Ben, or Aj in K’iche’ Maya, symbolizes the guiding light of family and home, and the tenderness and innocence of small children. It represents sugar cane, corn and the growth, health and abundance of offspring, seeds and crops in general; renewal and restoration; stability, strength and solidity; and resoluteness of character. It watches over professions, vocations and trades, and symbolizes the staff of authority and power. It symbolizes clairvoyance and telepathy, sacred sp

Nagual of the sun, Ahau, or Ajpu in K’iche’ Maya, epitomizes heroism in all of its forms - whether it’s the legendary Hero Twins of the Mayan creation myths, physical victory, in a battle or athletics competition, triumph over a mental or psychological challenge or issue, or conquering emotional struggle or pain. In line with these concepts, Ahau represents the blowgun hunter, the activity of hunting, death, and struggle; in fact, the glyph itself displays the face of the hun

Mystical, magical, and deeply connected to Mother Earth, Ix, or I’x in K’iche’ Maya, embodies the very soul of Nature and the spirit, energy, force, and vitality of life and all living things. The nagual of Nature and Mayan altars, it symbolizes the sacred energy pulsing through running water, such as streams and brooks, and the protective energy of places like plains, hills, and mountains. Feline and feminine in nature, Ix represents innate intuition, curiosity, and the crea

Associated with powerful psychic forces, Imix, or Imox in K’iche’ Maya, represents what is often called the “left side of reality” - those other dimensions, worlds, levels of existence that are unusual, eccentric, or in general deemed outside of what is “normal”. Accordingly, Imix symbolizes not only the receptivity to communication with or messages from these other realities and the ability to see into other worlds, but also madness, insanity, mental disorder, nervousness, u

A lush and fertile sign, Lamat, or Q’anil in K’iche’ Maya, brims with the energy of positive growth and abundance. Lamat carries the codes for all life, nourishes perpetual regeneration, and represents the seed, corn, pride, harvest, and food. A harmonious and cyclical day, it also symbolizes love, understanding, and realization, and embodies ancestral knowledge, universal memory and genetic wisdom. Lamat is the nagual of all kinds of animal and plant seeds, and the day sign

The following is an excerpt from "The Serpent and the Jaguar" by Birgitte Rasine. For those of us used to living with the no-nonsense, business-like Gregorian calendar, it can be a bit of a stretch to integrate not only a completely different timekeeping system (260 instead of 365 days, 13-day weeks, and no specific beginning or end), but also a vastly different conception of time - the concept of sacred time. The ancient Maya lived - and their descendants continue to do so