The 20 Day Signs of the Sacred Mayan Calendar
13 x 20 = 260 days. Each cycle of the sacred Mayan calendar lasts roughly nine months, which is not coincidentally also the length of human gestation.
The 20 nahuales are said to represent the 20 fingers and toes of the human body, and the 13 numbers represent our 13 major joints (ankles, knees, hips, shoulder, elbows, wrists, and neck).
Giving Thanks
I thank all my relations.
I thank the ancestors.
I thank the sacred medicine of this moment.
I thank Life for its fullness, beauty, simplicity and complexity.
Thank you.
Gracias.
Ma’tiox.
Blooming with Intention: The Q’anil Trecena
Q’anil represents both the seed and the star. Its spirit animal is the rabbit. This nawal is associated with the blossoming of yellow flowers and gardeners both literal and figurative.
Eagle Eye Vision: The Tz’ikin Trecena
We’re now entering the trecena of Tz’ikin, nawal of the birds. In the Mayan cosmovision, birds are great teachers of joy. Their singing every day reminds humans to be happy and to smile and laugh more.
The eagle is the spirit animal of Tz’ikin, a powerful hunter who soars majestically high above the earth and has incredibly sharp vision.
6 Kej
I was reborn on August 6, 2009, the day I landed in Guatemala.
Several years after my arrival, I learned that my Mayan nahual, or birth sign—based on the sacred Mayan calendar on the date of my birth (May 30, 1980)—is 6 Kej. And it turns out, my arrival-slash-rebirth on August 6, 2009 was also 6 Kej. As Tata Thomas often says during a fire ceremony, life is precise and right on time. There are no coincidences in life.
I was home, somehow returning to a place I’d never been.
Brotherly Love
You were a shadow, lurking, silent, not menacing or threatening, just blank, barely there. The substances had long since stolen you, stolen your consciousness, your intelligence, stolen your life away. The high. The search for the high. The high being all that ultimately matters. And yet so empty, so unfulfilling.
Remembering Why I’m Here
Life is full of shit and bliss. Everything is in flux, all the time. The more we can accept that everything is always changing, the more enlightened we are. But sometimes we get stuck, and that’s natural, normal and fine, too. It’s all part of the process.
Crystal Clear Communication Celebration: The Iq’ Trecena
Iq’ is all about communication and imagination. Its spirit animal is the hummingbird. These two weeks are an ideal time to focus on inspiration, breathwork and pranayama, imagination, and all forms of communication (written, verbal, and intuitive).
Giving in Gratitude: The Toj Trecena
Toj reminds us that the ideal foundation for giving is gratefulness. When we recall the simple beauty of the moment, give thanks for both the ease and the challenges of our lives (both of which are blessings), and make offerings from the abundant bounty of our hearts, we are living in the spirit of Toj.
Forgiving, Not Forgetting: The Ajmaq Trecena
Every day is an opportunity to cultivate love and practice forgiveness and gratitude, especially in the coming 13 days of the sacred Mayan calendar.