The 260-Day Sacred Count

The Tzolkin is the 260-day sacred calendar that forms the foundation of Mesoamerican astrology. It is not tied to the solar year but to the cycles of human gestation and the cultivation of maize. It is a divine engine for tracking destiny, personality, and auspicious dates.

The calendar is created by intercalating two cycles: a series of 20 sacred day signs (or glyphs) and a cycle of 13 numbers (or "tones"). As these two cycles run in parallel, they create 260 unique combinations (20 x 13), each with a distinct energy, such as '4 Ajaw' or '8 Manik'.

The 20 Day Signs (Glyphs)

The Tzolkin cycles through 20 distinct day signs, each representing a specific energy, deity, or aspect of the natural world. This is the "what" of your spiritual energy—the core archetype that defines your nature.

• Crocodile (Imix')
• Wind (Ik')
• Night (Ak'b'al)
• Seed (K'an)
• Serpent (Chikchan)
• Death (Kimi)
• Deer (Manik')
• Rabbit (Lamat)
• Jade (Muluk)
• Dog (Ok)
• Monkey (Chuwen)
• Road (Eb')
• Reed (B'en)
• Jaguar (Ix)
• Eagle (Men)
• Vulture (Owl)
• Earthquake (Kaban)
• Knife (Etz'nab')
• Storm (Kawak)
• Sun/Lord (Ajaw)

The Four Colors and Directions

Each sign is associated with one of the four cardinal directions and a color. The cycle of signs moves through these directions in order:

• Red (East): Represents beginnings, birth, and new energy.
• White (North): Represents the ancestral, spiritual, and intellectual realms; a place of "cold" purity.
• Black (West): Represents darkness, transformation, the underworld, and the setting sun.
• Yellow (South): Represents the sun, abundance, growth, and fruition.

Your sign's color and direction provide an axis towards your energy and destiny.

A Pan-Mesoamerican Calendar

While the glyphs on MesoArcana are from the Classic Maya tradition, the 260-day calendar itself is a shared system, one that was used by cultures throughout Mesoamerica, including the Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, and Aztec.

These civilizations used the same continuous count but had complemntary interpretations for the 20 day signs. While most the days represented the same energy, a few were identified with unique meaning. For example, the Maya sign 'Ajaw' (Sun/Lord) corresponds to the Aztec sign 'Xochitl' (Flower).

To ensure accuracy, all dates on this site are calculated using the Goodman-Martínez-Thompson (GMT) correlation. This scholarly standard is not just for the Maya; it aligns perfectly with both the historical Aztec calendar (the Caso correlation) and the sacred count still kept by contemporary Maya daykeepers. This remarkable consistency confirms we are looking at a single, unified system.

Understanding the corresponding signs from these other traditions can provide deeper, complementary insights into your own astrological profile. The full MesoArcana report expands particularly on the Aztec to weave together the wisdom of these parallel civilizations to create a more complete picture of your destiny.