Tzolkin

Background | How You Fit In | Timing and Agreements

Background: The Tzolk’in, or Sacred Calendar

The Mayans had at least a seventeen calendars to aide them in relating to life. For example, the solar calendar describes the relation between humans and the earth and guides planting and crop cycles. The Tzolk’in, or Sacred Calendar, is one of the oldest calendars, and it describes human relationships and ways of being in the world. The Tzolk’in has been around for at least 2,500 years and is still in use today.

The Tzolk’in is a 260 day calendar, which is the result of 13 cycles of 20 signs (also known as “glyphs”, “talents”, “sun signs”). Each day is a pairing of a sign with a number (representing 1-13), called a Tone or Galactic Tone. Each unique day (or Kin) occurs once every 260 days as the unique combination of one of 20 signs and one of the 13 Tones.

For more on the basics, here are some suggested places to read more:

• A concise overview with historical context.
  
• A more extensive overview
  

In the expanse of information on Mayan calendars available, you will find varied interpretations. There are many variants on the Tzolkin itself. Two different counts of the days are discussed here that we believe to be valid.

What’s it for?

The Tzolkin is at essence a community organizing tool. It describes the order underlying human to human relationships in community.

The goal of using the calendar is community, which is free, independent self-directed beings working together to meet common needs cooperatively. This recognizes that we are each free, independent and self-directed and we need to be health and strong in this regard in order to work together. We aren’t forced to cooperate, we choose to do so. In cooperating, we recognize that we have common needs and that by working together, we can achieve more than working in isolation.

The Tzolkin can shed light on what role each of us play in the community and thus help us in cooperation. The Tzolkin shows us how we connect to others: who we work together in a complementary way, who we communicate with through a shared language, and who uses the same tools we do. The Tzolkin also informs us of the timing of our cooperation. The Mayans discovered that when we pay attention to the timing, relationships, and agreements we make, we can greatly magnify the impact of our efforts, making efficient use of our individual energy.

Note: when seeking insight about personality, there are other sources for information other than the Tzolkin. Our perspective is that the Tzolkin is about building cooperative relationships in community.

How do I start?

Your date of birth is the starting place. Follow the links below to get 2 of your life talents.

Why 2? The Mayan used to keep up to many versions of this calendar (each version is a different “count” of the days), representing different dimensions. We know of 2 Tzolkin count of days that are still in use today, and which we believe to be valid, one if you are standing in the North-South (Yucatec Count) direction and the other for the East-West (Quiche Count).

• To get your N-S reading, calculate it here
  or read about how to convert yourself here.
  

• To get your E-W reading, you can use the calculator here (scroll down on the page that opens to where you can enter your birthdate)
  or find information on how to convert yourself here.
  

Once you find it, write it down (and label the directions each one corresponds to). You may want to write down the Mayan name, as well as English name, of the glyph for future reference (there is a list of translations in the appendix for reference).

You can find more translations of the glyphs’ names here.

This page has the following sub pages.

• Your Place in the Community
• Timing and Agreements
• Get Your Tzolkin Reading