Shedding Skin & Stepping into Power: The Kan Trecena

“Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.”
~ Gautama Buddha

Nahual Kan is our life force and inner power, and it is connected to the blue of the sky and wisdom teachings. Kan empowers both our ability to learn and our sexual energy, and its totem animal is the snake. Kan has the potential to help us renew our skins as we shed the old ones like a snake. This coiled energy that rests at the bottom of our spine is also known as Kundalini.

Kan is the ruler of the upcoming trecena (13-day period) starting on July 2 (see details about the energy of each day below).

According to The Serpent and the Jaguar: Living in Sacred Time by Birgitte Rasine, “The Regent of the Sky and the Ruler of Time, Kan (Chicchan) symbolizes the transformation of time, transcendence, and individual evolution, and represents those predestined for spiritual vocations. Yet it is also the lord of all material things, and represents work, autonomy, precaution, power, law, and justice. As the nagual of education and training, it signifies the power that learning imparts to individuals and communities.”

Learning happens constantly and is lifelong. Just like spirituality isn’t confined to a church, mosque, or temple, education is not confined to schools and universities. Kan days are the ideal time to celebrate our teachers.

Check the balances on your chakras as you would your car tires. Where is your energy deficient? Where is it over the top?

Kan is our potent connection with our inner fire, or koyopa in both the Maya and Kundalini yoga traditions. It encourages us to connect with our sexual energy. It is connected to our sensuality, intuition, and inner authority. When the serpent rises, the sensual flow is felt through our spinal column, rising up into our brain. When it arises into the higher brain centers, the lifeforce potential of Kan transforms into pure consciousness and wisdom.

In The Book of Destiny, Carlos Barrios writes, “This is a special day for increasing physical strength, developing one’s inner fire, and evolving spiritually. It is a good day for the return of what has been lost or forgotten, for a loved one to come back, and for reconciliation between couples. It is also a good day to ask for a partner and sexual balance.”

In the Mayan cosmovision, Nahual Kan holds the secrets of the universe. It is represented by the deity Kukulkan—the feathered serpent—who plays an important part in the Mayan creation story. Kan helps us to connect with deep wisdom and awaken our consciousness.

Kan is our intuitive wisdom and natural intelligence, as well as deep emotion and energy. It can thus propel major upheaval and change.

The following 13 days comprise the Kan trecena:

1 Kan/July 2
A new seed of wisdom and learning, the potential to teach.

2 Kame/July 3
Connecting with ancestral wisdom and Spirit, notice how you use your energy in your relationships.

3 Kej/July 4
Meditate in the wilderness, take a solo forest bath, seek the teacher within you.

4 Q’anil/July 5
Ripening in the physical earth plane, be present on your quest for wisdom.

5 Toj/July 6
Make a payment or offering, pay off debt, give back.

6 Tz’i/July 7
Draw on the divine masculine (sky) and feminine (earth) to understand the new wisdom you are absorbing.

7 B’atz/July 8
Coming to the end of a creative project, seeing the options woven into the threads of time.

8 E’/July 9
Celebrate your spiritual path in ceremony, embrace the wholeness of your life today.

9 Aj/July 10
Honor female leadership, bring harmony into your life by embodying wisdom.

10 Ix/July 11
Engage in community, collaborate and cooperate to benefit Mother Earth.

11 Tz’ikin/July 12
Contemplate a new vision, allow for distractions, pay attention to ideas that arise about the future.

12 Ajmaq/July 13
Embrace your human sweetness, practice forgiveness of self and others by reflecting on your life experiences.

13 Noj/July 14
Connect with the intellect and knowledge of the ancestors, seek the wise understanding that comes from Spirit.

Did you know I'm a writer for Elephant Journal? If you’d like to support my work, please view this article there and heart, share and/or comment on it!