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.
Cara Carozza 