VALORES ALTOS DE TIR Y ESTUDIOS GENÉTICOS

As the Hero Twins, Junajpu and Xb’alanke, are about to journey into the Underworld to challenge the Lords of Death in a game of handball, they each plant an ear of corn in their grandmother’s patio. They tell her that if the corn withers, it means they are dead, but if it sprouts again, they are once more alive.

The corn withers when the Hero Twins die, but then returns to life, as do the Twins, having traveled the paths of the Underworld and conquered death.

This day-sign is the inner voice and the spiritual intent of our First Grandmother, when she prayed for a sign that her grandsons had survived their trials in the Underworld. In fact, the K’iche’ word itself, Aj (pronounced “ah” with a very slight guttural “k” sound at the end), appears in this passage of the book and is part of a language pun intended to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that the sacred Pop Wuj is discussing the metaphysical meaning of this day-sign.

This is a day-sign of strength, of resurrection, of the triumph of life over death. This sign symbolizes the cornstalk (in some Mayan communities a stalk of sugar cane), a pillar or world tree that connects heaven and earth. It symbolizes all the seven virtues that are entwined with strength, triumph, resurrection, and the union of heaven and earth.

The seven virtues of Mayan philosophy are elemental principles – in contrast to the seven sins or “shames,” which are symbolized by purely human failings. The four elements -- Fire, Earth, Air, and Water – are regarded as “virtues.” Their energy is pure. In Mayan thinking, the divine principle in nature can be expressed in terms of the polarity of Heart of Sky and Heart of

33 Earth – these too are counted among the seven virtues. Finally, there is the Center, the place where the world pillar or world tree is planted (just like the cornstalk in First Grandmother’s house). This vital center of all things or axis mundi is the seventh virtue. Throughout the world’s mythologies, this central axis is symbolized by a great tree that connects the various worlds. The World Tree is the center of all things, and it is the essence of this day-sign.

The Aztecs also linked this day-sign with resurrection and the triumph of life over death, for this sign is, more than any other, associated with Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent – although the contemporary Mayan tradition is different in this respect, assigning the Feathered Serpent archetype to the day-signs Chicchan (K’iche’: Kan) and Ik (K’iche’: Iq’).

Though the Feathered Serpent has been worshiped all over Mesoamerica since earliest times, the Aztecs reverenced the memory of a Toltec spiritual teacher, Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, who was said to have been born upon this day (Acatl in the Nahuatl or Aztec tongue) and who may have been regarded as an incarnation or avatar of the deity Feathered Serpent. The legend asserts that he preached a religion of light and higher consciousness; but the people of that time and place were not ready to receive his message, and he was cast out. It is said that he was immolated upon a funeral pyre, and that he rose to the sky as the planet Venus – which, with its appearances and disappearances, is yet another symbol of resurrection and rebirth, of the journey to the Underworld and back again. Some believed that Topiltzin Qutezalcoatl would one day return – and in a day and year associated with the day-sign Ben or Aj. This belief may have contributed greatly to the downfall of the Aztecs, for Cortez arrived at the time that had been prophesied.

Ben is considered one of the best days upon which to deal with matters of the home.

After all, the Hero Twins planted their regenerative cornstalk in the home of First Grandmother;

in and through the home, their resurrection was known and perceived. This day is the very nawal of the home, and especially of the children within it, for our children are none other than ourselves reborn; they are living symbols of our power to regenerate and renew ourselves, for they are created from our own vital energy, which they carry with them into the future, into eternity.

Ben is a day to give thanks for the place in which we live; it is connected with the nourishment and flourishing of all things related to the home, whether human, animal or plant. It symbolizes the energy and vitality of life itself. It strengthens the family system and lends vital

34 energy and power to all matters within one’s household. It is the day par excellence to pray for the health of children.

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Ben people are decisive and authoritative, and mostly cheerful. In Mayan communities, the local civic council often works in collaboration with a council of indigenous town elders.

These Native leaders carry a staff; the ones that I saw were usually tipped with silver and sporting a tassel. The staff is the symbol of the council member’s authority, and some K’iche’

Daykeepers say that the day-sign Aj represents the staff carried by these village leaders; one of the most common K’iche’ meanings of the word aj is as an honorific title referring to someone’s profession (as in aj q’ij, meaning one whose profession is the day, i.e. Daykeeper). It is this sort of localized, community-focused sense of authority which is so characteristic of the day-sign Ben. The medical correspondence of this day-sign is the spinal column through which the majestic serpent energy flows.

Natives of Ben are capable of living fully and completely in this world; they are masters of the physical plane. But their talents extend far beyond the merely physical. At best, they may see far enough to perceive worlds beyond this one; Ben natives are known for their clairvoyant abilities. Many of them are endowed with an authentic sense of vision. Their tendency toward deep thinking makes them great researchers and scholars, and they can do well in academia if they choose to follow that direction in life. They also make excellent psychologists; both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were born upon the day 10 Ben. Nor do these people lack the drive and commitment necessary to turn their dreams into reality; Ben natives are fiercely passionate about their ideals and desires, and their passionate commitment endows them with the energy to achieve things.

With so much energy at their disposal, it is interesting to note that few Ben natives will appear on a typical list of “famous people” born under particular day-signs. This is partly because they avoid the spotlight and prefer to work at home and behind the scenes, albeit with great authority. They are not big travelers; this day-sign is the nawal of hearth and home, as well as of the children in one’s house. Ben natives like to stay at home and usually favor their place of birth. Another reason that they so seldom show up on “famous people” lists is because of a

35 peculiar tendency that they have to be ignored or unnoticed by those around them. They may often feel that they are “tilting at windmills,” with no one in sight with whom to share their great dreams.

Often, it is necessary for them to learn to focus their considerable energies in one place.

Without a “guiding star,” they can change like the wind, moving from one project to another, good at starting things but not very good at finishing them. But a great vision has its price, for we may sometimes envision more than is good for us; these people have a tendency to be greedy;

nothing is ever enough. Sometimes they take life so seriously that they appear withdrawn and peculiar to others.

They can be so intensely passionate about a cause that they lose their practicality, becoming insensitive to the needs of others and consequently impossible to deal with. They can be overly emotional, tempestuous characters. Their desire for justice and harmony can become obsessive, and their search for perfection may be both a blessing and a curse. At worst they are unable to manifest their talents and thus they sometimes live in poverty, but they usually prevail in the end, like the resurrected corn.

Rich or poor, they typically have a talent for matters of the home, as well as for understanding and relating to children and nurturing the growth of plants. While this concern for hearth and home is characteristic of both sexes, the Ben women in particular will often have a special gift with both children and critters.

Ben natives are nature lovers. Their animal totems are the armadillo and the honeybee.

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