Tzolkin Trecena Notes

Tzolkin Trecena Notes – 1 Crocodile (Imix)

Day 1 of the 260 Day Tzolkin – New Calendar Round
Gregorian Date: December 5, 2023
Year Bearer:  11 Road (Eb)

Trecenas are thirteen-day periods in the Tzolkin. Each Trecena starts with the Number 1, but with a different Day Glyph. As a wave of the Thirteen Heavens, the underlying energy is governed by the First Day Glyph of the Trecena and influences all thirteen successive Day Glyphs. Being aware of the predominant energy of the First Day of the Trecena, we can align our intentions with that energy and allow our goals to manifest.

This Trecena starts with 1 Imix (Crocodile/Alligator/Waterlily) – Beginning – Initiating new possibilities and concepts – Receptivity and Trust, Earth Mother, Nourishment, Protection, Primordial Ocean of Possibilities.

The Classic Maya believed that an earth monster or primordial Crocodile floated in the ocean of the Underworld. He carried the Earth on his back, nourishing and protecting all life. Thus, Crocodile supplies humanity with the underlying primal connection to nature and Mother Earth. The glyph itself represents a Waterlily, a symbol of beauty, abundance and growth, and the possibility of ascension out of the primordial soup of creation.

Out of the void, a spark of fire falls into the primordial ocean of possibilities and creation spirals into life.

1 Crocodile (Imix)
© 2006 Judith Ann Griffith

With 1 Imix we are starting a new Tzolkin round of 260 days which ends on 13 Ahau. 1 Imix is a logical place to begin counting the days. The number 1 and Imix both symbolize beginning. According to Kenneth Johnson in Jaguar Wisdom, “this is an arbitrary point of origin. The rhythm of the Sacred Calendar is circular; many contemporary Calendar shamans insist that it has neither beginning nor end. Nevertheless, we will follow tradition and use 1 Crocodile as a convenient ‘beginning’.”

Carlos Barrios in The Book of Destiny states: “Imox [Kaqchikel language for Yucatec Imix] puts the mind in a receptive mode, increases spiritual strength, and manages the energies of change. It provides the power to understand nature’s messages in order to plan the next steps in one’s life. Imox means the essence in every sense of the word. It is everything that corresponds to the left side, the subtle part of humans. It is the unusual and the eccentric. We need a positive equilibrium on this day because it could lead to lunacy. It is lizards or crocodiles, the energy that manifests the hidden or internal side of humans, the powers that are dormant. It is the essence of our consciousness, our mind. It represents the inner space of the mind and the connection between concepts. It is the power that keeps ideas together, the strength of our mind.”

Another representation of the Trecena is that of a creative wave beginning at 1 and ending at 13, with the numbers 6, 7 and 8 representing the crest of the wave. The crest could be interpreted as a strong influential energy, although the underlying influence on the Trecena would still rest in the beginning. In this Trecena, the crest falls on 6 Cimi (Transformation/Death), 7 Manik (Deer/Healing Hand) and 8 Lamat (Rabbit/Venus). Cimi energy of transformation, change and new beginnings falls on the crest of the wave in the Trecena Imix/Crocodile which is also the beginning of the Tzolkin. To help with so many new beginnings, we are offered a blessing and luck. Manik (Deer/Healing Hand) energy offers a blessing for healing and Lamat or Lucky Rabbit energy offers abundance and the pure joy of being alive.

As we journey through each day of this Trecena:

Trecena Count 

Gregorian Date

1 Crocodile (Imix)

December 5, 2023

2 Wind (Ik)

December 6

3 Night (Akbal)

December 7

4 Seed (K’at, Kan)

December 8

5 Serpent (Chicchan)

December 9

6 Transformer (Cimi)

December 10

7 Deer (Manik)

December 11

8 Star (Lamat)

December 12

9 Offering (Muluc)

December 13

10 Dog (Oc)

December 14

11 Monkey (Chuen)

December 15

12 Road (Eb)

December 16

13 Reed (Ben)

December 17

Utilize the energies of Crocodile to open our hearts and live from our hearts. Crocodile offers the emotional, physical and spiritual strength needed to balance the vibrational changes occurring now with planet Earth and concurrently within ourselves.

“Following your heart or intuition is the only method capable of weaving the unthinkably complicated patterns of creations (those of our own and others) into what we wish for ourselves and others.”

Ian Xel Lungold

In Lak’ech (I am another you),
William and Viola
©2007 William and Viola Welsch