequences are such that they threaten our human, and other species, survival. Acquired obsessively, material and energetic resources result in a false sense of protection. Juvenile, youthful pursuits are the blind actions of a death-denying people. Projecting that which we have repressed―our refusal to accept the natural interpenetration of life and death―we have given rise to a culture obsessed with violence, now exported to the rest of the world. Yet if visceral fears can never be rationally understood, they can be harnessed in ways that support our wellbeing―ours and others’. More and more urgently are we being asked to adopt the natural rhythm of a directed lifeforce―or keep suffering the ever-more disastrous consequences of an unfettered one. We must turn the serpent inward, that is to say, integrate our shadow. It is essential, has become critical, that we learn to control and harness this vast inner potential. “The issue here is whether we can direct the process of transformation, which is simply the flow of time no matter where we find ourselves, so that the future does not become a projection of our deepest fears, but a manifestation of our highest aspirations”. 15 Stark the choice we face: toxify or purge. Die or rejuvenate. 9 — UNIVERSALITY  Novus ordo seclorum (“a new order of the world”) * There was an obvious grand design in the prototypal idea and early establishment of this nation. A design that took into perspective and completed the previous historical period while setting the basis for a new world order closely aligned with Aquarian ideals. The idea of a United States of America is certainly more aligned with the ultimate authority of an entity like the United Nations than with the older, increasingly obsolete nationalistic model. It is also clearly meant to expand beyond its borders―“toward the horizon of no more horizons”. 16 Yet these cherished universal ideals―in principle incorruptible―have been severely tested in the course of our nation’s history. We have shown much hypocrisy in the contrast between our self-professed ideals and the isolationist or imperialistic policies we pragmatically resorted to. For all our achievements, the question remains today as it did yesterday: are we setting the example for a selfless transpersonal agenda―our American eagle the true herald of a visionary Aquarian Age―or are we protecting the interests of a self-serving selected few like the old patriarchal societies we sailed away from? “Identification with our country must no longer trump our identification with the human race. Over the past 2 centuries, the vision of our shared residency on a fragile planet has begun to replace the old chauvinisms. It is to universalism that we must now pledge our primary allegiance”. 17 For the benefit of all sentient beings, may we learn the meaning of ‘universal’ and fulfill our intended grand design! AXIS MUNDI – THE MANDALA AS A VISION OF OUR TIMES  When combining the birth-energies of BEN and CHIKCHAN, a clear astrological signature emerges: the Serpent-Pillar―basic morphotype of the Serpent on the Tree motif and of the Caduceus symbol. An ancient archetype, an ancient mythos, also resurfaces: Quetzalcoatl. Pan-American Celestial Serpent, totem of the American tribe, but also “a collective daemon and guiding spirit who returns time and again to oversee the spiritual rebirth of humankind”. 18 The very embodiment of the Phoenix-like power of regeneration. A model that we are, personally and collectively, urgently asked to emulate. Today in the Mandãla, as a fountainhead of hope and regeneration, Quetzalcoatl is once again enthroned—maybe the brightest architectural incarnation it has ever known! The Mandãla is a ‘monument’ (a word with Latin roots related to ‘memory’) to help us remember and honor our connection to the native spirit as a wellspring of wisdom, as roots of the human family tree. A monument to help us remember and honor our connection to the Earth, linking us back to our original template. Totemic art of the highest order, contributing to the preservation and furthering of the American dreamtime. The Mandãla: A Sacred Tree planted in native territory. An American Caduceus offered to native nations of Turtle Island and beyond―spiritual medicine to help us heal the still-existing rift between Old World and New World, modern technological civilization and traditional cultures. A peace staff to withstand the test of time and men. A monument that truthfully represents the spiritual essence of this nation. One that implies a larger, more inclusive family—uniting all people living on this continent. Not a ‘United States of America’ so much as a ‘united state of the Americas’. The Mandãla is a pillar supporting such notion: an Axis Americani, tall and true as redwood tree. A sacred altar, cathedral of the Americas!
SOURCES  click to enlarge
Quetzalcoatl
once again enthroned in a genuine cathedral of the Americas |