Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures
Mayan (Tzolk'in) · Mayan day sign 2
Ik'
Wind, breath, life · Iq' (K'iche')
Wind, breath and the breath of life. Iq' is linked with the god of wind and rain and, in K'iche' practice, with communication, purification and the power of the spoken word — sometimes also with anger and violence.
The glyph of Ik' is a T-shape, the sign for wind and breath that also appears in the mouths of gods and in the 'breath' openings of Classic buildings. It signifies the animating breath that makes the body alive, and is associated with the wind and rain deities.
K'iche' daykeepers call the day Iq'. It is the day of the wind in all its forms — the gentle breeze that brings rain and the storm that destroys — and therefore of the spoken word, of ideas carried from one person to another and of imagination. People born on Iq' are described as lively, communicative and quick-thinking, sometimes restless and given to bursts of temper. Iq' days are used for prayers to clear away bad influences from homes and fields, and for asking for good rains.
Personality
communicative · lively · quick-thinking · imaginative · idealistic · restless
Among K'iche' Maya daykeepers, a person born on Iq' (Yucatec Ik') is described as lively, communicative and quick-thinking, carrying the nature of the wind and the breath of life. The day is associated with the wind in all its forms, from the gentle breeze that brings rain to the storm that destroys, and therefore with the spoken word and with ideas carried from one person to another.
Daykeepers credit Iq' people with imagination, eloquence, intelligence and energy; they are said to be good speakers, idealists and people who bring new ideas to their communities. The challenges traditionally named are restlessness, inconstancy, bursts of temper and a tendency, like the wind, to change direction suddenly or to stir things up without meaning to.
In love and friendship Iq' people are portrayed as warm and expressive but changeable, needing freedom to move and to speak their minds. In work they are suited to speaking, teaching, writing, music and roles that carry messages between people. Iq' days are used for prayers to clear bad influences from homes and fields; as always, the number of the day and the full count shape the reading of a person's nawal.
Sources and further reading
- Time and the Highland Maya — Barbara Tedlock, 1982
- The Code of Kings — Linda Schele and Peter Mathews, 1998
- Maya Calendar Origins — Prudence M. Rice, 2007