Maya calendar
The 20 Maya nawales
The Tzolk'in counts 260 days: 13 tones turning together with 20 nawales — the day signs often called the Mayan zodiac. Here are the 20, in order, by their K'iche' name — the one of the traditional count, which the spiritual guides of the Guatemalan highlands keep alive — and by their Yucatec name, the one most often seen in books and calculators.
The 20, in Tzolk'in order
The twenty forces of the days, in Tzolk'in order. Tap a name to read the full page.
- 1Imoxthe waterImix in Yucatec
- 2Iq'the windIk' in Yucatec
- 3Aq'ab'althe dawnAk'bal in Yucatec
- 4K'atthe netK'an in Yucatec
- 5Kanthe serpentChikchan in Yucatec
- 6Kamethe death that renewsKimi in Yucatec
- 7Kejthe deerManik' in Yucatec
- 8Q'anilthe seedLamat in Yucatec
- 9Tojthe offeringMuluk in Yucatec
- 10Tz'i'the dogOk in Yucatec
- 11B'atz'the threadChuwen in Yucatec
- 12Ethe roadEb' in Yucatec
- 13Ajthe caneB'en in Yucatec
- 14I'xthe jaguarIx in Yucatec
- 15Tz'ikinthe birdMen in Yucatec
- 16Ajmaqthe pardonKib' in Yucatec
- 17No'jthe mindKab'an in Yucatec
- 18Tijaxthe obsidianEtz'nab' in Yucatec
- 19Kawoqthe stormKawak in Yucatec
- 20Ajputhe SunAjaw in Yucatec
The four year bearers
The year bearer: the nawal of the Cholq'ij that opens the 365-day solar year and carries it to the next. In the K'iche' highlands only four nawales do this (Kej, E, No'j and Iq'), and each sets the tone of its year.
The year bearer: 2026 and 2027Questions about the nawales
What is a nawal?
The living force that inhabits each day, and the land, the weather, the animals and people too. The nawal of the day you were born is yours: from it come, in the tradition, your character, your gifts and your duties. Nawal in the glossary
What is the tone that goes with the nawal?
The number, from 1 to 13, that travels with the nawal and measures the strength of the day. The same nawal arrives differently with each tone: 1 is the seed that opens the count; 13, the full force that calls for a careful hand. The 13 Mayan tones
What are the Cholq'ij and the Tzolk'in?
The 260-day count that organises Maya astrology: twenty names and thirteen numbers that always travel in pairs and only repeat after 260 steps. Cholq'ij is the K'iche' name and means putting the days in order; Tzolk'in is the best-known name, coined in 1921 from it. Cholq'ij and Tzolk'in in the glossary
Why does the calendar have 260 days?
Why 260? The explanation the K'iche' themselves give is pregnancy: from the day of conception to birth runs about nine moons. And the body keeps the count: twenty are the fingers and toes; thirteen, the great joints. The 260 days in the glossary
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