What is the Chol Q'ij?

The Chol Q’ij is the sacred 260 day calendar of the Maya people in the Highlands of Guatemala. Chol Q’ij is K’iche for “count of days”; it is also called the Tzolk’in in Yucateco. It can also be referred to as the “Highland Sacred Round”.

The Chol Q’ij is often envisioned as two gears moving together, one of twenty “named” days and one of thirteen accompanying numbers. The first day of the cycle is 8 B’atz (celebrated as a secondary “New Year”), the second is 9 E’, the third is 10 Aj, and so on, so that each of the 260 days has its own unique combination of a number and day name.

The 20 day names are Imox, Iq', Aq'ab'al, K'at, Kan, Kame, Kej, Q'anil, Toj, Tz'i', B'atz', E', Aj, I'x, Tz'ikin, Ajmaq, No'j, Tijax, Kawoq, and Ajpu.

In the Chol Q’ij, each of the twenty named days has a personality or character that is tempered or strengthened by the number of the day. According to Tedlock’s (1992) informants, low numbers (1-3) are gentle and indicate something young or new, and the high numbers (11-13) are powerful or violent, indicating more serious or “older” matters, but each number has layers of unique meaning beyond this.

Initiated priests in this three-thousand-year-old tradition, called ajq’ija’ or “day-keepers” (singular aj q’ij), interpret each date of the Chol Q’ij calendar and determine which rituals or prayers to perform; the community members that continue to follow the old ways request dream interpretations, divinations regarding their futures, interpretations of the will of the spirits and ancestors, and advice on good days to hold weddings, plant crops, or start a new business (Molesky-Poz, 2006; Tedlock, 1992).

12 No’j, for example, is the best day to propose or defend a project. As the last even number before a beginning a new cycle, 12 represents a summing up of one’s actions and experience, and No’j is the best day to join ideas, give advice, or cultivate science (Anonymous, aj q’ij, Kaqchikel Maya of Patzún, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, personal communication, April 2016).

The Chol Q’ij also holds astrological value on an individual level. Much like the Western concept of astrology, children are said to develop certain personalities and characteristics depending on the day that they were born. However, unlike Western astrology, this is not based on the location of the planets in certain quadrants of the sky at the moment of birth, but rather the confluence of the energies and rhythms of Mayan time that converge at the moment of conception and manifest at the moment of birth.

For instance, children born on the day 9 No’j would be innovative thinkers, patient, curious, self-sufficient, and idealistic about justice, but stubborn and independent to a fault (Tedlock, 1992; Barrios, 2015). Most people in the highlands of Guatemala know their Chol Q’ij birthday and that of their children; many children are given traditional Maya names based on their birthday. These energies are concieved of as a guide or ruwäch q'ij ("the heart of the day") that for those who permit themselves to know it can give meaning to life and become a profound influence.

The Ruwäch Q'ij

Mesoamerican traditionalists believe that the personality traits indicated by one’s birth date on the Chol Q’ij are embodied in a kindred animal spirit that accompanies, protects, and guides a person through life (García et al., 2009; Gonzalez, 2011; Shea, 2001). According to Gonzalez (2011), those who subscribe to this idea generally believe that the human and their animal counterpart share a soul, though cultural groups disagree on whether the animal is a physical entity, a metaphor, or a literal spirit that accompanies the person through their life. This animal, called the ruwäch q’ij (the heart of the day) in Kaqchikel or the nahual in Nahuatl, embodies their personality, their occupation, and their destiny.

"The nahual or ruwäch q’ij ("the heart or fruit of the day") can be understood as a gift, mission, vocation, or innate quality that you bring with you at your birth to help you. That is today, accepting the mission enters a person into correspondence and compatibility with the universe. The service of the gift given to you by nature blesses you with much satisfaction in your life, permits you to achieve the function that you possess, and understand that each person is a small but complementary part of the universe." (pg 225, Ruxe’el Mayab’ K’aslemal. Raiz espiritu del conocimiento maya, translation mine).

To know the identity of ruwäch aq’ij (the heart of your day) is taken as tacit acceptance of the mission set by it, and to accept the mission is to begin to walk the path that the gods and ancestors have laid out for you and to be blessed with satisfaction in your life. (García et al., 2009). The Kaqchikel believe that all the world has a ruwäch q’ij but only certain people are privileged to identify its species.

Each of the 20 day names on the Chol Q'ij corresponds to at least one unique animal; some days have a variety, to allow for personality and personal choice. The nature of one’s ruwäch q’ij and thus one’s soul is to be kept secret; however, traditional Mayan names give away the nature of the ruwäch q’ij (such as Wuqu’ I’x having a jaguar, or Ixkame an owl) to those who are “in the know'' such as elders and daykeepers. In some areas, it is believed that those that know the form of ruwäch kiq’ij (the face of their day) may be able to take its form and shapeshift, flying like a bird, leaping over barriers, or performing tasks that would not be possible in human form (Shea, 2001).

Whether the animal is literal or spirit, it is thought possible to physically interact with it and even to harm it if you know its name. Those who believe this version know that when something bad happens to the ruwäch q’ij, there is a corresponding repercussion for their human. As such, elders and community members keep the identity of the ruwäch q’ij a secret from a child until they are older. This also serves the benefit of keeping children from imitating their animal spirits artificially so that they instead will develop traits and characteristics naturally. Accordingly, “an individual may be aggressive or passive, nervous or calm, outgoing or shy, flamboyant or retiring, mischievous or serious, graceful or clumsy, all depending on the nature of the animal spirit (Shea, 2001; pg 55)”.

The Mayan Cross

According to Molesky-Poz (2005), three signs interpret a person’s life: the birthdate and the dates nine days before and after, which represent their past and future. Molesky-Poz’s consultant reports, “This constellation tells us how to understand this person, the way he expresses himself, his characteristics. [...] Through this consultation, we are giving the person a schema for his life. There is an order for his life. [...] Following this blueprint, making offerings, paying on the first days will make this person happy. We are sure this is a direct form, one direct form within the cosmos to live in harmony, and to remember, to give back to the cosmos. You see in each of our day constellations, there is the Plumed Serpent.”

“The three days: one’s birth date, the day of the past, and the day of the future, influence one the most. The other six days are helpers. [...] It is within this map you find your vocation, your partner, your social organization. You see, embedded in the calendar is the Plumed Serpent. The calendar is one of its manifestations.”

Another consultant says. “We have to accept ourselves as we are. When I look at the calendar, then I can understand myself as I am and others as they are. I cannot criticize another person because every person carries abilities and weaknesses. In our communities we accept others in a very natural way. Parents know this child will be a businessperson or this girl will be a good healer. Only parents know it but we don’t talk about it. It is just part of life. In this way we respect it because we know each one has a work on earth. So we have to serve and respect elders because they have to complete their work. This is mutual respect and support."

“Every person is a specialist in what they need to do. As you know your day and your capacities, you live out of that potential. You perfect yourself and your service to humanity. Then when we leave this life, we will have left this life satisfied that we have completed our work.”

Once you have your Chol Q’ij date, check out the descriptions of each day below, making sure to incorporate the personality-modifying numbers. You can then calculate your Maya Cross - the larger context of the birthdate, the past, and future, as well as the “hemispheres” on the left and right and the four “helpers” on the corners. These create a grid of nine, by calculating forward and backward seven days from each of those three.

Investigating the personality of each of these dates may help a person discover more about themselves and their lot in life. You can use this Google Calendar to find the date (search the date like “8 Imox” - dates will populate starting in about 2018). You can also use the Google Calendar to find when the next iteration of your Chol Q’ij “birthday” occurs so you can celebrate it if you desire.