Tag Archives: Community

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 Iq’ (2nd September 2022)

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10 Iq'The day 10 Iq’ can be seen as a very sociable day with an emphasis on communication within your community. With the strength of both the number and the nawal Iq’ this could lead to some inspired words and changes.

Whilst Iq’ is known for its blustery nature, there are some combinations which really have the ability to bring out the best in it. Its combination with the number 10 is one of these. If you were ever looking for a day to hold a community meeting this would be the prime candidate. The inspiring words conveyed through the divine breath come come into contact with the number which represents community and cooperation. We could expect our oratory skills to be enhanced today, especially when we are surrounded by our family and friends. It is a great day to make speeches, and to listen to them. Communication goes both ways, so make sure you listen to what your community is telling you today, there may be something divinely inspired in its words.

If you are seeking to make changes, something which is also highlighted by Iq’, today is a day to ask for the support of your community to make them. Whether this is emotional support, or physical, today is the day to rally around friends to support them through their processes.

Despite all the positive connotations of this day, bear in mind that the wind may change and Iq’ is also a nawal that governs the angry word. With the power of the number 10 behind it, be aware of the effect your words might have. If you feel anger rising within you, pause and take a breath before you allow your words to fly.

 

Wind God 1
The wind god, from the Dresden Codex

Nawal Iq’ is another strong nawal. It represents communication and particularly divine inspiration. It is the wind, the breath of life, that which brings the change in seasons.

The communication brought by Iq’ can be enlightening and inspiring. It is the breath of the divine which flows through us all, in fact the word for soul is Saq Iq’ – white breath. When our breath stops, our divine essence leaves our physical body. When we engage ourselves with the divine breath we are able to create, to manifest with our words, to inspire those around us. However, Iq’ also has a destructive side. It has the ability to blow like a hurricane and may level everything before it. It is the angry words which cut down everything in their path.

Hurricane is one of the few English words which is actually derived from a Mayan word- Junrakan, meaning “one footed”. Junrakan is another name for the Heart of the Sky, one of the creator deities. Once again it seems that certain patterns follow through the sequence of the nawales which are interrelated. Imox, the female creative principle, or egg, is fertilised by Iq’, the male principle. Their combination results in Aq’ab’al, the conception and a change in the state, bringing the dream into reality.

Iq’ is a day of communication, a day of inspiration. It can be a great day to express yourself through written or particularly verbal means. It is also a day on which changes happen. You can either embrace those changes or resist them, but be aware that the wind blows forcefully and resistance of change requires a great deal of energy. Embracing change helps you to learn to dance like a leaf in the wind.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 Toj (20th August 2022)

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10 TojThis is a day of service to your community. It is the payment that you make to keep your place in harmony, to keep your place in balance, which in turn keeps you nourished and healthy.

Whether you pay your energy through making ceremonies for your community or through physical work within the community, today is a day when gathering people together may help to really get things done. If you are able to co-ordinate a community spring clean, litter pick, or general tidy up of your neighbourhood, you could not find a better day for it. Many hands will certainly make light work today, in both the physical and the more esoteric sense. Hand in hand it is possible to make a huge difference to the world, and when we care for our community and surroundings, we can bring peace and healing to it. This in turn enriches our own lives.

Today is a day to show that we care for those around us, to give freely of our time and energy in gratitude to the community that sustains us. In turn this burns away any debts we have in this realm or another.

The nawal Toj represents offerings and payment. It is part of the name Tojil, a Mayan god who gave fire to the people, although this was not a free gift. Tojil asked in return for sacrifice to be made. This is a day of payment and sacrifice, a day to resolve debts, both in the physical and spiritual realms. Toj is the nawal of the sacred fire, and it is to the fire that we make offerings in order to burn away what would commonly be known as karmic debts. In this way we restore balance, we bring our accounts back to zero.

Toj carries with it a form of divine protection, which is enhanced through selfless acts. These acts might involve a sacrifice of our time or energy in order to strengthen our community. We can choose to act or we can choose to ignore, but be aware – ignoring an opportunity to make a payment on a Toj day might bring a ill fortune, the removal of the protection. Payment should be made with an open heart, thanks might not be quickly forthcoming, and may not come at all. Your sacrifice could be  something as simple as picking up litter in your neighbourhood, it doesn’t have to be something elaborate.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 Aq’ab’al (25th July 2022)

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10-aqabalThe combination of the energy of the nawal of new concepts with the number of community brings about the possibility of bringing our communal dream, the new light, to the world through cooperation.

Whilst our individuality certainly serves a purpose, we can usually achieve bigger and more complicated tasks when we work as a group. The energy of today, 10 Aq’ab’al, brings a great opportunity to do just that. There may be something that you have been dreaming, something that you are trying to bring into the physical world. Today is the day to seek the assistance of the people within your community to make it happen. Both Aq’ab’al and the energy of the number 10 are seen as rather positive energies, as one would expect from the number of cooperation and the nawal of conception. It is the day to join with your community and bring your communal idea into physical reality.

If there were any cautions to go with the energy of 10 Aq’ab’al, it would only be that Aq’ab’al can sometimes become a little stuck in its ways. One meaning of Aq’ab’al is house (from the house of darkness in the Popol Vuh) and one of the essences of Aq’ab’al can be the stability given by fixed shelter. Additionally, the energy of the number 10 can also be seen as representing the laws of society.

Today, you may need to look past your set views within society, or perhaps beyond socially accepted norms, in order to bring your new concepts into the world. Novelty can not be achieved by repeating the same patterns over and over again, and sometimes to change the pattern, you have to push the boundaries. Today is a day when this might be required, and it is possible that you may need the help of others to achieve it.

Harmony in the community. Tata Isaias, Tata Michel and I lighting a ceremonial fire together for the closing ceremony of the Festival of Consciousness, San Marcos La Laguna, March 21st 2016. Picture by ‎Tuolovme Levenstein
Cooperation in the community bringing the new light . Tata Isaias, Tata Michel and I lighting a ceremonial fire together. Picture by ‎Tuolovme Levenstein

In the K’iche language, the word aq’ab means night. The suffix -al changes the meaning slightly, to hint at change and alludes to the dawning of the day, the time between darkness and light, night and day. Just as birth is the beginning of the mortal journey, Aq’ab’al is the beginning of the day, although the detail of the day may still be obscured. Aq’ab’al is representative of new things, things which are not yet fully formed. While in Santiago Atitlan one day, a friend explained to me the different parts of a weaving in process 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, and 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. Thus, the design has passed from being just an idea, to the beginnings of a woven reality, although it still 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. It is also a perfect day for starting new projects, or at least bringing them into the world of light from the world of dreams and ideas.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 Tz’i (12th July 2022)

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10 Tz'iToday is a day to give of yourself unconditionally, to bring harmony to the community you live in. It is a day to restore and strengthen faith in the idea of community, to look out for each other.

There are some combinations of nawal and number which are meant to go together, where both reflect each other beautifully. 10 Tz’i is one of these combinations. Whilst much is said about the wild side of Tz’i, it is also about unconditional love and unquestioning faith. Tz’i is the most loyal companion, at your side through thick and thin. It brings justice to the world, and is heavily invested in keeping the world in order through upholding the laws of society. It is here that we see its reflection in the number 10, the two hands coming together. This represents the co-operation we see in society in order to bring justice, the bringing together of peoples in order to ensure that the fabric of true society is held together. It is friendship and loyalty, particularly towards your community, and the unconditional love which sustains the community spirit.

The dog sits by the cauldron, from the Madrid Codex

Tz’i is possibly the nawal with the most colourful reputation. Some describe it as the nawal of “sex, drugs and rock and roll” and it has the possibility to live up to that label. One of the functions an Aj Q’ij (Mayan spiritual guide) performs is divination, usually using red seeds called Tz’ite. If a question is asked about a relationship and Tz’i comes up in the reading, it is seen as a sign of  infidelity. Tz’i is instinctual, and closes its ears to reason when it gets an idea, particularly when it is hormonally driven. This is the worst possible aspect of Tz’i and when it falls down, it does so spectacularly, which is why it tends to be remembered for those events.

However, what is sometimes forgotten is the other side of Tz’i, which is the side more frequently displayed. Just as Tz’i can represent infidelity, it also represents faith and loyalty, and just as it can be the trouble maker, it also represents law. It is the nawal of police, lawyers and judges. Tz’i is unwavering faith, unconditional loyalty. The totem animal of Tz’i is the dog, and through the actions of dogs we can understand both the loyalty aspect, and the instinctual. Tz’i is also the guide and protector on life’s path, ensuring that its charge travels safely. It is a day when your faith or loyalty may be tested,  where your instincts are stimulated. The positive traits of this day give rise to to some of the greatest displays of friendship, but be aware that your loyalty may be tested by temptation.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 No’j (29th June 2022)

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10 N'ojSome days should really work out well, with a strong and positive effect coming from both the nawal and the number. Today, the clear thinking, analytical energy of No’j is combined with the socially helpful 10.

Today is a day to get things sorted out, a day to find solutions within your community. It is a day when the saying “a problem shared is a problem halved” is extremely applicable. Join minds with your friends, colleagues and neighbours to come up with unique and novel solutions to problems that may have been perplexing you for some time.

One slight drawback could be that the energy of the nawal No’j sometimes brings many ideas but not so much action. It may be a day where the mind drifts through many ideas of how to resolve situations within the community, without actually initiating those ideas. This could even result in the ideas themselves becoming muddled, lines of thought being expressed and followed without actual realisation into the physical world. Whilst the energy of No’j does have a practical edge to it, it can on occasion end up lost in its thoughts.

A logical solution to this may come through cooperation. However, despite your combined solution being obvious to you and your group, be aware that you may still be ahead of your time. Be patient with those you explain your new big idea to, they might need a little time to catch up.

A depiction of the Earth Lord, the patron of the day Caban (N'oj). He makes a sacrifice of his own blood so that the maize, sustenance of the people, will sprout. Representative of fertility and abundance through the cycle of life, death and resurrection. From the Dresden Codex.
A depiction of the Earth Lord, the patron of the day Caban (N’oj). He makes a sacrifice of his own blood so that the maize, sustenance of the people, will sprout. Representative of fertility and abundance through the cycle of life, death and resurrection. From the Dresden Codex.

 

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, No’j the intellectual one. No’j is an energy of masculine, logical thought. No’j is the problem solver, it gives ideas and solutions which work in the real world. No’j gives a different way to understand 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.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

6 Aj (25th June 2022)

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6 AjToday, the stability of the number 6 combines with the benevolent energy of the nawal Aj. This is a day to create harmony and stability in our homes, families and communities.

At the top of the sacred hill Paclom, in the centre of Momostenango, is a cross. Unlike many of the crosses you might see here, it has two cross pieces. I was told that reason for the  second bar was that it creates a two dimensional representation of the four directions. As such this cross represents the number 6, which is the other name for Paclom, the six place. For me this especially represents the power of the number six. It has the horizontal Earthly stability of the four cardinal points, yet is also vertically connected with the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth. Today on the day 6 Aj, we see that stability amplified. It is as if the vertical post, or spinal column, that would normally be found with any six day, is energised by the connection of Aj between the Sky and the Earth, the divine masculine and divine feminine essences.

So, what is the point of this energisation? To bring this stability and blessing from the Celestial and Earthly realms into our world, our community and our homes. This is a day on which to ask for, and give thanks for, stability in our homes and communities. It is a particular day on which we can call upon the “greater powers” to energise us, to give us strength, so that we may sustain those around us. If there was a day for a global meditation to bring peace and stability to the world, 6 Aj would make a prime candidate.

May the Heart of the Sky be in My Heart

May My Heart be in the Heart of the Earth

May the Heart of the Earth be in My Heart

May My Heart be in the Heart of the Sky

Paclom Cross by Mark Elmy
The double armed cross at the top of Paclom. By Mark Elmy

The nawal Aj is related to many things which generally revolve around leadership on an earthly level. It is sometimes known as the cornstalk, sometimes the staff of life. It represents the spinal column within the body, that 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. As we are the people of maize, 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.

Foliated crossThis is a picture of the carving at the top of one of my favourite Mayan temples, the Temple of the Foliated Cross on the site of Palenque (Bàakʼ) in Chiapas, Mexico. At the top of the tablet you see a bird, which represents the Heart of the Sky, the face with the large rectangular (crossed) eyes at the base of the cross represents the Heart of the Earth. The foliated cross is a stylised maize plant with the heads of humans emerging. This is Aj bringing life to the world. It is the central pillar, that which supports life. It is represented by the staffs carried by the elders of Mayan communities to this day. 

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 where we ask for the courage and bravery to stand up straight and tall, to do the right thing.

The number six is said to be the number of ultimate stability. It is the first of the three middle numbers of the cycle, the balance point neither too strong nor too weak. It is a day frequently used for ceremony thanks to its conducive energy. It represents the four directions with the Heart of the Sky and the Heart of the Earth. It also represents family, relating to the six qualities that nourish and hold families together – health, understanding, property, employment, friendship and actions.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 K’at (16th June 2022)

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10 K'atThe day 10 K’at can be seen as an excellent day to gather your community together. Whether it is a town meeting or a social event this would be a perfect day for it, which could result in abundance for all.

There is a certain image that comes with this combination of number and nawal for me, and that is a community coming together to bring in the harvest. The time to gather is here and leaving the crop in the field could cause some of it to be lost. Bringing together a task force of your nearest and dearest to help you complete this work brings benefit to all. This is a day to ask for help from those around you to finish a project. Equally, lending a hand to help friends and family complete a task may well bring you an unexpected bonus. This is a day to fulfil your commitments to your community.

However, it is important to know when to break away too, before it holds you back from progress. K’at is the nawal of the burden, and here we can see it in combination with the number which represents society. Whilst living up to the commitments you have made to your community, you may find yourself over burdened. It is important to pace yourself today as you might become over-committed, leaving little time or energy to take care of your own or your family’s needs.

This could also be a day to take a look at where you have become trapped by the expectations of the society around you. Are there certain parts of your social network that hold you back from achieving what you could? K’at helps to highlight these issues, it shows us where the net which entangles us is, and helps us to break free of it if we choose. This is the day to ask for help to be released from that within society which holds you back from fulfilling your true potential.

Blood Moon, mother of the Hero Twins being sent away from Xibalba after becoming pregnant. She goes to see Ixmucane, Mother of Jun Junajpu and Wucub Junajpu and is set a challenge to fill a net with corn. which she achieves and is taken in as family. She is seen here holding the K'at glyph in her hands. From The Dresden Codex.
Blood Moon, mother of the Hero Twins being sent away from Xibalba after becoming pregnant. She goes to see Ixmucane, Mother of Jun Junajpu and Wucub Junajpu and is set a challenge to fill a net with corn. which she achieves and is taken in as family. She is seen here holding the K’at glyph in her hands. From The Dresden Codex.

K’at signifies a net and represents gathering together or bundling. Here, in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, to this day many crops are harvested and carried in nets – oranges, lemons, avocados to name but a few. Through this we see one of the positive meanings of this nawal, that of abundance and harvest. K’at is a great day to draw things together, whether this means gathering in your crops, collecting ideas and opinions for your projects, or inviting people to a social event. It is a day of prosperity and the bounty which comes from the Earth, a day of gardeners, but also of merchants.

The nawal K’at is associated with Ixq’ik, Blood Moon, who was magically impregnated in Xibalba (the underworld) by the spirit of Jun Junajpu.  Jun Junajpu and his brother Wucub Junajpu were summoned by the Lords of Death to Xibalba to face the challenges after they disturbed the Lords by playing the ball game too noisily. Unfortunately this first pair of heroes went unprepared and were tricked and sacrificed by the Lords of Death. After their deaths, the head of Jun Junajpu was hung in a calabash tree, where it eventually blended in with the wizened fruit on the tree. However, it was known to speak and the news of this dis-incarnate voice in the tree reached Blood Moon. She decided to go an visit the tree where she was asked to hold out her hand. The head spat into her hand and she became impregnated with the Hero Twins, Junajpu and Xbalamque. She was banished from Xibalba and went to meet the mother of Jun Junajpu and Wucub Junajpu, Ixmucane. At first Ixmucane did not accept that Blood Moon was carrying her grandchildren, and set a task to fill a net with corn from the garden. When Blood Moon arrived, there was only one stalk, but by pulling the corn silk, the plant magically produced an abundant harvest and Blood Moon was accepted as telling the truth.

However, K’at also has its more challenging side. An abundant crop will fill the net, but it will also slow you down. K’at is also the nawal of prisons and burdens, as the net which gathers, can also ensnare us. When candles are purchased for the fire ceremonies, they come in bundles held together by little strings. When the nawal K’at is addressed during the fire ceremony, these strings are put in to the fire,  with offerings, to ask K’at to help us release ourselves from our burdens, from the ties which bind us.  These ties can also be seen as excessive attachment to material things.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 B’atz (3rd June 2022)

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10 B'atzThere are many types of days, each with different attributes. Some are weak, some are strong, some are challenging, some are beneficial. Some are truly sweet, giving an opportunity for the memorable to happen.

10 B’atz is one of these days, the combination giving the ability to create something beautiful within your community, and perhaps more so, it is a day on which innovation and creation with other members of your group helps to strengthen the fabric that holds your community together.

Whether it is a social event, or community project, today is a day when the creative juices should be flowing for everyone. A collective which gathers with the intention of creating something beautiful should be particularly successful today, and will strengthen the bonds within the collective. If you are creating something on your own, be aware of its power to bring you closer to your community through the quality of your work.

We could see the warp and the weft, masculine and feminine, within society coming together today to create a greater whole. It is a day of creation through cooperation and agreement, when the polarities are brought together as one new masterpiece. It’s time to get weaving!

Images of weaving using a backstrap loom, from the Madrid Codex

There are two nawales which bestow incredible talents, one of which is B’atz. B’atz is the nawal of artisans and of weavers, but this is not just creation and weaving on the Earthly level. B’atz weaves the threads of time together to create reality. B’atz is the nawal of the sacred calendar, which 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, then of course 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.

It 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. Now is the time to incorporate what you wish into the pattern before it is birthed.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

10 Tijax (21st May 2022)

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10 TijaxThe day 10 Tijax can be seen as a day which brings healing and resolution within the community. This may involve removing the cause of the imbalance, which may cause some discomfort during the process.

As we continue to journey through the Toj trecena, the theme of service to the greater whole is often reinforced. Here is another day which fits into the theme of being part of creating a better world around us, this time by being part of bringing healing into our community. Toj represents payment, and when debts are forgotten, sickness can arise. This sickness can be resolved through making a payment, either physically or through service. Sometimes it is not personal, it is the greater whole that has become unbalanced, which may create a general malaise in society. The day 10 Tijax gives the opportunity to come together to work on the solution to this. It may be that cuts need to be made, or that something has to be severed in order to bring about long term healing. This may be something that is easier to achieve as a group rather than an individual, it may also serve to create greater cohesion and harmony within your community to go through the process together. This is an auspicious day to create a healing circle of friends and neighbours to bring peace and unity into your part of the world, and the greater area.

Sacrificial Death God 1

The nawal Tijax is often thought of as an obsidian blade or knife. How the blade is used depends on the intention of the person wielding it. It can be wielded by a warrior or by a surgeon. These would seem like opposite ends of the spectrum, but where Tijax is concerned the aim is the same – healing.

Tijax is the nawal of the holy warrior. In the Mayan book of creation , the Popol Vuh, the first act of the hero twins was a mission given to them by the Heart of the Sky to rid the world of the false gods Seven Macaw, Zipacna and Earthquake. This is their quest, their crusade, and is represented by Tijax. They then sacrifice themselves in the underworld (Kame) and are resurrected with magical abilities (Ix). By destroying the false gods, the twins brought balance to the world, and helped mankind, they brought healing to the world. They cut out that which caused disease, exactly as a surgeon would do.

Tijax is celebrated as a day of healers, particularly what could be seen as the masculine aspect of healing. It is a day of crusading, of standing up for what is right. It has a tenacity to it, it is sometimes belligerent, it will not be stopped in it’s quest. It is the healer who refuses to give up on finding a cure. Tijax gives powers of discernment and refinement. Just as the surgeons scalpel cuts away disease and the warriors blade dispatches the evil, the sculptors chisel creates beauty by remodelling the base material. It is a day of alchemy, both internal and external, turning the ordinary into the divine.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

5 Aj (16th May 2022)

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5 AjPutting energy into the sustenance of our home or community benefits both ourselves and those around us. The day 5 Aj brings together these aspects to give a day where this type of work flourishes.

The nawal Aj is related to the spinal column. It holds us upright, brings us the strength and courage to do the right thing. It holds everything in its rightful place. However, it may not have always been like that. It gains strength as it is used, the wisdom it holds comes through experience. Whilst Aj is very much a leadership nawal, it is almost reluctant in stepping forward, preferring to guide gently rather than exercise the authority it also carries. These qualities of Aj are a blessing for all and are achieved through the experience of the work of life.

The day 5 Aj is a great day to be doing some form of work on behalf of your community, your work and your input will bring great nourishment to those around you. It is a day for selfless work, a day within the Toj trecena, where we have the opportunity to pay back the support our families, friends and communities show to us. However, it may also be a day when efforts to guide or lead may be rather more challenging than expected, especially if you feel yourself rushing into things.

The Temple of the Foliated Cross. This small and unassuming temple houses one of the most remarkable and beautiful friezes, the Foliated Cross, the featured image of this article. Together with those of the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Cross, this forms an architectural version of a codex, showing both mythic and historical accounts of the ruling dynasty. The three temples together form the cross group, the sacred heart of the beautiful site 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 sometimes known as the cornstalk, sometimes the staff of life. It represents the spinal column within the body, that which allows us to stand tall, proud and brave. As the cornstalk, it has its roots in the Earth, and it’s head in the sky. As we are the people of maize, 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.

Foliated crossThis is a picture of the carving at the top of one of my favourite Mayan temples, the Temple of the Foliated Cross on the site of Palenque (Bàakʼ) in Chiapas, Mexico. At the top of the tablet you see a bird, which represents the Heart of the Sky, the face with the large rectangular (crossed) eyes at the base of the cross represents the Heart of the Earth. The foliated cross is a stylised maize plant with the heads of humans emerging. This is Aj bringing life to the world. It is the central pillar, that which supports life. It is represented by the staffs carried by the elders of Mayan communities to this day. 

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 it’s people, that keeps everything in it’s rightful place. It is a day where we ask for the courage and bravery to stand up straight and tall, to do the right thing.

The Sacred Mayan calendar is often said to be a calendar of human life, and parts of 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 it’s five digits. It is with our hands that we work, and with what we earn for that work that 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”.