Avatar.
As the trecena of the sea of creation completes, we are asked for this one single thing: to be someone. It is easy and tempting to blend into the whole—being a drop in the sea, unnoticed, not having to convey, not having to deliver. This can be the very definition of spiritlessness: believing we are here merely to survive, make a living, live the experience, tread the path, and nothing else. But that is not the case. With today's nawal, we embody the reason for being here and prepare to embark into the forest of the jaguar, where existence is teeming with spirit.
Who are we to be someone, do something, or change the world? This sweet nawal possesses a sharp duality: we can choose to exist on the shadow side or on the light side of this Atlantean pillar. The standing pillar holds a straight truth: we are to be humble, for humility is our true strength. Yet being humble casts a shadow, and we must choose whether to sit beneath it or step into the light. In the shadow, false humility convinces us that we are nothing—too small, too weak, too insignificant, or too unfortunate to accomplish anything meaningful in this world. Self-development falls away; we prefer to simply play along with life and coast through it. Most tribe members prefer to sit in that shade. But that shadow only exists because a pillar is standing—because someone is choosing to hold the weight and catch the light.
On the light side, pride and ego are not the strength that keeps us standing; it is that same foundational humility. It is the humility to look around and count how many pillars are still standing to hold up the sky, preventing it from collapsing and crushing everyone below. If there is any hope for humanity, it is because there is a pillar like that—somewhere, standing strong—bearing the weight of those who choose to sit in the shade and let others do the heavy lifting.
This temple is embodied as the first and ultimate creation by today's nawal, reminding us that creation is not a given background and that we are not passive creatures within it. Rather, we are part of the architectural team that built it and must hold it together if creation is to endure. Today's temple will stand to remind us every day moving forward that an avatar awaits us to embody it—a full, realized version of ourselves waiting for us to end our self-loathing and self-pity, to stop being humble shadows, and begin being humble beings.
The Cane / The Corn Stalk / The Pillar / The Home & Authority (Aj) represents the vertical cane stalk, the central pillar of the house, home, family, authority, leadership, and the sacred axis that connects the roots of the earth to the vault of the sky. It is the nawal of leaders, altars, staff-bearers, spiritual backbone, and the architectural pillars that hold up human society. In its thirteenth position (Oxlajuj), it brings the maximum frequency of ascension, completion, spirit, cosmic authority, and the ultimate realization of the wave—acting as the crowning portal where the gestating creation is fully realized and anchored as a living temple.
To embody Thirteen Aj is to step up as an Atlantean pillar of the world. It demands that you shed false modesty, rise from the shade, and accept the sacred weight of leadership, backbone, and spiritual authority. At this thirteenth and final station of the trecena of Imox, Aj takes the entity that has journeyed through the entire wave—conceived in Imox, voiced in Ik', tested in Ak'ab'al, structured in K'at, vitalized in K'an, given spirit in Keme, grounded in Kej, planted in Q'anil, purified in Toj, structured in Tz'i', evaluated in B'atz', and synthesized on the road in E'—and transforms it into a living pillar. It reminds us that we are not mere wanderers inside creation; we are its architects, called to step into our true avatar and hold up the sky.
SUPPORT THIS WORK. We are currently without funds to pay for the coming renovation of domain and hosting for this website. Please support it with a small donation: DONATE
RESEARCH
In the Codex Borgia (Plate 12, bottom-right panel), the governing patron deity for the 13th day sign, Acatl (Reed / corresponding to Aj in the Maya Cholq'ij), is Tezcatlipoca (specifically in his aspect as Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca, the "Black Smoking Mirror").
While in other traditions or later Aztec codices this sign is sometimes assigned to Itztlacoliuhqui (the deity of frost, obsidian, and cold stone), in the primary Plate 12 panel of the Codex Borgia, it is Tezcatlipoca himself who presides directly over the sign of the reed.
1. Visual Depiction in Codex Borgia (Plate 12, Bottom-Right)
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Position: Located in the lower-right register of Plate 12, opening the third page of the 20-day patron deity sequence (Plate 12 contains signs 13 to 16: Acatl, Ocelotl, Cuauhtli, Cozcacuauhtli).
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Iconography of Tezcatlipoca:
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Depicted with his signature face paint of horizontal black and yellow bands (ixtlan tlaneltlapalli).
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His left foot is missing, replaced by the smoking mirror (tezcatl) or a stream of smoke/bone, referencing his battle with the primordial earth monster (Cipactli).
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Adorned with a circular chest mirror, warrior ornaments, hair tufts wrapped in red ribbons, and holding darts, an atlatl (spear-thrower), or a sacrificial spine.
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The Day Glyph (Acatl): Positioned adjacent to the deity, showing a single erect reed stalk or shaft arrow painted in green/yellow hues with leaf shoots or tied feathers at the tip.
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Mantic/Contextual Motifs: The quadrant features emblems of ruler-ship, war implements, incense burners, and royal seats (icpalli), marking the station of authority, power, arrows, and judgment.
2. Analytical Overview of Acatl and Tezcatlipoca
Acatl (The Reed): Sign Dynamics
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Sign Number: 13th Day Sign of the 260-day Tonalpohualli (corresponding to Aj / Ben in the Maya calendar).
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Primary Function: The vertical shaft, arrow, spear, or reed pen. It represents the spine, authority, justice, warfare, structural backbone, and the central pillar of the home and state.
-
Structural Role: Acatl acts as the conduit between heaven and earth—rigid, hollow, yet upright. It is the material from which arrows for defense/conquest are crafted and from which royal thrones (petlatl icpalli) are woven.
Tezcatlipoca (The Smoking Mirror): Theological Mechanics
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The Omnipresent Sovereign: Tezcatlipoca is the supreme, invisible deity of night, destiny, royal power, sorcery, and temptation (Titlacauan - "He Whose Slaves We Are").
-
The Mirror of Truth: He holds the smoking obsidian mirror, which reflects the true inner self, exposing hidden motives, pride, and weakness without illusion.
-
Ruler of Kings & Warriors: He bestows and revokes worldly power, testing rulers to see if they possess the spiritual spine to maintain order or if they will collapse into vanity.
SUPPORT THIS WORK. We are currently without funds to pay for the coming renovation of domain and hosting for this website. Please support it with a small donation: DONATE
Avatar.
As the trecena of the sea of creation completes, we are asked for this one single thing: to be someone. It is easy and tempting to blend into the whole—being a drop in the sea, unnoticed, not having to convey, not having to deliver. This can be the very definition of spiritlessness: believing we are here merely to survive, make a living, live the experience, tread the path, and nothing else. But that is not the case. With today's nawal, we embody the reason for being here and prepare to embark into the forest of the jaguar, where existence is teeming with spirit.
Who are we to be someone, do something, or change the world? This sweet nawal possesses a sharp duality: we can choose to exist on the shadow side or on the light side of this Atlantean pillar. The standing pillar holds a straight truth: we are to be humble, for humility is our true strength. Yet being humble casts a shadow, and we must choose whether to sit beneath it or step into the light. In the shadow, false humility convinces us that we are nothing—too small, too weak, too insignificant, or too unfortunate to accomplish anything meaningful in this world. Self-development falls away; we prefer to simply play along with life and coast through it. Most tribe members prefer to sit in that shade. But that shadow only exists because a pillar is standing—because someone is choosing to hold the weight and catch the light.
On the light side, pride and ego are not the strength that keeps us standing; it is that same foundational humility. It is the humility to look around and count how many pillars are still standing to hold up the sky, preventing it from collapsing and crushing everyone below. If there is any hope for humanity, it is because there is a pillar like that—somewhere, standing strong—bearing the weight of those who choose to sit in the shade and let others do the heavy lifting.
This temple is embodied as the first and ultimate creation by today's nawal, reminding us that creation is not a given background and that we are not passive creatures within it. Rather, we are part of the architectural team that built it and must hold it together if creation is to endure. Today's temple will stand to remind us every day moving forward that an avatar awaits us to embody it—a full, realized version of ourselves waiting for us to end our self-loathing and self-pity, to stop being humble shadows, and begin being humble beings.
The Cane / The Corn Stalk / The Pillar / The Home & Authority (Aj) represents the vertical cane stalk, the central pillar of the house, home, family, authority, leadership, and the sacred axis that connects the roots of the earth to the vault of the sky. It is the nawal of leaders, altars, staff-bearers, spiritual backbone, and the architectural pillars that hold up human society. In its thirteenth position (Oxlajuj), it brings the maximum frequency of ascension, completion, spirit, cosmic authority, and the ultimate realization of the wave—acting as the crowning portal where the gestating creation is fully realized and anchored as a living temple.
To embody Thirteen Aj is to step up as an Atlantean pillar of the world. It demands that you shed false modesty, rise from the shade, and accept the sacred weight of leadership, backbone, and spiritual authority. At this thirteenth and final station of the trecena of Imox, Aj takes the entity that has journeyed through the entire wave—conceived in Imox, voiced in Ik', tested in Ak'ab'al, structured in K'at, vitalized in K'an, given spirit in Keme, grounded in Kej, planted in Q'anil, purified in Toj, structured in Tz'i', evaluated in B'atz', and synthesized on the road in E'—and transforms it into a living pillar. It reminds us that we are not mere wanderers inside creation; we are its architects, called to step into our true avatar and hold up the sky.
SUPPORT THIS WORK. We are currently without funds to pay for the coming renovation of domain and hosting for this website. Please support it with a small donation: DONATE
RESEARCH
In the Codex Borgia (Plate 12, bottom-right panel), the governing patron deity for the 13th day sign, Acatl (Reed / corresponding to Aj in the Maya Cholq'ij), is Tezcatlipoca (specifically in his aspect as Yayauhqui Tezcatlipoca, the "Black Smoking Mirror").
While in other traditions or later Aztec codices this sign is sometimes assigned to Itztlacoliuhqui (the deity of frost, obsidian, and cold stone), in the primary Plate 12 panel of the Codex Borgia, it is Tezcatlipoca himself who presides directly over the sign of the reed.
1. Visual Depiction in Codex Borgia (Plate 12, Bottom-Right)
-
Position: Located in the lower-right register of Plate 12, opening the third page of the 20-day patron deity sequence (Plate 12 contains signs 13 to 16: Acatl, Ocelotl, Cuauhtli, Cozcacuauhtli).
-
Iconography of Tezcatlipoca:
-
Depicted with his signature face paint of horizontal black and yellow bands (ixtlan tlaneltlapalli).
-
His left foot is missing, replaced by the smoking mirror (tezcatl) or a stream of smoke/bone, referencing his battle with the primordial earth monster (Cipactli).
-
Adorned with a circular chest mirror, warrior ornaments, hair tufts wrapped in red ribbons, and holding darts, an atlatl (spear-thrower), or a sacrificial spine.
-
The Day Glyph (Acatl): Positioned adjacent to the deity, showing a single erect reed stalk or shaft arrow painted in green/yellow hues with leaf shoots or tied feathers at the tip.
-
Mantic/Contextual Motifs: The quadrant features emblems of ruler-ship, war implements, incense burners, and royal seats (icpalli), marking the station of authority, power, arrows, and judgment.
2. Analytical Overview of Acatl and Tezcatlipoca
Acatl (The Reed): Sign Dynamics
-
Sign Number: 13th Day Sign of the 260-day Tonalpohualli (corresponding to Aj / Ben in the Maya calendar).
-
Primary Function: The vertical shaft, arrow, spear, or reed pen. It represents the spine, authority, justice, warfare, structural backbone, and the central pillar of the home and state.
-
Structural Role: Acatl acts as the conduit between heaven and earth—rigid, hollow, yet upright. It is the material from which arrows for defense/conquest are crafted and from which royal thrones (petlatl icpalli) are woven.
Tezcatlipoca (The Smoking Mirror): Theological Mechanics
-
The Omnipresent Sovereign: Tezcatlipoca is the supreme, invisible deity of night, destiny, royal power, sorcery, and temptation (Titlacauan - "He Whose Slaves We Are").
-
The Mirror of Truth: He holds the smoking obsidian mirror, which reflects the true inner self, exposing hidden motives, pride, and weakness without illusion.
-
Ruler of Kings & Warriors: He bestows and revokes worldly power, testing rulers to see if they possess the spiritual spine to maintain order or if they will collapse into vanity.
SUPPORT THIS WORK. We are currently without funds to pay for the coming renovation of domain and hosting for this website. Please support it with a small donation: DONATE
