The energy of today suggests that putting some extra effort into a new project will pay off. However, it might be more work than you expected. A little hard work gets things moving.

When you dream of a new idea or a solution, you might dream of the result rather than the steps towards it. You wake up with a general idea of the direction to move in, but then you have to work out the details of the preliminary moves. This is where Aq´ab´al comes in, helping to turn the dream into a concept that you can ground into reality. You know from the twilight, that the new light is coming, you just have to figure out your way to get to it. Today, the light is not coming to you. If you want to experience it you have to put in the work to get to it.

The energy of this day is the energy of the project initiator. It pulls together all the essential elements into the right place, at the right time, to move towards the goal. It provides the drive and determination to achieve the dream. However, sometimes the work put in may be to the detriment of other relationships. Sometimes the concept looks straightforward, but when you start work you realise it will take more effort than you originally envisaged. You might find yourself so absorbed into a new project that you forget what else is going on around you, or end up working later than usual. That is not to say that the work will not be rewarding, just that imbalance may occur.

The Nawal Aq’ab’al

The word aq’ab is translated as dark. The suffix -al changes the meaning slightly, alluding transtition and the dawning of the day. It is the time between darkness and light, night and day. Probably our best way to translate it would be as twilight. Birth is the beginning of the mortal journey. Aq’ab’al is just the beginning of the day and of things which are not yet fully formed.

In Santiago Atitlan one day, a friend explained to me the different parts of a weaving 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. 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. The design has passed from being just an idea, to the beginnings of a woven reality. Thus, concept 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. Also it is a perfect day for starting new projects. It is the time to bring them into the world of light from the world of dreams and ideas.

The Number Five

The Sacred Mayan calendar is said to be a calendar of human life. It can be seen as a microcosm of the human body. The number five is one of these parts. It is representative of the hand with its five digits. It is with our hands that we work, and with what we earn we pay our debts. Five is also a number that relates to the sacred fire where we pay our debts with offerings and prayers. Five might be so busy working that it fails to remember what it is working for. It can also signify that what it is attached to becomes work, or is “hard work”.