Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures
Mayan (Tzolk'in) · Mayan day sign 4
K'an
Maize seed; the net · K'at (K'iche') · Kan
Yucatec K'an is ripe maize and abundance; K'iche' K'at is the net — the net bag in which maize is gathered, and the net of entanglements, debts and problems a person may be caught in.
In the Yucatec tradition and the Classic inscriptions the fourth day is K'an, 'yellow' or 'ripe', with a glyph that resembles a maize kernel or the cross-section of a precious stone. It speaks of abundance, of the harvest and of what is valuable.
The K'iche' name of the same day, K'at, means 'net', and its meanings are two-sided. The net is the bag in which maize cobs are gathered and stored, so the day is linked with gathering and with fertility; but a net also entangles. Aq'ij daykeepers use K'at days for prayers to release people from 'nets' — debts, quarrels, imprisonment and other tangles. Those born on K'at are described as hard-working gatherers who can bring people together, yet who must learn not to become caught in their own problems.
Personality
hard-working · gathering · fertile · unifying · practical · entangled
Among K'iche' Maya daykeepers, a person born on K'at (Yucatec K'an) is described as a hard-working gatherer who can bring people together, with a nature as two-sided as the net that gives the day its name. The net is the bag in which maize cobs are gathered and stored, so the day is linked with harvest, fertility and abundance, but a net can also entangle.
Daykeepers credit K'at people with diligence, practical sense, fertility of ideas and resources, and a talent for collecting and organising, whether goods, knowledge or people; they are said to be good providers. The challenge traditionally named is that they may become caught in their own problems, in debts, quarrels or tangled situations, and must learn to free themselves and not to hold on too tightly.
In love and friendship K'at people are portrayed as warm and devoted, binding family and friends together, though sometimes possessive. In work they are suited to farming, trade, management, collecting and community organising. Daykeepers use K'at days for prayers to release people from 'nets' of every kind; as always, the number of the birth day shapes how the nawal is read.
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