#writer – Cara Carozza

Living Maya Time – Reflections on Tz’i

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Today I can honestly say that my faith has been restored. The word Tz’i means dog and this Nawal offers us an opportunity to look deep within ourselves to discover our own true nature. Tz’i enables us to sense that which is ordinarily hidden from our view. The dogs extraordinary senses fuel its persistence to discover bones of truth that have been buried for a long time. Perhaps for generations.

Emboldened by my fortified perception and already possessing the innate wisdom of a mother, I patiently unraveled and discovered the roots of the knots that N’oj had revealed. Decades old, yet still festering. I tended the wounds as a mother would. With attentiveness and compassion, but not denial. Tz’i reminded me that my job as a parent is a lifetime position. It requires a lot of faith and a lot of loyalty. Qualities that are often ascribed to our canine companions.

Being a parent is an instinctual job. We learn by doing. Our children do not come with an instruction manual and each one is different. My husband and I have four children between us. We each arrived with two and we decided that was plenty. Even though our hearts longed to know a child that was just ours, we both believed that it wouldn’t be fair to the four that we already had. They needed and deserved for us to give them our full presence. To finish the job that we began before we fell in love.

We did the best that we knew how to do and still we’ve made mistakes. Mistakes that have polished our souls and led us to have a renewed compassion for our own adult parents. Tz’i reminded me that I’m still my mothers precious baby girl even if I’m technically a senior citizen and on the path to grandmotherhood. When my cabin project hit a literal roadblock, it was my parents who came to the rescue with a solution. Reminding me that my own mother is still parenting me. We’re all just walking each other home to spirit and I’m so grateful to be exactly where I am.

Tomorrow, we welcome a new dawn and a new concept. Our faith restored, our senses heightened, we are ready to step into the new ideas and experiences that are awaiting us in this next trip around the calendar wheel with Aq’ab’al.

Gratefully,

Cara

Living Maya Time – Reflections on N’oj

The Solstice revealed some very old knots within my family. Many ugly things were said. It left me shell shocked and seeking support from both the heart of the sky and the heart of the earth. The wounds will take time to heal, but they will no longer be festering. With time and space reconciliation will arrive. I’m focusing on keeping my own head in my heart as I serve as mediator. I’m also beginning to understand that the job of parenting never ends. Even when your own children become parents themselves. In fact, it is a whole new opportunity to untangle the knots of the past and our ancestral lineage. These are the gifts that the Trecena of K’at offered me while I was in the mountains. Opportunity and compassion.

Since I moved onto my parents property three years ago, I have been praying for healing between myself and them and it’s happened. Now there is space for this same healing to happen between myself and my own children. It’s not comfortable and it’s most certainly exhausting, but it’s the most sacred work that we can do while we are here in earth school. The Maya believe that the fire is the ear of spirit and that’s why fire ceremonies are such an important part of their spiritual practices. I made my Wajxakib B’atz fire ceremony at 4500 feet, opposite Mt Lassen this cycle. My fire offered me an image of a portal and an invitation to enter it. I accepted and spoke the words that needed to be spoken.

N’oj arrived quietly after we had descended the mountain and returned home. Still bruised and vulnerable, I found myself unable to write as the first full trecena of the new calendar cycle opened. My spirit asked for stillness and reflection first. I often think about N’oj as the mind of the calendar. However, N’oj is not only the mind. It is also the earth thinking through us. In order to hear the wisdom of the earth we need to listen. I listen best when I am quiet and that’s why I’ve decided to offer a reflection at the end of each trecena this calendar cycle instead of at the beginning.

Tomorrow our loyal companion T’zi arrives to chaperone us into our destiny. T’zi brings the frequency of justice and natural law along with the playful and instinctual nature of the dog. I look forward to sharing my journey with T’zi after I’ve taken it.

In Stillness,

Cara xoxo

Living Maya Time – Symbols of K’at

Today is my daughter Caroline’s birthday. Twenty eight solar years ago I became a mother. The seed that was implanted within me grew, ripened and finally emerged as my precious baby girl. Today we also welcome a new trecena. K’at can be seen as the gathering or the net. K’at is also everything that we carry. Our blessings and our burdens. K’at reminds us that everything we create or receive must be carried if we do not use it or share it with others. This weekend I had the opportunity to share some of the wisdom that I’ve gathered on this path of walking with the sacred calendar. I attended a women’s circle where we were invited to create a personal Medicine Wheel altar expressing our relationship to the energies of East and South through natural objects, symbols and creative expression.

My decision to join the circle had been spontaneous. It felt like my last opportunity to engage with the playful energies of the B’atz trecena. A chance to weave with other women and to be nourished by community. I didn’t know that I would be asked to set the loom and place the first threads. Our leader presented me as the, “Altar Queen”, a student who had surpassed her teacher. Cari introduced me to the practice of offerings as a nervous system regulation technique during my dark night of the soul. She’s walked the Medicine Wheel of her ancestors, the Esselen and she understands the power of ritual, presence and ceremony. She also understands the importance of finding ones own way and ones own medicine and that is why she asked me to share my experiences with my altars and the Cholq’ij. To offer a different indigenous perspective.

The ease with which I was able to speak and pray before strangers surprised me. It bolstered my courage. The FINAL draft of my second memoir had been sitting patiently awaiting my second read for over two weeks. Yesterday I was finally ready to read it. I was ready to see myself the way that the women in the circle had seen me. I have gathered much wisdom on my path and I need to share it. That’s what I will be accessing most from the energies that K’at offers over the next thirteen days, my connections to others and the opportunity to share my abundant heart with everyone in my community.

Next Monday is the ceremonial reset of the calendar, Wajxakib B’atz. A new creation cycle of 260 days will begin and new Aj’ij will be initiated. Fires will burn all day as people gather to celebrate, pray and make offerings. I’ll be up in the mountains celebrating the Solstice with my family. The Solstice is the day before Wajxakib B’atz this year and I’ll be making my own special ceremony on that day too. I have so much to be grateful for. May you also recognize all the grace and abundance that already lives in your life. Happy Birthday Sweet Caroline.

In Love & Celebration,

Cara

Living Maya Time – Symbols of Kawoq

Kame answered my prayers for a wedding at home with a decisive and very clear NO last week. It caught me off guard. It wasn’t what I expected and it wasn’t what I’d hoped for. Yet, the clarity has prepared the soil for a new idea to be born. Today we welcome the trecena of Kawoq. She is the midwife, the rain and the storm. After death comes rebirth. Into the darkness, a light is shined and new plans begin to emerge. It’s been really uncomfortable. For me and my entire family. Through our discomfort we’ve discovered a deeper level of intimacy and an opportunity for profound transformation. This is the gift that walking through the valley of death offers.

I’ve never worked so hard in my entire career as I have this year. In retrospect, one might conclude that I took on too much. Perhaps it was ill advised to try and write a book, mentor my son and take on all of my business partners clients. And let’s not forget the cabin project that I decided to add to my plate. Just for good measure. In fact, I’ve managed it all quite well and the only casualty has been people pleasing clients that don’t appreciated me or respect my time. With so much new work and so many moving parts to my life, something else had to die to make space in my garden for what really serves me and my own personal transformation.

A few of nights ago I dreamt of two turtles. One was larger than the other and they were both moving through a flame. It was an aqua blue flame like you might see from a gas lit fire. In their effort to escape the flames, they catapulted themselves over a mountain that was at the edge of the fire. The dream was incredibly vivid, but offered me no clear message until the evening that followed. My son had also had a powerful dream that night. So powerful that he slept walk outside and jumped off his deck. The entire left side of his face is bruised. The following day, my mom also took a fall, bruising the entire right side of her face. Her cat had brought her a lizard that was still alive and it startled her, causing her to jump over the threshold of her door and fall onto her face. I’m not sure what to make of it all, but I can’t help but feel like my mom and my son were the two turtles in my dream and that they walked through the fire of Kame together and then jumped into a new reality where we can all find common ground.

Kawoq’s spirit animal is the turtle. Many Meso American indigenous people call earth Turtle Island. The pattern on a turtle’s back mirrors the lunar calendar. The turtle is very much a symbol of new life and our sweet mother earth. The next thirteen days are fertile days to birth a new reality for ourselves. We are ready. We have walked through the fire and we have taken the leap of faith. The rainstorm has come to wash our wounds clean and support us through the labor of birthing a new dream for ourselves. Mine includes a weekend wedding retreat for my son and his beloved in the redwoods. Date and location to be determined. It’s going to be magical. May your dreams be equally sweet.

Love,

Cara

Living Maya Time – Symbols of Kame

I’m arriving a day late again this trecena. In all my years working as a tax accountant, I’ve never been busier. I’ve taken on all of my partners tax clients this season and a massive new tax bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed last year. I’m experiencing growing pains and it’s a little uncomfortable. My spine is as straight as it can be. I stood up tall for my clients and for my family over the past couple of weeks while Aj was our guide. I was able to resolve a lot of issues and abate a lot of penalties. It was satisfying, but also exhausting. Kame arrived yesterday asking even more of us. Kame literally translates to death, but it embodies much more than that. It is the Nawal of the ancestors and it offers us the elixir of transformation if we’re willing and able to face our fears.

I’ve had an idea gestating for a number of weeks, but I’d been afraid to share it with my mother. My youngest son got engaged and he and his lovely fiancée would like to get married on the property that they, my husband and I and my parents all live on together. My parents own the land, but they’ve graciously invited us to be here with them. It’s mutually beneficial, but not without its challenges. We’ve brought our youthful energy, but also all the noise and business that comes with it. It’s been an adjustment for my mom who likes her peace and quiet and grew up an only child. Still, the land and the ancestors keep nudging me to bring more life and celebration to this property that we all share.

Yesterday, I planted the seeds for the ceremony that I keep being shown. Everything can be done outside so that if it’s too much, my mother can retreat to her own space. Friends and family that haven’t met or who haven’t communed in years will join together. A single day has the potential to ignite transformation within many. This is what I expressed to my mother. My desire to alchemize healing for those that I love and for the land that holds and loves me. It wasn’t nearly as frightening as I thought it would be. She hasn’t said no and she was able to express how she feels. Transformation has already begun for us and it is my prayer that it will happen for you over the coming twelve days. Remember to be grateful for every experience. Sometimes the most difficult ones offer the greatest reward.

Until we rise again,

Cara

Living Maya Time – Symbols of Ix

My dream drought ended with the arrival of the Imox trecena. It had been nearly a month since I’d logged any images in my bedside journal. On 12 E I was suddenly gifted with three vivid dreams in a row right before dawn broke. Bathed in the energies of the collective consciousness and cumulative wisdom, I was shown a new path. A path of ease.

In the first dream I am holding a small, soft and silky black dog. I’m petting his tiny head as he nuzzles into my chest. He makes me feel safe. My next memory is of standing in front an enormous oak tree. It’s boughs are heavy with bouquets of white and yellow flowers. Dozens of hydrangeas, daffodils, lilies and sunflowers smile down at me. They make me feel happy. In the final scene I’m in a house. It’s small and cozy and it reminds me of the cabin on the river that my husband and I raised our four children in. I open the door to a room. My sister is in it and she’s sleeping. In the next room I find my niece and nephew also sleeping. They are in a bed together with the little black dog. Seeing them makes me feel peaceful.

The dreamy otherworldly quality of Imox continues as we enter the trecena of Ix today. Ix is magic. To understand her, you must slow down and feel her. I struggled to stay grounded over these past thirteen days. My busy season is in full swing and I’ve taken on my partners tax clients this year. She’s slowing down and my son is ready for more work. I’m also writing a book. It’s a lot being wife, mother, daughter, friend, business advisor, mentor and writer. Disciplined scheduling has always served me when I’m overwhelmed, but it stifles creative flow. Imox showed me that over the past thirteen days. Now I’m feeling in need of a miracle to get through it all. Lucky for me, the medicine of the jaguar has arrived just in time.

Ix is the nawal of the jaguar and mother gaia. She rules mother earths natural altars and the cacao plant. She whispers through intuition and the fire. She nurtures and she protects. Don’t mistake her tender touch for weakness. Like her totem animal the jaguar she is a powerful and fierce. She also walks quietly. Ix asks us to continue to listen. If we’ve attuned ourselves while under Imox’s tutelage, we will be better able to see the magic that weaves our world. The magic of Ix is best appreciated outdoors. Ideally with a cup of cacao. If you arrive with presence and gratitude in your heart, Ix will bless you with more magic than you can possibly imagine.

Peacefully,

Cara xoxo

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 – Symbols of Tz’ikin

Iq blew threw California with tremendous force. Many on the west coast celebrated the Christmas holidays by candlelight, but not necessarily by choice. The hurricane force winds disabled much of our local power grid and most businesses in Carmel-by-the-Sea had to shutter their doors for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and even the day after Christmas. My family celebrates the Winter Solstice so we had plenty of leftovers and a generator to ride out the storm.

Iq is a strong nawal. It’s best faced with courage. My son mustered all his courage and the inspiring energies of Iq to propose to his girlfriend on Jun Iq which fell on December 15^th. Her acceptance initiated thirteen days of happy news, lively celebrations and lots and lots of conversation. Iq hummed, hovered and buzzed through my holiday season just like it’s animal totem the hummingbird. Iq has cleared the skies for todays nawal Tz’ikin. I’m grateful for the lighter energy this nawal offers.

Tz’ikin is the nawal of vision and it’s animal totem is the bird. Today’s energy gifts us with a panoramic view that may illuminate possibilities that have evaded our awareness. The expanded sight of the bird will be available to us over the next thirteen days. Most of us are reflecting on the past Gregorian calendar year whether we celebrate it or not. This new year, my outer and inner calendars are aligning and it feels quite magical. Especially while I’m still glowing from all our holiday fun.

Tz’ikin is the intermediary between humans and the creator and as such, it is the nawal of prosperity. Prayers made today are likely to manifest tangible and observable results. I’m going to channel my high vibes into a fire ceremony today. I’ve got three specific prayers to make.

One for a friend who’s having surgery tomorrow. My prayer for her will be for wellness. I will hold the vision of her completely healed and experiencing relief after years of suffering. My next prayer will be for another friend who is seeking a consistent flow of clients who value her services and happily pay her fee. I will offer seeds to the fire to keep Tz’ikin well fed so it can deliver her prosperity. My final prayer will be for my amazing daughter Caroline. She’s one of just a handful of women at her software company and she’s been recommended for a promotion. Ahead of many of her co-workers that have been working at the company longer than she has. The prayer that I offer for my daughter will be for expanded career opportunities and a healthy compensation for her new responsibilities.

Tz’ikin is the wisdom of a prosperous and healthy community. My prayer for our entire world this trecena will be for harmonious coexistence. Through the higher vision that Tz’ikin offers we can all imagine a brighter world into existence. One prayer at a time.

Many Blessings,

Cara

Living Maya Time – Symbols of Iq

Both of my step-sons were born on an Iq day. It’s an energy that I should have a deep understanding of having known them both for most of their lives. Yet, the essence of Iq is not a force that you can see, it’s one you that you must feel or perhaps hear. Iq is the wind and the breath of life. It offers purification and renewal after the embers of Toj have received our offerings and burned away any imbalances. Iq also rules communication and fuels manifestation through our words. It’s not surprising that one of my step-sons is a songwriter and the other one a salesman. They’ve both harnessed their innate powers as wordsmiths to make their way in the world.

Words have come less easily for my own son. Numbers have always been his favorite language. He’s mastered the compliance side of my tax business with ease over this past year. What he’s still learning is the art of conversation. This weekend, Toj offered my son the perfect chance to practice his communication skills and make an offering. An elderly patron of our local coffee shop was in need. Julia’s lost her sight in one eye and can no longer pay her own bills. She’s also struggling with her memory and is afraid she might forget something important.

I wasn’t sure if my son wanted to take on Julia’s paperwork. She would need a lot of patience and she can’t afford to pay very much. The job is a charitable one. So far in my son’s young life, he’s mostly been motivated by earning money. Julia even needed help getting to and from her car. My son shepherded her with ease, having done it many times before at the coffee shop. The image of his six-foot frame tip toeing alongside fragile Julia with his arm offered as support suggested that he might be willing to take her on as a client. His words confirmed that he certainly was when I told him that I didn’t think that he was going to make much money on this job.

“I don’t care about the money Mom. I just want to help her. She’s part of our community. It was also really good practice for me. Only about ten percent of what she said is relevant to the job, but I wouldn’t have heard it unless I was patient.” Sometimes Toj brings an offering. This weekend I was the recipient of one and my heart is full. Now I’m ready to embrace the winds of change and the renewal that Iq offers.

Iq’s spirit animal is the hummingbird. The hummingbird is a master of the wind. It can fly in every direction and even hover. It reminds us of the power our words carry. Each and every one. Even small statements can have a big impact. Just like the tiny hummingbird, we live through vibration. Our words and our voice are powerful tools for creation. Over the next thirteen days they will be infused with the magic of Iq . I intend on chaneling this frequency to plant seeds of intention on the Solstice. Our family will gather to exchange gifts and a meal and then we will all read the intentions that we recorded last year and craft new ones for the coming year. I’m delighted to have Iq and the spirit of the hummingbird at our table next Sunday.

Happy Solstice,

Cara

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