Iq’ represents life and renewal; it is the wind that has the power of renovating our energy. Number 13 has the magic of being able to change and create. Lift your prayers to the Creator and Maker with the force of the wind, represented by Iq’, invite the wind to enter your being, to purify and renew your energy and to lift your spirits. This is the last day of the Tz’i’ trecena (thirteen days), light a candel to thank Tz’i’ for the justice it brought to your life.
12 Imox – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Imox is the energy of water, it is spiritual strength and intuition; it is the power to understand the messages of nature. Number 12 represents the consciousness of being; it is a strong energy that ignites. This is a good day to purify the water in your body, and to connect through your intuition to the messages that it carries.
11 Ajpu – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Ajpu represents the hunter who brings certainty and acuity. Number 11 brings the energy of spiritual tests and payments. Today the clarity in your actions will bring you the certainty and strength to continue on the right path, Ajpu allows you to reach your goals if you know how to manage delicate situations.
10 Kawoq- Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Kawoq represents abundance, both spiritual and material; it is a day to attract the energy of abundance to our life, our business, and our crops. Number 10 connects us to the cosmic and telluric energies. This is a good day to attract prosperity and abundance, send the energy of prosperity to the cosmos, act prosperous by buying something special for yourself, donating money to a cause you believe in, or doing something that expresses abundance, the Universe will send this energy back to you.
9 Tijax – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Tijax symbolizes the double-bladed obsidian knife which allows us to open new paths. Number 9 represents the circle of life; it is love and spirituality. Embrace those things that bring blessings to your life, and use the knife of Tijax to cut and leave behind the things that are harming you. Be honest with your choices and be joyful by your decision, it is up to you to select the things that will bring the outcome that you want for your life.
Peten Itza – Maya Water Wisdom
We are excited to be able to share the first video from Jim and Brenda’s recent trip to Guatemala. As we discussed recently, humanity is at a place where we must question the way we relate to water, to treat it as a living gift to be nourished rather than as a dead commodity to be exploited. The Itza are known as magicians for their work with water. In this video, Carlos gives an amazing perspective into the formation and function of a sacred land formation in lake Peten Itza.
Lake Peten Itza – Carlos Barrios shares Maya Water Wisdom from Saq’ Be’ on Vimeo.
This video was the ultimate film-on-the-fly experience. Traveling in a van full of people on the way to Tikal National Park, Carlos Barrios, an ajq’ij’ of the Eagle Clan in Guatemala, felt it was important to share the mystery of this magical, pristine location. The Maya-made mountain is well named for an alligator which it resembles.
Video and editing by James Jenner and Brenda Bynum
8 No’j – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Number 8 represents the male and physical energy. No’j is our connection to the Universal mind; it is the energy that turns knowledge and experience into wisdom. This is a good day to take action; it is through the actions that we take during the course of our life that we acquire the knowledge that will be transformed into wisdom.
7 Ajmaq – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Ajmaq is a favorable day to focus on the word and message of our ancestors; it is a day for forgiveness and introspection. Number 7 symbolizes spirituality; it is the manifestation of the Creator and Maker on earth. Today we can delve deeper into the purpose and direction of our life.
Sarayaku: Living Well and Resisting Oil
Deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, the community of Sarayaku has sustained their way of “Living Well” by keeping extractive oil industries out of their territories. Saq’ Be’ has a long time connection with the community. In 2004, my wife and I travelled to Sarayaku where we got to know the people of the community and recognize a way of life that embodies the potential that humans have when in balance with each other and our place. We had the privelage of being welcomed by the children of Sabino Gualinga, a powerful medicine man, with deep roots in a profound healing lineage. It was also a time when the petrol companies were deploying numerous strategies to remove the community from the territory – modern day versions of the same tactics used to extract people and resources throughout history. You can read more about that experience here: Cry in the Jungle: Defending Life, Resisting Devastation
The struggles Sarayaku has faced is indicative of both the challenges and the hope that Indigenous communities around the world hold. These communities have much to to teach the world about how we live our lives and relate to our home:
Sarayaku residents describe sumac kawsay as “choosing our responsibility to the seventh generation over quarterly earnings, regeneration over economic growth, and the pursuit of well-being and harmony over wealth and financial success.”
Through our board member, Karen Marrero, we hope to continue to provide much needed support to the community in their successful efforts to turn back extractive industries, live in right relationship, and to bring that wisdom forward into the world. Please contact us if you are interested in contributing to support these developing efforts to help Sarayaku.
Please read this timely, and eloquent article that appears in Yes! Magazine:
6 Tz’ikin – Today’s Maya Day Sign (Nawal)
Tz’ikin is the emotional and material luck; it is represented by the bird, who gives you the power of an expanded and panoramic vision. Number 6 is an unstable energy; it symbolizes life’s trials and personal development. Use the energy of Tz’ikin to open your wings and fly with harmony and freedom; ask it for its luck to overcome any challenges that may rise during this day.