Introduction to the 20 day cycle
There are many sources in books and online that describe the uinal cycle of 20 days, it seems almost redundant to list them here, but for those who are encountering the tolkij for the first time it is essential knowledge. My intention here is to give an account of themes and feelings and energies of the 20 glyphs, or kin, of the uinal as I have experienced them and offer a few of the standard definitions that have been most helpful. As each tzolkij cycle passes, you may find other themes that get repeated in your own life on each particular kin and may invent themes or titles for each day, just remember to keep an open mind and that the next time around your consciousness will have evolved and different events will take place and new personalities may be involved in your life! Underneath the surface changes, the vibration remains the same.
Many different Native American tribes used the count of twenty days and they used names for the days based on the animals around them or symbols that were important to their own culture. One such example is how the Monkey day becomes Racoon day for the Cherokee calendar. For brevity’s sake I mostly use Guatemalan Kak’chi’quel Mayan names, this is also how I learned them from Don Alejandro Oxlaj during our Sacred Journeys. Other sources use Yucatec Maya, still others use the Aztec version. Perhaps if someone in New Zealand becomes an Aj’ki, they would have and entirely new menagerie of animal energies as names for the uinal cycle!
Imix (Yucatec), or Imox (Qui’che), the Crocodile, Alligator or Turtle (North American). This is also the day of the Hypnotist and of the Left-side of the body. This is the hard dirt of the Earth ready for sowing, ripe with nourishment. It is the fragile water-lily and the Sacred Ceiba tree. Imix gets plenty of things started but may leave it to others to get things done. You can attract things you lost on an Imix day and cure mental disorders. It is the day of therapists, medics, and midwives.
Ik or Iq’ The Wind, Breath, Spirit.
Wind is the energy of Sacred Stones, of Prana and magic mushrooms! It is five different kinds of rain. Lightning, storms and the spirit of the air. Telepathy. Lightning in the blood. Crying tears, left eye female, right eye male. The Buddha once told of the origins of Life. After there was Earth, the Spirits tasted it and loved to devour so much of it that they soon became forms. Thus the spirits transform the Earth and Life begins. Look up at a Full Moon. Study the shape of the Moon Goddess holding her rabbit with outstretched arms. On her nose is the “T” shape used by the Maya for this glyph signifying the breath of the Goddess.
Akbal or Aq’ab’al, Night, the Hearth, Foredawn.
Spirit of the Water, day of Dreaming the future, darkness, the house and the fireplace. As the spirit moves, so consciousness is created. Dreaming begins. We are still only a potentiality. Which dream will we follow? “Am I dreaming I am a butterfly or am I a butterfly dreaming I am a man?” We are one Earth dreaming seven billion dreams.
Kan (Yucatec) or K’at, Lizard, Net, Corn.
This is the day of entanglements in the family, to solve misunderstandings, and to beware of making mountains from molehills. Self-contained, the lizard meditates in the sun as he guards the ancient temple grounds. Build your business network. Make new social connections. Gather abundance like gathering corn in a field. Just check the attitude at the door please!
Chicchan or Kan (Quiche’). Feathered Serpent.
Kundalini energy and the Chakras. Healing the nervous system to be free of paralysis and impediments. A day to ask for answers and for success. Don Alejandro shared with us on the sacred journey that at the Creation, Kulkulkan spent 7 days as an Eagle, 7 as a Serpent, 7 days as a Lion and 7 as Blood! This is the root breaking out of the seed and tasting the delicious nourishing Earth. Careful how you use this energy, it may come back and bite you in the @$$. Day of scientists, politicians, physicists or astronomers.
Cimi or Kame. Death, Transformer.
Tranquility and silence. The day the living communicate with the dead and the dead communicate with the living. A great day to ask forgiveness for your sins. A good day to marry, some say because the Ancestors of the couple brought them together. Weddings and funerals have been the stuff of great comedies for eons! Artists can interpret their visions of other worlds beyond the veil. If you are going to a party on a Death energy day, do not be surprised if it is pretty dead or if you finally meet that beautiful soul-mate! A day for spiritual mediums, justices, psychologists, nurses and fitness trainers.
Manik or Kej (Quej). Deer.
The peyote is the footprint of the Deer. This is the day of all four legged creatures and the four directions, psychic intuitives, astral projecting and dream journeying, nature, and the Heart Chakra. Deer are strong and protective, courageous, compassionate, graceful and agile. Always a great day to spend out in natural surroundings. There is a sense of past and future melding into the now. Allow you intuition to guide you where it may!
Lamat or Qanil. Rabbit, Star, Semen.
Day of the feminine warrior goddess. Venus as the morning star, hence Star Wars. Rock Stars who burn out rather than fade away. Rabbits live in burrows, so it is a good day to look inside yourself, connect to your solar plexus chakra, or be lazy around the house. Spend time with your significant other. Create something beautiful.
Muluc or Toj. Water, Offering, Moon.
“Toj” translates as “to pay”. It is the attitude of gratitude. Be thankful for all wealth and gifts from Creator; that you have a brain for thinking, eyes to see beauty, ears to hear beautiful sounds, hands to work, feet to walk, air to breathe, a nose for smells, a mouth to taste, expression, woman and man, and all beauty on Earth. In the Popol Vuh, Tojil is the god who bestows fire to the human race, but it comes at a price…in exchange for the power of fire, Tojil demands humans let him “suckle” them. In other words, a heart sacrifice. There is great emotional strife if we don’t let go and let it be. When we are free of our obligations there is equilibrium and calm.
Oc or Tz’i’. Dog.
Guardians of the family, best friends, love, companionship, loyalty to your pack. Lawyers and peace officers and authorities should defend the territory. Dog fights to save his owner. If we are with a partner, these can be great days, for loners there is little recourse. Dog is our companion in life and our guide down the Saq Be when we cross over. Get a room.
Chuen or B’atz’. Monkey, Thread, Racoon.
Weaving the mat of time, Magnetic field lines of the Earth, hair, umbilical cord, tying the knot, drummers, the 5200 year Baktun cycle and clothes. Tinkering, trying new things, making practical jokes or life generally going haywire mark the days of the Monkey. In previous eras of creation Monkeys were humans made of wood but because they failed to give thanks to their creators properly, the gods allowed them to degenerate back to monkeys. Monkey begins the second half of the Uinal (20 day cycle). Watch for flying poop.
Eb or E’. Road, Tooth, Grass, Human.
The day of Destiny. The good road, the long road, the straight road. Personhood and humility, herbal remedies. Get that project off the ground, do business, find your spiritual path. Ask for a good spiritual and material destiny. Write an epic poem.
Ben or Aj. Reed.
The cross between the laws of Heaven and the Laws of Man. The staff of authority, patriarchy, engineering and architecture, a flute, and the beam that holds up the roof of a house, armadillos. A good day to study and to get your life right. A reed flute takes the wind and creates beautiful sounds that move our spirits, in that way a reed is like a bridge between Heaven and Earth.
Ix. Jaguar.
Mother Earth, woman, felines. The Shamanic clan with knowledge of Earth’s magic. Cool like the cats they are, jaguars rule the jungles, hills and plains. It is the woman who chooses the man. Blessed with a highly tuned intuition, Jaguars are graceful, independent and potentially terrifying! Give a jaguar some catnip.
Men or Tzikin. Eagle, Bird.
This is the day to ask that all your needs be met. Send your prayers up to heaven with the eagle. Send out that resume and fill out those applications, just straight up ask for money! The warrior clan, eagles see over the horizon and every detail on the ground. They are visionaries, escapists, scouts, bankers, freedom fighters.
Cib or Ajmac. Owl, Vulture, Wax.
The day of reconciliation. Visiting ancient temple sites or sitting on a rock are great ideas on Owl days. You can put together unrelated items and just make it work. Pick up the phone and call that friend you had a disagreement with and apologize. Find a way to settle things out of court.
Caban or Noj. Earthquake, Thought.
Thinking good thoughts, thinking bad thoughts. Our sixth and seventh senses and our third eye seeing in front of and behind us. Reggae music, roots music. Schumann Resonance. Our brainwaves must harmonize with the actual vibrations of the Earth for us to remain sane. Students should be taught good and useful knowledge, and not to be thieves.
Edznab or Tijax. Flint Knife, Obsidian, Mirror, Tobacco.
A good day for physical or psychic surgery. Cut out negative or dark energies and habits like cursing or abusing cigarettes or drugs. Tobacco is a very healing medicine when used properly and with respect. During the Mayan fire ceremonies participants take a cigar and roll it around their aura to soak up negative energy and then throw it in the fire. There are countless ceremonial uses of tobacco in most Native American cultures. Use the dark mirror for scrying to contact your Ancestors. Obsidian was polished slightly concave and taken in canoes to the middle of Lake Atitlan where the ancient Maya made astronomical observations.
Cauac or Kawoq. Rainstorm, Turtle.
Day of the community leaders and teachers, ecologists, band leaders and writers. Rain falls on everyone without discrimination. So too should we spread knowledge and wisdom. Rainstorm people are the calm in the center of the storm for those looking for a shoulder to cry on or for good advice. There is a friendly, buoyant beauty about Rainstorms. They are the life of the party!
Ahau or Ajpu. Sun, Lord, Ancestors, Flower.
All artists deserve to get paid. Painters, musicians, sculptors, dancers, even jugglers and clowns are all workers. Ahau days always feel like a Sun day, a day of rest and reintegration. Ancient Maya rulers would plan mating for their progeny to happen on a day that would have the next ruler be born on an Ahau day. All things must pass. The Holy Life has been lived, there is no more rebirth. We enter into the stream of Samsara. It is Accomplished.
There is also a four day cycle in the Maya calendar for honoring the four directions. Each direction has a color association.
| East – Red | Crocodile | Serpent | Water | Reed | Earthquake |
| North – White | Wind | Death | Dog | Jaguar | Flint |
| West – Blue | Night | Deer | Monkey | Eagle | Rainstorm |
| South – Yellow | Lizard | Rabbit | Road | Owl | Sun |
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