Monthly Archives: November 2022

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

8 Kan (4th November 2022)

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  • 8 KanThe day 8 Kan has a potential to show both the positive and negative aspects of the nawal Kan in their entirety. This may lead to some rather interesting revelations.
An ancestor brings wisdom through the vision serpent. Feathered Serpent Diety, detail of Classic Maya lintel at Yaxchilan, from ''A Study of Maya Art'' by Herbert Spinden, 1913 {{PD-US}}
An ancestor brings wisdom through the vision serpent. Feathered Serpent Diety, detail of Classic Maya lintel at Yaxchilan, from ”A Study of Maya Art” by Herbert Spinden, 1913 {{PD-US}}

Whenever dealing with a serpent, caution should be advised and despite the balanced number attached here, the energy of this day may be rather dramatic. Power, and particularly power over others maybe a strong theme of today. The number 8 allows us to experience both the beginning and the end, the dark and the light, that make up this power, ultimately resulting in balance. The energy of Kan has the possibility of giving a day of political chicanery, of manipulation and illusion. The combination with the number 8, today gives us a real opportunity to engage with our wisdom to see behind this illusion, to see things as they truly are. It is a day when we may learn from both the positive and negative results of the application of power. This may lead to understanding how we can use the wisdom derived to empower our communities as well as ourselves.

The eighth day of the trecena can also be seen as a day of ceremony, a day to celebrate the qualities of the nawal with which it is associated. Kan has the ability to impart wisdom, and to empower, so is seen as a day of our teachers. Therefore, this day can be seen as a day of ceremony to celebrate the teachers in our life.

Lady Xoc pierces her tongue and receives wisdom for her people from her ancestor emerging from the mouth of the vision serpent. From http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya-lintels.htm
Lady Xoc pierces her tongue and receives wisdom for her people from her ancestor emerging from the mouth of the vision serpent. From http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/maya-lintels.htm

Kan is one of the more powerful nawales and it represents just that – power. It is connected to serpents, and serpent symbolism is very strong in Maya mythology. In the past, lightning was referred to as sky serpents, and what is seen in the outer world is reflected by the inner world. The power of Kan comes from something which is referred to as itz or coyopa, the lightning in the blood. This is the power which may also be known as Ki, Chi, Prana, kundalini or “the force”. It is life force energy. Kundalini is a sanskrit word actually meaning coiled, like a snake. When working with any of these energies, training must be undertaken in order to understand how to use them. In its most positive aspect, the energy of Kan brings great wisdom; in its negative aspect, great destruction. A lack of understanding or control of this power can lead to undesirable consequences. The dark side of Kan can seduce with its power, and a very sexy power it is too, holding its prey in an almost hypnotic grip with its allure. It can become the ultimate ego trap.

However, it is also said that the feathered serpent Q’uq’umatz (also known as Kulkulkan or Quetzalcoatl) brought wisdom, through the sciences of astronomy and agriculture, to the ancient Maya. Here we see the positive aspect of Kan, where the ability to work with the body lightning brings great wisdom. People born on a Kan day can become some of the greatest healers or psychics, or they can become the darkest sorcerers and manipulators.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

7 K’at (3rd November 2022)

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7 K'atThe number of completion combines with the nawal of gathering and harvest. This could be an excellent day to gather the fruits of your labour, but also to finally release old burdens.

The energy of the nawal K’at brings us the ability to bring things together in one place. This may be indeed be your produce or harvest, but K’at also helps to bring together thoughts and people. K’at days are great days to create bundles, and from these bundles abundance naturally follows. Whether we see it as a day of merchants taking the produce to market, of social gatherings or brainstorming sessions, K’at has a tendency to multiply what it comes into contact with. This is how it creates abundance, just as planting one kernel of maize results in one or more cob of 600 kernels.

Additionally, the number 7 represents finality, the end of whatever it is associated with. Here we can see this as representing the final gathering, the end or outcome of something that was planted 260 days ago. This is the day to finalise deals and projects you have been working on for some time and reap the benefit. However, from the vantage point of the top of the pyramid, the question might be where to start the harvest. It will not matter, the possibility of gathering abundance on this fortuitous day is so high that you may find your net full before you have finished. Just ensure that you know how to move forward once you have collected your harvest, you might find it too easy to overfill your net and your abundance may become a burden.

With that in mind, the other side of K’at comes forward, the power to release yourself from that which ensnares you. The finality of the number 7 also suggests that this is a very appropriate day to release yourself from that which holds you back once and for all, as truly befits our journey through the Tijax trecena.

 

K’at signifies a net and represents gathering together or bundling. Here, in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, to this day many crops are harvested and carried in nets – oranges, lemons, avocados to name but a few. Through this we see one of the positive meanings of this nawal, that of abundance and harvest. K’at is a great day to draw things together, whether this means gathering in your crops, collecting ideas and opinions for your projects, or inviting people to a social event. It is a day of prosperity and the bounty which comes from the Earth, a day of gardeners, but also of merchants.

However, K’at also has its more challenging side. An abundant crop will fill the net, but it will also slow you down. K’at is also the nawal of prisons and burdens, as the net which gathers, can also ensnare us. When candles are purchased for the fire ceremonies, they come in bundles held together by little strings. When the nawal K’at is addressed during the fire ceremony, these strings are put in to the fire,  with offerings, to ask K’at to help us release ourselves from our burdens, from the ties which bind us.  These ties can also be seen as excessive attachment to material things.

Number Sequence.jpg
The sequence of numbers as they appear with each appearance of a nawal. Here we see that the sequence begins with 1 and ends with 7, giving 7 as a number of finality.

The number seven is the mid-point of the range of numbers. It is known as a number of death and endings, which would seem strange as it is only half way through. It is another representation of the change of state of the soul, showing half of the journey (1-6) in the mortal world and half (8-13) in the otherworld.

The numbers of the days set out as a pyramid.
The numbers of the days as they appear through the trecena. Here they can also be set out as a pyramid, reaching the peak is also the end of a journey.

If we imagine the numbers 1 through 13 as a pyramid, the number seven would be at the top. Seven is the number of balance, it gives the ability to weigh up situations and see all points of view. While this may be very noble, it may lead to indecision.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

6 Aq’ab’al (2nd November 2022)

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After the rather wavering energy of the last few days, today is a day where we might expect to see the emergence of a new and stable concept.

Aq’ab’al days are generally seen as being fortunate days, days on which the new dawn occurs. They are a bridge between the dream world and the physical, calling the fleeting images from our dreams into our conscious minds so that we can begin to create concepts from them. It is our bridge to the collective consciousness (seen in Imox), connecting the dreaming world and the waking world. It is the fertilised egg, newly implanted in the mother’s womb; it has passed from being the dream of a child in the parents’ mind into a physical presence, but is yet to emerge into the light of the physical world.

Through these images we understand the energy of Aq’ab’al days. They are days of new beginnings, where new concepts are brought into existence. They still need work to complete them, they need to be gestate, to be nurtured, before they can stand alone.

However, today we see the energy of Aq’ab’al combined with the number 6, the number of ultimate stability.  The new conception is not some vague idea, shrouded in the early light of dawn. The light of the sun is fully on its way, we know for certain that the new day, the new life, is coming. The inspiration of the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth are infused into this concept, bringing something to the physical plane which has a touch of the divine about it.

Whilst new concepts may cause some dissent from the people they are introduced to, this is unlikely today. This is an excellent day to unveil your new project to the world, even if it is not fully finished yet. Time and nurture will help to complete the process, but even as a concept it is entirely possible to see its potential.

Dawn over Lake Atitlan. Photo by Mark Elmy

 

In the K’iche’ language, the word aq’ab means night. The suffix -al changes the meaning slightly, to hint at change and alludes to the dawning of the day, the time between darkness and light, night and day. Just as birth is the beginning of the mortal journey, Aq’ab’al is the beginning of the day, although the detail of the day may still be obscured. Aq’ab’al is representative of new things, things which are not yet fully formed. While in Santiago Atitlan one day, a friend explained to me the different parts of a weaving in process on a backstrap loom. Aq’ab’al is the warp (the vertical threads), B’atz is the weft (the horizontal threads) which creates the whole cloth, and the newly woven cloth is Kawok. In order for the weaver to create, first she has an idea in her head or a dream. She sets out the dream on her loom by setting up the warp. Thus, the design has passed from being just an idea, to the beginnings of a woven reality, although it still requires creative input before it becomes whole. Aq’ab’al can also represent conception, the fertilised egg is far from ready to be born, but has passed from the dream or spirit world into the physical.

Aq’ab’al days are great days for the start of new things, particularly new relationships – Aq’ab’al has a strong affinity with marriage. It is also a perfect day for starting new projects, or at least bringing them into the world of light from the world of dreams and ideas.

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.