8 Kan 3 Wayeb – The Fourth Day of Wayeb

The fourth day of introspection during the Wayeb is associated with definition, and in this solar cycle it is combined with the energy of a day which has some very profound meanings.

We have passed through the three previous days and identified where we are. This time has you helped to identify your strengths and your weaknesses, and asked of you to accept all this as a part of who you are.  Now with the experience, knowledge and understanding of yourself, it is time to start charting your course for the coming year of 10 Kej.

The number 8 is associated with wholeness, it can be seen as the combination of the number 1 (birth, beginnings, potential) with the number 7 (death, endings, finality.) It can be seen as all things in perfect balance, the acceptance of darkness within the light and light within the darkness. As we see it here  associated with the nawal Kan, representing wisdom, power and teachers, it can be understood to be the bringing together of all aspects in order to bring about true wisdom. As the fourth day of Wayeb focusses on definition, a focus for today could be to define our wisdom by drawing on the wholeness of what we have learned from our teachers. This may include the harsh lessons as well as  inspiring ones, as true wisdom brings everything into balance. It is a perfect day to define what brings out our light and dark sides, and how we can integrate both to truly understand ourselves.

Another representation of Pawahtuun, the god of the Wayeb, this time from the Paris Codex. From http://digital.library.northwestern.edu/codex/page6.html

8 Kan (17th February 2022)

  • 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.