#ancestors – Cara Carozza

Living Maya Time – Symbols of Toj

I’ve had a lot of opportunities for gratitude over the past thirteen days, but I was not immune to the sting that the medicine of Ajmaq often brings. After eight long months and many hours on the phone with the Internal Revenue Service, Mercury Retrograde delivered my sister’s tax refund. The last thing I had been waiting for in order to finally close her estate. All that remained was to sort through her personal possessions. She left a surprisingly small amount of stuff. She’d done a massive purge and even managed to get her house into escrow in the weeks leading up to her suicide. She made the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do as easy as it could possibly be for me. For this I will always be grateful.

I’ve kept what I think my niece and nephew will want the most when they are finally able to look at it. I found a few things that I know they will never want to see. I’ve set those aside to burn in ceremony this evening. Today we welcome the energy of Toj. Toj is the Nawal of reciprocity and the sacred fire. The fire ceremony is the Mayan’s most fundamental ritual and also my favorite. The fire is our portal to communion with the spiritual realms and our ancestors. It’s where we offer spiritual food to the energies that sustain us. Toj teaches that in order to have balance in our lives, we must make offerings in payment for what we have received.

I’ll be offering rose petals and rosemary from my own garden today. I’ve been trying to use what I have and what already knows the land. I will also offer cacao, tobacco, copal and agua florida from my favorite local sources in Central America. Supporting the indigenous wisdom keepers of the spiritual practices that feed my soul is part of the reciprocity of Toj. It’s another offering from me to create balance in my life.

The fire also offers an opportunity for purification. Fire cleanses and transmutes. Today I will burn the documents of old agreements. I will pray for the transmutation and renewal that only the flame can deliver and I will offer prayers of gratitude for the financial stability that my sister’s departure has created for me. I invite you to light a candle each day for the next thirteen days and take a moment to offer your presence and your gratitude for what you’ve received this year.

In Service,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Kame

In my zeal to stand up tall and do what is right for the community, I’ve managed to pinch a nerve. It feels like there is a knife lodged alongside my left shoulder blade. The benevolent and hard-working energies of the Aj trecena had me sorting a life time of memories in my parents’ attic last week. Most of it had not been touched in nearly twenty-five years. Feeling strong and healthy, with a desire to better use the spaces that three generations are now occupying, I dove in eagerly. Perhaps I over did it? It felt so good to be moving all day, to spend time with my mother and to create at least the possibility that some of it can be let go of.

Kame is the energy of death, rebirth and transformation. The Maya view time as circular, not linear. Time is a cycle and death is part of that cycle. As the saying goes, “Out with the old and in with the new.” Kame is also the Nawal of the ancestors. An ideal day to honor your deceased loved ones or ask for their guidance.

While physically challenging, sorting all the stuff in the attic was the easy part. The hard part will be confronting the past. The unrealized plans and dreams. Your own unlined face and the faces of others that are no longer with you. Kame will bring the ideal energy to support this process if one chooses to engage with it.

Some prayers to the ancestors wouldn’t hurt either. I’ve already created a special spot on my alter for my Nana for this trecena. My Nana was a minimalist and an immaculate housekeeper. She was also a bookkeeper. My Mother’s Mother holds a very special place in my heart. I inherited a lot of her habits and skills and they serve me every day. She’s my perfect ally for the potential this trecena offers our homestead.

The roses we planted two seasons ago are finally flourishing. My Nana loved yellow roses. Every year on her birthday my grandfather would buy her a dozen yellow roses. The glory of summer flowers is a powerful reminder of how life is constantly renewing itself. Growth and renewal are the natural outcome of death and destruction. It’s the alchemy of life and it’s the energy of Kame. May you find comfort in the cycles of your life and in the wisdom of your lineage.

Eternally yours,

Cara

Equinox Gateway 2022

The Equinox gateway is open, my friends! It started on 22 of September 2022. All those 2s give me chills!…in a good way.

This Equinox date marks the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Equinox is a spiritually potent time, as the veil between realms is thinner than usual. Maybe that’s why you have been feeling an overwhelming urge to travel to the home you grew up in and connect with old memories? Or perhaps you need to spend some time with family, talking about loved ones who have passed, creating a family tree or scrapbook. Strengthening family roots will make you feel grounded and aligned to life beyond what we can see. It’s a great time to ask your ancestors to support you and to petition on behalf of other family members too.

During an equinox, the Sun crosses what we call the “celestial equator” — an imaginary extension of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the Sun’s center passes through this line.

Just a word of caution: the information, downloads, flashbacks, DNA upgrades, dreams, new codes and experiences at this time can be very overwhelming. You need to find ways to TRANSMUTE, ANCHOR, GROUND & CHANNEL it all. Use the four elements of nature (earth, water, air & fire) to assist you as far as possible.

I plan to harvest some lovely cannabis (earth), spend time soaking in the bathtub with my man (water), hike in the fresh mountain (air) and also write a few release letters which I plan to burn in a ritual (fire). I also plan to cook something warm and delicious and I will definitely be using an onion or two. I don’t know if you know this superstition about the Autumn equinox but legend has it that the onion’s skin has a lot to tell about the kind of Winter that you’re going to have. Thin skin= fairly easy one. Thick skin = …well, let’s just say ….get the Kleenex ready. Ha ha ha!

Let me know how it shapes up for you.

Sending you Libra season love and wishes of balance,

Cara

P.S. Please remember that Mercury is still retrograde until October 3rd. Watch your words! There is a big cautionary about gossip/hearsay/miscommunication/arguments/judgement.