Living Maya Time – Symbols of Q’anil

I traded my usual flute of sparkling champagne for a sponge filled with bubbly soap to welcome the Gregorian new year of 2026. Last trecena, Tz’ikin offered an expanded vision of the path to prosperity and I wanted to view that path with a clear lens. This opportunity to see with the clarity of the eagle inspired me to clean and clear every corner of my physical life. My house, my car and even my office. On the ceremonial day of the trecena, 8 Iq, I performed a purification ritual. I washed all of my window sills and door thresholds with a salt water wash infused with lavender and cypress oil and fresh eucalyptus leaves. As I opened each window, I invited the fresh and recalibrating energy of the new solar year to clear away any stale or dense energy that no longer served.

Today we welcome the energy of Q’anil. Q’an means yellow and combined with the suffix il it means yellowing or ripening. The glyph for the nawal of Q’anil represents a perforation upon the earth separating four seeds that represent the four colors of corn: red, black, white and yellow. It is the planting of the seed, but also the harvesting of the crop. It is the continuum from germination to maturity. It’s the path from the vision offered by Tz’ikin to the manifestation into physical form through our careful tending. In the brilliant lucidity of my purified reality, two seeds were offered. The first was an educational path that will enable my son to take over my business when I’m ready to retire and the second was a traditional publishing contract for my second book which I’m currently in the middle of writing.

These are the seeds that I’m planting today in my garden under the benevolent and sunny energies of Q’anil. My seeds are hearty and from a known lineage. This next cycle will be about refinement for me. Refinement and dissemination of all the wisdom I’ve gained over the past three decades of traversing the landscapes of money and energy. I’ve come to understand how they intersect and how to make both work for you in a balanced and aligned way. I was also shown the vision for the cover of my new book. It’s a Mayan T shaped window overlooking a garden of spring flowers. The title of the book will be, A Second Spring: Money, Menopause and Magic. I can’t wait to share it with you once it’s finally born.

In the meantime, I invite you to choose your own couple of seeds to germinate today. What ideas presented themselves in the space between Christmas and New Year’s? Maybe today is the day your wishes can begin to come true. Your intentions will be in alignment with a calendar that is as old and as wise as time itself.

Happy New You,

Cara xoxo

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of K’at

It’s hard to believe that this marks a full cycle since I began writing again. My intention has been realized. I’ve deepened my understanding of the Nawales through writing about my experiences. It’s expanded me and my web of connection. K’at is this energy of connection. It’s also the net that carries our crops. It is the Nawal of the harvest.

Harvest came yesterday for our cannabis plants. The sun leaves were dry and yellow. Unusual humidity threatened to bring mold. Time to gift what’s left of last seasons flower. This is the invitation of K’at. By releasing what we do not need, we unburden ourselves and we nurture our connection to our community. Reciprocity in action.

It’s not always easy to know what we need to release. Slowing down long enough to listen is sometimes the hardest part. The creative energy of B’atz left me buzzing. So many threads were offered. Exciting, but overwhelming. Clarity about what to keep has not arrived. I need to be patient or I risk creating a knot with all the threads instead of a beautiful tapestry.

Ceremony and ritual are my methods to cultivate patience. They anchor me when the pace feels too fast. The dance of the fire offers an opportunity for reflection. Offerings strengthen my connection to spirit. It can be as simple as lighting a candle and some incense. Or it can be an elaborate fire ceremony shared with the entire community. I’m not sure what I’ll be up for next weekend when Wajxaqib B’atz arrives, but I know it will bring an energy of renewal.

Exercise discernment as you decide what to release and what to hold onto over the next 13 days. Packing lightly for your next journey is advised. If you don’t, there may be no room for anything new.

Until next time.

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Kawoq

I am welcoming today’s energies with an optimism that I have not felt in a very long time. Kame’s alchemy has transformed my perspective. I am ready to birth a new reality. Kawoq is both the midwife and the rainstorm. She can be a gentle sprinkle or a violent storm. Either way, she is there to ensure that new life and new creations are born. In perfect harmony, the Kawoq trecena follows the trecena of Kame. Kame is death, transformation and the ancestors. Kame extinguishes that which no longer serves our path. Kawoq follows to cleanse and purify us. She guides us through the rebirth process. She is the wisdom of the grandmothers and the divine feminine.

My pinched nerve turned out to be a rib out of place. It was really uncomfortable. And yet, all I could think about was getting back up into the attic. The momentum had started. I had the support of the ancestors. Now was the time. My enthusiasm was undaunted and I was rewarded. After all the empty card board boxes had been removed and recycled, there was plenty of space to view what remained.

The Mineral people were welcomed outdoors with a smudging ceremony.

Feathers, rocks and shells were the souvenirs of a lifetime of family camping trips, spiritual vision quests and hiking with friends. The attic was filled with mineral people eager to be liberated. This is where we began excavating memories. We did not confront the past as I had imagined, we were welcomed by it. We made ourselves comfortable and spent some time there. It was delightful. I could only agree with my mother when she remarked, “We sure had a lot of fun, didn’t we?”

Kame has gifted me with the perspective that transformation does not have to be uncomfortable. It can come gently and easily. Just like the adjustment from my chiropractor. I’m nurturing this energy by beginning the Kawoq trecena with a two-day meditation retreat. Quieting my mind to listen for what wants to be born. The Maya believe that time is a thread that weaves reality. Being still offers the opportunity to create our reality with conscious intention. To mindfully weave our experience. Seeking the wisdom of women will be supported and particularly blessed over the next thirteen days. I’ll be staying with my friend Cathryn this weekend. She invited me to the retreat. She’s very wise and also lots of fun. I can’t wait to initiate these creation energies together with her.

Joyfully Yours,

Cara

Living Maya Time – The Trecena of Q’anil

The Trecena of Q’anil began on April 25th and finishes today. Another Trecena I am studying in retrospect. The Nawal Q’anil represents the ripening of the seed. It is associated with planting, natural cycles, creation and the harvest. It is the Nawal of farmers. For me, it has been an opportunity to reflect and to plant new seeds for the next cycle. The day 1 Q’anil hosted both my niece’s and my new sister’s birthdays this year. Numbers are the language the Universe uses the most to communicate with me. Numbers always have my attention.

The Q’anil Trecena also hosted the one-year anniversary of my sisters passing. It’s strange what we will remember after a traumatic event. I remember that it was the day of the Kentucky Derby. We happened to turn on the television just as the race was finishing. The same thing happened this year. A small reminder of how much had changed during the last solar cycle. I still forget that my sister isn’t here anymore. I will have something that I want to share with her, something she would enjoy or find amusing, and then I remember. I don’t cry every day anymore, but her absence is still noted. There was an ease between us. She saw me in a way no one else did. We were twins.

The closing of one cycle always welcomes a new one. Crafting a plan of study so that my son can become my business partner, not just an employee, are the seeds I have been planting. Intentionally expanding my business to accommodate his blossoming skills has also been part of my sowing.

This year also brought me a new, bonus sister. My step mother reconnected with her foster daughter a number of years ago and last year they formalized their relationship when Linda adopted Maat. Maat organized the tropical vacation during the Trecena of Aq’ab’al and it was love at first meet for me. An only child, Maat welcomed me enthusiastically, as though we had known each other for a lifetime. My wealth, my harvest and my abundance have always been my family. The energy of Q’anil illuminated that for me over these past thirteen days.

Tomorrow will welcome the Nawal of Imox. For some, this represents the beginning of a new calendar cycle. Imox is the Nawal of the oceans and the collective consciousness. It can be seen as the moment before creation. An opportunity for the seeds that we have planted in the last cycle to germinate. A time to visualize a new dream.

Happy Dreaming,

Cara

xoxo