We were sad to see Lina and Denise leave New Mexico this morning, but we are grateful for all of the wisdom and experience they shared during there time here.  This includes giving an interview for the Future Primitive podcast.  This is a great interview, covering numerous topics including Lina’s award winning work in supporting women and Indigenous Maya, the importance of the Popol Wuj, the Maya significance of 2012 and more.  Thank you again to Joanna and Jose for conducting and editing such a great interview!  Check it out:
The Strength of Mayan Culture – Future Primitive Podcasts

Much of our life takes place in our home. Our home is imprinted with our energy, both negative and positive, it is imprinted with our joys and hopes, our sadness and anxieties, our memories and thoughts, our fears and yearnings…thus it can be oversaturated with energy, making us feel stuck. Our home should be our refuge, the space where we recharge ourselves, where we find peace and joy, for this reason the energy of our home needs to flow, we need to renew it from time to time. The best way to do this is by making an energy cleansing, so that the spirit of our house vibrates with positive energy and harmony.

In Maya culture there are several techniques to cleanse and renew the energy of our space. One of these techniques is to work with the energy of the four elements -Fire, Earth, Wind, and Water-.  

We will begin working with the energy of fire. For this we will use a red, a black (or purple), a white, and a yellow candle. We will stand in the center of our home, facing east. We will hold the candles in our hands and we will speak to them outloud, asking that through their flame they will remove any negative energies, that through their fire they will bring light and warmth to our home. Once we have finished praying we will light the four candles in the center of our home, placing them in a cross to each of the four corners: East/Red, West/Black, North/White, South/Yellow.

Then we will work with the energy of earth. For this we will need one obsidian stone* for each room of the house. We will hold the stones while facing West and we will ask them to cut away or repel any negative energy that may come to our home, we will ask them to guard and protect each room of our house. Once we are done connecting to and praying to the stones, we will place one obsidian stone in every room.

Now we will work with the energy air. For this we will use incense (preferably citrus). We will hold the incense in our hands while facing North and we will ask that through its smoke, through the energy of air, it will cleanse all negativity and oversaturated energy from our home, permeating it with all forms of positive energy. We will then light the incense and smudge every room, every corner, every area of our house.

We will then work with the energy of water. For this we will either use water that is found in nature (from a river, lake, ocean, stream, spring, etc.) or we will mix water with floral or rose water. We will place the water in container facing South and we will ask it to use its cleansing properties to remove any negative energies from our house. We will then charge the water with the energy of peace, joy, love, harmony… with any positive energy we can think of. We will ask the water to spread all these positive energies throughout our home. Once we are done praying to and energizing the energy of water, we will sprinkle some water in each room.

We will finish our work by taking some time to thank each of the elements for their help in the cleansing, protecting and positively energizing of our home. We will also take a moment to connect to the spirit of our home, we will  thank it and we will harmonize ourselves with it.

*These stones need to be previously cleansed and energized: To cleanse them you can smudge them to remove any negative energy they might have absorbed. Once they are clean place them outside on the ground, so that they are energized by the energy of Mother Earth, the energy of the Sun and the energy of the Moon. (Never use salt to clean the crystals or stones. If you want to work with water to cleanse them, use floral or rose water).

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.

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.

According to the Maya, the world was created in one Mayan month (twenty days). The process of creation begins on Jun (1) B’atz and ends on the day Wuqub’ (7) Tz’i’, completing the first twenty days of the Cholq’ij (Calendar of Life). After this final day of creation, the day Wajxaqib’ (8) B’atz’ arrives, which is considered the Cholq’ij New Year. When Maya people celebrate the Cholq’ij new year, they are celebrating that the creation of the world has been fulfilled, and the beginning of a new cycle of 260 days.

We are living in the time of the Job’ Ajaw, or Fifth Sun which we entered on December 21, 2012.  This epoch is related to the element Ether and to the fifth dimension.  We have entered a time of greater awareness, in which we are witnessing socio-economic changes – but these changes don’t happen overnight. We are only now beginning to see them.  The energy of the Ch’umilal, or signs of the Maya Cholq’ij Calendar, have the same meaning we have been sharing, but now their energy resonates more with the spiritual power that comes with them. The concatenation of the energies that each of the Ch’umilal represents is the guide of the Creation.  It influences us throughout the cycle of our life and the cycle of Mother Earth. By working with each of the days we will connect to the spiritual energy of the twenty Ch’umilal to be in harmony with each of them.

You can follow Carlos’s guide to more deeply understanding and connecting with the energies of the twenty days leading up to the Cholq’ij New Year in the Daily Ch’umil section of the website, or by subscribing to the newsletter or following Saq’ Be’ on social media.

As we celebrate mother’s day in the west, we are pleased to be able to share this video about traditional mothering practices in the Maya lineage- as seem at a birth altar in Tikal. Thanks to the film work and production of Jim Jenner and Brenda Bynum (Oasis Theater Company), we see Maya Ajq’ij Carlos Barrios describing the way a sacred altar was used to make prayers and offerings for pregnant women and to present children once they have been born:

Located in the Tikal National Park of Guatemala, this little known site was the ceremonial center for women going through pregnancy and childbirth. Carlos Barrios speaks to the events that took place is this peaceful, inspiring location.

 

Carlos describes the deep connection the Maya lineage embodies between the energies of the Cholq’ij (known as the calendar of life) and the development of our human experience as we enter into the world.  This embodiment at the start of life oriented individuals, families and the Maya society towards a deep harmony with the natural order of creation.

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

THE REST OF THE AJAW AND THE PURPOSE OF THIS NEW CYCLE

According to the tradition of the Mam Mayan Elders, on December 21 – the day of the Winter Solstice, there is a period of five days of rest for the Ajaw – the Grandfather 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. This visual station, as is seen from Earth, is for our tradition a moment of reflection known as the Cosmic Wayeb, the days of introspection and meditation. This position of the Ajaw allows us to have stillness in our mind and in our energy that also affects our physical level. This influences us according to the energies of the Choq’ij Calendar, the Calendar of Life.

Now that our Grandfather Sun began its journey we must project our purposes for this new cycle. During these days we must outline the purpose and direction that our life will take, we must program and determine what we want in every level, the changes that we are going to make and the way in which we will accomplish them, remembering that the power of our mind is infinite.

We can also create a vision at a communal level, in this vision we can determine the wellbeing of our community, also thinking that it will expand to the whole world.

It is very important to put the energy of our thoughts in the destiny of Mother Earth and Human Beings. Our thoughts and visions should be directed to halt the destruction, racism and intolerance. We must create, with all our strength, with the power of our mind and the power of our heart, the necessary energy to stop the confrontations of war to which the great world leaders are taking us.

According to the Cholq’ij Calendar, the path of Grandfather Sun has began on a day I’x, which symbolizes the strength and balance of magic. It also means the power of the Jaguar, which to the ancestral Mayas was related to the mythical Jaguar-Men who thousands of years ago restructured the pollution and chaos that existed.

This is the moment to RETURN TO BEING HUMANS!!!!

Maya Ajq’ij Carlos Barrios shares some crucial thoughts on the way we have been missing our potential and the opportunity to bring the ancient knowledge and wisdom into working harmony with modern technology.  Carlos also discussed the opportunity he sees for Saq’ Be’ to contribute to this effort, through the rescue of the tradition with documentation and other projects.  Please watch the video below.

For the Maya, there are nine levels that comprise the Underworld and thirteen levels that make up the Upper World.  We are talking about very high, subtle cosmic levels and the very subtle levels of the underworld, which are attached to what the ancestors call the Heart of Mother Earth, that igneous heart, that powerful strength that exists in the center of the Earth which the elders call K’ak’ Alom, what means the feminine spirit of the fire, of the inner fire, the fire that is connected to us human beings, that fire that is deposited in our coccyx and which ascends through our spine and activates us, gives us the energy and the spark to become a communal spirit.  The problem we westerners have, we have failed to understand that humanity has a collective purpose and that we have to evolve together to realize more subtle levels, but we got lost in selfishness, we got lost in ambition, we got lost in fear, we got lost in hatred, in jealousy, we got lost in a number of internal conflicts that do not allow us to see the greatness we posses as human beings, that do not allow us to see the extraordinary potentiality and capacity we posses and which we can develop. That is our calling, to reconnect to that ancient wisdom which is not a fake wisdom, but a tradition that has survived for many thousands of years and which is now more open to human beings to be able to evolve. That is what we are doing at this moment, together with the organization Saq’ Be’, with the brothers and sisters that are working with us, with Denise, with Douglas, with Mariano, with Grandfather Tata Pedro; we are trying to merge those two ontologies, the developed technological science of the Western world with the magical and spiritual science that is managed in the creation; these two creations can achieve what the western world has lost and that the technology that the western world has developed can be combined to develop a fully integrated and true human being, as Grandfather Mariano said, those fully integrated and complete beings who live in nature, who live in the mountains, who barely eat and who, with their creative power and their power of thought keep a balance between materialism and spirituality. So for us it is important to recover this, to document all that knowledge; this is our purpose at this moment, it is what’s most transcendent, and we really want to recover all this consciousness and knowledge, to be able to recover it, document it and transmit it.

Elder Mariano Xutumil talks about the new beings, those who have achieved perfection. He also describes that there is not only a Calendar of Life (Cholq’ij), but also a Calendar of Death and how the degeneration of the seeds and the use of GMO’s is driving our nations to live under the influence of the Calendar of Death.

…In oral tradition it is said that the Alej and the Ayew are people who achieve perfection, it is what Hinduism calls nirvana. Obviously to reach the state of Alej and Ayew several things are required, for example the loneliness needed for the person to accomplish self-understanding and which allows that person to understand the Geo-Cosmos. It has its rules; to be able to reach the Ayew and the Alej there is the need to deprive oneself from all the harmful temptations or molecules that come into contact with a person, for example consumerism, the desire for things, materialism…

…Ral Ch’och’ means son or daughter of the earth; it is sort of the first stage. That son or daughter of the earth will live from the earth, from his or her spiritual growth and after the stage of being a son or daughter of the earth the person will become a Ch’ol Winq (Alej or Ayew) who is the new being, the perfect being in this physical and tangible scenario.

…The Maya Calendar or Sacred Calendar is the tracking of time in relation to the conception and development of a human being until the time of birth, which is of nine months. It is obviously telling us that from the time of conception of the fetus up until the birth there was a process of twenty cycles, we already know that there are 20 names (nawales) and 13 numbers, so that child, at the moment of birth will be born with his Ch’umilal which means his star, it is what in Nahuatl is called the Nahual, or star… In this calendar of life, because if we say Sacred Calendar the term will not necessarily be understood, it is not understood academically, I think we have to be a bit more practical in the teachings, because that cycle is actually a tracking of time, but in relation to the life of a human being, of the nine months, therefore, I call it the Calendar of Life…

…The Calendar of Death is a calendar where there is much violence, vices, alterations in the persons order and what I understood is that when a person is born under the Calendar of Life and that person breaks the rules and principals of collective living of a nation, that person automatically stops living under the influence of the Calendar of Life and becomes influenced by the Calendar of Death…

…The genetically modified foods are the work of a minority of wicked people who are degenerating the seeds. The improvement of the seeds is necessary, because it forms part of the evolutionary process of the plants, for example in Rabinal we know about several trees that have mutated, progressed or collapsed, but the ones who have to decide the improvement of genetic quality are the owners of that Maize, in this case the Mayab’ (Mayans), who are working on this; but we need transcendent people from the Ch’ol Winq or who have reached the Nirvana to be able to do this…

…The nations and peoples of Guatemala are being victims of something that doesn’t belong to us, we are being victims of the degeneration of the seeds and we evidently know who the victimizers are. In this case, when we already have genetically modified foods practically the nations are living in a Calendar of Death…