Skywatchers, Shamans, & Kings

forces that govern our lives. In Skywatchers, Shamans, and Kings, acclaimed author E. C. Krupp takes us on a fascinating journey to all corners of the world to visit the shrines and temples, tombs and caves where ancient priests and rulers communed with the gods of the sky. These are the sacred places where the magical power of the celestial spheres was encountered and the secrets of the planets and stars were divined The tomb of the Maya ruler Six Sky served as a compass of cosmic power, built at the center of the Maya cosmos where the First Father was said to have given order to the world. The King's Chamber of the Great Pyramid of Egypt contained a narrow portal through which King Khufu ascended to rule over the Imperishable Stars. From the Terrace for Managing Heaven, hosts of skywatchers attended Khubilai Khan and devised masterful calendars of celestial events that confirmed his divinely sanctioned right to rule Drawing on his intimate knowledge of more than 1,300 ancient sites he has visited, E. C. Krupp, one of the world's foremost experts on ancient astronomy, takes us to the essential sacred places—as well as celestial shrines far off the beaten path—in an evocative narrative richly enhanced by more than 150 photographs and illustrations. Through vivid descriptions of the important sites and their ritual meanings, he reveals how the rulers of ancient peoples from the Aztecs to the Mongols built monuments and practiced rituals with which they harnessed the power of the sky and sanctified their authority over their worlds He decodes enigmatic inscriptions on temples and tombs, interprets the haunting imagery of sand paintings and petroglyphs, and traces the elaborate astronomical alignments according to which monuments and whole cities were constructed so that…