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Clifford C. Richey
June 2011
The two Glyphs in this paper are based on a drawing1 by William Coe of Stela 31 from Tikal. The
glyph in Illustration 1 can be found as 25B and the glyph in Illustration 2 can be found as glyph 24
D.
Illustration 1: Wasp and
Star Signs
As we can see the hand is not drawn when making the sign for a star. Sometimes the space between
the Index Finger and the Thumb is drawn but often this space in not shown. The sign for star in this
glyph appears to be a compounding of a rectangular place sign and the star sign. What appear to be
fingers making the sign are more likely Leg/Foot signs for a longwalk or journey positioned, on
thesides. They also may simply be Fingers pointing upward or above on the sides (positional). The
overall Form appears to be one of the cave sign albeit smaller than the one (gray) below and not
Double Lined (not depicted as unseen). The sign next to the star sign, when combined with it gives
us the Form of the Head and Body of a Wasp that makes the connection waspstar or Xux Ek in
Mayan as the term for Venus. The Body appears to be a Hand as viewed from the side with internal
place signs indicating (positionally) above and below the Form (yellow) of a cave sign. This
combined sign is itself positioned on the roof (the surface of the earth) of (gray) cave sign. Thus the
Wasp is not flying but sitting – waiting on the surface of the earth. The unseen cave of the
underworld and was, metaphorically viewed as the Womb of earthfemale. Within the cave we have
the imagery of the Wasp, His Face, his appearance or as he appears. The Wasp is unseen within the
cave of the underworld.
Within the cave the Wasp is turningfemale (the combination of the (yellow) “U” shaped turning
sign coupled with the (white) Triangular female sign. This indicated that the Wasp is within the
domain of the earthfemale (her womb) and thus turns female itself. The black Squares are the signs
for houses or domains –the houses of darkness (positioned) on the sides of the (white) earthfemale.
The houses signs are positioned where the Eyes of the Wasp would be thus indicating that it is the
Eye(s) of the Sun, the WaspStar Venus that is within the darkness. There are two (yellow) Vertical
Rectangles meaning, the verticalplaces and these signs are between the earthfemale signs and the
houses of darkness signs. The places in the center surrounded by darkness. We then find a (white)
sign that may represent held as in a bowl with Oval compound, turningplaces sign within it. There
are four of these signs which represent the four directions meaning all over or everywhere.
Positionally, on the Face of the Wasp these signs are in the area of the Nose. This would represent
orifices or holes.
The Mouth of the Wasp is a compound of a Rectangular and Horizontal, surfaceplace sign and the
1 mesoweb.com/stuart/notes/Tikal.pdf. Figure 1. Tikal Stela 31, detail of back. Drawing by William
R. Coe.
signs for doorways. The doorway signs are held as in a bowl (the curved line). The Mouth is the
Associative Imagery for a watersource. On both sides of the Mouth there are compound Forms of
Legs and Feet. The Foot on the Right hand side (representing the West) has a very long Foot that is
beneath (positionally) the signs that make up the teeth of the Mouth. This provides us with the
information that the walk or journey begins with descent in the West on the side of the earth and
then for a long distance horizontally in the underworld. The left Leg and Foot is positioned on its
side while the curved line that outlines the top of the Foot and the curve of the leg would seem to
have been modeled after the sign for ascending. Ascending in the East. There are nine doorway
signs which may represent the nine levels of the underworld. The concept is one of a pool of water
on the earth's surface where there are doorways from the underworld.
The small sign at the bottom and both sides of the Wasp are positioned where the Hands of the
Wasp would normally be. In previous papers we learned that the Imagery of a Hand was associated
with the Hand of the Sun otherwise know as the Steward of the Sun (a SunPriest). Here we are
informed that the Hand is also the Eye of the Sun (Venus) by the Eye shaped Forms. There are signs
within the Eye that indicate placesfemale. We can see that the Leg/Foot Forms are connected to or
touching the Eye Forms. The Eye Form on the right is Double Lined indicating unseen. While the
small signs are difficult to resolve but there does appear to be a Dark Finger in the corner of the Eye
pointing the direction, belowinthe darkness. The Left hand sign seems to have been composed
with two arising signs within it. They appear as two, Double Lined, Fingers (tan) pointing upward
on each side of the Eye Form. This would indicate, arisingunseen, on the sides in the East and
West. The (pink) Lip (the edge of the watersource) is, roughly, the Rectangular place sign. The
place of arisings in the east and west.
Illustration 2:
The Mouth
When we view the Mouth Imagery in Illustration 2 we must also remember that the image is in the
position of the Hand and that the internal imagery is that of an Eye. It is this layering of Form,
Imagery and Sign Elements along with Positioning that makes Glyph content so compact and also
sometimes difficult to read.
Illustration 3: The Wasp,
His Face
In Illustration 2 the Face of the Wasp is also within the unseencave sign (gray). This glyph is
important as it demonstrates the rationale behind the use of the Wasp imagery and its relationship to
Venus. It also connects the phallic Form of the composition on Stela 31 with the glyph which helps
us to understand the use of such Form and Imagery. The Wasp, His face means, his appearance –
the way he looks as seen within the cave.
Illustration 4: The
Feet, The Journeys
In Illustration 4 we should look at the Black Outlines that create the Eyes (also positional) of the
Wasp's Face. They represent Feet (journeys) in the Form of the arising sign. The (green) internal
signs appear to make up the signs for places and sides. The journeys of the eye(s) the places on the
sides in the east and west (left and right). This concurs with the movement of Venus as seen in its
arisings in the east and west. The space around the Eyes (yellow) is in the Form of Four Feet. The
number Four would relate to all the four directions or everywhere. It is in the Form of a swastika of
sorts and this may give us some insight into the ancient cosmological meaning of the swastika as it
may have been related to four feet (walks or journeys) and the four directions. The (green)
Rectangular places signs of the Wasp's forehead are framed in the Black Lines of the sign for the
underside or underworld. The (pink) Mouth (a watersource), positional, is in the Form of a Breast
which was the Associative sign for a hill of the earthfemale. Most likely the watersource on the
hill was a spring site. The Center (yellow) is in the Form of a Square meaning a house or domain.
The Curved sides of the sign are based on the Form form arising(s) The House of arisings, the
center.
Illustration 5: The Great
Man
The phallic Imagery below the Face of the Wasp tells us that the subject is one of the male gender,
the great man. Similar to the total Form of the composition on Stela 31 a phallic image was used to
depict the Wasp's gender. The glans penis is in the Form of the underside or underworld sign.
Within it is the (white) “U” shaped turning sign. Therefore the male or man is shown as, below in
the underworld turningunseen (Double Lines formed by the black outline of the “U”) between the
places, corpora cavernosa, connected by a hidden pathway or horizontal tunnel, (again, the Double
Lines formed by the black outline) the urethra.
Illustration 6: The Numbers Ten
and Twelve
This glyph may also assist us in learning why some Mayan numbers were placed on edge and others
horizontally. We have learned that the position of the signs was very important in the compositional
system. We know that a Bar was the sign for the number five and a Circle was equivalent to the
number one. We have also seen, in previous papers, how the Circle and Rectangles could be
combine to serve as both numbers and words. Thus the Circle also held the meaning for a position
or location and the Rectangle as a sign for a place. The main clue we have for the Bars is that their
ends are small (green) rectangular place signs. The Bar Numbers (5 + 5 or 10) are positioned on the
side of the Cave sign (gray) informing us that there are ten places on the side of the earth. These
places (green) are also positioned above and below. This would seem to indicate the nine levels of
the underworld (below) plus the surface (above) which was considered the middle world. Ten levels
in all. Now the Bars in a horizontal position are on the roof of the cave –the surface of the earth and
have two other signs that are positioned where the Circles for the number one would normally be
located. The two Bars equal twelve and the two signs as numbers, provide us with a total of twelve.
This was the number of levels that the Maya perceived as in the sky. The total number of levels
according to this system would be twenty two. It is unclear what the two forms represent as words
they are vaguely Egg shaped and may refer to the unborn ones on the surface of the middle world.
But, of course, the Forms may have held some other meaning.
Illustration 8: The Wasp
Illustration 7: The Yellow
Jacket, A Wasp
Wasp Photograph
By Opo Terser [CCBY2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
We will now do a comparison of the Face of the Wasp in the Glyph and the Face of an actual Wasp,
a Yellow Jacket. It is easy to see how the face of a yellow jacket was the inspiration behind the
composition of this glyph. But there is more. Notice the mandibles of the actual wasp and compare
them with the signs on either side of the Mouth of the wasp in the glyph.
Illustration 9: Shape
of Tumi Knife
The Images at this level (Imagery of the Face) are Tumi Knives, one of the signs used to indicate a
warrior. When we combine the above information extracted from the glyph it becomes clear that the
glyph references to a Wasp indicate that the Wasp is a Man and that the Man is a Warrior. A further
connection is made between the Wasp/Warrior and a Star –the WaspStar, the Maya's name for
Venus.
It appears that a metaphor was made between Wasps defending their nest with their Mandibles and
Warriors defending their community with their Knives. If the Wasp was indeed a kind of yellow
jacket then there may be another metaphor made around the location of the Wasp in his
underground, cavelike, nest and the spirit of the deceased warrior within the cave of the
underworld. We also understand, through a previous paper2, that the Knife was the sign for a Ray of
the Sun, a warrior, who served the Sun through the Hand of the Sun (a Steward of the Sun, a title
for a leader).
2 http://www.scribd.com/doc/21978715/TheNazcaCatDemon