Oc Trecena
by Kenneth Johnson
Although this day-sign is usually called the Dog and, in divination at least, represents sensual—especially sexual—energy pure and simple, there is also a deeper, more esoteric meaning to this symbol. The Mayan definition of “dog” is somewhat different than our own. I often heard the K’iche’ use the term tz’i to describe raccoons, the jungle tepezcuintle, and so on – almost any hairy creature with four legs falls into the “dog” category in Mayan thinking. I was also told that this day sign is linked with a story in the Popol Vuh or Mayan Creation Epic in
which the two Hero Twins disguise themselves as traveling magicians and take on “dog names,” Jun Ajpu Wuch’ (Possum Hunter) and Jun Ajpu Utiw (Coyote Hunter). It is also said that Oc, in its totemic aspect as a dog, a raccoon, or a coyote, is the animal guardian of hills and mountains. Oc is one of those day-signs, like Manik and Ix, which has a strong connection with primal nature and with the wilderness.
Though one of the Classic Mayan hieroglyphs for this sign clearly depicts a dog, another glyph represents a human foot. As for the name of this sign in Yucatec Mayan, oc literally means a door or a gateway—which sometimes signifies the gateway to the Otherworld, but which could also signify the gateway to a new year or Calendar cycle. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel includes a myth about how time began. The foot (one of the glyphs for this day-sign) of a god paces across the universe, measuring out time. This foot is specifically linked with the day-sign Oc, which, in this myth, marks the beginning of the tzolkin.
One of the ancient hieroglyphs for this day-sign seems to represent the skeletal god who conducts us to the Underworld—which, of course, is but one more gateway or oc. Like everything else in Mesoamerican myth, this Underworld Guide has many faces. Among the Aztecs, he was called Xolotl, the “dark twin” of Feathered Serpent whose animal form is a dog. Among the tribal Lacandon Maya who live in the jungles of Chiapas, the dog is still the Underworld Guide. Until recently, Lacandon tribesmen fashioned statues of dogs from palm leaves to be placed at the four corners of each grave. The dog represents a loyalty and faithfulness that survives even beyond death.
Xolotl, the “dark twin” of Feathered Serpent, represents the great civilization bringer’s “shadow side,” a psychological opposite that forms the converse image of his own dazzling persona. This shadowy twin was a skeletal figure who, hoisting the sun on his back, carries it into the Underworld at the end of every day. Here, in the “shadow” world, the dark twin carries the solar orb through the night, until it is time for the sun to be reborn once again.
The sun emerges from the Underworld at dawn and runs its course through the daylight world, the world of consciousness. Then it plunges. Like the sun, we too must one day die and journey into the Underworld, with only faith and loyalty (the dog) to guide us. In some stories it is the dog who brings fire to humankind and is often shown carrying a torch. This, perhaps, is also emblematic of the fire of faith that guides us through periods of darkness, for our journey through the Underworld occurs not only in death, but as an inner process. The day-sign Oc is simultaneously our gateway into darkness, our feet passing through that gateway, and the dog of faith who guides us through the ensuing darkness. It is a complex symbol for that stage in the journey of consciousness when we must walk through the “dark night of the soul.”
Cosmic balance is the foundation of all true law, and Oc is often said by the K’iche’ Maya to be the sign of law, of the natural order. It is connected with all those who either enforce or practice the law; hence it is the symbol of the police as well as of lawyers and judges. In Oc, the cosmic balance is established upon earth through the enlightened creation and maintenance of law and order – in other words, of authentic spiritual justice.
Because this day sign has connections with law and its practice, during the Oc trecena we may affirm that justice may be done to all people. It is a good time to address any legal issues of our own, as well as correcting the difficulties which may have arisen in our lives due to an excess of the passions.
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