The nawal E’ represents the journey of discovery in all senses. Whilst these are generally good days for physical journeys, today may have more emphasis on your life path.

The sacred calendar is used in many ways to integrate our actions with the energies of our world and solar system. It assists us with understanding how to employ natural timing in our everyday lives. It makes our lives easier by using favourable energies to propel our journey. The calendar is circular, it is cyclic. There is no end and there is no beginning. However, there are cycles which use the calendar for their timing. These may be personal cycles, such as a cycle of gestation of your child, or they may be more societal.

Yesterday, a new cycle began, a new ceremonial cycle. Today is the day when the energy of E’ helps us to see and understand our life path. If you are lost, stranded or just plain stuck, this is the day to ask of nawal E’ “show me where I am supposed to be going.”  Being as the number 9 also represents the feminine, this may be the day to consult women for the answers to questions about your life path. E’ may answer, through conversations with others, through “little signs”. It is the day to see where life wants to take you.

Bealtaine

Additionally, this year 9 E’ falls on an archaeoastronomical cross quarter day which many would know as Bealtaine. We may be familiar with the four major stations of the sun, the equinoxes and solstices, but there are four more which are celebrated. These mark the midpoints between the solstices and equinoxes.

In the Celtic calendar, they are celebrated as the beginning of each season; Imbolc as the beginning of spring. Bealtaine as the beginning of summer. Lughnasagh as the beginning of autumn. Samhain as the beginning of winter. While convention might assign these days to 1st February, 1st May, 1st August and 1st November, aligning them with the Gregorian calendar, the actual days are really dependent on where the sun is in our sky. This page gives the exact date and time of each of the major stations. It has often been my thought, that if we wish to tap into the true energy of something, we need to be there at the correct time and date.

Bealtaine translates (more or less) as bright fire. It is a time of great growth, when we see the natural world in her abundant radiance. The energy stored by the plant kingdom is fresh and vital, the flowers adorn the trees, the newborn birds and animals are everywhere and life is in full swing. It is a time of handfastings, of marriages, and often marked by fire ceremony in the Celtic lands. The exact point of Bealtaine is at 00.11 UTC on May 5th. I have chosen to mark it on 9 E’ as for those in the Maya lands, it would fall on that day, just around sunset.

If you would like to know more about the history of Bealtaine and Beltane, particularly with regards to why it was moved to 1st May, check out this link. If we really are trying to live in harmony with the seasons, it is essential we get the timing correct!

The Nawal E’

Nawal E’ represents the journey of discovery, the life path in both its physical and spiritual aspects. E’ is the explorer, it craves novelty. It inspires travel to understand different cultures and ways of life, it is a seeker of experience. It can be a thrill seeker, and sometimes will take risks to understand what it is examining. Whilst it gains experience and understanding through physical travel, E’ also drives us to explore our inner world, helping us to understand our own minds and hearts, and those of others. E’ sometimes creates a restlessness. A desire to find new things within the world means that E’ finds it difficult to sit still.

E’ can sometimes cause us to explore simply for the sake of exploration. We seek the new experience because it is there. This can give rise to a lack of direction, aimless wandering. However, even in its wanderings E’ is discovering. It may not know exactly where it is going, but it will when it gets there. In it’s best aspect, E’ seeks out knowledge and experience in order to form an understanding which brings wisdom. E’ enjoys sharing the wisdom gained with its peers, for the enrichment of the community.

The Number Nine

The number nine 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.