10 Ak in the Mayan Calendar

10 Ak, 10th day in the 13-day Kanhoh (Canoe) Week
10 Ak, (Chorti'): Grass or reed  (Glyph of woven mat)
10 Aj (Quiche) / 10 Ben (Yucatec): Ear of corn or reed
10 Acatl (Aztec): Grass or reed
Direction: East

Note: The early Mayans wove with reeds or grasses to make baskets, mats for sleeping (petate), and reed boats for ocean travel (from torola reeds). The Quiche word aj means 'ear of corn' in addition to grass. In Chorti, cob of corn is k'ab nar, which is where we get the English word 'cob'. Another meaning for this daysign comes from the word ax, which means striped. This sign is often portrayed with stripes, such as those seen in a petate. Ak is one of the roots of 'zacate' which is the word used extensively throughout south Mexico and Central America for 'grass'.

Kanhoh Week: This week was transformed from Katu' (moon diety) to Kanhoh (canoe) between 3000 BC and 1800 BC when the Mayans began their great traveling ventures to spread their knowledge of agriculture. There was probably a rhyme associated with this shift, like "Katu' K'anhuh, Katbu K'an a'n, K'aht Kanhoh" or "on moon and iguana, cross over with golden ripe corn, by bridge and canoe" (doesn't quite work in English). Kanhoh week will usually be a Mars retrograde week every third tzolkin, as it is now.  At the next Kanhoh week in 260 days, Mars will be an evening 'star' almost to disappear from the sky, and 260 days later, Mars will be a morning 'star'.

Taken together, Ak in Kanhoh week emphasizes long distance travel, whether by reed boat, canoe, car, bicycle, or thumb, and teaching others to use the resources all around them in a sustainable way.

These two signs combined on Nov. 11, 2009, on the day 12 Kanhoh (K'at / K'an), during Ak (Aj / Ben) week. Things that began on or near that date will now be coming to a close.

Acajutla High Tides: 9:59 AM and 10:29 PM
Semi-diurnal Tide range (Difference in High/Low Tides): 1.12 meters average and decreasing.