While there is much more that can be said here about the Mayan perception of planetary motion, especially with regard to calendrical methodologies, the point I wanted to make has been adequately demonstrated. The Mayas perceived the visible planets as spirits. In that same context, they believed that time itself was a bridge between the real world and the spirit world. The meaning behind that concept ought to be obvious from this discussion. Time, as it is expressed by and through the calendrical system predicated on multiples of 13 in the 260-day almanac, is inseparable from the regular motion of the planetary spirits it was designed to regulate and count.
Time is the same as the motion of celestial objects in Mayan culture.
Time is the same as the spirits that were used to create its calendrical expression. Hence, when the Mayas wrote the number 13 in their script at any point in their long complex history they were making a profound philosophical statement about the nature of the connection that exists between the real world and the spirit world that animates it. To return to Mayan Astronomy click X in the upper right-hand corner of the page.