Aztec Astrology: An Introduction
by Michael Colmer
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael ColmerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1995-05
ISBN: 0713724552
Number of pages: 128
Publisher: Blandford Pr
Book Reviews of Aztec Astrology: An Introduction
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 1 Stars
I really had high hopes for this book. I purchased it originally at a used bookstore hoping to learn more about calculating the birth sign of myself and others using the Aztec Long and Short day counts.
However this book has absolutely no information on doing this whatsoever. Let me repeat, this book has NO information WHATSOEVER about doing the calculations for translating dates into the mesoamerican year count and actually calculating what the traditional omens and portents would be surrounding one's birth.
Instead there is a list of "feel good" generic personality descriptions that seem to me to be based on modern interpretations of the names of the signs rather than actual data of how the Aztecs seemed to interpret them. A good example of this is on page 52 where the author refers to the sign of "Death" saying first that with a few exceptions, those born under this sign have little to do with death, being "Too busy being involved in Rebirth!"
If you read the works of acclaimed scholar Miguel Leon-Portilla, who wrote several books on the Aztecs, including their philosophy and ideals, it is clear in their poetry that the Aztecs saw death very literally, even commenting in one book that "Even quetzal feathers decay, even jade breaks", those being highly valued substances to the Aztecs.
While the book "The Maya" by Michael D. Coe is listed in the bibliography as a resource, and it is an excellent book, this leads me to the point that this system seems to be a mishmash of Aztec words and Maya calendrical information. While the Aztecs did use some version of the Maya Long Count, I do not believe the calendars and astrology were identical enough that they should be used together and lumped exclusively under the name of an Aztec Astrology system.
Also disturbing to me is the list of "famous" people listed under each sign along with a set of "virtues" and "vices". Those lists are awfully similar if compared between the many signs in the book, some being basically synonymous. Again it seems silly to me to list all these names of historical figures with no information on how the writer came to conclude that these people fit in each sign.
For those who do want to figure out what "sign" they are born under, the author suggests reading each personality description and then deciding which one you think suits you best and choosing that as your birthsign. Alternately he suggests buying printouts from different companies, using internet computer programs, or as he puts it, "If you have some experience of calculating Western Zodiac systems, then you may want to attempt the complex calculations offered by K.C. Tunnicliffe in his "Aztec Astrology" on page 21. To me it sounds like he is trying to dissuade serious research on the subject and likes the day-sign personalities to be used just as a party game.
Bits of his history of the Aztecs are very suspect too. It paints a picture of a philosophical, downtrodden and oppressed race of philosophers who could tell the future, with no mention of the bloody sacrifices performed by the Aztecs to prisoners, or when he mentions the Maya, the autosacrifice of bloodletting performed by the nobility on behalf of nonnobles, even though it was seen as their sacred duty (according to Michael D. Coe in "The Maya").
In all I consider this a piece of fluffy trash unworthy of serious consideration and a serious waste of time and money.
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