What the Kotzij' (Mayan Fire Ceremonies) I facilitate entail

I am an Ajq'ij (a.k.a Mayan Spiritual Leader or Timekeeper) In a Kotzij' (Mayan Fire Ceremonies), I have been permitted to invoke the sacred Mayan energies and many other practices.  There are MANY different types of a Kotzij'. The purpose of the group Kotzij' I do is to call in abundance, to bring us healing and energetic cleansing, to give gratitude and celebrate our ancestors, ask for their healing and for guidance from them, to give gratitude to plants, to celebrate and give gratitude for the elements (fire, water, earth and wind) that enable our existence, to make offerings to energies and much more! Participants also receive energetic protection for them and their families.

Before getting into all of the things this type os Kotzij' entails, it’s important to have an understanding of The Mayan Cholq’ij calendar.

The Mayan fire ceremonies are intertwined with one of the Mayan calendars; the Cholq'ij, a.k.a. the Tzolk'in.  20 energies: make up this calendar.  It moves in a counterclockwise cycle, so every 20 days the cycle repeats.  There are 13 manifestations of each energ,y making a total of 260 energies.  For example, today when I'm writing this it's "4 B'atz '' and tomorrow will be "5 E" and so on as the count moves.  This means there are 260 unique portals for the fire ceremonies that I facilitate.  The number of the day will have an effect on that day's energy and on that day's fire ceremony.  Each energy has a “Nahual'' which is what represents that energy.  For example, the Nahual for B’atz’ is the monkey and the thread.

Simultaneously, there is a cycle of 13 days which is called a "Trecena".  When there is a "1" in front of an energy that is the beginning of that energy's Trecena and it will end after the 13th day.  For example, "1 B'atz" would be the beginning of a B'atz Trecena.  This means that the Trecena will also have an effect on that day's energy and on that day's fire ceremony. 

When people arrive, I talk about what the meaning of the Mayan energy of the day is, what’s recommended on that day and what are the lessons of that day.

Then the building of the fire.  The base of the fire begins with me drawing the glyph and the number of that day's energy with colored sugar.  The color of the sugar is correlated with the attributes of the energy.  This is done to open the portal with sweetness. 

Then there's all special types of materials used: pom (copal), myrh, rosemary, palito or cascara (pieces of pine trees), candy, chocolate, cacao, colored candles, panela, ocote (wood with pine resin) and flowers.

Energies and spirits consume through aromas: we build the fire with these special materials to feed the energies and ancestors and as offerings for them.  The ocote is for helping spirits that are stuck in this dimension.  It's like decorating a cake for them and the energies that we then light on fire for them to consume.  There are also messages that come through the fire which I've been trained to interpret.  

Throughout the ceremony, at different points, different things, are done.  Once the fire starts I start counting and invoking the sacred Mayan energies.  There are also specific Mayan invocations that I do.  I count in Mayan from 1 to 13 for each energy and then after I call the energy I give an offering and then I recite the prayers for the energies and what each participant can pray for.

We give different offerings at certain points during this process.  For example, Tz’ikin is represented by the eagle and is known for abundance, so when we get to that energy we offer sesame seeds which represent abundance and we offer the seeds to the fire, which helps us to call abundance in to our lives and we make bird sounds as we offer the seeds.

Then at a certain point in the Kotzij', we make the offering to our ancestors and we use special candles which are called cebo candles that are made from animal wax.

At another point during the Kotzij', we give offerings and express our gratitude for any plants that we use in our lives that we're grateful for.

I use either the plant Rue with different elements on it or certain candles, which helps to clear negative energy from people’s fields.

Then we close sacred space and end with a sharing circle and people can cleanse and charge any crystals or necklaces they have over the smoke from the fire.

Hope to see you there!