Tag Archives: Women

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Toj (29th August 2024)

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This is a day on which women make offerings for the gift of their children, and where men make offerings for the women. It is a day to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the women in your life.

The combination of the number 9 with the nawal of payment gives rise to two important aspects of today. Firstly, the number 9 represents life itself, and our ability to reproduce. Toj days are days on which to make ceremonies, offerings or payments. As such, today is a day on which offerings are made for fertility, for the ability to reproduce. In particular, this aspect is pertinent to women. It is a day of women’s ceremonies, a day of thanksgiving for the divine feminine essence.

The second aspect could be seen more from a male perspective, although not exclusively. This is a day to make offerings to the women in your life for the sacrifices they have made to sustain life. Again, it is a thanksgiving for what the divine feminine energy, and those who embody it, bring into our lives.

The energy of 9 Toj may represent what you might consider to be a life debt. Whilst the payment may involve the use of your energy, the results of making a payment today may be very powerful. Health may be restored when life debts are resolved. Today is a day when the energies are open to receiving the payment or offering.

Worthwhile Recipients of Your Donations

When I mention programs within my videos, it is because I personally know the people involved. I feel that your donations will truly go towards helping the people for which they are intended.

Bringing Water stability to Families

A wonderful, highly active project to bring water stability to families is Water4Life Global. Jenna MacEwan and her team have been making a difference to peoples’ lives since 2018. They provide water filters to local families throughout Guatemala, thereby giving direct access to clean drinking water. Additionally they are directly  involved in action which helps to clean up the local sources of water. This is achieved through grey water treatment projects, reforestation and education. To learn more or donate, please visit: https://water4lifeglobal.org/donate/

The Midwife Project

In their words: “Our Mission is to offer safe, dignified and culturally appropriate health care to women in Guatemala by empowering indigenous midwives through education. We focus on revaluing the Mayan ancestral knowledge while integrating modern medical practices. With the creation of Holistic Clinic(s) & Birthing Center(s) as a meeting ground and model project. Our Vision is that every woman  has access to humane, respected and safe birth care. The midwives and women are empowered to lead the creation of a thriving community where those who are most vulnerable have their needs met, and men support the women in creating this healthy and vibrant family and community structure.”

You can check out their site and donate here: https://www.midwifeproject.net/donate 

Odim

Within the villages of San Pablo and San Juan la Laguna, there is an organisation doing great work. They have special programs for the education of new mothers which significantly reduce the incidence of infant malnutrition. They are called ODIM and are specialising in medical and educational services. During the pandemic restrictions, they helped feed many people, but this is in addition to their regular, long term work there. You can find out more about them through this link http://www.odimguatemala.org/donate

Konojel

I would like to mention the Konojel program and their work in San Marcos la Laguna. They have turned from a basic, “let’s make sure bellies are full” program to one of much more social development. You can check out their programs and make a donation here https://konojel.org/

 

The Nawal Toj

The nawal Toj represents offerings and payment. It is part of the name Tojil, a Mayan god who gave fire to the people. However, 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 where we make offerings to burn away 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. However, ignoring an opportunity to make a payment on a Toj day might bring 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 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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Ajmak (16th August 2024)

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9 AjmakToday is a day to make peace with your life.  It combines the spirit of forgiveness with the number of the feminine and life. This is a potent day to ask for forgiveness from the women in your life where it is necessary.

If you have been holding guilt over, or blame towards, any particular woman, today is the day to forgive and move on. The energy of resentment is probably having a greater effect on you rather than her, holding you back from progressing. This applies not just to the women in your life, but the feminine aspect of life in general. This is the day to ask forgiveness. Also, to forgive yourself, for the times when you could have embraced more feminine qualities such as compassion and nurture.

Sometimes we have forgotten the feminine nature of where we all came from, whether it is the body of our mother or the Earth herself. This is often caused by an imbalance within the generally male-dominated society. This is a day to recognise the times when we allowed ourselves to become part of that imbalance, and ask forgiveness for them. After all, as we progress through this trecena of ripening, the trecena Q’anil, how can we reach joyful and abundant ripeness if we are carrying this bitterness?

It is a day to forgive yourself for the things in life you would rather leave in the past. Light a candle and allow the flame to burn away any guilt surrounding any past actions. As the candle burns and cleans your life, feel the other aspect of Ajmak arriving. Allow Ajmak to bring sweetness of redemption into your life.

I’m sorry

Please forgive me

Thank you

I love you

Nawal Ajmak

Ajmak is the nawal of pardon and forgiveness, the nawal of redemption. It is the energy of being human, of falling down 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 it’s 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 failing to fulfil it’s true potential, although due to it’s lovable nature it is easy to forgive. One of the lessons with regards to the Ajmak energy is learning to forgive oneself.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 B’atz (12th June 2024)

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9 B'atzThe day 9 B’atz is a day of celebration of feminine creativity. It could be seen as the weaving of life and the ability to bring beauty into the world.

The nawal B’atz is the nawal of creativity and is seen very much as a representative of all the arts. This would include painting, sculpture, music, writing, and weaving in the Maya world. Weaving is a predominantly female pastime, it is also seen as one of the most important. It is a physical representation of the world’s creation by bringing together the male warp and the female weft to create the fabric of reality. Women may choose to weave in the external world physically, yet they are also the weavers of life itself. The gestation process within them could be seen as the weaving of a new human life.

Here we see the specific reference to the number 9, the number of life and the lunations of gestation. B’atz also represents the process of gestation. This is, of course, the most sacred and essential of all of our activities. It furthers our existence and this is exclusively the realm of the women in our world.

This is a day for women to honour who they are, to embrace their femininity and creativity. It is a day of celebration of female Aj Q’ij, Maya day keepers. It is a day when men have the opportunity to honour the women, particularly their wives, mothers and daughters. Whilst this day may be a day of the women, it is also a day to embrace the feminine creativity. Allow the women in our lives to inspire our art.

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 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.

 

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Tijax (30th May 2024)

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9 TijaxThe energy of Tijax can be seen to cut through to truth, perfection and purity. Today that energy pairs with the number representing life and the feminine. This is a day to cut through to the truth in life.

An interesting combination of the predominantly masculine nawal of Tijax, with the number of the feminine occurs today. This may be seen as a day on which the divided may become united through compassion.

Tijax may be known for many things. It is seen as the crusader, championing the holy, using its fine edge of discernment to cut away that which is out of balance. Tijax is also seen as the healer, particularly the energy healer, who experiences the illness to heal others. As the knife Tijax severs the attachments which no longer serve. It is the chisel, that creates the divine art from the mundane block of stone or wood. These are all seen as being active, masculine traits, rather than the the passive, feminine side.

However, today pair Tijax with the number of the divine feminine, the number 9. This is the day when all of those active “masculine” traits are balanced through their association with the more feminine qualities of compassion and nurture. It is a day of the healing women, a day to celebrate in particular their ability to resolve duality through their discernment. This should also be a particularly empowering day for women in general, bringing out the strength and tenacity of their warrior aspect.

The Nawal Tijax

Sacrificial Death God 1

The nawal Tijax represents an obsidian (or flint) blade. How the blade is used depends on the intention of the person wielding it, a warrior or a surgeon. These would seem like opposite ends of the spectrum. However, where Tijax is concerned the aim is the same – healing and purification.

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. 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, 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. This is a day of alchemy, both internal and external, turning the ordinary into the divine.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Kan (17th May 2024)

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9 KanThe nawal of power and wisdom combines with the number representing life and the divine feminine gives rise to a day of empowerment through womens’ wisdom.

The nawal Kan is associated with the body energy, the lightning in the blood. This energy empowers us physically and spiritually, enabling us to carry out our work and advance ourselves  as we do so. We all carry it, and some actively engage with it to one degree or another. Whilst this energy can be useful, it can also be addictive. The ability to direct it at will, and the results it may bring, may mean that the power which is exercised becomes personalised. The desire for greater power ensues and the serpent’s hypnotic power draws the unwitting into manipulative illusions.

Whilst the nawal Kan has the power to seduce and create illusions, it also gives the ability to see through them. It is on Kan days that we ask for this ability. Today that is strongly linked with life through the number 9. This is a day to use both your power and your wisdom to see through the illusion of the world. You may find that the energy of women around you helps you to do this.

However, when used correctly, the power of Kan has the ability to bring true wisdom, and enlighten those around it. Today, its combination with the number 9 highlights feminine wisdom in particular, and the wisdom which comes through life. This is a day to ask for wisdom from the women around you. Their words may bring illumination and empowerment.

The Nawal Kan

Lady Xoc demonstrates the correct direction of energy
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.

Training must be undertaken when working with any of these energies, 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, holding its prey in an almost hypnotic grip with its allure. therefore, it can become the ultimate ego trap.

However, it is also said that the feathered serpent Q’uq’umatz  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. However, they can also become the darkest sorcerers and manipulators.

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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Kawok (21st April 2024)

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9 KawokIt is the day to celebrate the healing abilities of women in our lives. The energy of 9 Kawok has a distinctively feminine tone as the nawal of midwives and female healers combines with the number of the divine feminine.

Chak sends the fire serpent (lightning) from the sky, from the Dresden Codex
Chak sends the fire serpent (lightning) from the sky, from the Dresden Codex

This is an important day for any women engaged in forms of healing. It is a day which maximises and highlights these abilities, a wonderful day for women’s healing rituals. The number 9 also represents life, so this day can be truly seen to bring in new life. This could also represent re-birthing with the assistance of healing women.

The energy of 8 Tijax may have helped some rather drastic changes to happen. However, it can also leave us feeling a little tender after the “surgery.” Now the most compassionate aspect of Kawok enters to help to soothe and comfort. However, it should be remembered that Kawok has the power of the rainstorm behind her. She brings the new life, but she also has the power to wash away the old. She may do this in a compassionate way, and with the overall goal of bringing in the new. Nonetheless, she will do so with vigour.

This is a day to ask women for their assistance in your healing, but also in helping you to move forward. If something is restricting your progress, ask your female friends for their wisdom or guidance with regards to breaking through this blockage.

The Nawal Kawok

Ixchel empties the water jar, washing away the old world in order to bring in the new. From the Dresden Codex
Ixchel empties the water jar, washing away the old world in order to bring in the new. From the Dresden Codex

While most healing roles do not seem to be gender specific, one is. Both women and men may be healers, prayer makers, herbalists and diviners, only women will become midwives. Kawok is the energy of the midwife. It helps to clear the obstructions from the birth process, in some ways it actually represents the birth process. Kawok brings the new into the world. In the Mayan cross, Kawok, the birth process finishes the sequence which starts with Aq’ab’al (conception) and moves through B’atz (gestation.) In the sequence of the calendar, Kawok precedes Ajpu. Ajpu represents the resurrection of the maize lord, also the creation of the world. Kawok creates the conditions for that to happen, the rain which brings forth the sprouting of the maize.

In its storm aspect, Kawok can be destructive, although it is a destruction which allows a new creation to happen. Kawok energy can give rise to some tempestuous situations, it can be a day which can give people a rough ride, although this may be for the eventual good. It is a day to ask for the gentle rain to bless your crops, and for the harsh rain to stop. It is a day which washes away the old and outworn in life, so that the new growth, life and divinity may emerge.

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.

 

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Aj (26th March 2024)

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9 AjThis is a day of female community leaders. It is a day to look to the mothers and the grandmothers, for their support and guidance.

Aj represents several properties associated with masculine energy within traditional societies. These include leadership, strength and courage, the typical qualities of the wise old grandfather. However, today these qualities are combined with the number of the divine feminine, and of life itself.

The energy of nawal Aj is seen as a benevolent and helpful energy, after all, it represents the sustenance of society. When that energy combines with the feminine compassion and nurture of the number 9, it can be seen that this day has a very pleasant potential.

The number 9 also brings an independent streak. It represents the divine feminine and this energy is also strong. After all, it is the representation of life itself. With this strength and independence combining with the nawal of the spinal column, this can be seen as a day where the energy supports you to stand up for yourself. The additional feminine properties of the nine soften this beautifully to give a compassionate, yet self assured energy. It is a day to nurture the leader within.

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 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.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

8 Kawok (12th March 2024)

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8 KawokThe eighth day of the trecena is traditionally the day most celebrated through ceremony and today we see it in conjunction with the nawal of the midwife and the birth process. It is a day to honour the female healers in life.

Chak sends the fire serpent (lightning) from the sky, from the Dresden Codex
Chak sends the fire serpent (lightning) from the sky, from the Dresden Codex

Kawok days are sometimes given a difficult reputation for their storm aspect. We can think of this as very much like the midwife and the birth process. It is not the midwife who is experiencing the turmoil, but she is overseeing and assisting with it. Kawok is very much like this, helpful energy that clears the way for the new birth. However, once in a while more action is called for and Kawok washes away obstacles to new birth. This can involve a degree of destruction to clear the way for the advancement.

8 Kawok embraces both of these aspects. It gives a balanced energy which brings the new into the world using a combination of the two. Today is the day to ask for the compassion and understanding of Kawok and the force required to birth our new projects. It is the day to make thanksgiving ceremonies for the work of the midwives and female healers. Also for the safe arrival of the newborn children and the protection of their mothers during birth. As we are also reminded here on a daily basis, to ask for sufficient rain to nourish the crops, yet not too much to wash them away.

 

The Nawal Kawok

Ixchel empties the water jar, washing away the old world in order to bring in the new. From the Dresden Codex
Ixchel empties the water jar, washing away the old world in order to bring in the new. From the Dresden Codex

While most healing roles do not seem to be gender specific, one is. Both women and men may be healers, prayer makers, herbalists and diviners, only women will become midwives. Kawok is the energy of the midwife. It helps to clear the obstructions from the birth process, in some ways it actually represents the birth process. Kawok brings the new into the world. In the Mayan cross, Kawok, the birth process finishes the sequence which starts with Aq’ab’al (conception) and moves through B’atz (gestation.) In the sequence of the calendar, Kawok precedes Ajpu. Ajpu represents the resurrection of the maize lord, also the creation of the world. Kawok creates the conditions for that to happen, the rain which brings forth the sprouting of the maize.

In its storm aspect, Kawok can be destructive, although it is a destruction which allows a new creation to happen. Kawok energy can give rise to some tempestuous situations, it can be a day which can give people a rough ride, although this may be for the eventual good. It is a day to ask for the gentle rain to bless your crops, and for the harsh rain to stop. It is a day which washes away the old and outworn in life, so that the new growth, life and divinity may emerge.

The Number Eight

The number 8 is considered to be several wholeness. It can be seen as birth (1) and death (7) combined to represent the whole cycle of the soul. Also, it can 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 became whole. The eighth day of the trecena is the most common day for ceremonies to be made. Therefore, it is still in the balanced range of numbers and is an even number, which is also considered fortunate. 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 the ceremony.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Ix 2 Tz’apin Q’ij – The Third Closing Day

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The Third Closing DayThe third closing day focuses on acceptance. If you are using these 5 days to close the solar year, it is a good day to understand what you choose to accept from the previous solar year. It is also a day which might highlight what you cannot accept.

Here we see this third closing day combined with both the nawal and the number of the feminine. Ix is strongly connected with the Earth and our ability to manifest with her. Yet we also see disrespect towards her daily. We see how certain elements of society are destroying the only home we know, the only known habitable planet for humans.

It might ask us to question what we have accepted and what we can no longer accept. As we move out of this year of exploration, discovery and learning, 11 E’, how can we use what we have found? As we move into the year 12 No’j can we come up with a solution which will benefit the Earth?

She is our source of life, but she also brings out our magic. Sometimes this might be difficult to accept too. What has reminded you of the magic of your connection to the Earth in the past year? Are you ready to accept a profound connection to the Earth, and to your own abilities?

Sometimes we also have to accept that we did what we could. Maybe we might have done more, maybe we will achieve tha in teh next solar cycle.

Chol Q'ij - The Energies of the Days

9 Toj (13th December 2023)

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This is a day on which women make offerings for the gift of their children, and where men make offerings for the women. It is a day to acknowledge the sacrifices made by the women in your life.

The combination of the number 9 with the nawal of payment gives rise to two important aspects of today. Firstly, the number 9 represents life itself, and our ability to reproduce. Toj days are days on which to make ceremonies, offerings or payments. As such, today is a day on which offerings are made for fertility, for the ability to reproduce. In particular this aspect is pertinent to women. It is a day of women’s ceremonies, a day of thanksgiving for the divine feminine essence.

The second aspect could be seen more from a male perspective, although not exclusively. This is a day to make offerings to the women in your life for the sacrifices they have made in order to sustain life. Again, it is a thanksgiving for what the divine feminine energy, and those who embody it, bring into our lives.

The energy of 9 Toj may represent what you might consider to be a life debt. Whilst the payment may involve the use of your energy, the results of making a payment today may be very powerful. Health may be restored when life debts are resolved. Today is a day when the energies are open to receiving the payment of offering.

How and Where can I make an Offering?

When I mention programs, it is because I personally know the people involved and can vouch that your donations will actually go towards helping the people for which they are intended.

Odim

Within the villages of San Pablo and San Juan la Laguna, there is an organisation doing great work. They have special programs for the education of new mothers which significantly reduce the incidence of infant malnutrition. They are called ODIM and are specialising in medical and educational services. During the pandemic restrictions, they helped feed many people, but this is in addition to their regular, long term work there. You can find out more about them through this link http://www.odimguatemala.org/donate

Konojel

I would like to mention the Konojel program and their work in San Marcos la Laguna. They have turned from a basic, “let’s make sure bellies are full” program to one of much more social development. You can check out their programs and make a donation here https://konojel.org/

Popol Jay

Popol Jay is an ancient name to define the House of the Council of Elders, among the Maya of Guatemala. These were places of wisdom where sacred knowledge about medicine, the calendars, music, spiritual practice and more was kept and passed to future generations. They were all burnt down during the Conquest and subsequent Colonization periods. Today, the Q’eqchi’ Maya Council of Elders Releb’aal Saq’e has joined forces with many supporters to rebuild the Popol Jay of the North, in the lowlands of the Petén region, heart of the Maya culture of the Classic Period. The Elders have worked hard to acquire land and co-design this Center of Knowledge to share ancient wisdom with the World. To donate to the Elders of Peten to fund the Popol Jay, please use this link https://www.gofundme.com/f/popoljay-zentrum-fr-mayawissen

The Nawal Toj

The nawal Toj represents offerings and payment. It is part of the name Tojil, a Mayan god who gave fire to the people. However, 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 where we make offerings to burn away 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. However, ignoring an opportunity to make a payment on a Toj day might bring 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 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.