Autumn Equinox

Our rhythm beats together with the rhythm of the Heart of the Earth and the Heart of the Sky, for everything and everyone is interrelated. The Ancestral Maya Elders had this knowledge, they observed and profoundly connected with Mother Earth and Father Universe, and from that conscious and harmonious observation, they built a millenary culture filled with power and wisdom.

As calendarists, astronomers, architects, and farmers, among other sciences, the Maya gathered immense knowledge. Their wisdom in these fields was interwoven in such a way that the astronomical cycles were recreated in their cities and their calendars were connected with the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, Venus, the Human Being, the Corn, and so on, for in Maya Cosmovision there is an awareness of the link that exists between each aspect and element, of the union that gives meaning to individual and collective existence.

In this way, the Maya registered the walk of the Sun through the Equinoxes and Solstices, as well as its passage through the Zenith and the Nadir. This solar cycle is captured in the Haab' Agricultural and Solar Calendar of 365 days, which is part of the fabric of calendars that enables us to transit the cycles of time and this reality.

The time that elapses between each Equinox, Solstice, Zenith, and Nadir is counted in periods of 13 days. The number thirteen is an essential part of the 260-day Sacred Cholq'ij Calendar (this calendar consists of 20 energies that converge with 13 numerals 13 x 20 = 260). The 260 days of the Cholq'ij count the time that passes from the passage of the Sun through the Zenith (after the Summer Solstice) until the next Zenith Sun, this period of 260 days is also related to the cycles of Corn and to the time of human gestation; thus providing us with a vision of the union that exists between all things.

It can also be said that the Mayan cities are a map of the stars, with the pyramids and buildings recording the transit of celestial bodies such as the Sun. The alignments that occur at important times of the year are marked by the temples. For example, the Temple of Kukulkan in Chichen Itza has four stairways of ninety-one steps each, plus one step in the Upper Temple, giving us 365 steps in total, these numbers are linked to the Solar Calendar and to the four Guardians of Time and Counters of the Days. In the highlands, nature, through its mountains, helps us track the path of the Sun in each of its seasons. In the lowlands, where there are not many mountains, the buildings serve as astronomical markers, replicating the mountains and nature to record the passage of Father Sun.

The walk of Father Sun marks on this day the moment of the Equinox, a moment known to wise Grandfathers and Grandmothers as Sukul Upam Ri Q'ij, which means "the stomach of the Sun is in the center'.' During the Equinox the day and night last the same and a balance between light and darkness emerges; everything is in the center.

This Sukul Upam Ri Q'ij occurs on a day Waqib -6- Q'anil day, which invites us to sow harmony in our being, to learn to observe ourselves, to feel our feelings with presence and awareness, and thus grow from our vulnerability, bringing to light that which is in the shade and needs to be healed. At the time of the Equinox, we can light a red and a black candle to open a portal of connection with the energy of this moment. We can sit between both candles to meditate. Let us take advantage of this moment of equilibrium to seek our inner balance in the material and spiritual, mental and emotional realms.