Living the Primordial Dream: The Imox Trecena

“May our eyes and ears continue to open to hear and know our ancestors. May we remember the stories. May this story be food for your own.” ~Joy Harjo, Crazy Brave

Happy new now!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life—and of the trecena of Imox in the sacred Mayan calendar. The Kiche, Kaqchikel, and Tz’utujil Mayans of Guatemala consider 1 Imox to mark the beginning of a new 260-day cycle (13-day trecenas times 20 nahuales = 260). A new dream is being conceived; a new vision preparing to be born into reality. What wants to be created through you? What is asking for form and energy?

Imox is the water, in all its states: liquid, solid, gas, vapor, dewdrops, lakes, oceans, rivers. It is the primordial ocean from which all of life emerged. Imox is a feminine sign, unstable, creative, inspiring, dramatic and exciting. The number of Imox is one and its color is burgundy.

Imox in the form of Lago de Atitlán called me to her mystic waters.

I first set eyes on her in August or September 2009, from a distance, the dazzling blue water filling the basin, three dormant volcanoes lining the southern shore, lending the landscape a surreal beauty. She mesmerized me, even before I knew her name. I first spent time on the shores of Lake Atitlán on Thanksgiving 2009 (1 Kawoq). I fell in love here, with her, with myself, and with a man. I moved here on June 15, 2012 (10 B’atz), to Panajachel, and we (my husband, then-toddler daughter, and I) moved to our green circle, our homestead, on June 1, 2015 (12 E’).

Life is not perfect or imperfect. Problems exist, issues arise, death and grief and sadness and rage are all part of reality. That said, every day here with the Imox of this particular lake feels like a gift, a miracle, a joyous celebration of the bounty of nature and the simple beauty in the chaos that surrounds us.

The next 13 days are ripe for creation, flow, trusting the unfolding of the universe, giving and receiving, and connecting with the primordial Mother energy, especially through the element of water.

We are living in thrilling times of rapid change, expansion of consciousness and development. The flip side of this, of course, is technology overtaking humanity and human society damaging our home planet. These two weeks are time to ask what is real and what is illusion.

According to The Serpent and the Jaguar by Birgitte Rasin: “On Imox days, the Maya give thanks, ask for rain and water, and pray that their dreams and visions bring them beauty and wisdom rather than delusions and madness.” The energy of this trecena is ripe for us to “dive into the vast ocean of ideas, concepts, dreams and possibilities” that Imox brings.

The Mayan Oracle by Spilsbury and Bryner reports that Imox “represents the root source of life, the nurturance and support of primary being, and within it are found the primal waters of unity.”

The spirit animals of the Imox sign are the crocodile, dragon, dolphin and all sea creatures. The shadow side of this nahual is distrust. Imox days are often challenging for folks who cling to stability and predictable routines.

Here are the energies of the coming 13 days in the sacred Mayan calendar:

1 Imox (December 5, 2023) – Pure potential, start of a new cycle, water the seeds of manifestation

2 Iq (December 6) – Breath is life: focus on your inhale and exhale, choose clear communication, use your imagination to enhance your relationships

3 Aq’ab’al (December 7) – Look within to bring your ideas into reality, meditate on darkness turning into light at dawn

4 K’at (December 8) – A day to network, choose what to carry forward, and what to give away with gratitude

5 Kan (December 9) – Overcome illusion and empower others to do so, put effort into your life force and evolution on the spiritual path

6 Kame (December 10) – Share your dream with trusted family, connect it with Spirit and the ancestors

7 Kej (December 11) – Spend time in nature, do some forest bathing; ask for strength to make decisions; move with the grace and silence of the deer

8 Q’anil (December 12) – Return of the star seed medicine, do a ceremony of thanks for abundance, take time to appreciate your garden

9 Toj (December 13) – Give back, pay off a debt, or make a donation; appreciate divine feminine energy and the wise women in your life

10 Tz’i (December 14) – Build greater faith in society and community; work toward the ideals of balance, fairness, love, and truth

11 B’atz (December 15) – Embrace your distracted creative genius self today, meditate on the monkey mind, allow yourself to go wherever your energy naturally flows

12 E (December 16) – Look back upon your most essential life experiences throughout your journey thus far, share stories about your travels on the path

13 Aj (December 17) – Resonate in harmony with spirit, ask for guidance from the ancestors in regard to your dream, home, and family.

Ode to Imox

Thank you sacred waters
Blue green jade, color of the imperial stone
That we drink, bathe, cook with, cleanse with, cry, kayak, sail, and swim in
Clouds, condensation, the cycle is never born and never dies
Upward spiraling
Crawling from the primordial swamp, learning to walk, sole to soul, solo and as one
To fly, to float, to levitate
To simply sit, letting the breath breathe itself
Thank you, Grandmother and Grandfather Imox
Ma’tiox