Overview of Sacred Time

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 ancient Maya lived - and their descendants continue to do so today - with both ordinary and sacred concepts of time. They use their solar Haab calendar, which is closer to our Gregorian, for agriculture, accounting, and other practical matters, while the Tzolk'in serves a deeply personal and spiritual purpose.

Each Energy of the Day is an interpretation of the combined energies of the day sign and the lunar tone of the number, taken within the underlying context of the current trecena as well as the society we live in. This is the key to the daily energies of the Tzolk'in. The energy produced by the union of the day sign and the lunar tone of the number takes on a different flavor and essence than that of of the day sign and the number individually. In other words, each day's energy is unique. We could in fact go so far as to say that every single day that has ever dawned on Earth, has been like no other before or after. That sure takes the boredom out of life, doesn't it!"