Today begins a 5 day period of rest and reflection, known as the Wayeb. We are pleased to be able to share, on the winter solstice, this article by Carlos Barrios and video of Maya Elder Pichekiix (Mariano Xitumil). Both address the significance of this period of time and Tata Pichekiix discusses the ‘Ab calendar and Wayeb in greater depth.  While the video is a bit long, it is an incredibly rich presentation of rare information by a special Maya elder. We are deeply grateful!

According to the tradition of the Mayan elders of the Mam Area a new period of five days begins on the day of the Winter Solstice, December 21. These days are a rest period for the Ajaw, our Father Sun. The Ajaw (Sun) settles in one of the corners of the Jun Kaj (the first level of the thirteen skies) and rests for five days. For our tradition, this visual stagnation represents a moment of reflection which is known as the Cosmic Wayeb’; the days of introspection and reflection. This position of the Ajaw allows us to have a calmness of our mind and energy. This influence goes in accordance with the energies of the Cholq’ij Calendar or Calendar of Life. Now that our Father Sun has undertaken his path, we should use these days to project our purposes for this new cycle.

These five days, from December 21 to December 25, we must do a recount of the last year of our life (or the most important events of your life if you have not practiced this exercise before), of the reason why and the how we have reached the reality we have built for ourselves. What we like and what we want to change. It is a real introspection, a recapitulation, as the ancestors used to call it.  During these days we must delineate our purpose and the course that our life will take. We have to program and determine what we wish for in every level, what we will change and how we will accomplish it. Remember that the power of our mind is infinite. We must also make a projection in a community level, in which we will determine the well-being of our community, making it expansive to all of humanity.

We are living challenging times, in the whole planet there is nonconformity which has led to social, political, and economic protests, and even to confrontations. Our purpose should be focused in putting a halt to all the negative energy. Lighting candles, concentrating, meditating with the purpose of putting a stop to the destruction forces. Things will change if we project peace, harmony, tolerance, consciousness, and an energy of kindness and compassion. It is also  important that we determine the destiny of Mother Earth and Human Beings. Our thoughts and our vision should be guided to putting a halt to destruction, racism, and intolerance.  With all of our strength, with all the power of our mind and our heart we should create the necessary energy to stop the harm that we are causing Mother Earth. Let’s feel in our own being everything that affects her, the climate change, the water stress, which is beginning to become a reality. We must project a real change, we must stop this madness and folly toward which all the governments are leading us, especially the great world leaders.  

This Cosmic Wayeb’ will begin, according to the Cholq’ij Calendar, on a day Tz’ikin. This is the energy of strength. It is the intermediary between the Father Sun and the Earth. It is the power to make changes in this reality, which we generate with directed thought, projecting without limits. Tz’ikin is the one that delineates the vision and creation of a different destiny, both in the personal and the global.  “Creation” is the key word, creating with the power of the mind, in full awareness. This is the moment to take action, to return to being humans!

Maya Elder Pichekiix talks about Ab’ Calendar and Wayeb’ from Saq’ Be’ on Vimeo.

Pichekiix Jooj Xibuuq  (Mariano Xitumul) is a Maya Elder, an Ancestral Guardian of Mother Earth, a Mediator in community conflict resolution, and an Aj Kotz’ij Koot (Spiritual Guide). He has dedicated most of his life to the study of the Maya Calendars, he is an expert calendarist who was the first person to make the calculations to convert both the Cholq’ij and Ab’ calendars to Gregorian dates. He also works as an artisan.