No’j symbolizes nobility, patience, prudence, and sublime love. Number 2 is duality; it represents the positive and the negative. Move through this day putting into practice the virtues of No’j, good things will come your way and they will come in the perfect moment if you are patient, just be careful not to become slothful.
1 Ajmaq – Today’s Ch’umil and Trecena Prayer
Ajmaq is the day of repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation with the Great Father and today it converges with number 1, which symbolizes the beginning. Use the energy of 1 Ajmaq to practice understanding and acceptance; remember that when we love we should not keep track, we should learn to let things go and accept the imperfections of the people we love. This is the first day of the Ajmaq trecena (thirteen days); during these days focus in being forgiving and understanding.
Prayer from Don Pedro Ixchop
In this sacred day I ask you, Ajaw, to forgive all my sins, to vanish my mistakes and my misdeeds. I ask that all impurity will be vanished, don’t let me succumb to the temptation of my enemies and my adversaries. I ask you, Ajaw, that I won’t resort to the dishonesty of the pleasures of men and women. I ask you to grant me strength and resilience before the pleasures of the body; don’t allow these pleasures to enter my body, Ajaw, Heart of the Sky and Heart of the Earth. I ask you to strengthen the natural and necessary pleasures that are meant for our body, our destiny and our path. Maltiox, maltiox, maltiox, and four times maltiox.
Ajaw Great Father or Supreme Being
Maltiox Thank you
Syncretism in the Maya Culture
Thanks to our friends Jim and Brenda with the Oasis Theater Company, we are pleased to be able to share this video that features elder Juan Manuel Mendoza discussing the way that traditional Maya culture and spirituality has been embedded in Santiago Atitlan. He shares a tour of the church in Santiago that embodies traditional imagery, often featuring Ri Laj Mam (Maximon). This embedding within the church has been a key to the survival and vitality of the Maya traditions for the last several hundred years. Thank you to Juan Manuel for your generosity in sharing this information with us!
Juan Manuel Mendoza, a Maya elder from Santiago Atitlan, talks about Maya syncretism with the Catholic Church. Here we see one of the many examples of how the Maya incorporate their belief system and ideology in the midst of an imposed religion and philosophy. It demonstrates the resilience and tenacity of the Maya people as they continue to practice their beliefs in their homeland.
13 Tz’ikin – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
Number 13 symbolizes magic and realization, it is the energy that allows you to change and create. Tz’ikin, represented by the bird, symbolizes liberty, luck, love, and fortune. The convergence of these energies gives you the possibility of connecting to the energy of joy, love and abundance; elevate your prayers to the Creator and Maker and ask 13 Tz’ikin to create the ideal conditions for love, abundance, and happiness to come into your life. This is the last day of the Aq’ab’al trecena (thirteen days), light a candle to thank Aq’ab’al for the light it has brought and which has illuminated you during these days.
12 I’x – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
I’x is the strength of Mother Earth; it symbolizes the power of the jungle and the protective spirit of the hills, mountains, and plains. Number 12 brings the energy to help others and to practice sharing; it represents the consciousness of being. This is a good day to ask for the life of the animals, both domestic and wild; to ask for the spirit of Mother Earth.
11 Aj – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
Aj brings with it the energy of renewal and resurgence; it is the victory over any evil, the symbol of resurrection. Number 11 represents spiritual tests and payments; it is a day to learn thorough experience and to transmute these experiences into knowledge. Face any challenges that may rise today with the strength given to you by Aj, have the certainty that every challenge that life brings you provides you with the perfect teaching; remember that there is a blessing in every experience and every outcome.
10 E – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
Number 10 symbolizes self-exploration; it is a number of energetic highs and lows. E is the path of destiny; it is the guide and the means that help us travel the road of life. This is a good day to leave behind those things that no longer belong to you, to focus on your purpose and aim in life, setting aside the fears and allowing new and different paths to open before you.
9 B’atz’ – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
B’atz’ symbolizes life and love; it is movement, dance, and the energy that represents the artist. Number 9 represents the emotional and the intuitive; it is love, compassion, and spirituality. The confluence of these two energies connects you to the energy of love, creativity, compassion and spirituality; don’t do anything half-heartedly, put the energy of 9 B’atz’ in everything you do today.
8 Tz’i’ – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
Tz’i’ represents the spiritual and material law, it is the straight path, the law known as the Natural Order, which is a law based on the harmony that exists in nature. Number 8 symbolizes the material and physical world. Connect to the energies of this day and ask them that your actions are always just, that you will always walk the straight path, and live in harmony with everything and everyone that surrounds you
7 Toj – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Ch’umil)
Toj is the energy of payment, which repays us for all the good and bad we have done in our lives, and the energy to which we must repay for the well-being and for the challenges it has brought to us. Number 7 represents balance; it is a force that can harmonize. This is good day to show gratefulness for everything you have received in your life; for the good things and for the difficult moments you have faced. Close your eyes, meditate in the things that have happened to you, and elevate your prayers of gratefulness.