Our Ceremonial Calendar

One of the tools which our ancestors have handed down to us is a ceremonial calendar of 260 days. Each of these days is unique, pairing a day-name with a number. There are 20 different day-names and there are 13 different numbers, resulting in 260 unique days. The 20 different day-names refer to energies, which we also call nawals. Each nawal, or energy, works in different ways. Our spiritual guides have studied the meanings of the nawals and can help us understand the energy that comes with each day. This can help us in making plans or understanding the challenges that we might face. For example, today is 10 K’at. K’at is the nawal for “net,” “web,” or “fire”. It symbolizes existence and initiative. It is a day to create a safety net, seek like-minded organizations or people (network), free our thinking (disentangle) or prepare for new activities. The “net” could be a fishing net, a net to hold our harvested corn, our memory, or it could mean a tangle of problems. It is also the essence of fire, so it could be a day to disentangle problems as well. Nowadays not all of us consider our ceremonial calendar in our daily life, but it does offer us a way to think about each day to help us meet its challenges. Below you will see the symbol for K'at.