The Tzolkin
Each of these twenty day signs also has thirteen different variations, each represented just by an added number, which repeat to make the first bigger cycle of the calendar. This 260-day cycle is called the Tzolkin. This is a combination of the Yucatec Mayan words tzol, meaning “to count,” and kin, meaning “a day.” This word was made up by modern academics, as it is not known what the classic-era Maya actually called it. The Quiché Maya, among whom the traditions of keeping the calendar are still very strong, call it the Chol'qij. (For simplicity we will call the 260-day cycle the Tzolkin, except where referring to the traditional Quiché practice of day keeping.) The Tzolkin is the sacred almanac from which predictions and prophecies can be made. Each of the numbers also has its own qualities, so the combination of the numbers and the day signs combine to create 260 distinct possible energies.
Here are the twenty day signs and their names in Yucatec Mayan:
The twenty day signs of the Mayan Tzolkin
There has been a lot of scholarly discussion about what day the Tzolkin calendar begins and ends on. One point of view is that, because it is a repeating cycle, it is possible to start and end anywhere. The most common convention, however, is to start on the day One Imix or Alligator and to finish on the day Thirteen Ahau or Sun.
The traditional Quiché day keepers of Guatemala begin their count on Eight Batz or Thread. This is the day corresponding to Eight Chuen or Monkey in the Yucatec. On this day the Mayan day keepers hold one of their most important ceremonies, the Wajshikib Batz, to mark the re-creation of the sacred 260-day cycle and to initiate new day keepers. Other tribes use different days.
A Biological Calendar
The significance of the numbers of the Tzolkin cycle is directly related to our physical bodies. The 260-day cycle is roughly equivalent to the cycle of human pregnancy. The twenty day signs are equivalent to our twenty extremities: ten fingers and ten toes. The thirteen numbers correspond to the thirteen major articulations of the body: our ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck.
The harmonic of Tzolkin's 260-day cycle is also found elsewhere in the cycles of nature and can also be observed in the movements of the planets. The period of the growth of corn from planting to harvest is around 260 days. Also, at the latitude of the Maya, 260 days is the period between the zeniths of the sun, a very significant event for the Maya.
The period for which Venus is visible (261 days) is also very close to one Tzolkin, and this fact was used to good effect in tracking the cycles of this planet. The synodic period of Mars, which is the amount of time the planet takes to return to the same place in the sky, is equivalent to just a fraction under three Tzolkin cycles at 780 days (779.94 days). The Maya's ability to record these cycles of time is so accurate that study of Mayan calendar inscriptions has led to the discovery of astronomical cycles unknown to modern science.
The Mayan Oracle
The Tzolkin was much more than just a way of counting; it was part of the fabric of Mayan identity. Up until the time of the European invasion, the classic-era Maya took the glyphs of their day of birth as their given names. Though this practice has died out, there is still a traditional ceremony that happens when a child is 260 days old to mark the completion of its first Tzolkin round. The day sign of your birth is still believed to be responsible for shaping the whole of your life path and much divination and astrological reading is still done to determine what days are most lucky or prosperous on the basis of the sign of your birth. In traditional Mayan communities, it is common to consult a day keeper in matters of love to make sure that the two day signs are compatible for a good relationship. Among its many facets, the Tzolkin can be seen as a combination of a biological counting system, an astrological and divinatory oracle, and one of the most elegant astronomical calendars ever devised.
Where did the calendar come from?
No one really knows. The Maya say that Itzamna, a creator god and an initiator of civilization, gave the sacred calendar to them. The calendar predates the Maya and was widely used by other contemporary Meso-american cultures. It definitely wasn't something they invented, but they surpassed all other cultures in their development and use of it.
Cycles Within Cycles
Within the Tzolkin are significant smaller cycles. Every set of numbers from one to thirteen is called a trecena and is governed by the glyph that starts the series. The energy of that glyph is taken into account when doing astrological readings or divination relating to any particular day. Traditional day keepers like to hold ceremonies on the middle three days of these thirteen-day periods. This is when the energies appropriate to this work are said to be most balanced. The energies at the beginning of the trecena are considered too weak and those at the end are too strong.
The sacred almanac can be divided by four, each of these quarters corresponding to a direction and called a season. It can also be divided by five, each fifth sometimes being attributed to one of each of the five worlds of creation.
