The word tzolkin refers to the sacred cycle of 260 days which is the centerpiece of a sophisticated calendar system developed almost 3000 years ago by the indigenous people of Mesoamerica. The Classic Maya civilization (200 A.D. to 900 A.D.) Because the Mayan Calendar is rooted in certain universal principles, manifesting in human biological processes as well as the cycles of the planets, we may study these things with an eye toward gaining an understanding of the cosmos which is not exclusively "Mayan". The situation in Mayan Studies right now is analogous to the state of Egyptology in the 1870's. At that time, new artifacts and studies of the dimensions and ratios in the Great Pyramids painted a picture of the ancient Egyptians for which many scholars were unprepared. Ultimately, scholars admitted that the ancient Egyptians were much more advanced than previously thought, and indeed utilized an entire Sacred Science based on the universal principles of Sacred Geometry. To be more open to the deeper meanings of Mayan Time Philosophy, we can entertain the idea that perhaps the gestation-tzolkin-planet connection indicates that the Maya had discovered a principle within nature uniting the processes of heaven and earth. This would be a kind of "Mayan Unified Theory". In general, the Maya recognized a connection between human cycles and planetary cycles. The easiest thing to do at this point might be to convince yourself that the Maya merely invented this system, in a somewhat arbitrary or haphazard way, thus dismissing closer inquiry. But at least we can say, if models must be made, that the Maya chose to create a very comprehensive and sophisticated system of timekeeping, being, and becoming. The scope of their "calendar" extends from the unfolding of flowers on earth to the conjunction of far-off celestial objects; from the microcosm to the macrocosm. And with human gestation as the prerequisite "key", humanity's place is to unite and mediate both realms. The calendar is, apparently, much more than a calendar.