The Seating of the New Mam is the moment that the Wayeb has ended, when the period of retreat has finished and we can emerge from our “cave” back into the real world. In some communities, this would be celebrated with feasting and drinking, welcoming in the new grandfather who will guide us through the next revolution of the sun.

This year is governed by the Mam 9 Iq’. In addition to 9 Iq’ carrying the energy of the day, it is also carrying the energy of this new year. The properties and benefits brought by the nawal 9 Iq’ are discussed in my post for the day of 9 Iq’ here. The energy of this day is a representative of the energy which we will be living with for the whole year. The general feeling of this year should be about the life changes and the voices of women.

The new Mam may take a little while to settle in. This is usually the first 20 days. Whilst it is obvious that the “administration” has changed, it takes a little time for all the promises made in the campaign to be adhered to. Nothing in nature moves in a square wave, it is always a gentle transition more akin to a sine wave. This is the first light of dawn, the day is just beginning, but we are still experiencing a little of the cold of the night. It will not be until midday, the height of the cycle that we will experience the fullest expression of the energy of this year lord. We can expect that in around 140 days or so, 12 Iq’ (19th June 2021).

The last time we experienced an Iq’ year was 2017, which was the year 5 Iq’. Iq’ years are known to be turbulent, as the spirit of the wind blows change into the world. This change is what brings life, but of course may also bring in controversy, upset, resistance and challenges, particularly through words. It is a time when we might expect some outspoken behaviour, which may be as inspiring as it is challenging. It is particularly interesting to note that this year we have 9 Iq, the 9 representing life and the feminine. It could certainly lead to the voices of women being powerfully influential in this year. It is also a time to remember the breath of life. Iq’ days are days to give thanks for our ability to breathe, and after the previous year, it is interesting to note that 9 Iq’ should be a year of embracing the life breath, and giving thanks for the health of our lungs and the quality of our air.

On a grander scheme of things, the cycle of the year bearers repeats every 52 years. Of course, we do not relive exactly the same experiences, but we may see similarities with the last time this year bearer was in office. That was the year 1969, when Mam would have taken his seat on the Gregorian day 4th March. This gives us the opportunity to understand how to engage with the benefits of, and avoid the errors committed during, the previous incarnation of the Mam 9 Iq’.  For some ideas on major events of 1969 (and there were some very interesting ones – the Moon landing and Woodstock to name just two), please click here.

The wholeness of all-that-is can be a very big thing to comprehend, in fact trying to do so could even drive you insane. Perhaps this is where the crazy image of Imox comes from, but this is certainly not what it is all about.

The day 8 Imox is a good day to make ceremonies for the great lakes, the oceans and large bodies of water. This is a day to give thanks for the sustenance we receive from the waters, and to ask for pardon for the pollution we allow to happen. It is a day to recognise the essence of life, and celebrate our connection to the waters of life.

This day 8 Imox is a recognition of the spirit of the times, both the things we embrace and the things we push away. They all came from the same source. It is a celebration of the dream world, the limitless potential that we can draw on to bring our creation into this world. It is a day on which we give thanks for the dreams that we are able to manifest into the physical world, and ask that we are able to continue to successfully navigate the dream world for further inspiration. It is a day when we ask for safety on our nightly journeys into the abyss, so that we can find our way back to reality again.

The energy of 8 Imox brings a day to bring wholeness to your creations or dreams. It is the day to put the final parts into the project, or to tap into the spirit of the times for guidance on how to complete your project. It is time to connect with the part of the collective consciousness with which you resonate strongest to bring wholeness to your dream, and to remember your wholeness as an individual outside of the collective. Discernment may be called for, to understand when to dissociate from the collective, to remember your individuality, and to pull yourself back out of an unhealthy group consciousness.

Nawal Imox represents the collective consciousness, the great ocean. It is the moment before the “big bang”, when all that existed was the dream of the creator. It is everything and nothing in one place, the ovum from which reality was conceived. Imox is still very much in the other world, requiring another component to physically manifest the dream into reality.

Imox is considered to be a feminine nawal. Sometimes called water lily, sometimes crocodile, it is an embodiment of the primordial. It was from the great ocean that the four first men raised sky to create the world which we inhabit. Imox can also be seen as the Darwinian swamp from which all life emerged. It is fertile and creative, the mother that gave birth to our entire reality.

As the water lily, Imox is probably a representative of  Nymphaea alba, the white water lily. It has been suggested that the white water lily was smoked by the ancient Maya in a similar way to the blue lotus was used by the Egyptians. It was a plant which allowed access to the otherworld, a plant from which visions came if used correctly.

Imox is our common origin, and as such links us all together. It is the place of dreams, the collective conscious we delve into on our nightly voyages. It may also relate to the place that certain plant medicines take us to in order to bring us wisdom. However, as the font of all of creation, Imox harbours the dark as well as the light. When faced with the entirety of creation, the line between sanity and madness may become blurred.

Imox is a day to celebrate the spirit of the times, to understand the collective mind, particularly of humanity. It is a day to dream your creations, your art, your music. It is a day when we may all feel connected, a day when the psychic field between us may be particularly strong. Discernment may be called for, to understand when to dissociate from the collective, to remember your individuality, and to pull yourself back out of the dream world.

The number 8 is considered to be a number of wholeness. It can be seen as birth (1) and death (7) combined to represent the whole cycle of the soul. It can also be seen as the point where the four first men who raised the sky from the sea were joined by their wives and the world become whole. It is the most common day for ceremonies to be made, it is still in the balanced range of numbers and is an even number, which is also considered fortunate. As this wholeness represents every aspect of the energy of the day with which it is coupled, it is the wholeness of the nawal that is addressed in ceremony.

The fourth day of introspection during the Wayeb is associated with definition, and in this solar cycle it is combined with the energy of a day which has some very profound meanings.

We have passed through the three previous days and identified where we are. This time has you helped to identify your strengths and your weaknesses, and asked of you to accept all this as a part of who you are.  Now with the experience, knowledge and understanding of yourself, it is time to start charting your course for the coming year of 9 Iq’.

In the Popol Vuh, it is Jun (1) Junajpu and Wucub (7) Junajpu who are the first pair of twins to descend into Xibalba, the underworld. As they are beings who are only accustomed to the solar world, the land of light, they are easily tricked and sacrificed by the Lords Kame. The head of Jun Junajpu goes on to impregnate the maiden Ix K’ik, who gives birth to the hero twins. This new set of twins, composed of equal parts darkness and light, defeat the Lords Kame, rescue the head of Jun (1) Junajpu and bring the light back to the world. However, there is a deeper meaning that can be seen in this. The number 1 represents birth, the new and beginnings, novelty. The number 7 represents endings, the old and death. Junajpu is related to the sun, and Maya civilisations were counted in Suns. For example, 13th August 3114 BC was the beginning of the age of the fourth sun (or civilisation), and 21st December 2012 was the beginning of the fifth sun, the new civilisation. However, Wucub (7) Junajpu was not resurrected, he remained in the underworld and was not heard from again.

Thus, 7 Ajpu represents the old sun, old world, the old civilisation, and here we find it in a very auspicious moment. As we combine it with the fourth day of Wayeb, it gives us an opportunity to define what we want to leave behind in the old civilisation and what we want to take forward. As we move into the year of the life breath, 9 Iq’, how can we define what it is that we want to apply that life breath to?