In this series, our contributing writer Duru Yücel-Tofei will be looking at how we can connect the dots of our soul’s journey using insights for each of the Mayan sign’s directions of Past/Support/Youth, Adult/Day Sign and Future/Maturity/Guide Sign.
The content of this series will be taking into account only these directions with an aim to interpret the transitions of our soul in the context of a human’s life stages; past, present and future.
The Mayan Sign Night/Akbal/Aq’ab’al
It’s important to understand the past we’ve come from and been through and also the transformations we go through with regards to understanding our current and future selves. Thus, it’s meaningful to talk about why certain signs have certain “Past/Youth/Support” signs and also certain “Maturity/Guide” signs.
We can explain the reasons for these alignments in the mathematical sense within the Mayan Calendar. However, for us to really understand what they mean, we need to grasp the deeper truths regardless of whether the meaning contained in them led to these mathematical and systematic alignments or the other way around; the mathematical/systematic alignments led to those deeper truths.
The necessity comes in understanding what we signed up for as a soul when we chose to exist. Thus, we can take better advantage of our “stories” and even have the chance to “choose our battles” and pick much better-suited, truthful aspirations and goals during our specific journey here on earth. This understanding can directly help us deal with our challenges in a much wiser way as well.
Night/Akbal/Aq’ab’al is the third sign of this series. Here, you can read Part 1 on the Crocodile Sign and Part 2 on the Wind Sign.
Night/Akbal/Aq’ab’al – Past, Present and Future:
The Past/Support ~ Eagle/Men/Tz’ikin
In its tree of life, the Mayan Night/Akbal/Aq’ab’al sign has Eagle/Men/Tz’ikin for the “Past/Youth/Support” sign.
Eagle as the “Past/Youth/Support” sign supports and completes the Night person with an exceptional quality of ‘’knowing from the inside’’ and makes them quite imaginative, visionary, idealist, high-minded, skilled in technical and scientific things, poet-like, service-oriented.
One of the Eagle’s main qualities is being a fighter for higher truths and justice-for-all in the bigger picture of life since it has the eye of the eagle; seeing everything from above with such exceptional clarity and detail. This high-resolution and HD vision, combined with its inner-knowing, brings Eagle a very well-rounded capacity of being a creature of many realms; the physical, material and also the spiritual and the unseen…
And like the animal eagle, these people have a wonderful capacity of seeing opportunities and possibilities from the bird’s view and go take the ones they desire out of those.
This can help Night immensely in their pursuit of security and safety, especially; the material security. They can balance their need and tendency to daydream with Eagle’s qualities of keeping an open eye for the worldly opportunities. This serves as a grounding factor for Night people in an interesting way because one of the most prominent qualities of Eagle is also its escapist tendencies as it can’t help but escape from the realities of life. Yet, the grounding factor is indeed valid since this juxtaposition succeeds to help Night thanks to the high intelligence and vision combined with the blessings of material success Eagle is endowed with. In other words, their escapism doesn’t mean that any real good opportunity ‘’escapes them’’!
Eagle might have possibly brought highly demanding parents/a childhood environment packed with criticism, sometimes more than its fair share. Parents or in case of the absence of parents, the caretakers or whoever was present during the childhood years of Night, were most probably high-strung people and in some cases of parents/caretakers/people around them being less verbally expressive, they still have created an environment of unspoken expectations and criticism towards the child which in time unintentionally but unavoidably internalised by the Night person along with the inherent ‘’help(!)’’ of Eagle’s critical nature. In other cases, it’s only their Eagle-side which is giving them a hard time internally, without any external influence of parents or the childhood environment.
This might have caused them to constantly check within to see if they are right or wrong in any given scenario. Night’s immense need for security, thus, gets fueled with these types of childhood experiences, turning him/her to be even more self-conscious with an emphasis on making sure everything he/she does is ‘’correct’’ and ‘’safe’’. Combined with Night’s inherent seriousness this can add a whole different level of gravity, so to speak. If Nights see that perfectionism or an intolerable pressure to be ‘’good enough’’ is getting the best of them, it would be wise to seek counselling regarding aforementioned childhood wounds regardless of them being created by outer circumstances or inner attitudes.
Ultimately, only they can set themselves free from these conditionings, so, doing some ‘’shadow work’’ and searching the tools for learning the art of letting go can do wonders for them.
Outward Focus And Chasing Things Outside Transforms To Acute Introspection And Finding A Universe On The Inside
Until the age of 13 and to a relatively lesser extent, up until 26 years old, Eagle’s quality of shrewd awareness of everything going on around her/him and in the outside world gives Night quite good survival skills in the world we’re living in.
Their way of knowing from the inside avails them to easily know who is doing what, what type of a person anyone they meet really is and even what’s going on behind the closed doors.
Although this is a great gift for reaching their goals, meeting their needs, protecting themselves from unnecessary circumstances and harmful people, it can also give them too much of an outward-oriented approach towards life and even towards themselves, causing them to constantly seek opportunities and things figuratively or otherwise with the purpose of acquisition and having various types of gains. We can easily think that this is the best course to take because the systems we are living in today constantly tell us to ‘’go and fetch’’ in every area one can think of. However, this approach is not constructive when it’s the centralised theme of one’s life and thankfully, Night is given the chance by coming into existence as a ‘’Night’’ to change it in herself/himself.
Eagle has a knowing quality from the inside, indeed, but Night has this other very special quality of being in tune with what is going on inside her/his psyche and mind. Coming home more to itself, Night awakens to an inner realm bigger than it has ever known, slowly but surely. This realm reveals itself with many possibilities and richness it inherits. No need to go beyond itself and look outside anymore!
Thus, Night seeks no more but BECOMES the void for all those things she/he used to feel like having to go outside to fetch. In time, Night realises that these things on the inside are not only the necessary ones but also the ones which one can wish for and dream of. This gives Night an immense power along with the feelings of security.
Eagle also might have brought too much of a service oriented life to Night in her/his earlier years and now, Night comes to existence with a need to focus more on what she/he desires.
There are other prominent novelties for Night too, like the moderation of extreme independence because Eagle brings a childhood and adolescence filled with a desire to not be restricted by anyone or anything. During this time, the need to travel and explore, the freedom of movement and doing things according to their unique ideas and understanding are very much the driving forces for them.
They might even look like being too independent for a youngster and this might cause some adverse reactions from others. They need to learn moderation in the area of being independent and Night can naturally achieve that.
Escapism Can Be Replaced By Faithfulness and The Awareness Of Their Unique Perspectives
Their escapist side which is visible during Eagle years (0-13 and to a lesser extent from 13 to 26 years old) is another thing both giving them a poetic and spiritual quality.
This escapism, however, can become a very serious issue for them, they might want to avoid facing the roots of the problems they are facing as children and teenagers or young adults. If they happen to be in one of those families or environments packed with criticism as mentioned before or if they face any other problems which make them feel ‘’less than’’, they might adhere to escapism not only mentally but also through other means such as drugs, alcohol, excessive partying or total avoidance of responsibilities.
The tricky part is that these can happen without the parents, teachers or sometimes even their friends becoming aware of what’s going on because Eagle bestows a high level of exceptional intelligence upon Night, so, naturally, whatever they do, they just do it in a way that still somehow manages to look from the outside like they are in control and cleverly managing themselves and their lives.
Drew Barrymore is an example of a Night person coming from a dysfunctional household and she revealed that she was partying, using alcohol and drugs during her childhood while still being considered doing okay and being very clever for her age by the adults around her. This was happening in a ‘’Hollywood environment’’, yet, still, hers is the most tangible and exact example of escapism along with being one of the most extreme displays of this negative tendency in a Night person’s earlier years because she was going through those things at the age of nine!
The more they run away and avoid, the bigger problems and responsibilities life will throw back at them.
Instead, it’s wise for them to use the inherent high level of intelligence and heart-based faithfulness of Eagle in order to search and find the exits and unique pathways to whatever problems or responsibilities they might be facing.
They need to remember they don’t have to follow the beaten track; they already have what it takes to carve their own even when young, more so than the other signs.
This remembrance can already bring them a feeling of independence in and of itself and the reality of independence will also follow as they take action according to their unique solutions and understandings to whatever they may be up to face in their lives.
Faithfulness, which is one of the main reasons for Eagle’s interest and giftedness in religion-related matters, is another gem they can always use. Holding on to the feeling of faithfulness and also the inherent self-worth that comes with Eagle, they can surmount many hardships, knowing that they are enough, capable, worthy and remembering with that faithfulness that every storm passes and then the sun comes up. Having faith in life, in the high possibility that good will come their way no matter what the apparent circumstances might look like, remembering to always focus on these feelings are very important resources they can provide themselves with.
Another alchemical process for escapism presents itself with the opportunity of turning their focus on art and literature. Whenever they need a break from our ‘’mundane, boring and lame’’ existence, they can turn to poetry, writing, painting, composing, reading, researching about not-so-mundane topics and with the accumulation of this absorption, they can then manifest art, using their high intelligence.
Slowly taking the second place for Nights to become who they are meant to be, after its many flights, like a bird making/finding its nest to rest, get stronger and feel belonging, Eagle finally enters its ‘’home’’ as Night is the home they very much need to find now.
The Day Sign/Adult Sign/Present ~ Night/Akbal/Aq’ab’al
After the age of 13 and with growing effect, mainly after the age of 26, Night people will come to know their sense of security as being one of the most security oriented signs of all.
Their Eagle years of chasing things, experiences and the ‘’answers’’ in the outside world might have left them craving for a home, a base, something solid to rely on and hold onto both in the figurative and literal sense.
Same is true when it comes to choosing a partner; they need someone responsible, reliable, honest, clear with their intentions and what they choose to do in life.
Another name for Night is Home, which is very much in line with this sign’s need of being home-oriented. The more they come to be the Nights they are, they’ll find themselves much more attracted to spending time at home, taking care of and arranging it to their liking. This can manifest itself as a need to make the actual house more of a home by starting a family, having children and taking care of everyone in their household. The way they will do it will be more order-oriented as they are people of order.
Eagle’s escapism turns to a need to put their feet firmly on the ground regarding the actual realities of life, that’s why, Nights want a solid income, the ability to see ahead clearly and to secure the future.
They generally form good habits and let go of the bad ones which were acquired in the early years. Waking up early, sleeping well, eating clean, using time wisely, keeping their schedule clear and uncluttered with a good followthrough are what they get better at over time. They have a sense of discipline much more than their earlier years now and love to be useful too.
Paradoxically, they are also dreamers. We tend to associate dreams and dreaming as counter things to being practical and useful, however, Nights need to know that they are given this unique gift of actualising those dreams!
That’s why they are capable of both: Being a dreamer and a grounded person at the same time!
What is very crucial for their dreams to come true is the letting go of an exaggerated need for security and knowing what lies ahead. They need to “take the first step even if they don’t see the whole stairway.” They need to rely on their own secure and solid inner base to support them in every step of the way. Otherwise, they can find themselves uncontent and dissatisfied with a secure but dull life of routine and tasks accomplished in a shiny and perfect fashion, yet, lacking enthusiasm, warmth, liveliness and colour.
Their colourful dreams can splash themselves onto the canvas of their lives if only they can just let it be and trust the process and life itself. They carry magic and many possibilities within them, but they are not there only for their acknowledgement and enjoyment.
At this point, comes one of their biggest lessons: Learning to share… They have a tendency towards not sharing and others might observe this as stinginess, stiffness, reservation or coldness. This can be a result of the experiences of early Eagle years in which they’ve often found themselves to be too service-oriented and also a fighter for the higher order of life, willingly or unwillingly. Now, they can feel tired with regards to ‘’giving’’ in general. Yet, they need to loosen their grip of fearfulness and open up and share their soul, gifts, dreams, feelings, thoughts, money, time, energy, warmth, resources and etc. Staying the other way around can bring them a lonely life or worse; a life filled with superficial and formal relationships with no real connection or bond.
They need to learn to be the first one to give what they crave for from the outside. Yet, of course, this doesn’t mean giving with a calculated feeling of receiving back. Their wonderful quality of introspection can be beneficial here and they can use it to first open themselves up to feeling their own softness, warmth, their own real feelings, desires rather than being an observer of them who just looks and records but not really associates herself/himself with them.
Emotional involvement is something they need to work on in this lifetime, rather than leaving many things inside and outside of themselves as voids of oblivion. Their newfound rich and broad inner realm needs to bear its fruits both for themselves and others.
People can find themselves to be more in touch with their own latent potentials, dreams, desires, possibilities when they are around Night persons as Nights are truly ‘’the void which contains all types of potentials and happenings’’.
Instead of being afraid of this immense gift they carry and seeing it sometimes as darkness, they need to embrace and not be afraid of what they might become, do, achieve, transform into even if that looks very vague and unsafe to them in the beginning
Being & Sharing The Abundance They Already Are + Finding Their Place
Their journey is about finding the safety within and they may realise this after having achieved financial, relationship-wise, social status-wise and health-wise security in their lives and realising that they feel a ‘’weird’’ type of emptiness and an insatiable craving for something bigger than those seemingly solid and satisfying things.
The security they seek is truly about fearlessly BEING and WISELY EXPERIENCING all the abundance of those possibilities they contain.
They are the bringers of the dawn, as Mayans speak, thus, wherever they ‘’go’’ they need to know that they can bring that dawn they will need in case they find themselves in dark places. Their depth can come to their rescue with regards to understanding this and living their life to the fullest. Depth and superficial security cannot exist together, so they can always rely on that.
Night has a special thing about encountering chances and opportunities in faraway lands different than the ones they have in their motherlands and they can settle in a foreign land. These can possibly come to them at times when life obviously points them out that things aren’t going well for them in their own countries.
Possible Career Choices
Nights can be great doctors and they can do it even in alternative methods and ‘’psychic surgery’’, combining their talent of thoroughly applying the most tangible and practical tools and their developed spiritual side.
Their spirituality can very well manifest itself in practical ways, that’s why they can be original and innovative doctors in their field, taking into account all the aspects of an illness, not only apparent physical ones as classical medicine does. He was not a doctor but when it comes to talking about a real example of this sign’s trait of combining spirituality with a very practical, solid approach, we can think of Osho, who is a Night with the tone 8.
Also, as they are the dreamers, any career that lets them dream and apply it to a certain extent can do wonders for them.
Design or any art field which they feel like giving them the widest opportunity to dream is good. Since they are not ‘’social butterflies’’, jobs they can work alone without interruption and intervention from others would be suitable too.
They are also very suitable for public office positions, military, corporate environments or positions where they can be the ones to bring order and make the rules, jobs in strictly formal environments where hierarchy and status-quo is relevant thanks to their serious, orderly and conservative nature…
Whatever field they are in, they will be easily respected and people will follow their rules and orders because Night has that luck when it comes to being respected.
The Future ~ Monkey/Chuen/B’atz
Order Gets A Big Dose Of Spontaneity As Seriousness Surrenders To Fun
After the age of 43, but mainly with a full influence, after 52 years old, Night starts to have the traits of its Maturity/Future/Guide/Destiny sign Monkey.
This is a very much needed influence indeed since Night needs more fun and spontaneity in her/his life.
Night is serious and sometimes even stern in its approach to life and even towards her/his own feelings. Although it’s great that they have discipline and can maintain order and stability easily, sometimes they skip the fun and spontaneity in life and unwillingly avoid living their life to the fullest, so, Monkey comes to rescue!
Monkey days in Mayan Calendar are said to be great days to put our lives in order, so one can understand that Monkey has its own way of order, however, its curiosity, inventiveness and sometimes easily agitated nature renders other traits such as being unavoidably spontaneous and fun-loving. Night finds relief in that, for sure.
Their tight grip on things resulting from their huge need for security and fears of the unknown made their world dull and grey from time to time, but now, with the guidance of Monkey, they find the inner joy of a child again, as Monkey is the child of the Mayan astrology.
As we all know, a child is spontaneous, lively, curious, loves to play and do things as she/he likes to do them and this is new for Night.
Up to now, they might have been mainly dreamers but haven’t found the courage or extroversion enough to leave their comfort zones of security and step into the unknown soil of creativity and expression. Now, with Monkey, they feel an increased openness towards life and people. They are ready to experience more and take more risks. Inherent traditionalism and conservatism of Night also loosens up and they find themselves to be more accepting of various styles of many things, people, ways of being and even their own way of being and living. They’ll feel more ‘’out of the box’’ which their life and their own character has put them in before.
They can be one of those elders who decides to learn a new skill, who goes travel the world with a backpack, who dyes their hair in pink, blue, purple, etc., who skydives and so on…
They will find a better and organic rapport with children as they awaken to their inner child and when it comes to this awakening they may come to meet a neglected, unheard inner child whose colours have been kept locked away from the world and even from themselves. This can cause a crisis too and they can find themselves wanting to shatter the old structures they’ve so merrily built and believed in (or thought that they were merry while doing those).
As much as this can manifest itself only on an emotional level, some other possibilities of what others might call ‘’middle-age crisis’’ might occur too. They need to let out what has been kept tightly reigned in, yet, they need to beware of Monkey’s destructive side when this transformation takes place.
They need to learn to do it in a balanced way and not break hearts along the way. Art therapy and spiritual healing techniques especially focused on healing and connecting with the inner child can do wonders for them.
Introspection Meets Observation and Extroverted Expression
Now, they become much more demonstrative in their feelings and expressions. They will be more giving by all means one can think of. They can discover new talents which they never really paid attention to as Monkey is the artisan of Mayan astrology. They can let themselves explore the more unorthodox sides of their personalities and not be afraid to proudly show them to the world.
Conservatism will give way to unconventionalism and they will embrace it as a newfound freedom and reality.
In general, they will be able to enjoy life more. Their introspective and sometimes also reserved side will become more curious about learning what is different than what they already found on the inside and they can enjoy meeting people and having experiences different than their inner self and life experience so far.
They won’t keep inside for the sake of ‘’properness’’ what their feelings and thoughts are screaming for them to hear. They won’t feel like they need to follow and fully honour their traditions and elders in their life choices and they will be much open to experiment and learn and then decide for themselves.
They can find themselves changing their environments which feels like lacking vitality, change and colour and this applies to a massive career change too. Another possibility can be turning the same career into a more expanded and altered version of it. Also, if they have been maintaining a marriage, relationship or some friendships and obligations because of their formalist and orderly personality, now, they can be one of those people who feel like they can’t take anymore continuing that marriage, that relationship, that friendship, that environment which they have been involved in many years of their lives.
They can embrace their ‘’wild’’ side more and choose to not care about what others will think of them and what others would say as they used to take into account before. And if they have also been living for others rather than themselves, they will start to live much more for themselves and learn to delegate and share some of their ‘’responsibilities’’ with others.
They can find themselves to be more talkative too, as they feel like their curiosity is driving them to learn and share more, just for the sake of doing it.
They will also find a new strength they haven’t felt before because Monkey is a very strong character and with this power, autonomy, colours and talents just discovered, Nights, the dreamers, can make their dreams really do come true!
Health & Exercise
Anything which will give them joy and bring out their playful side will be a great benefit. Also, they can enjoy variety in their exercises, trying everyday something new.
When it comes to diet, they need to be selective especially in their maturity years as Monkey signs can be reckless about what they eat. However, since they are first and foremost a Night, they can always adhere to those good-living practices they can follow really well and also have help from Monkey’s strength in order to help them have much beneficial, stronger exercises. Stiff attitudes of Nights, occupying their mental spaces, can be reflected in their bodies too, thus, they need exercises combining strength with fluidity.
Are you a Mayan Night sign? If so, share your discoveries in the comments below.
See you next month where we connect the dots for the Mayan sign: Seed.
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Wow! This is so spot on for me!! Thank you!