10 Kej (19th February 2022)

10 KejToday, the strength and determination afforded by the nawal Kej are combined with the number representing the joining of hands. It is a day to play an active role in strengthening your community.

Kej is known as the strongest of the nawales, this is part of what gives it the energy to lead. Whilst the energy of Kej can be quite domineering, leaders can only retain their position if people follow them, and people will only follow them if there are some benefits to it. So whilst Kej gives a very driven energy, it does tend to be moving in a beneficial direction.

With regards to the wilderness aspect of Kej, today would be an excellent day for a journey into nature with members of your community. Any kind of communal work (or play) in nature would be likely to bring strength to the group. It would be a very favourable day to organise an environmental project within your village, which would benefit both the local wildlife, and the community.

The number 10 represents community and cooperation, two hands coming together. In true community this should give rise to both giving and receiving equally amongst members of the community. Sometimes we have excess and sometimes we are deficient, our abilities and actions depend on which state we are in. The energy of 10 Kej brings a day where the assistance we provide through stretching out our hands to offer our strength to our community will be greatly enhanced. Equally, if you are in need of assistance, this is a great day to seek that from your community.

Xbalamkiej, patron of the day Kej one of the hero twins from the Popol Vuh. From the Dresden Codex
Xbalamkiej, patron of the day Kej one of the hero twins from the Popol Vuh. From the Dresden Codex

Kej is possibly the strongest of the nawales, it is powerful, but in a different way to Kan. Kej is energetic, lively and determined. It is the nawal of nature, of the wilderness and it is this power that it draws on. The animal totem of Kej is the deer, but if you have fragile, new-born Bambi in mind, think again. This is the majestic stag, standing on the mountain surveying his domain. Whilst most nawales are not necessarily engendered, Kej is most definitely masculine. Both men and women that carry Kej as their nawal have great strength, although the men tend to hide their strength more. Kej women are particularly driven, resourceful and brave, sometimes to the point of being rather dominant. All radiate an aura of nobility, people tend to look to them to lead.

Kej is the nawal of the Mayan “religion”, a day of spiritual leaders, of shaman and of priests. It is these leaders who understand how to read the messages from the natural world, who help to keep our existence in balance with nature. It is a day to connect with the wilderness and draw the power of the natural world into you, to harmonise and replenish.

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. Ten is seen as a good number, a number of community and the laws of society, of people acting in harmony with each other.

10 Kej 0 Nabe Mam – The Seating of the New Mam

The Seating of the New Mam is the moment that the Wayeb has ended, when the period of retreat has finished and we can emerge from our “cave” back into the real world. In some communities, this would be celebrated with feasting and drinking, welcoming in the new grandfather who will guide us through the next revolution of the sun.

This year is governed by the Mam 10 Kej. In addition to 10 Kej carrying the energy of the day, it is also carrying the energy of this new year. The properties and benefits brought by the nawal 10 Kej are discussed in my post for the day of 10 Kej here. The energy of this day is a representative of the energy which we will be living with for the whole year. The general feeling of this year should be about reconnection with natural world and our community.

The new Mam may take a little while to settle in. This is usually the first 20 days. Whilst it is obvious that the “administration” has changed, it takes a little time for all the promises made in the campaign to be adhered to. Nothing in nature moves in a square wave, it is always a gentle transition more akin to a sine wave. This is the first light of dawn, the day is just beginning, but we are still experiencing a little of the cold of the night. It will not be until midday, the height of the cycle that we will experience the fullest expression of the energy of this year lord. We can expect that in around 140 days or so, 13 Kej (19th June 2022).

The last time we experienced a Kej year was 2018, which was the year 6 Kej. That time around, other powerful influences meant a very strong year for many people. Kej years are known to be powerful, sometimes headstrong, as the deer or the horse show their strength and leadership. Kej is also associated with spiritual leadership and sometimes Kej will push us into situations where we have to take on that role. In order to do so, we ourselves need to be strong and connected with nature and Kej will make sure this happens. It is a year about connecting with the wilderness, the natural world. The number 10 brings about our connection with our community, the bringing together of hands, of agreements and that which binds society together. We may find that in this year it is the time for the spiritual leader to emerge from each one of us, in order to weave a better society, to be there for those around us. It will also be an important year to create agreements with the natural world.

On a grander scheme of things, the cycle of the year bearers repeats every 52 years. Of course, we do not relive exactly the same experiences, but we may see similarities with the last time this year bearer was in office. That was the year 1970, when Mam 10 Kej would have taken his seat on the Gregorian day 4th March. This gives us the opportunity to understand how to engage with the benefits of, and avoid the errors committed during, the previous incarnation of the Mam 10 Kej.  For some ideas on major events of 1970 (and there were some very interesting ones for the 10 Kej year – the first “Earth day” and the beginning of the operation of the EPA to name just two), please click here.