I woke this morning to the howling sounds of the wind. Iq was making itself known. The glyph or symbol for Iq signifies a window. It is thought of as the breath of life and rules communication. The energy of Iq encourages adaptability. It can change in an instant just like the wind.
After this second Eclipse, I could use a breath of fresh air. Before I short circuit. Iq beckoned me outdoors today and I am feeling refreshed and revitalized. Another strong nawal, Iq clears the way for change. It invites us to remember the profound impact of our words in shaping our reality. The energy of Iq demonstrates why prayer is so powerful, especially in unison.
Prayer is what I had when I didn’t want to live anymore. When music, cannabis and even making love brought no peace, prayer is what I turned to. I was gifted a mantra that anchored me when sleep alluded me for days at a time. Speaking some uncomfortable truths to clients, my family and most importantly myself, was what ultimately banished my demons. Saq Iq’ means soul in the K’iche’ Mayan language. Iq is the nawal of divine inspiration. For the Maya to express yourself eloquently is to share your soul and is a gift.
Enjoy the renewal and revitalizing nature of the next thirteen days. Share your thoughts and your ideas freely but not aggressively. Iq can have a destructive energy when our words are anger filled. Like a hurricane, it can destroy everything in it’s path. With active solar weather and geomagnetic storms, thinking before you speak would be prudent.
Breathwork and movement of any kind will serve and support you. Prayer may be particularly powerful. Create with intention.
I am still feeling the energies of last weeks powerful eclipse. How about you?
The Aqmaq trecena can be intense. It’s hard to look at our warts and then find forgiveness for ourselves. A total lunar eclipse definitely didn’t make it any easier. By mid-March, my business has the frenetic energy of a really busy restaurant. A restaurant with people lined up outside, waiting to come in. I hadn’t had a whole lot of time for myself. Not until yesterday.
The day 13 Q’anil is a day to celebrate ancestral abundance. Ideal energy for the healing circle I was invited to. I had driven by Rana Creek Ranch many times so I knew just where to go. I had also read about the partnership between the non-profit organization who purchased the ranch and the Esselen tribe. The partnership was an opportunity for reconciliation and healing. It also came with many challenges. The circle was gathering with the intention to join as a community to share the burden of those challenges so that the reconciliation and healing could occur. It was a privilege to have been invited and it was an immensely healing experience.
At the center of the circle was a fire. Toj is part of the name Tojil, a Mayan god who gave fire to humans. The fire was not a gift. Offerings and sacrifices were expected in exchange for the fire. Toj is associated with debts, both material and spiritual. By paying our debts we balance our energies. This is another trecena with a heavier quality. It asks us to do the work, to walk the talk and do so selflessly. This is how we stay in balance with the universe and our planet. In order to receive, we must also give. The energy of Toj blends well with the energy of tax season. It is all about work, sacrifice and service. It also allows me to work quite a bit less during the summer months. This is the balancing aspect of the Toj trecena.
Our offerings are powerful forces in the creation of our lives. The next thirteen days will bring an opportunity to invest in our future and also acknowledge what we have received in the past. Lighting candles and making fires are both great ways to make offerings and connect to the Toj energy.
Today begins the first full Trecena of the new calendar cycle. One could think of the beginning, 8 B’atz, as the conception day. The new life or creation has been gestating for the past six days and is about to be born. No’j is the nawal of the mind and logical thought. Our reality is created by the pattern of the thoughts that our mind creates. No’j is the intellectual energy of the mind that finds the solutions and innovations necessary to bring ideas into form. I have come to know the archetypal energy of this nawal as the Engineer, but it also embodies the traits of its animal totem, the woodpecker. Woodpeckers are considered highly intelligent birds because of their ability to plan for the future (acorn woodpeckers have been known to store as many as 50,000 acorns in a single tree!), use tools and recognize social relationships. As we enter the energy of today, our new creation gains consciousness. It will emerge into form in three days time on 4 Ajpu.
My Fire Ceremony on 8 B’atz. Planting seeds for my new Creation.
The Maya long count calendar begins on the 4 Ajpu day of 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ajpu 8 Cumku. This date corresponds to August 11, 3114 BCE and is said to be the creation day for our era. It is recorded at Quirigua, Izabel, Guatemala on Stella C along with the account of how the “First Three Stone Place” was created. As above, so below. The three stones are representative of the stars Alnitak, Saiph, and Rigel in the Orion constellation, the “three hearth stars”. The great Orion Nebula (M42) in the center of them is the “smokey fire”. Not surprisingly, typical Maya kitchens have three hearthstones arranged in a triangle around the fire or on the fire supporting the tortilla griddle. This is done intentionally to establish the cooking fire as the center of the home.
As many know, the long count calendar most recently began a new cycle on December 21, 2012 which was also a 4 Ajpu day. Ajpu can be seen as the divinity in the physical world and the number 4 is very important within Mayan mythology. It represents the stability of the four cardinal points, the two equinoxes and two solstices and the four pillars that support the sky from the Earth. An ideal day for the theme of this new era to reveal itself to you in the physical world and for your ideas to stabilize.
In lovely synchronistic fashion, we also have the Chinese new year during this Trecena on January 29th. It will mark the beginning of the Year of the Wood Snake. It will also be a new moon and in the Chol Q’ij it will be the day of 6 Iq’. A day of stable communication possibly from divine sources. Another good day to receive communication and insight for your new creation. I’m planning on beginning the Year of the Wood Snake with a Womb Steam. More on that to come.
The world had just entered lockdown when I was first introduced to the Maya ceremonial calendar. Seeking connection and community while I sheltered in place, I joined an online Telegram group for women called Align Your Life with Magic. Each morning a story would be waiting for me. A story that described the energy of the upcoming day through the lens of the Maya sacred calendar. The Maya sacred calendar is Chol Q’ij in K’iche’ Mayan. It’s a 260 day calendar comprised of twenty thirteen day cycles called Trecenas. Each of the twenty Trecenas begins with a different Nawal and has a different theme. The numbers each carry their own vibration and influence how the Nawal that they are paired with expresses in the energy of the day.
Listening to the stories each day, I came to understand each Nawal as an archetype of sorts. Each archetype had a personality and an energy that influenced the day. That energy could make it more or less conducive for engaging in certain activities. I quickly found it to be immensely useful. I also really liked the pace of the calendar. A new cycle every thirteen days. I felt a rhythm within it that resonated with my own internal rhythm.
The Chol Q’ij is a cyclical calendar. One could say that it could begin on any of the 260 days, but among the Maya people still living in the Guatemalan highlands, the new year begins on Wajxaquib B’atz. Wajxaquib is eight in K’ichean. An unusual number to begin a calendar on. But when you understand that eight embodies wholeness and that B’atz is the weaver, the creative genius and represents the thread of time you start to see the wisdom of the choice. The sacred calendar is a representation of how that thread is woven to create reality. It is a tool for living and creating a reality that is in harmony with the energies.
On 8 B’atz large fire ceremonies are made to welcome another cycle and to initiate new calendar daykeepers. Fire has always been a part of my spiritual practice, lighting candles, ceremonial burnings and smudging being my favorties. Still, the Mayan fire ceremony was unknown to me before I started learning about the calendar. I had the opportunity to experience one virtually and it was quite powerful. It also inspired me to start making my own micro fire ceremonies as part of my practice. It offers me a container in which to create, play and pray. Tomorrow a new cycle begins and I’ve been called to make a traditional Mayan fire ceremony in celebration of the new year. I have gathered almost all of my supplies. I can’t wait to share my experience with you next time.
The earth has taken another couple of turns around the sun since I last showed up in this space. I thought my grief was on its way out, but it was just the beginning. I had just regained my center last Spring when my identical twin sister committed suicide. Losing her has impacted me profoundly. Healing is feeling and I have felt it all. In memory of her I wanted to share my words from her Celebration of Life this past Summer.
When we lose someone so suddenly, it is hard to accept the loss. It feels like you are going to wake up and it all will have just been a terrible nightmare. Days turn into weeks and weeks become months and the reality becomes starkly visible. She is gone. She won’t be at work on Monday. We aren’t taking the trip to Spain with Linda and all the cousins that we intended to. She won’t be at Sarah’s graduation. She’s not going to move in with her friend Michelle to start a new life. The girls weekend to Avila beach with Suzanne and Jennifer is now just an idea that will never manifest. So many more memories we had to create. So many more memories she had to create.
This is not how our love story was meant to end. Not so soon. Not in this way! I know that Michaela’s departure has been very shocking and painful. But Michaela is at peace. This I know for certain. It helps me to imagine that she has embarked on a journey. Though unseen, she hasn’t departed forever. Her presence lingers in our hearts, and her laughter echoes in the whispers of the breeze.
I asked Spirit for one word that would best describe Michaela and I was given, “Hostess”. I laughed out loud because one of her and my favorite games to play together as children was “Hotel”. We also did hostess duty for our dads restaurant when we were in grade school. Later, as teenagers, we worked together as housekeepers at the Green Gables Inn in Pacific Grove where we went to High School. Not surprisingly, at our senior Awards dinner, she received the Achievement Award for Home Economics. She was an excellent chef and a talented seamstress. She also had a magic touch when it came to gardening. Plants flourished under her care.
Cara & Michaela, Baja California
It was not surprising that she became a stay-at-home Mom when her son Matthew was born. When her children arrived, I saw her come alive like never before. Matthew and Sarah were her greatest treasure. She devoted herself to attachment style parenting. She educated herself about the benefits of breast feeding and a family bed and she embraced it all. When my daughter Caroline was born, she was there for me with so much encouragement and support. We were living in the same housing development in Foxboro, Massachusetts at that time. We could actually walk to each other’s homes. Those were magical times.
A few years and one relocation later and she and I were both back in California. Sarah had arrived and just a few months behind her, my son Spencer was born. So many beautiful memories of those days when we were both just Moms. We were able to spend as much time together as we liked. After I went back to work, Summer was when got to see each other the most. We always enrolled our kids in the summer reading program at the Carmel Library where our mom had worked when we were growing up.
Little did we know that the library would become the next chapter in her life when Matthew and Sarah were no longer children. My sister adored working for the library. She was an avid reader, often reading more than one book at a time. She was also a talented and prolific writer. She graduated with a degree in Journalism from Fresno State and she used the skills she learned to write a novel and many short stories. The library, where she was known as Ms. Michaela, was her Happy Place. She had a number of different part-time jobs at Harrison Memorial before getting her full-time job in the children’s department. I remember clearly when she found out that she got hired. She told me it was her dream job and it was. She got to create her own summer reading events for a whole new generation of children. My son has fond memories of volunteering at these events. The Star Wars themed one is a favorite. She loved her co-workers and the young patrons and she loved being in Carmel.
But she also loved being a Hostess. Most of you probably know that she also owned a business, Valley Eden. She and her partner created their very own little Inn, just like the one she and I pretended to own when we were girls. If you ever had the opportunity to stay at Valley Eden, you have been blessed. She was an excellent Hostess and she had over 250 rave reviews to prove it. She loved sharing her hospitality and our magical Valley with guests from all over.
Michaela was also a Hostess and a mom to many fur babies of the feline persuasion. She started out fostering kittens. She had never considered herself to be a cat person, but once she fostered her first set of kittens, she was smitten. Roxy became her first cat baby. Many more would follow. She would promise herself that she wasn’t going to adopt the foster kittens but, invariably, she could not help herself. She became a “Cat Lady” and she fully embraced it. The cats, like her plants, flourished under her care.
Michaela was curious about the universe and was a deeply spiritual person. Nature was her church. She was kind and compassionate and held a deep affection for Mother Earth and all her creatures. She loved live music and attended shows any opportunity she got. She was also a dancer and a Yogi. One of her offerings at Valley Eden was sacred dance and movement. Both were part of her daily practice. I will remember the golden hues in her hair and those sparkling, naughty eyes. With each rising sun, I will hear her laughter. I will call out to her, seek her counsel, and connect with her just like before. She is not gone, she has just slipped into the other room.
I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and months. My healing journey continues to be guided by magic, plant medicine and the cycles of the Universe. May 2025 bring you blessings of all kinds.
Yeah you read that correctly! I’m wishing you Happy New Year again. The Solar New Year happened yesterday and is a very important date.
In Mayan culture, there is not just one calendar. The Macewal Q’ij or Ordinary Days calendar is a SOLAR CALENDAR consisting of 18 months that are each 20 days, totaling 360 days in the year. There is a closing cycle at the end of each solar year. This period is only 5 days long and is called Wayeb’ or Tz’ipin Q’ij.
I’ve just observed the period of Wayeb’. I followed the prescribed guidance for each day and wanted to share this with you as I have found it so beneficial. I’m thinking that if you feel guided, you could use the information below to do a 5-day Wayeb inspired “retreat” at any time of the year. The process is just lovely.
Day 1 : Introspection. Light white candles and invoke the Creator and all Higher Energies into your space. Review the previous year and set an intention to purge and detox for the next 5 days.
Day 2 : Recognition of Self. Light purple or white candles and invoke all the Great energies again. This is the day to forgive and also to ask for forgiveness for things we have said and done & also for the things we have left undone. Remember to also forgive yourself! Ho’oponopono mediations are a great way to do this.
Day 3: Acceptance. After the days of Introspection and Recognition of Self, it’s time to accept all that the previous year has brought and release anything that no longer serves us. I wrote down my thoughts and feelings and then burned them in a small fire ceremony.
Day 4: Definition. The past three days have allowed us to identify who and where we are. Now it is time to plan for the new year. You know how therapeutic I find cleaning and decluttering. I spent the day cleaning my home, throwing out old items and doing a space cleansing with a great big home-made smudge stick.
Day 5 : Emergence. This is the day we reflect on the last couple of days of retreat (yes to my journal!) to slowly emerge from the “cave” as Mark Elmy of The Four Pillars puts it with new reserves.
Generally speaking, it is thought that our fate for the next solar year is decided and sealed during this 5 day Wayeb’ period. The end of this period is known as The Seating of the New Mam.
11 E’ will be the dominant energy for the coming year, with WILDCAT as the energy carrier. I hope to share more with you.
May your Solar year unfold with grace, my friends. I’m sensing wide open paths inviting us to explore that which our hearts need most.
Happy 2023. How is everyone feeling on this wonderful Friday the 13th?
I bet you are finally feeling like you are ready to kick into gear and get the show on the road after a slow start to January? RIGHT!!!
Don’t worry. It’s not just you. This probably has a lot to do with Mars finally completing its life changing retrograde and going direct (on January 12th). Talk to me again around January 18th/19th when our friend Mercury – ruler of Gemini and all things communication – also goes direct. Then we can finally get this UNIVERSAL YEAR NUMBER 7 going.
According to Numerology, every calendar year is associated with a single digit number known as the Universal Year Number. There are 9 Universal Year Numbers, and each one carries its own vibration and energy. 2023 carries the energy of Number 7. The number seven is considered very lucky in many traditions and is quite a popular number in general. Things that come to mind, include:
7 Days in a week
7 Chakras
7 Continents
7 Natural Wonders of the World
….even the Harry Potter series makes reference to this magical number.
But in Numerology, 7 years are all about diving inward. They are about radical personal growth, spiritual development and evolution. During this year, we will all have a deep personal and collective need to:
Research, Reflect, Re-evaluate
Analyze Data
Ask questions
Interrogate information
If we do this properly, when Universal Year Number 8 comes around in 2024 with its focus on money & power we will be ready to rock and roll.
So how do we make the most of this Year Number 7? Well, think of it as a RETREAT, a time to go solo in order to go within.
I am also planning to use my Mayan calendar as a guide this year and to share more with you as promised. It is filled with wonderful guidance. Today for example is 13 TZ’IKIN and the advice for today is that it is a good day to talk to the ancestors and ask for their guidance about how to MANIFEST ABUNDANCE. We can receive very clear “answers” and visions on this day (and are encouraged to buy a lottery ticket or two).
I wish you a wonderful 2023! Enjoy your own company and remember these lovely words from Desiderata, “Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence”.
This is a very active time of the year: Christmas, Chanukah, the Solstice, Yule, New Year and the powerful last New Moon of 2022 (in Capricorn).
But I want you to know one thing: everything is working exactly as it should, according to nature’s divine plan.
This year, the Winter/Summer Solstice of December 21st falls on the day 3 E’ within Chol Q’ij according to the Mayan calendar. The nawal E’ rules over travel and exploration – both physical journeys and those within. When paired with the number 3, challenges on these journeys could arise and it is generally advised to expect delays, disruptions, cancellations, etc. We are better off spending the day going INWARD for some exploration on these days. Solstice is also an excellent time for ceremony to ask our guides to light up our path ahead.
Access to all that is magical and divine with ease and grace!
Ritual and ceremony have become a big part of my life and by performing & refining my practice, many ordinary moments have become sacred experiences. Looking back, that is exactly what I dreamed-in last Solstice:
Phew! I didn’t realize until this very moment how powerful that intention was.
If you are planning to do a SOLSTICE RITUAL (and I sure hope you do because the new moon 2 days later will help to amplify those new intentions) remember to also reflect on what you are grateful for. When we acknowledge our gifts, we cultivate a greater capacity to receive.
I am very grateful for our journey together!
Abundant blessings to you and yours and happy holidays. I would love to hear about your traditions at this time of year.
Wow, that last full moon of the year was HUGE right? Full moons are indeed a time of completion and illumination.
My BIG illumination was that this year, I’ve become much more in tune with our cyclical nature. Just as the moon goes through its phases, so do we. Reminds me of the song by The Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn!
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
The Mayans understood this so well.
Mayan Fire Ceremony
They knew when to plant and when to harvest, when to give back and when to openly and unashamedly receive. I have loved learning and studying this knowledge and so many people have been telling me they are interested in knowing more, too. Some of my favorite questions are:
How accurate is the Mayan calendar?
Is Mayan astrology even a thing?
How many days did the Maya calendar have?
What is the 260 day count (Chol Q’ij), the 365 day count (Macewal Q’ij)?
How about the 52 year count and The Long count ?
Did the ancient Maya predict that the world would end on December 21, 2012?
What is the significance of the Number 13 to the Maya? I thought it was an UNLUCKY number (Friday the 13th?)?
Mayan Symbols?
What is Ceremonial Cacao? Is it the same as Nestlé Hot Chocolate?
I am happy to share what I know in the coming days. Is there anything else you’d like me to cover? Please let me know.
Very soon it will be Solstice time, and you and I will be dreaming-in magical things for 2023 with a cup of real Cacao in hand. Until then here are some lovely full moon dates for your 2023 diary:
I love numbers! I’m an accountant, remember? So 11/11/2022 really turns me on. I am also a twin:-) these double digits really resonate with me.
The number 11 is considered a MASTER NUMBER in Numerology and there is good reason that we are told to Make a Wish whenever we see this number, especially on a clock. I bet you do this too! The 11/11 Gateway is considered to be very powerful. It is the perfect time to MANIFEST with the help of your Guides and angels. They are ready and waiting to hear your heart’s desires.
In Tarot, the number 1 corresponds with The Magician, so the number 11 is a double dose of magical energy.
The number 22 is one of three very important double-digit MASTER Numbers in Numerology: 11, 22, and 33. Also known as “Master Builder” it is known to bring together the material & spiritual. (It also happens to carry the energy of 11 x 2 = double that lovely 11/11 Gateway energy!) My twin and I were also born on the 22nd of March. Double the pleasure.
Whatever you do, remember that energy goes where attention flows. So let’s focus all our energies on keeping our thoughts positive as we enter this powerful portal.
Focus only on what you DO want and let’s manifest like the powerful Magicians that we are! I will be attending my sister Michaela’s Celebration of Love to her partner, Micha. This is what I will be focusing on!
Wishing you all good things, more synchronicities and magic on this day & always.
Let me know how these numbers speak to you.
Love,
Cara – Seeker of Magic, Spreader of Light
P.S. I also received a wonderful review of my audiobook. You can read it here:
Cara Carozza 