Mayan kin
A Mayan kin (in Mayan: "day, sun, time") is each one of the 260 unique combinations of the sacred Mayan calendar Tzolkin — formed by combining 13 numbers (1-13) with 20 day-signs (nahuales). Each kin has specific energy and personality. The 260 kines together form the complete Mayan sacred year.
Origin and structure
In modern (especially New Age and reconstructive Mexican-Mayan tradition) language, the term "kin" is used to designate the specific Mayan astrological energy of a day. The mathematical structure: 13 numbers × 20 day-signs = 260 unique combinations. Each combination repeats every 260 days. So if today is "kin 5 Imix", the next time we will have "kin 5 Imix" will be 260 days later.
A kin is identified with: 1) Its number (1 to 13 — energetic intensity, where 1 is initiating energy of beginning, 13 is mature culminating energy). 2) Its day-sign or nahual (one of the 20 — Imix, Ik, Akbal, Kan, Chikchan, Kimi, Manik, Lamat, Muluk, Ok, Chuwen, Eb, Ben, Ix, Men, Kib, Kaban, Etznab, Kawak, Ajaw — each one with deep specific symbolism). The combination of number + day-sign produces the unique energy of that kin.
Personal kin
In modern Mayan astrology, your personal kin is the kin corresponding to your date of birth — calculated by converting your Gregorian date of birth to the Tzolkin (with online calculators or specific tables). Your personal kin describes: 1) Predominant personality traits (each of the 260 kines has well differentiated characteristics). 2) Specific gifts and talents brought to this life. 3) Lessons typical to learn through this energy. 4) Vital tone of your day-to-day. 5) Especially compatible/incompatible kines for relationships.
Famous example: kin 1 Imix (number 1 + day-sign Imix) = beginning of the Tzolkin, first day, primordial energy of the cocodrile/mother of life — leadership of the absolute beginning. kin 260 Ajaw (number 13 + day-sign Ajaw) = closing of the Tzolkin, last day, mature energy of the full sun — culmination, sovereignty completed. Each kin in between has its specific resonance.
Use today
In Mexican modern Mayan tradition, the ajq'ij (Mayan elders) consult the kines for: 1) Personal life readings based on the kin of birth. 2) Daily orientation based on the kin of the current day (each day has a "kin of the day" that affects everyone). 3) Life ceremonies aligned with propitious kines. 4) Compatibility relations between kines of two people. 5) Choice of propitious moments (when to start a project according to the appropriate kin energy).
Note on the José Argüelles "Galactic Maya Calendar": Argüelles popularised in the West a synthetic system that mixes Mayan elements with own additions ("galactic dreamspell"). It is poetically rich but academically distinct from authentic ancestral Mayan tradition. To work seriously with Mayan kines, study with traditional Mayan teachers (especially Guatemalan ajq'ij) who preserve ancestral knowledge unchanged through colonisation.
Also known as
- Mayan kin
- Day in Tzolkin
- Tzolkin combination