I’m currently in training to be a Mayan Timekeeper a.k.a spiritual leader and so in these Mayan Fire Ceremonies, I have been permitted to invoke the sacred Mayan energies as well as many other practices. The purpose of these ceremonies 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!
Before getting into all of the things these fire ceremonies entail 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. There are 20 energies that make up this calendar. It moves in a counterclockwise cycle, so every 20 days the cycle repeats. There are 13 manifestations of each energy 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.
1. When people arrive we cleanse the bio field with sacred copal incense.
2. 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.
3. Before people arrive, I calculate what their Mayan energy of birth is so I can administer Nahuales waters. These are made by one of my teachers and they help to work on a person's energetic needs specifically to what their Mayan energy of birth is and so that can help to release energetic blocks.
4. I use sacred tobacco called a Puro uh and it's not just tobacco, there's also a specialized blend of herbs that are in it and this tobacco is very sacred it can be used for a variety of reasons, (cleansing, bringing in good energy or healing) so I use this tobacco and I blow the smoke on people.
5. 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.
6. Throughout the ceremony at different points there's different things that are done. Once the fire starts I start counting and invoking the sacred Mayan energies. There's 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.
7. There are different offerings we give 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.
8. Then at a certain point within the ceremony we make the offering to our ancestors and we use special candles which are called cebo candles that are made from animal wax.
9. At another point during the ceremony we give offerings and express our gratitude for any plants that we use in our lives that we're grateful for.
10. There’s also singing and music at certain points and if people would like to share a song there's space for that and for them to play any instruments.
11. I use the plant Rue with Siete Macho and Florida water on it which helps to clear negative energy from people’s fields.
12. I take a candle and press it on each person’s 13 joints and then offer it to the fire. This connects the chakras to the joints and makes the connection to the Cholq’ij calendar. Also connecting the chakras to the joints helps to connect to the fire and helps to embody “Winac” which is the Human cycle of giving and receiving.
13. 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.
Lastly once we close, there’s potluck and a barrel sauna and cold plunge available to use for everyone’s enjoyment. I also send participants a description of what their energy means and what the lessons are which has the potential to be life changing! Hope to see you there!