The nawal representing the spirit of Mother Earth combines with the number which draws on the energy of the sky and Earth in order to manifest into the physical plane. It is a day to stabilise your connection with Mother Earth.
Days carrying the number 6 often feel very well balanced. This is as expected, being as the are in the middle of the range between 1 to 13, however, there is a little more to them than just that. The 6 acts as a focal point for what it is attached to, empowering the nawal with the essences of the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth, allowing it to project or manifest into the physical world. It is much like the number 4, but with the embellishment of the divine masculine and divine feminine principals.
The energy of the nawal Ix strongly associates with our ability to commune with the spirit of mother Earth. This ability allows us to bring what we need into this world. It can be seen as our “magic”, but really it is just a more aware state of being, one where we understand the dynamic which exists between us an our environment. We ask, we receive, we thank.
The day 6 Ix is a day to give thanks for the wealth or abundance which nurtures your family, and a day to stabilise your connection to mother nature and ask her for what you need in life, and what she needs from you. It is a day to understand how to use your own abilities to manifest, to stabilise your magic.
Ix is possibly the most feminine of the nawales. It represents the spirit of Mother Earth and could easily be seen as a Mayan representation of Gaia. Ix can be seen as a mothering energy, nurturing all things, but this should not be confused with weakness – the animal totem of Ix is the jaguar and it is as the jaguar that Ix is often known. The jaguar is, of course, powerful and stealthy. Ix also embodies these qualities. The jaguar is an animal of the night, slipping magically through the darkness, the spots of her back a representation of the milky way. She carries the sun on it’s nightly journey through the underworld.
Industrialised societies tend to see the Earth as an inanimate source of material wealth. Non-industrialised societies see her as a living entity with whom we can interact, and she carries the nawal Ix. So, it is on Ix days that prayers are offered at her places, the shrines and altars, her ears, to ask for what we need in our world.
The connection Ix has with the Earth gives it the ability to manifest material wealth. In the Mayan cross astrological configuration, Kame evolves to Ix. In the Popol Vuh, the sacred book of the Maya, the Hero Twins sacrificed themselves in the underworld (Kame) and then were resurrected as a pair of catfish, later to become travelling magicians (Ix.) They cut the heads off animals, then resurrected them, they even cut off each others heads and brought each other back to life. In these scenes they are shown with patches of jaguar skin on their clothing, a symbolism denoting that the wearer is a shaman. Thus through the symbolic death or sacrifice, the shamanic power emerges.
Whilst Ix has the power to engage with the magic of the Earth, it also has a tendency towards illness. This is particularly strong when the vain, ungrateful side of Ix emerges. The magic that runs through this nawal comes so easily, that sometimes it forgets that everything really comes from the Earth and it is to the Earth that we must show our gratitude. Ix is also the nawal of natural shrines and altars, the places where fire ceremonies are made to give thanks. A spirit of gratitude and humility keeps Ix healthy. Ix is of course deeply connected with the natural world and it is here that they find their wisdom, power and wealth. This is a day to give thanks, to remember gratitude, and a day to engage with your magic.
The number six is said to be the number of ultimate stability. It is the first of the three middle numbers of the cycle, the balance point neither too strong nor too weak. It is a day frequently used for ceremony thanks to its conducive energy. It represents the four directions with the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth. It also represents family, relating to the six qualities that nourish and hold families together – health, understanding, property, employment, friendship and actions.
