The Chol Q’ij (CHOL-K-ISH) calendar is a 260 day calendar based on the cycles of the Pleiades star cluster. Within the 260 day year are 20 weeks of 13 days each, instead of the 52 weeks of 7 days we see in the Gregorian calendar. The 13 day weeks are called trecenas, and represent the 13 major articulations in the body: two ankles, two knees, two hip joints, two wrists, two elbows, two shoulders, and the neck. There are also 20 different archetypal energies, called nawales, that rotate throughout each day of the trecena. The 20 nawales represent the twenty fingers and toes of the body. Additionally, 260 days is roughly the amount of time a human mother carries her baby to term. This is, in part, why the Chol Q'ij is considered the Mayan's most sacred, embodied calendar, and it has served to guide Mayan daily life in every way from farming, to healing, ceremony, paying debts, and more.
In the picture below, the inner circle is the trecena, and the outer circle are the nawales, so we can see how they rotate to give us a different nawale on each day of the week. So each day of the week will have a number (1st day of week, 2nd, 3rd, etc) and an archetypal energy, or nawale.
The day number, called tones, are what animates and gives motion to the energy of the 20 nawales. The nawale landing on day one of the trecena will serve as the emotional motivation throughout the entire trecena. You can think of it as the emotional drive of the trecena, and then being set into motion by the day number through the characteristics of the energy of the nawale. Lastly, each 260 day year is governed by a Year Lord, which further influences the energies of each trecena, tone and nawale.
The Mayan Daykeepers are the modern day Mayan Calendar priests whose job is to follow the Sacred calendar and perform ceremonies on auspicious days. Your Mayan birthday represents a unique combination of energies in play on the day you were born. We each carry these energies with us throughout our lifetimes. Additional calculations can be made to determine the tone and nawale affecting your past and future influences, and the masculine and feminine aspects of the self.
How can the Mayan Calendar support you?
Following the Chol Q'ij gives us an opportunity to utilize the energies that make up each day. Just as we may feel the energies around the cycles of the moon or sun, the Mayan energies are cycles and a natural part of our world. Feel free to follow along, as I will be sharing the energies of the trecenas throughout the year.
Thanks for reading!
Sending Love,
Tiffany
Comments