7lk - 7 Wind - John Major Jenkins

Table c:


Jan (B) -1

Feb 31

Feb (B) 30

Mar 59

Apr 90

May 120

Jun 151

Jul 181

Aug 212

Sep 243

Oct 273

Nov 304

Dec 334 ​

 

Table d: Additional Century Years for 3000 to 4800 A.D.,
effectively extending the Tzolkin Calendar
to a full 20 baktun cycle:
​

Table d: ----------------------------------- Year number Year number ----------------------------------- 3000 2232504 4000 2597747 3100 2269028 4100 2634271 3200 2305553 4200 2670795 3300 2342077 4300 2707319 3400 2378601 4400 2743844 3500 2415125 4500 2780368 3600 2451650 4600 2816892 3700 2488174 4700 2853416 3800 2524698 4800 2889941 3900 2561222

Table e: Century numbers to use
if Gregorian dates are used
for the years -3200 to 1500
(supplement to Table a).

​

Table e: Year number Year number ---------------------------------------------------------- -3200 -31999 -800 844583 -3100 4525 -700 881107 -3000 41049 -600 917631 -2900 77573 -500 954155 -2800 114098 -400 990680 -2700 150622 -300 1027204 -2600 187146 -200 1063728 -2500 223670 -100 1100252 -2400 260195 0 1136777 -2300 296719 100 1173301 -2200 333243 200 1209825 -2100 369767 300 1246349 -2000 406292 400 1282874 -1900 442816 500 1319398 -1800 479340 600 1355922 -1700 515864 700 1392446 -1600 552389 800 1428971 -1500 588913 900 1465494 -1400 625437 1000 1502019 -1300 661961 1100 1538543 -1200 698486 1200 1575068 -1100 735010 1300 1611592 -1000 771534 1400 1648116 -900 808058 1500 1684640

 

Today is 1 Monkey 15 Flaying ​

​

7 Wind provides a format for teaching about the workings
of the Mesoamerican Sacred Calendar.

Because the ancient calendar tradition is still alive in the highlands of Guatemala,
the details related here correspond with the practices of the present day Quiché Maya.

As such, this booklet is an educational calendar.

It serves as a focus for sharing the many related aspects
of the Quiché world, and offers the chance to track
the sacred count of days, in solidarity with the Quiché Maya.


The Quiché Maya
Two large groups of Mayan people survive,
one in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and one in the cool,
tropical mountains of Western Guatemala.

Which of these offers the clearest survival of the ancient calendar tradition?

Without doubt, the highlands of Guatemala, due to their remoteness,
have preserved the ancient traditions in their purest form.

The calendar tradition in the Yucatan has suffered many adjustments
and alterations since the conquest and, although the traditions
there provide other valuable ethnographic material, a
ny field work data from the Yucatan must take into account
the post-conquest distortions.

So the search unmistakably points to the Quiché Maya.

A brief introduction to Quiché history and culture will help
put into context the specific calendar practices discussed
in the remaining sections of 7 Wind.

The present-day Quiché Maya are the descendants
of a once wealthy pre-hispanic kingdom.

The Quiché forefathers came from an ancient homeland called Tulan Zuyua.

This was an area along the gulf coast in the Mexican state of Tabasco.

Toltec dynasties arose there after the fall of Tula in central Mexico,
when migrations to the Yucatan cities of Chichen Itza and Uxmal
took place around the year 1000 A.D.

Strategically situated on established migration and trade routes
between the old Toltec cities of Central Mexico
and the Classic Maya cities of the Yucatan,
Tulan Zuyua was also near the mouth of the Usamacinta river,
which leads inland through Chiapas and into the highlands of Guatemala.

Quiché documents relate that 13 separate groups of Toltec priest-warriors
migrated to the highlands around the year 1200 A.D.

The Quiché people arose and eventually grew to dominate
the other Mayan groups of the area - the Cakchiquel, Ixil, Mam, and the Tzutuhil.

Quiché civilization reached its apex just before the conquest,
circa 1450, but ultimately fell to the conquistador Pedro Alvarado in 1524.

During the conquest, the Cakchiquel leaders Nine Dog
and Three Deer were executed and the Tzutuhil chief Tecun Uman
is said to have been killed in a hand to hand duel with Alvarado
on the shores of Lake Atitlan.

The last Quiché capital was at K'umarcaaj, near Santa Cruz del Quiché.

The ruins are now known as Utatlan,
and are still the focus of shrine ceremonies and rituals.

People who speak Quiché (numbering close to 1,000,000)
and share Quiché traditions are located in various towns
throughout the highlands.

Some of these towns are: Momostenango, Santa Cruz del Quiché, Totonicapan,
El Palmar, and Chichicastenango.

The neighboring Tzutuhiles populate the shores of Lake Atitlan,
while the Ixil Maya share areas of the highlands with the Quiché
in towns such as Nebaj, Todos Santos and Huehuetenango.

Momostenango will be of particular interest to us,
because that area seems to have enjoyed a certain autonomy
over the centuries, as well as a seeming immunity from ongoing attempts
to destroy native culture.

The major reason for this goes back to the conquest,
when Quiché patrilineage leaders were given privileged positions
in the local Momostecan community.

Since then, a continuous experiment of shared government
between the Quiché and the Spaniards has taken place,
along with a blending of Christian and Indigenous symbology,
enabling the essential ancient traditions to survive.

This is not to say that the process has been without oppression and revolt.

Indeed, periodic "development programs" by Catholic catequistas
and, more recently, the Evangelicals have threatened the continuity
of the calendar traditions.

But for various reasons Momostenango has survived the worst,
even emerging from the genocidal government tactics of the 1980's
relatively unscathed.

As a result of this autonomy, and setting it apart from the many other Mayan towns
in the highlands, Momostenango retains a complex practice of visiting local earth-shrines
on specific days in the sacred count.

These practices have been recorded in the excellent book
Time and the Highland Maya, by Barbara Tedlock.

Provided with this valuable information,
we can explore the meaning of Mayan time and earth-worship.

What a wonderful place Momostenango must be - where calendar-priests
of all kinds, from different towns even, climb the sacred mountain
s to burn copal and pray to Day-Gods, the Year-Bearer,
and to Nantat, the ancestors.

It seems that the entire geography surrounding Momostenango
has been made sacred, by regular ceremonies at family, community
, and regional earth-shrines.

Indeed, Momostenango is a Nahuatl term meaning "place of the shrines."

It is also the place where the most famous indigenous festival timed
by the tzolkin calendar is held: the 8 Monkey festival.

So it seems that the Quiché people can be traced back to the Toltecs ​

• the builders of Teotihuacan in Central Mexico. ​
• And along the way other influences were absorbed, ​
• those of the Yucatec Maya and the Nahuatl, ​
• many of whom came from Tlaxcala with Pedro Alvarado. ​
• And even before the conquest, trade routes were well established ​
• with the major parts of Mesoamerica.​
• Going back further in time, who were the people that the migrating ​
• Toltec warriors encountered in the highlands, ​
• with whom blood alliances were inevitably established? ​

Perhaps they were descendants of the Olmecs,
who are known to have had towns in Guatemala
- giant Olmec heads can still be found in the central park of El Baul
on the pacific slopes.

Some of this we can only speculate about,
but one thing is for certain:

The ancient tzolkin count has survived in the mountains of Guatemala.

The importance of this cannot be understated.

Contrary to what many think, the Maya have not been conquered.

In remote villages in the mountains of Guatemala,
their culture lives on, though forever changed
by the European invasion.

Amazingly, and as a testimony to its universal appeal,
the Sacred Calendar has survived for some 3000 years.

The passage of days has been followed unbroken all that time,
from before the Buddha, through all of Western History
and on down to the present.

The Maya have admittedly undergone many changes
— migrations, invasions and wars have come and gone
in the vast expanse of time since the Sacred Count first emerged.

And now we find ourselves nearing the end of a Great Cycle of time
as conceived by the ancient Maya.

Perhaps it is time that we sat down to counsel with the Quiché Maya
—"the last holders of the torch."
​

 

Mayan Time
When we study the Sacred Calendar presented within,
we soon discover that it is an incredible mind-boggling method of tracking time.

The Maya combined a year cycle of 365 days with a sacred cycle of 260 days.

The year cycle was called a haab, and the sacred cycle was called the tzolkin.

The term tzolkin is derived from the Quiché phrase Ch'ol Q'ij - count of days.

The tzolkin and haab synchronize every 52 haab (just under 52 years).

This large period of time was called the Calendar Round.

The framework of days created by combining the tzolkin
and haab serves many purposes, and this is why it is incredible.

The problem with our calendar, the Gregorian calendar,
is that it is only used to track time!

The Mayan tzolkin/haab system was used to track astronomical cycles,
as well as agricultural and human cycles.

Because of this, it provides a model in which human life
is mirrored by the celestial cycles of Moon, Venus, Mars and certain stars.

As they say in the Far East, the microcosm reflects the macrocosm.

This principle became a distinguishing feature of the philosophies
of the Far East, as well as in the religions of Native America.

Throughout the various aspects of Quiché culture,
we find this unifying principle in operation.

It indicates an attitude of "learning from nature,"
which in turn leads to an understanding of human nature.

And what is it to be human?

The skywatchers of ancient Central America may have asked themselves
that same question many times.

And it is difficult to reconcile this paradox, however true it rings:
that we come from stars and spring from the earth,
and the greatest gifts of life are simply a mystery.

As mentioned, the tzolkin/haab encodes an expanded,
more comprehensive conception of time,
one in which astronomical, agricultural, meteorological,
cultural and human cycles are all interrelated.

In following the Sacred Count of Days along with the Quiché Maya,
we may begin to understand more deeply their profound conception
of the earth as a living, spiritual being.


Jungle Time

The many interlocking cycles of Mayan time suggest
the inner meaning of the Mayan world view.

A good analogy for the Mayan cosmo-conception,
encoded in their calendric number philosophy, is the jungle.

The jungle is a place of incredible variety, a multitude of organic forms
competing for sunlight, yet all participating in a dynamic
and delicately balanced drama of life and death.

Likewise, the component cycles of the Mayan calendar
combine in varying degrees of harmony and dissonance.

The "key constant" of the Mayan time system is the 260-day cycle,
which corresponds to the 9-moon cycle of human gestation.

The world-view thus springing from the tzolkin "key" is profoundly organic.

Strangely, its uses in predicting astronomical cycles are just as profound.

And this is the heart of the mystery of the tzolkin.

It provides a calendric framework which describes the cycles
in the microcosm of nature as well as the cycles of the macrocosm.

As such, it provides a metaphysical model for understanding
the interface of subjective and objective reality.

In light of our present environmental crisis,
which springs from an incomplete understanding
of the relationship of mind to nature,
the Mayan sacred calendar offers a much needed new paradigm.

(Actually, it is only "new" to us.)

When we look at all of its multiple meanings,
we discover that it is much more than a calendar.

One may think that because the haab uses a 365-day approximation
of the solar year, without any leap-years,
that the Mayan calendar is less accurate
and therefore inferior to our Gregorian system.

It is a mistake to think of the sacred calendar in this way.

As just explored, the framework of days provided by the tzolkin/haab
is a mytho-computer more comprehensive in its scope than our Gregorian.

In addition, the ancient Maya were quite aware
of the true solar year of 365.2422 days.

This is evident for two reasons.

First, they knew that 1507 true solar years was equal to 1508 haab.

Second, with their Long Count calendar they could calculate solstice
and equinox positions for many thousands of years into the future.

This explains how they could have placed the end date of
the Long Count Great Cycle exactly on the winter solstice of 2012 A.D.

This is truly phenomenal considering that the Long Count
was conceived around 300 B.C.!

The Maya chose to retain the "no leap-year" tzolkin/haab framework
because they recognized and used its phenomenal multidimensional implications.

One of these was that it structures the cycle of Venus.

Early on in the development of Mayan culture,
the skywatchers discovered that a period of 2 Calendar Rounds
delineates when the Venus cycle synchronizes with the tzolkin/haab.

This 2 Calendar Round period is called a Venus Round.

The beginning of the Venus cycle was figured to be
when it emerges as morning-star.

This occurs about every 584 days.

This 584-day cycle meshes with the 260-day tzolkin
in such a way that Venus always emerges on 5 possible day-signs.

Mythologies developed around these five day-signs.

One of the day-signs was the most significant,
because it indicated the Venus morningstar appearance
which synchronized all three cycles of tzolkin, haab and Venus, t
o begin a new Venus Round period.

This day was 1 Ahau, the Sacred Day of Venus.

But the present day Maya no longer follow the Venus Calendar,
and only vaguely recognize the Calendar Round period.

Yet the Mayan Venus Round calendar was very important
to the pre-conquest Maya.

If we choose to, we can resurrect it, adjust for accumulated discrepancies,
and begin following it again in honor of the ancient Maya.

And, in accordance with what we already suspect about Mayan calendars
, it is more than simply a predictive calendar;

mythologies are interwoven with the movements of Venus.

The ancient Popol Vuh of the Quiché Maya relates the adventures
of the Hero twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque as they battle
with the Lords of Xibalba.

Their adventures are actually metaphors for the movement of Venus
through 5 cycles.

And the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl journeys through the underworld
and ultimately ascends to become the morningstar Venus.

In my recent book Tzolkin, I have shown that the Venus Calendar system
of the ancient Maya still works.

I also demonstrate how it is that the next Sacred Day of Venus
occurs on the Venus rising of April 3rd, 2001 - which is 1 Ahau.

At any rate, we will limit this introduction to the tzolkin/haab calendar,
which the surviving Maya of Guatemala still follow.

Everything related to the Venus Calendar can, without alteration,
fall into the tzolkin/haab framework.

We'll discuss this a bit more in the "Implications" chapter.


Tzolkin: 13 and 20

The 260-day tzolkin arises from 20 day-signs combined with a number from 1 to 13.

The progression of days and numbers is different
than our system of months and numbers.

In our year system, July 3rd is followed by July 4th, July 5th and so on.

In the tzolkin,
1 Tooth is followed by 2 Staff, 3 Jaguar, 4 Eagle and so on.

In other words, the numbers and day-signs both click off simultaneously.

Twenty is a key number in Mayan mathematics.

It is based on the 10 fingers and 10 toes.

The twenty day-signs are glyphic representations
of important themes in Mayan life.

As a whole, the meanings behind the 20 day-signs
suggest a journey of unfolding from first to last.

To give each day-sign a one word translation is somewhat misleading.

When a daykeeper casts a reading for a client,
he or she intends to answer questions or resolve a crisis
by using the tzolkin as an oracle.

In such a practice, the multiple interpretations of the day-signs
are considered in determining the reading.

The expanded meanings are derived through linguistic associations
- through word puns and rhymes.

So the one-word translations that follow are only sketches
of the full meanings of the day-signs, as understood by the Quiché: ​

• Earth
• Wind
• House
• Lizard
• Serpent
• Death
• Deer
• Rabbit
• Rain
• Dog
• Monkey
• Tooth
• Staff
• Jaguar
• Eagle
• Owl
• Quake
• Knife
• Storm
• Birth

​

​

Alternative meanings: ​

• Earth - Alligator
• House - Night
• Rain - Water
• Tooth - Road
• Staff - Caneplant
• Quake - Thought
• Knife - Flint
• Birth - Lord

​

​

These are similar to the Classic Maya meanings.

Strangely, the geomantic journey implied from this sequence ends
with the day-sign Ahau, which I have translated as birth.

The reason for supposing that Ahau can be equated with birth
is because 1 Ahau, as the Sacred Day of Venus,
designates the conjunction of the three cycles of Venus, haab and tzolkin,

and the beginning of a new Venus Round period of 104 haab.

Needless to say, beginnings are related to birth.

The image gains graphic support when we realize that Venus emerges
as morningstar on this date, being visibly "shot forth" or "born"
from the morning sun.

Also, the Yucatec Maya translation of Ahau is "marksman" or "blowgunner."

That the 20-day sequence ends with Birth refers to the Mayan concept
of time as not only cyclic, but as leading to something new.

Mayan time encodes an unfolding type of cycle,
a spiral growth of human and cosmic proportions
- something beyond the scope of circular "clock" time.

The 13 numbers have at least two meanings in Quiché thought.

As Barbara Tedlock points out in her wonderful book Time and the Highland Maya,
the Quiché Maya recognize 13 phases of the moon from new to full.

At first thought this may seem questionable,

but anyone watching the waxing of the moon
will discover that this is quite accurate.

The lunar month equals 29.6 days.

The moon is not visible at new moon,
as it is too close to the sun to be observed after sunset.

On the second day it is usually visible as a sliver in the west right around sunset.

Counting forward, the moon increases in phase for 13 days.

Each day represents a distinct phase during the moon's growth to fullness.


By day 13, for all apparent purposes, it is full ​

• the moon actually appears to be full for 2 to 3 days.​
• In this way 13 symbolizes the growth of the moon from new to full. ​

Furthermore, the phases actually indicate the three-way relationship
between the earth, sun and moon, something that is not immediately apparent.

In a similar way, the 365-day "solar" cycle is in fact the "earth" cycle
of the earth around the sun. If we think through the apparently obvious
from different perspectives, the paradoxical secrets of nature are revealed.

The Quiché Maya of Momostenango retain another interpretation
of the meaning of the 13 numbers.

The geography around Momostenango is mountainous,
and there are many shrines for miles around which need
to be visited on specific tzolkin days.

The sites closer to town, the ones at a lower elevation, are visited on tzolkin days
with a lower number (for example: 3 Quake).

Shrines on the high distant mountains are visited on days with a high number,
for example: 11 Wind or 13 Staff.

So the 13 numbers also represent verticality in Quiché thought. ​

 

Origins
Perhaps the greatest mystery surrounding the tzolkin count is its origins.

Why 260?

Some say that the 260 day-cycle arose to structure planting and harvesting dates.

It does happen to correspond with the time between planting and harvesting
of certain types of corn in highland Guatemala.

Yet it is generally thought that the Sacred Calendar
originated among the lowland Olmec, sometime around 700 B.C.

The earliest tzolkin date known was found at an Olmec site
and corresponds with 679 B.C.

Another explanation is that the 260-day cycle is derived
from early attempts to track the movements of Venus and the sun.

One explanation given among contemporary Quiché daykeepers
is that it corresponds to the 260-day period of human gestation.

This equals approximately nine months,
and is therefore one reason for calling the tzolkin a "lunar" calendar.

The origins of the sacred calendar are ultimately shrouded in mystery.

In my studies I have been mainly concerned with searching for the essence
of its incredible qualities.

Above all, the tzolkin has many different uses, or what I call "multiple meanings."

This very fact may be why the number 260 was considered to be sacred.
​

 

The Gregorian Calendar
Just to clarify, the calendar system which is now used
virtually around the globe is called the Gregorian calendar.

It is a highly accurate calendar,
a perfection of the Julian Calendar,
and came into use in the year 1582.

It utilizes a leap year every four years.

And to adjust for a further discrepancy,
it ignores leap years if the year is divisible by 100
but not by 400.

Thus the years 1600 and 2000 are leap years,
but 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not.​

 

Haab
The haab (pronounced "hob") is the yearly cycle of 365 days,
and the term means "cycle of rains."

It consists of 18 months of 20 days each,
with a 5 day extra month at the end.

The Mayan word for these 20-day months is uinal.

The haab count proceeds like our own month and days.

For example: 3 Bird Days is followed by 4 Bird Days, 5 Bird Days and so on.

Unlike the Classic Period Maya, who started their months with 0,
the Quiché count month-days from 1 to 20.

The Quiché still use the haab count,
though it doesn't seem to have as much importance
as the tzolkin count.

It just may be that the intervention of the Gregorian calendar
replaced the haab as a useful "civil" calendar.

The difference is that the haab doesn't recognize leap years,
and therefore preserves a repeating count of 365 days.

This is important so that its mythological relationship
to the tzolkin stays consistent.

Also, the New Years Day of the haab is not January 1st.

The New Years Day celebrated by the Quiché presently falls on Feb 26th.

Many ceremonies occur in preparation for this event.

Because the haab does not count leap-years,
New Years Day falls back one day every four years.

The eighteen months are named as follows: ​

Translation: / Quiché Term:

1) First Lord / Nabe Mam
2) Second Lord / U Cab Mam
3) Soft Earth / Liquin Ca
4) Second Soft Earth / U Cab Liquin Ca
5) First Moss / Nabe Pach
6) Second Moss / U Cab Pach
7) Tender Shoots / Tz'izil Lacam
8) Bird Days / Tz'iquin Q'ih
9) Red Clouds / Cakam
10) Jaguar / Balam
11) First Flower / Nabe Zih
12) Second Flower / U Cab Zih
13) Third Flower / R Ox Zih
14) Trees / Chee
15) Flaying / Tequexepual
16) Painted Mat / Tz'iba Pop
17) Fire / Kak
18) Arrow / Ch'ab ​

​

The 19th month of 5 days is called "Extra Days".

This is a time when people stay at home, abstain from sex and eat little.

They are preparing for the entering of the next year bearer.

The month names may not be explicitely
recollected at the beginning of each uinal.

Nevertheless, the first day of each uinal is celebrated
as an echo of the year bearer. ​

 

Year Bearers
Each year is named according to the tzolkin day which falls on New Years Day.

The 260-day and 365-day cycle mesh in such a way that the first day of the haab
(New Years Day) can fall on 4 possible day-signs.

This is because 20 goes into 365 days eighteen times with 5 left over.

Thus, every year the day-sign falling on New Years Day increases by five.

Five goes into twenty 4 times, and so there are four possible year bearers.

The year bearers represent the 4 directions,
and correspond with the 4 sacred mountains around Momostenango.

The 5 days of the "Extra Days" month leading up to the entering
of the new year bearer are filled with anxious expectation,
councils and talk of the qualities of the coming year bearer.

The 4 year bearers of the Quiché Maya are:

Wind, Deer, Tooth, and Quake.

The numbers associated with each year bearer increase
by one every year (13 goes into 365 twenty-eight times with 1 left over).

In this way, the year which begins on Feb. 26th, 1993 is 7 Wind.

Wind is known as a very bravo year bearer,
bringing violent rainstorms or else windstorms without rain.

On 1, 6 and 8 Wind days during a Wind year,
daykeepers ask that lightning, earthquakes
and floods do not destroy their homes.

They also ask that negative emotions do not attack themselves
, their family, or their clients.

The following year, beginning on Feb 26th, 1994
is called 8 Deer.

8 Deer is a special day for the Quiché,
and it will be interesting to learn whether
the entering of this year bearer in '94
will entail any special ceremonies.


The Year Bearer is also the Month Bearer

The eighteen haab months each have 20 days.

Because of this, each haab month necessarily
begins on the year bearer day-sign.

The number, however, will change from month to month.

So the year bearer also is the haab month bearer,
and the year bearer is honored on these days
- the first day of each haab month.

The twenty-day month wheels in 7 Wind
all begin on Wind, and designate the 18 haab months.

Because Wind is regarded as a particularly violent year-bearer,
it is only observed on a few of the uinals,
ones which begin with 1 Wind, 6 Wind and 8 Wind.

These regular celebrations typically involve fireworks,
alcohol and shrine ceremonies.


New Years Day

Why February 26th?

One can only speculate on this matter.

Throughout Mayan history, calendric shifts
usually involved the year-bearer system used
and New Years Day.

It is important to note that the sacred 260-day cycle itself
always remained unbroken.

Perhaps when the Quiché and Ixil people migrated
to the highlands of Guatemala around the year 1200 A.D.,

they implemented a shift to coordinate New Years Day
with the fall equinox.

Since then, New Years Day has fallen back over 200 days,
so that in 1993 it occurs on February 26th.

Or perhaps they made a change to coordinate New Years Day
with a Venus rising ​

• to synchronize the Calendar Round beginning with the Venus Round beginning. ​

At any rate, the Quiché New Years Day no doubt originated
from the Classic Maya New Years Day (300 A.D. - 900 A.D.),
which, although no longer followed by any Mayan group,
occurs 40 days after the Quiché New Year's. I

t won't be until the year 2217
that the Quiché New Year's corresponds with January 1st.


The Little New Year

Now, let's remember that the tzolkin cycle has 260 days.

Because of this, the year bearer which entered in February
will return in November!

For example, 7 Wind enters as the year bearer on Feb 26th, 1993.

This is the first day of the first haab month, First Lord.

The first day of the second haab month (Second Lord) falls on 1 Wind,
and the next on 8 Wind, 2 Wind, 9 Wind, and so on.

After 13 haab months are passed through,
7 Wind returns to initiate the 14th haab month (Trees)
on November 13th.

This is recognized by the Quiché as a "little New Year."


The Four Sacred Mountains

The four year bearers are said to "enter" on four
of the many sacred mountains which surround Momostenango.

Each year bearer corresponds with a specific mountain
and direction, as follows:

Mountain: Direction: Year-Bearer:

Socop West Wind Quilaja East Deer Tamancu South Tooth Joyan Southwest Quake

There are two additional day-signs known as "secretaries"
which help the year bearers enter.

Eagle enters on the sacred mountain of the north,
Pipil, and Lizard enters on Joyan.

But there's no need to unnecessarily complicate the picture.

Suffice it to say that the Quiché went to great pains
to create a rich field of mythological symbols.

Wind will enter on the sacred mountain of west, Socop,
on February 26th, 1993.

The 5 days leading up to the entering of this year bearer
are the 5 "unlucky" days,
as the 6 Quake year leaves.

Activity is curtailed, people stay at home and eat little.

They especially abstain from sex and green vegetables.

On the day before the year bearer enters,
what we would call New Years Eve,
the daykeepers prepare for the impending celebration
with prayers to the earth-god Mundo
and the new year bearer, which is called by the Ixil Maya the mam.

And the culture at large prepares for festivities and fireworks,
usually beginning at midnight.

But even after sunset on New Years Eve,
it is recognized that the old year bearer has now left,
and the new year bearer begins to stir.

Exactly at what point the day-sign's influence begins
is a matter of contention, even among the daykeepers themselves.

Some say it begins at sunrise, while others insist it begins at midnight.

An argument could be made for the first stirrings of a day-sign at sunset
of the previous day, or even after the sun passes its zenith
on the previous day.

And yet a day is generally considered over when the sun sets
(the word Q'ij means both day and sun).

At any rate, the modern Quiché seem to time at least some of their celebrations
as the clock strikes 12, so to speak.
​

 

The Calendar Round

The combination of tzolkin and haab create a large cycle of 52 haab,
known as a Calendar Round.

It equals just 13 days less than 52 solar years.

It consists of 18,980 days, or 73 tzolkin cycles and 52 haab cycles.

The math: ​

73 x 260 = 52 x 365 = 18,980 days.
​

​

The question of when this period begins depends upon which year bearer
is considered to be the "senior" year bearer.

When the number 1 rolls around to join with the senior year bearer,
Calendar Round celebrations took place.

Unfortunately, the present day Quiché have little interest in this large cycle,
although they still vaguely acknowledge it.

We can reconstruct the Quiché Calendar Round
based upon the fact that Deer is the senior year bearer
of the Quiché (as well as for the Ixil Maya).

A list of year bearers will help us locate
when 1 Deer occurs as the year bearer: ​

1993: 7 Wind
1994: 8 Deer
1995: 9 Tooth
1996: 10 Quake
1997: 11 Wind
1998: 12 Deer
1999: 13 Tooth
2000: 1 Quake
2001: 2 Wind
2002: 3 Deer
2003: 4 Tooth
2004: 5 Quake
2005: 6 Wind
2006: 7 Deer
2007: 8 Tooth
2008: 9 Quake
2009: 10 Wind
2010: 11 Deer
2011: 12 Tooth
2012: 13 Quake
2013: 1 Wind
2014: 2 Deer
2015: 3 Tooth
2016: 4 Quake
2017: 5 Wind
2018: 6 Deer
2019: 7 Tooth
2020: 8 Quake
2021: 9 Wind
2022: 10 Deer
2023: 11 Tooth
2024: 12 Quake
2025: 13 Wind
2026: 1 Deer
​

​

The next Quiché Calendar Round begins on February 18th in the year 2026.

This means that the present Calendar Round began on March 3rd, 1974.

The Calendar Round cycle is useful when we begin to explore
the larger planetaryand eclipse cycles,
and how the tzolkin/haab was originally intended to structure them.

For instance, the ancient Venus Round calendar
is comprised of 2 consecutive Calendar Rounds.

Twenty of these Venus Rounds equal thirteen conjunctions of Uranus and Neptune
(there's that 20:13).

Another example:

The astronomical eclipse half-year is 173.3 days.

This period of time indicates the interval
between when eclipses can be expected to occur.

It just so happens that three of these eclipse half-years equal two tzolkins: ​

173.3 x 3 = 260 x 2 = 520 days. ​

​

This is an aspect of the calendar that one rediscovers in ones studies,
although it is not directly applicable to the present day Quiché Maya.
​