Dreamspell
Dreamspell is an esoteric calendar system and spiritual practice developed by American authors and activists José Argüelles and Lloydine Argüelles in 1990.[1] Inspired by the ancient Mayan Tzolkin—a 260-day divinatory cycle—but reinterpreted through a New Age lens, it seeks to guide individuals toward harmony with cosmic time and personal enlightenment.[2] The core structure integrates a 13-moon, 28-day solar calendar (totaling 364 days plus a "Day Out of Time") with the 260-kin Tzolkin, using 20 solar seals and 13 galactic tones to assign daily "galactic signatures" for meditation and self-discovery.[3] Central to Dreamspell is the concept of transitioning from the "12:60" timing frequency of the Gregorian calendar—perceived as artificial and disharmonious—to the natural "13:20" frequency derived from Mayan mathematics.[3] This shift is intended to promote global synchronization, planetary healing, and a move toward fourth-dimensional consciousness, as outlined in the Argüelles' book Dreamspell: Journey of Timeship Earth 2013.[1] Practitioners calculate their birth kin to determine their solar tribe, tone, and seal, which inform life paths, relationships, and spiritual growth through tools like the Oracle of Destiny and Wavespells.[3] While Dreamspell gained prominence in New Age communities during the 1990s and 2000s, particularly in connection to the 2012 Mayan calendar end-date phenomenon, it has been critiqued by scholars for deviating from authentic Mayan cosmology and lacking historical or archaeological basis in indigenous traditions.[2] Nonetheless, it has influenced alternative timekeeping, environmental activism, and synchronistic philosophies worldwide, with resources like the Foundation for the Law of Time continuing to disseminate its teachings.[4]History and Development
Origins and Creators
Dreamspell was primarily created by José Argüelles, an American author, artist, and scholar who transitioned from an academic career in art history to New Age philosophy focused on cosmic synchronization. Born in 1939, Argüelles earned a Ph.D. in art history and aesthetics from the University of Chicago in 1969 and taught at institutions such as Princeton University and the Evergreen State College. His interest in Mayan cosmology began in the 1970s, sparked by prophetic insights from Tony Shearer in 1970 and deepened through extensive studies of ancient Mesoamerican calendars and mathematics, which he interpreted as tools for understanding galactic cycles.[1][5] A pivotal moment came in 1987 with the Harmonic Convergence, a global meditation event organized by Argüelles on August 16–17, which drew tens of thousands worldwide to sacred sites and aimed to usher in an era of peace and heightened consciousness. This event, inspired by Argüelles' book The Mayan Factor published that year, marked his shift toward promoting "galactic synchronization" as a means to align humanity with natural time frequencies, moving away from his earlier academic pursuits toward a visionary New Age framework. The Convergence tied into his anticipation of a transformative galactic alignment in 2012, which would culminate the 5,125-year Mayan Long Count cycle.[1][5][6] Following the Harmonic Convergence, Argüelles collaborated closely with his wife, Lloydine Burris Argüelles, beginning in 1987 through the Planet Art Network (PAN), an organization they co-founded in 1983 to propagate whole Earth teachings. Lloydine, who held degrees in fine arts and dance and had studied Buddhist meditation and therapy, contributed to the ceremonial and intuitive aspects of their work, serving as co-author and visionary partner known as Bolon Ik, the archetypal "Galactic Feminine." Their joint efforts during a 1989–1991 retreat on Maui formalized Dreamspell's development as a modern tool for personal and collective synchronization with cosmic rhythms, drawing on Argüelles' Mayan interpretations while emphasizing fourth-dimensional time.[5][7][1]Release and Evolution
Dreamspell was initially released in 1990 as a board game titled Dreamspell: The Journey of Timeship Earth 2013, published by Chelsea Pacific Group in Hong Kong.[8] The kit included a 150-page manual detailing the system's components, a galactic compass for navigation, an oracle board, a journey board, color-coded oracle cards representing the 260 kin signatures, and a galactic notation card.[9] Developed by José and Lloydine Argüelles, the game presented Dreamspell as an interactive tool for exploring synchronic time patterns.[10] The foundational concepts of Dreamspell were outlined earlier in José Argüelles's 1987 book The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology, which connected Mayan cosmology to modern time science and anticipated the system's full articulation.[11] By the early 1990s, the presentation shifted from a game format to a spiritual and calendrical practice, emphasized in subsequent publications like Thirteen Moons in Motion: A Dreamspell Primer (1992), which integrated the 13-moon structure with the 260-day Tzolkin cycle.[12] This evolution aligned the 52-year solar-galactic cycle—comprising 52 annual 365-day rings—with the approximate 50-year orbital period of Sirius B around Sirius A, framing Dreamspell as a tool for galactic synchronization.[13] In the 2000s, the Foundation for the Law of Time, established by the Argüelles in 2000 as a nonprofit organization, facilitated Dreamspell's transition to digital formats.[14] This included online tools such as the free 13 Moon/28-day synchronometer and Dreamspell kin calculators available on lawoftime.org, enabling users to generate personal oracle readings and track cycles interactively.[14] Mobile applications like 13:20:Sync, developed in alignment with the Foundation's teachings, emerged around 2010 to provide daily Dreamspell guidance and wavespell tracking on smartphones.[15] Following José Argüelles's death in 2011, the Foundation continued post-2012 adaptations, releasing annual Galactic Calendars (e.g., for 2013–2026) and self-paced online courses to sustain Dreamspell as a living practice amid the prophesied shift to noospheric consciousness.[16] These updates, hosted on lawoftime.org and 13moon.com, incorporated multimedia resources like video tutorials while maintaining the core game's oracle elements for broader accessibility.[10]Calendar Components
Thirteen-Moon Structure
The Thirteen Moon structure forms the annual framework of the Dreamspell calendar, dividing the 365-day solar year into 13 equal months of 28 days each, totaling 364 days, with an additional "Day Out of Time" to complete the cycle.[17] This design creates a perpetual calendar that aligns human timekeeping with natural rhythms, such as the approximate 28-day lunar cycle, without the irregularities of the Gregorian system.[18] Mathematically, the structure is based on the equation 13 × 28 = 364, providing a consistent 52-week year that remains fixed regardless of solar variations.[19] The "Day Out of Time," observed on July 25 in the Gregorian calendar, serves as the 365th day and is dedicated to global celebration of peace through culture, falling outside the 13 moons and the seven-day week cycle.[18] It acts as a neutral, synchronizing interlude, emphasizing renewal and harmony before the new year begins on July 26, which correlates with the heliacal rising of Sirius.[17] Each of the 13 moons is named after one of the galactic tones and carries a specific purpose, action, and quality to guide thematic focus throughout the month. These attributes draw from the broader Dreamspell cosmology to foster synchronization with galactic cycles. The moons are as follows:| Moon Number | Moon Name | Purpose | Action | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnetic Moon | Attract | Unify | Center |
| 2 | Lunar Moon | Polarize | Stabilize | Challenge |
| 3 | Electric Moon | Activate | Bond | Service |
| 4 | Self-Existing Moon | Define | Measure | Form |
| 5 | Overtone Moon | Empower | Command | Radiance |
| 6 | Rhythmic Moon | Balance | Organize | Equality |
| 7 | Resonant Moon | Inspire | Channel | Attunement |
| 8 | Galactic Moon | Harmonize | Model | Integrity |
| 9 | Solar Moon | Pulse | Realize | Intention |
| 10 | Planetary Moon | Perfect | Produce | Manifestation |
| 11 | Spectral Moon | Release | Dissolve | Liberation |
| 12 | Crystal Moon | Dedicate | Universalize | Cooperation |
| 13 | Cosmic Moon | Endure | Transcend | Presence |
Solar Seals and Galactic Tones
The Solar Seals and Galactic Tones constitute the foundational symbolic elements of the Dreamspell system, representing 20 archetypal energies and 13 vibrational stages that together generate the 260 unique daily signatures known as kin.[3] These components encode a 13:20 timing frequency derived from ancient calendrical principles, serving as a language for synchronizing human awareness with cosmic cycles.[20] The 20 Solar Seals embody archetypal forces associated with natural elements, colors, and cardinal directions, each symbolizing a distinct aspect of existence and evolution. Categorized into four color families—red (initiating), white (refining), blue (transforming), and yellow (ripening)—the seals draw inspiration from the Mayan Tzolkin day signs while integrating symbolic correspondences from the I Ching's 64 hexagrams and the 64 DNA codons, reinterpreted as universal life codes or UR runes.[3][20] This synthesis positions the seals as multidimensional icons bridging indigenous cosmology, binary patterns of change, and genetic frequencies.[20]| Seal Name | Color | Direction | Archetype |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dragon | Red | East | Birth, nurturing |
| Wind | White | North | Spirit, communication |
| Night | Blue | West | Intuition, abundance |
| Seed | Yellow | South | Growth, potential |
| Serpent | Red | East | Life force, instinct |
| World-Bridger | White | North | Death, transition |
| Hand | Blue | West | Healing, accomplishment |
| Star | Yellow | South | Beauty, harmony |
| Moon | Red | East | Feeling, flow |
| Dog | White | North | Love, loyalty |
| Monkey | Blue | West | Play, creativity |
| Human | Yellow | South | Free will, wisdom |
| Skywalker | Red | East | Exploration, space |
| Wizard | White | North | Timelessness, receptivity |
| Eagle | Blue | West | Vision, mind |
| Warrior | Yellow | South | Intelligence, questioning |
| Earth | Red | East | Navigation, synchronicity |
| Mirror | White | North | Reflection, order |
| Storm | Blue | West | Transformation, energy |
| Sun | Yellow | South | Enlightenment, life |
| Tone Number | Tone Name | Vibrational Quality |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnetic | Purpose, attraction |
| 2 | Lunar | Challenge, polarity |
| 3 | Electric | Service, activation |
| 4 | Self-Existing | Form, definition |
| 5 | Overtone | Empowerment, radiance |
| 6 | Rhythmic | Equality, balance |
| 7 | Resonant | Attunement, inspiration |
| 8 | Galactic | Integrity, modeling |
| 9 | Solar | Intention, realization |
| 10 | Planetary | Manifestation, perfection |
| 11 | Spectral | Liberation, release |
| 12 | Crystal | Cooperation, dedication |
| 13 | Cosmic | Presence, transcendence |