The Trecena of Noj: 13 Days of Earth Wisdom & Ideas
Last Thursday, the Maya here in the western highlands of Guatemala celebrated Wajshakib Batz, 8 B'atz, which is the beginning of the new two hundred sixty day cycle. So, we are only just beginning. Again.
On Sunday, I interpreted a Mayan Fire Ceremony for a small group, alongside the spiritual guide, Thomas and he also brought his wife, Yolanda, for the first time ever to a ceremony at this particular location, after having worked there for 7 years.
It was a beautiful day-count ceremony, although the group was a bit reserved and tame. Blessings, gratitude, intention setting, letting go, calling in. The day was 11 Ix {Jaguar}, and afterward there were five personal readings with Thomas, which I also translated. Almost all of them teared up at some point during their readings, and all our hearts had been touched.
It felt like a poignant, full-circle morning for both Thomas and myself, as we had both been away from this center for many moons and were at long last coming back together in the role of guide and interpreter once again, with the intention of planting the seed for a prosperous and abundant season ahead.
So, just six days into the new cycle, we begin a new mini-cycle of 13 days. “Mayan weeks” are 13-day cycles called trecenas. From tomorrow, August 29, until September 10, 2018 we'll be moving through the trecena ruled by the nahual known as Noj [pronounced "Noh"].
According to the Mayan Calendar Portal, "Caban, or No’j in K’iche’ Maya, represents intelligence, ideas, wisdom, knowledge, patience and memory." This is the day sign of education, training and intelligence. Its spirit animals are the woodpecker and the gazelle. These next two weeks are a time for introspection, reflection and cultivation of knowledge and authentic wisdom, a time to give thanks to both Mother Earth's and our own natural intelligence.
According to The Serpent and the Jaguar by Birgitte Rasine, on N'oj days, "the Maya ask for wisdom, for talent, and for the capacity to think positive, innovative or productive thoughts or ideas. It is also a good day to ask for creativity in all of our endeavors and intelligence to address all of our challenges and resolve all of our issues."
Mind over matter. Free your mind. Meditate.
These 13 days are about working with the innate intelligence mind, cultivating creativity and asking for clarity and understanding.
What is past belongs there; what is present is in your hands. But it is only through your decisions in the present time that your future is defined: every action, every decision, every plan or project you undertake will have some impact on your life or perhaps those of others in the near- or long-term future. This is why the present is all-important; indeed, it is the only fleeting bit of time of which we have any active experience. - Birgitte Rasine
And this is why so many ancients and sages will tell you, live in the one moment, the ever-present, and think not of the past or future. For they are both already there, in that one eternal, flowing moment.
Here’s to intelligence, the power, presence and protection of nature, and cultivating wisdom with the intention of inner growth, from a place of mindfulness.
Where is your mind?