The Secret of the Incas: Myth, Astronomy and the War Against Time

by William Sullivan

Step by step, Sullivan pieces together the hidden esoteric tradition of the Andes to uncover the tragic secret of the Incas, a tribe who believed that, if events in the heavens could influence those on earth, perhaps the reverse could be true. Anyone who reads this book will never look at the ruins of the Incas, or at the night sky, the same way again. Illustrations.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Mythology, Travel, Ancient History, Astronomy, Science

413 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing book that builds on "Hamlet's Mill" with an Inca flavor. Hamlet's Mill posits that myths reveal astronomical observations. And so connecting myths with certain astronomical events decodes the reasoning of the past. Sullivan argues that Andean peoples saw the Milky Way as a road to heaven that "opened" on the solstices, when the sun matched the heliacal rise of the Milky Way.

Sullivan takes the llama myth, dials up the Harvard planetarium, and finds that in 560 AD, the Milky Way was slipping below the heliacal rise of the sun on the June equinox. The Milky Way is being flooded out and sky llama is up there drinking away the water to save us all (llama is a black space "constellation" long recognized by the Inca). Praise the llama! As we know because of our telescopes and math, the real reason for the drowning Milky Way is that our planet wobbles, we are in motion, and our views of the sky change. But to the Inca, the connecting road to the upper world was disappearing. And when this went down in 560 AD, the June road closed, and Andean civilization went to war as the Wari broke the long peace to expand their nation. Sullivan makes thousands and thousands of other connections that are as intriguing as they are confusing and aggravating.

Lo and behold, that on the December solstice, the road was also closing, it was only a matter of time. And so, Pachecuti tried to stop it with a new sun religion. He used the a sun stone, ceque lines, and the waka shrines to tie down the sun and keep the road open. Let's give the guy credit...thinking you can change the stars is damn ambitious. His methods involved elaborate ritual, lots of llama blood, and child sacrifice. Yet to nobody's surprise, it did not work.

But guess what happened when the December door closed? Pizarro and his brothers showed up with ~180 other dudes and took over a nation of 10,000,000. So maybe there really was something to worry about...

Sullivan takes pains to line up myths and events with observations. And in the process, visits and re-visits dozens of other myths and cultures. The writing is all over the place. And if I've misunderstood something, please let me know (but realize that I'll rightly blame a total lack of editing). Hamlet's Mill, any Sullivan by extension, have not fared well in academic literature. None of these "findings" are cited in mainstream academic Andean scholarship. Yet, he does make a strong case on his central thesis. And his telling explains a confounding series of myths for which we lack other explanations.

[A.J. McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sullivan's thesis is that the Incas practiced human sacrifice so that the souls of the slain victims could go straight to the gods to carry the plea of the Incas that the gods spare the Incas from the catastrophe that was about to befall them. In order to get to explaining this point, Sullivan delves into the whole belief system of the Incas, the astronomy/astrology of their calendar and deities, and a whole different paradigm of looking at the world. He puts everything into the context of how the mind of the modern West can try to understand the Incas. It's an amazing read. Sullivan writes well and has an incredible story to tell. Very highly recommended.

[Werehare · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10

Noto una sgradevole tendenza da parte delle case editrici a NON segnalare chiaramente in copertina o nella quarta che libri di questo genere - libri sugli inca, su città perdute, sui cerchi nel grano e altri argomenti degni di Voyager - non sono romanzi, ma saggi. Sono quasi certa che la persona che ha comprato questo libro (che non sono io, in quanto l'ho "ereditato") non l'avrebbe fatto se avesse saputo che si trattava di un saggio.
Detto ciò, le mie competenze nel valutare un saggio di questo genere sono pressoché nulle e mi limito a un sei politico: contenuto interessante, non so se corretto o no ma esposto in una maniera che appunto mi ha ricordato molto Voyager, per cui più della sufficienza non voglio dare.

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is too wackadoodle for me. Not what I needed.

[Teri Dluznieski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having studied with several of the top Andean spiritual teachers have a particular appreciation for the information in this book. This book delves deeply into a lot of the esoteric and less prevalent aspects of the Andean culture and cosmology. It is a perfect supplement for any student of the Andean spiritual teachings. It is dense and packed full of a lot of information that may not appear related. However, in order to understand WHY many of the practices exist, it is essential to understand the history, beliefs and world views that are carefully constructed in this text. this book made many other things made sense in a way that some of my teachers never could or would explain. My work as a healer and teacher benefited greatly from the understandings gained from reading this book. My only comment would be that I am not sure INCA is the correct term- although here, it is probably used more accurately. The culture was an Andean and or Quechuan culture, and the term Inca, if I was taught accurately, refers to the high class of priests or enlightened ones, the spiritual class(?). In this case, it may be an accurate usage, often however, the term Inca seems to get used erroneously;)

[Maeve Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have studied with Qero (current Inkan descendants) & other Andean lineage shamans for years. This book is a must read for those studying Andean shamanism. My shaman teacher in Peru told me to read this book.

It gives an archeoastronomical theory of what happened in astronomy at the time of the Incan contact with the Spanish and why they behaved the way they did. The author used the Hamlet's Mill theory as a basis for guiding his own research and theory as to what was going on with the Inca spiritually just prior to the Spanish Invasion.

The Inca were impressive astronomers, watching the skies and other aspects of nature to understand their world. Andean cosmology is well-developed, deeply spiritual/shamanic and nature-based. The book will probably go over the heads of readers who have not studied Andean shamanism. Sullivan's theory explains the Inkan behavior & understanding of events prior to and during the Spanish Invasion. He let the reader "see" what happened from the perspective of the Inca.

Andean cosmology (shamanism) relies heavily on understanding nature spiritually. They believe in beings of energy that inhabit aspects of nature. These beings' functions can be compared to Christian angels' functions. They believe they originally came from the stars as did their "angels".

Sullivan gives a fascinating understanding of Incan (Qero) cultural beliefs. He gives an explanation of why they sacrificed children on the mountain tops & why they opened their arms to the Spanish. It filled in a lot of gaps for me in understanding Andean spiritual cosmology & shamanic practice. Sullivan understands the Incan mindset. This mindset is preserved in their descendants, the Qero & other Andean cultures.

Since archeologists & anthropologists are still stuck in the paradeigm of studying cultures from an aloof, detached, unparticipating viewpoint, they miss important information & nuances that they would understand if they gathered information as immersed, experiential participants. They don't understand that no one can be fully detached from the culture they are studying if they truly want to understand that culture. This outdated paradeigm has to fall before this work can truly be appreciated for the genius it is.

[Natasha C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is quite disorganized and takes a great deal of determination to get through. However, I did learn a lot about Incan history as I waded my way through. Sullivan claims that Incan mythology can be read as a guide to interpreting astronomy and many of the same stories around planets and stars from other cultures can be traced to a single origin. I have no way of knowing if these claims are really true, but they are captivating. Chapter 7 would have served as a proper introduction to the whole book, as it outlines opposing thoughts to dealing with similarities in myth: historians can claim they have a single origin or that humans just tend to come up with similar stories. He makes a compelling argument that the former makes more sense.

The final chapter veers into philosophy and if a reader is interested in a full modern version in the same vein, can read Jo Marchant's The Human Cosmos.

[Matthew Neubauer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author theorizes that the myths of Inca civilization tell complex stories that represent real time events if one examines how the myths connect with astronomy. He suggests that the myths tell a story that Inca society was desperate to stop time as astrinomical signs told of a looming cyclical cataclysm. He makes a good case for this and the scholarship is extensive.

The book is far longer and more involved in making this case than warranted. Sullivan provides far to much detail on how each of the eureka moments occurred to get there.

Good theory, needed a far harsher editor.

[Matt Stephens · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing was knowledgeable, exhaustive, and scholarly. It was also extremely boring and the single worst book I ever read. Academics are the same as government employees, neither of which could support themselves without the backing of their institutions. If I attempted to make a living writing like this author, I would starve. I don’t care what type of book you write, don’t make it boring.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read the first chapter and realized this was pseudoscience when I hoped for something more peer reviewed.

[Paul Boudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book covering much more than just the conquering of the Incas by the Spanish Conquistadors. It find in the Andean myths a high understanding of the movements of the stars, planets and most importantly the Milky Way. From the archeo-astronomy Sullivan develops a strong and consistent argument for the basis for concepts such as "the four corners of the world", a flat "earth" and the changing of World Ages. Similar to other authors they were not primate concepts based in ignorance, but strong cultural models of how the peoples related to the larger World in which they lived.

Of particular interest is Sullivan's allusion to a single global World view of astronomy. He broadens de Santillana and Dechand's exploration of old world myths to see similarities across into the New World and Australia. Late in the book he points out how civilizations around the world held common views on the characteristics of the planets such as Mars being angry or warlike and Venus having disheveled hair.

There are great insights contained in this book any modern person who is interested in how the world was perceived and how it continues to be viewed from our place in the universe.

[Kari · Rating 1 out of 5]

The blurb on the jacket was more informative than anything I read, because I only read the first 1 1/2 chapters and all the stuff about the Incas wasn't starting to my satisfaction. I looked at how long everything was, and heard my sister comment that that book looked big and boring, and since what the blurb said wasn't what I expected anyway, I'm returning this to the library as soon as I can get through the snow.

The advertised illustrations are drawings of the globe and sky etc., not pictures of Inca buildings or Peru, and if I were to look at the sky differently because I saw all the Incas supposedly saw, I'd be concerned.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindblowing findings. The writing style is a bit laborious. As circular and comprehensive of a communicator that I tend to be, I got impatient with the details of Sullivan's process of research and wanted him to cut to the chase.

[Karen Christino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impenetrable and fascinating in equal measures. If you're interested in Inca cosmology and astrology, you'll be interested in this first-hand account.