Tag Archives: Experience

12 Aj (12th September 2026)

11th September 2026 Mark Elmy Leave a comment

The energy of this day suggests using our life experience to lead. This leadership should be one which brings peace, harmony and prosperity to our community. It’s a day to step up as that experienced pillar of your community.

The nawal Aj is a solid and dependable energy, helpful and supportive. As a representation of the spinal column, Aj is the one which holds everything in its rightful place. It holds us erect and connects us with the energies from above and below. We also use the word “backbone” to represent honour, integrity and courage. All of these qualities can be seen in the energy of Aj.

12 Aj is a day to draw on your life experience to nourish your community, family and home. Your past experiences can bring you strength and courage. They help you to stand up for what is right should you need to. They also provide examples that you can pass on to others within your community to help them to grow. This is a day when your life experience clearly shows you how to do the right thing. It brings courage to support those around you, bringing harmony into both home and community. It is certainly a day to stand up as an experienced pillar of the community.

The Nawal Aj

The Temple of the Foliated Cross, Palenque — The Temple of the Foliated Cross. This small temple houses one of the most remarkable and beautiful friezes, the Foliated Cross. Together with those of the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Cross, this forms an architectural version of a codex. It shows both mythic and historical accounts of the ruling dynasty. The three temples together form the cross group, the sacred heart of Palenque. Picture by Mark Elmy

The nawal Aj is related to many things which generally revolve around leadership on an earthly level. It is also known as the cornstalk, sometimes the staff of life. It represents the spinal column within the body, which allows us to stand tall, proud and brave. As the cornstalk, it has its roots in the Earth, and its head in the sky. If we wish to lead in a just manner, we should cultivate our connection with the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth.

Aj is an authority, it is gentle, yet noble. It works quietly for the community it leads. It does not seek the limelight. This is a day that seeks sustenance for its people, that keeps everything in its rightful place. It is a day when we ask for the courage and bravery to stand up straight and tall, to do the right thing.

The Number 12

The number 12 is the penultimate number. In some ways, it can be seen as the last Earthly number, the number 13 representing the spirit world. We travelled through the mortal world with 1 through 6, then the other world with 7 through 12. In this way, 12 can be seen as a point of bringing all of the experiences into one bundle for presentation to the spirit world as we step into 13. As such, the number 12 brings a wealth of experience into one place, it is rather like writing an autobiography. It is totality, all that is, brought together.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

12 Ajmak (18th May 2026)

17th May 2026 Mark Elmy Leave a comment

Today can be a day of absolving past indiscretions, and helping others to release theirs. It is a day to embrace yourself for all you are, and everything that has shaped you throughout your life, a day of acceptance of the human nature of us all. This may give rise to some form of life review. You may find that your past experiences help you to understand how to bring the sweetness back to life today.

When the day Ajmak is called during ceremony, it is referred to as the nawal of redemption and it is seen here combined with the number representing all of life’s experiences bundled together. This can be understood as having an energy of both redeeming and asking for redemption for the past in this lifetime. Every day, we hopefully grow a little wiser and understand our less-wise decisions and actions of the past. At the time we made those decisions, we often acted on the best information we had, with our best intentions. However, looking back the result may not have been a choice we would make now.

We can use our past experience to understand why others around us may have committed errors, perhaps they are errors we too have committed in our past. Understanding this can help us to forgive them and in turn help us to release any residual burdens we carry. Allow any bitterness about past events to leave so that the sweetness can come in.

Nawal Ajmak

Raw honey, fresh from San Juan la Laguna by Mark Elmy

Ajmak is the nawal of pardon and forgiveness, the nawal of redemption. It is the energy of being human, of falling and getting back up again and giving those chances to others.

When the creators fashioned the four first men, the Bacab’ob, they created them as equals. These four first humans had superhuman abilities, including the ability to see through space and time. As equals were not desired, the gods smoked the mirror of perception, giving us our human set of senses. When we lost the ability to see through time, we lost the ability to see the true consequences of our actions and thus we needed to start asking for forgiveness. Sometimes even well-meaning actions can cause problems at a later date. Ajmak represents this ability to forgive others, the ability to forgive ourselves and the ability to accept forgiveness.

Ajmak is a sensual energy, which creates some of the reasons for its needing to be forgiven. It is kind and very lovable, but irresponsible. It can be a very talented energy, with great ideas. However, it can also be very easily distracted, especially by anything that makes it feel nice. This often leads Ajmak to fail to fulfil its true potential, although due to its lovable nature it is easy to forgive. One of the lessons with regard to the Ajmak energy is learning to forgive oneself.

The Number 12

The number 12 is the penultimate number. In some ways it can be seen as the last Earthly number, the number 13 representing the spirit world. We travelled through the mortal world with 1 through 6, then the other world with 7 through 12. In this way 12 can be seen as a point of bringing all of the experiences into one bundle for presentation to the spirit world as we step into 13. As such, the number 12 brings a wealth of experience into one place, it is rather like writing an autobiography. It is totality, all that is, brought together.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

12 No’j (9th April 2026)

8th April 2026 Mark Elmy Leave a comment

The knowledge acquired over your lifetime comes together today to solve problems. This in turn may bring new relevance to old information.

No’j, is the nawal of the brain, the problem solver is a bringer of inspiration and solutions. Every day we learn something new in general our level of experience rises as we travel our life path. Some of this is of immediate use and some of it seems irrelevant at the time, but it all seems to get filed away somewhere. Sometimes those concepts or ideas become relevant with the perspective we gain as we move further along our life path.

As we come towards the end of our journey through the Kame trecena, the time of our spiritual transformation, we might ask ourselves what we choose to transform into. What is our grand plan and how can we make it happen?

The combination of the energy of the nawal No’j with the energy of the number 12 gathers our past thoughts and ideas together, as our life experience joins them into one unified plan. The intellect and problem solving abilities No’j bestows could give the opportunity to put together parts of our personal jigsaw that we couldn’t recognise as relevant before.

The Nawal No’j

The nawal No’j is the nawal of thought, of intelligence and intellect. Within the count of days, there are two geniuses. B’atz is the creative genius, and No’j is the intellectual one. No’j is an energy of masculine, logical thought. As the problem solver, it gives ideas and solutions which work in the real world. No’j gives a different way of understanding situations, and through this ability comes innovation. It is thought, but also understanding and, indeed, knowing. As such, No’j is also a day associated with divination.

This energy is not necessarily social, it can lead to becoming absorbed into one’s work, lost in one’s thoughts. The influence of No’j can create ideas which may be very much ahead of their time. Do not be surprised if ideas you have on this day take a little time to catch on. The people you express the ideas to may need a little time to process, to see the genius within the idea. No’j is also one of the classic year-bearers or year lords. As a year bearer, it is thought to be one of the more beneficial and benign energies.

The Number 12

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

12 B’atz (14th March 2026)

13th March 2026 Mark Elmy Leave a comment

Today is an excellent day to draw on life experience to create your masterpiece. It would be the perfect day to work on an autobiographical project.

Everything we do can be seen as weaving. Our art, our reproduction, it all comes down to the same thing – combining threads, strands and essences to create. Today these threads come from our life experiences.

The energy of the nawal B’atz brings a highly creative day, the day of the arts and performances. The number twelve carried by this day is significant for wrapping things up, bringing things together and creating a bundle. Usually, these are life’s experiences, and here we can see them as the flavours and colours you may have experienced in your life. However, this time around, instead of just creating a bundle, we are weaving these things together. You can bring inspiration from your past into your new pattern and create something truly beautiful from it.

It is a day to use your life experience to create an exquisite tapestry, whether it is of words, colours, threads or other materials. Allow your creative expression to flow, empowered by the inspiration of your experiences.

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 12

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

12 E’ (3rd February 2026) – Imbolc 19:45 UTC

2nd February 2026 Mark Elmy Leave a comment

Use your life experiences to guide your path today. The nawal of exploration and journeys combines today with the number representing the bundling up of our life history.

The energy of the nawal E’ may be impulsive, its drive to discover and explore pushing boundaries of what is acceptable or safe. Sometimes the greatest discoveries come through this type of behaviour, although it can also bring trouble. Today, past experience may help you to understand clearly which boundaries are worth pushing, and which ones are better not crossed. Fortune may favour the bold, but today it should be tempered with the wisdom of experience.

Likewise, that experience may help to solve issues which hold back progress on your voyage of discovery. This is a day to draw on what you have learnt through your journey of life in order to clear you path of obstructions, or call the skill you have built up over the years to navigate your way through difficult conditions.

Imbolc (3rd February 2026, 19:45 UTC)

It is now 45 days since the December solstice and we are at the exact midpoint between solstice and equinox. This is a archaeoastronomical cross quarter day, known as Imbolc in the Celtic lands. At this time in north-western Europe the Earth shows signs of life returning. The first lambs are born and the snowdrops begin to show their flowers. After the period of darkness, it becomes obvious the light is returning. The winter season which began on Samhain finishes and spring begins on Imbolc.

Observing this first hand, it is very noticeable that the days begin to draw out. This happens rather rapidly as we move towards the spring equinox. Since solstice, the position of sunrise here in Guatemala has only shifted by 7 degrees. At solstice the sun rose at 114 degrees, today it rises at 107 degrees. In 45 days’ time at equinox, it will rise at 90 degrees, covering 17 degrees. Its procession along the eastern horizon almost 2.5 times quicker and will continue to do so through to Beltaine on the 5th May.

Imbolc is very special to me as it was the first ceremony I ever participated in. It is a symbolic birthing and was certainly my birthing into a new world. It is a time of the essence of life bursting forth into the world.

The Nawal E’

Footprints mark the road, from the Dresden Codex

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 12

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days