Monthly Archives: November 2023

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 B’atz (5th November 2023)

Leave a comment

Ten B'atz This combination gives the ability to create something beautiful with your community. It is a day on which innovation and creation with other members of your group helps to strengthen the fabric that holds your community together.

There are many types of days, each with different attributes. Some are weak, some are strong, some are challenging, some are beneficial. Some are truly sweet, giving an opportunity for the memorable to happen.

Whether it is a social event, or community project, the creative juices should be flowing for everyone today. A collective which gathers with the intention of creating something beautiful should be particularly successful. This will, in turn, strengthen the bonds within the collective. If you are creating something on your own, be aware of its power to bring you closer to your community through the quality of your work.

We could see the warp and the weft, masculine and feminine, within society coming together today to create a greater whole. It is a day of creation through cooperation and agreement, when the polarities are brought together as one new masterpiece. It’s time to get weaving!

The Nawal B’atz

Images of weaving using a backstrap loom, from the Madrid Codex

There are two nawales which bestow genius talents, one of which is B’atz, the other being No’j. B’atz is the nawal of artisans and of weavers. This is not just creation and weaving on the Earthly level. It weaves the threads of time together to create reality. B’atz is the nawal of the sacred calendar. The calendar could be considered to be the fabric created from these individual threads of time.

If B’atz is clever enough to weave time into order, it is clever enough to create more down to Earth trinkets. B’atz is the master artisan, creating whatever it chooses, at will. It is just as comfortable painting, as it is playing music or writing. The arts come naturally to this nawal. However, this can lead to issues when B’atz has to deal with those less talented than itself. This can lead to a certain arrogance around those who fail to achieve their standard of excellence.

Their talent draws attention, which is something B’atz craves. It is the nawal of the born entertainer, who can sing, dance and play all at once. This nawal is the life and soul of the party, it also makes excellent teachers, who hold the attention of students through entertaining them. It is a particularly fun loving nawal that feeds on the adoration of the crowd that it pleases.

B’atz is a day to create, especially within the fields of the arts. It is also a day to weave your reality the way you see fit. Where Aq’ab’al was the conception, B’atz is the gestation.

The Number 10

The number 10 is another number which demonstrates the connection between the sacred calendar and the human body. As five represents one hand, ten represents two hands coming together. This can be seen as the shaking of hands creating agreement between people. It is a number of community and the laws of society, of people acting in harmony with each other.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Tz’i (4th November 2023)

Leave a comment

9 Tz'i

The day 9 Tz’i can be seen as a day about having faith in life. Sometimes in order to strengthen our faith in life, it may be tested.

Whilst the nawal Tz’i may have a colourful reputation, it also encompasses some of the most desirable traits we can exhibit. It is an energy of faith, loyalty, justice and guidance. Today all of those traits are brought into focus with the energy of the number 9, the energy of life and particularly the feminine aspects of it. As we move through this trecena of Iq’, highlighting changes and communication, this is a day to seek out guidance for your life path, which may come especially from women.

The day 9 Tz’i is a day of loyalty to the women in your life and a day to show your unconditional love for them. It may also be a day to seek justice, particularly for women or issues affecting them.

The Nawal Tz’i

The dog sits by the cauldron, from the Madrid Codex

Tz’i is possibly the nawal with the most colourful reputation. Some describe it as the nawal of “sex, drugs and rock and roll” and it has the possibility to live up to that label. One of the functions an Aj Q’ij (Mayan spiritual guide) performs is divination, usually using red seeds called Tz’ite. If a question is asked about a relationship and Tz’i comes up in the reading, it is seen as a sign of  infidelity. Tz’i is instinctual, and closes its ears to reason when it gets an idea, particularly when it is hormonally driven. This is the worst possible aspect of Tz’i and when it falls down, it does so spectacularly, which is why it tends to be remembered for those events.

However, what is sometimes forgotten is the other side of Tz’i, which is the side more frequently displayed. Just as Tz’i can represent infidelity, it also represents faith and loyalty. Just as it can be the trouble maker, it also represents law. It is the nawal of police, lawyers and judges. Tz’i is unwavering faith, unconditional loyalty. The totem animal of Tz’i is the dog, and through the actions of dogs we can understand both the loyalty aspect, and the instinctual. Tz’i is also the guide and protector on life’s path, ensuring that it’s charge travels safely. It is a day when your faith or loyalty may be tested,  where your instincts are stimulated. The positive traits of this day give rise to to some of the greatest displays of friendship. However, be aware that your loyalty may be tested by temptation.

The Number Nine

The number nine is very special indeed. It is the number of lunations in the human gestation period and in the sacred calendar. The sacred calendar is known as a calendar of life, and it is women that give life. As such the number nine is seen as the number of life and the number of the divine feminine. It gives all that it is attached to a strong feminine presence. It is a day on which women may wish to give thanks for their gifts.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

8 Toj (3rd November 2023)

Leave a comment

8 TojThe day 8 Toj is one of the most important days of ceremony, with the nawal Toj representing the fire ceremony itself. This is a day to make your payments in order to sustain life and good health.

Life proceeds through energetic interactions. We consume energy in one form or another and then we return it, often in a different form. Even when it comes down to the air we breathe or the water we drink, there is some form of exchange going on. To come to a state of harmony within the world that we live, balance must be achieved. In this modern world, sometimes we defer these debts, whether they are financial or not. We take something, often with the intention of resolving the imbalance as soon as we can, but then end up forgetting these debts, especially the small. Individually this is not always too much of a problem,we can proceed with a small imbalance, but many small items eventually cause us to fall out of harmony. This in turn may lead to a state of disease and an illness may occur.

Toj days remind us to keep our promises, to make our payments in whatever form they might take. They might be physical or financial, or they might be words of gratitude, whether to our physical providers or to our environment. These simple acts help to keep us healthy, it is in our own interests to make these exchanges, to return what we have used.

The day 8 Toj is a day about resolving all debts in whatever form they take. It can be a day when we ceremonially make offerings to the fire on behalf of ourselves and our families. It is a day on which we can make a payment for future goodwill, by acting in service to our community. If there was ever a day to do a good deed, it is today, although don’t expect to be thanked for it. The reward will come in its own time.

When I mention programs it is because I personally know the people involved and can vouch that your donations will actually go towards helping the people for which they are intended. Here I list 3 programs I would suggest if you would like to make a donation to a worthy cause on 8 Toj.

  1. The Konojel program and their work in San Marcos la Laguna. They have turned from a basic, “let’s make sure bellies are full” program to one of much more social development. You can check out their programs and make a donation here https://konojel.org/
  2. Within the village of San Pablo la Laguna, there is an organisation doing great work. They are called ODIM and are specialising in medical and educational services. During the pandemic restrictions, they helped feed many people, but this is in addition to their regular, long term work there. You can find out more about them through this link http://www.odimguatemala.org/donate
  3. Popol Jay is an ancient name to define the House of the Council of Elders, among the Maya of Guatemala. These were places of wisdom where sacred knowledge about medicine, the calendars, music, spiritual practice and more was kept and passed to future generations. All were burnt down during the Conquest and subsequent Colonization periods. Today, the Q’eqchi’ Maya Council of Elders Releb’aal Saq’e has joined forces with many supporters to rebuild the Popol Jay of the North, in the lowlands of the Petén region, heart of the Maya culture of the Classic Period. The Elders have worked hard to acquire land and co-design this Center of Knowledge to share ancient wisdom with the World. To donate to the Elders of Peten to fund the Popol Jay, please use this link https://tinyurl.com/8s7vkvr

The nawal Toj represents offerings and payment. It is part of the name Tojil, a Mayan god who gave fire to the people, although this was not a free gift. Tojil asked in return for sacrifice to be made. This is a day of payment and sacrifice, a day to resolve debts, both in the physical and spiritual realms. Toj is the nawal of the sacred fire, and it is to the fire that we make offerings in order to burn away what would commonly be known as karmic debts. In this way we restore balance, we bring our accounts back to zero.

Toj carries with it a form of divine protection, which is enhanced through selfless acts. These acts might involve a sacrifice of our time or energy in order to strengthen our community. We can choose to act or we can choose to ignore, but be aware – ignoring an opportunity to make a payment on a Toj day might bring a ill fortune, the removal of the protection. Payment should be made with an open heart, thanks might not be quickly forthcoming, and may not come at all. Your sacrifice could be  something as simple as picking up litter in your neighbourhood, it doesn’t have to be something elaborate.

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 Q’anil (2nd November 2023)

Leave a comment

7 Q'anilThe day 7 Q’anil can be seen as an excellent day to bring a project to completion. It is the perfection of ripeness at the point of balance, the point of transition. Creativity has reached a pinnacle and has presented an opportunity to reap abundance.

There may be a hint of indecision over whether the time is right or not, whether a little more time may lead to greater abundance. In this case it is likely that the peak has been reached and the final ripening has happened. If Q’anil is the bright light, it has reached the highest point in the sky and now may begin to recede. Indecision should be avoided if possible.

Whether you choose to work in the garden, or on a creative project, the energy of 7 Q’anil may help you to finish perfectly. However, as the creative energy flows, try to keep focused on one thing at a time.

 

Q’anil represents the ripening of the seed, the crop coming to maturity. The Kiché word Q’an means yellow, and the -il suffix is rather like the English -ing. Q’anil represents the golden head of maize at it’s perfection of ripeness, ready to be picked. In the Mayan creation story, humans were fashioned from maize dough, we are Ixim Achi, the people of the corn. The maize in this part of the world has a 260 day growth season between planting (conception) and harvest (birth.) This connects maize with both the sacred calendar and with the period of human gestation.

It is in the fields and gardens that Q’anil’s light shines particularly brightly, it is the nawal of farmers, gardeners and herbalists. But just as it is at home around plants, Q’anil has the possibility to shine anywhere. Q’anil has talent, it’s beautiful golden light illuminates that which it comes into contact with, Q’anil people light up the room with their presence. Q’anil is about achieving full potential, and this relates to all of our activities. It does have an affinity to the arts, but in general is a day of bounty for all life projects.

However, when an energy is so fertile and prosperous, life can become too easy. Q’anil also appreciates the rewards of it’s talent – sometimes a little too much. Q’anil is prone to overindulge in the sensual, in particular with regards to intoxication.

The number sequence from beginning to completion
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 showing one as birth, seven as completion and 13 as the return to spirit
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.