10 Makchan, 10th day in the 13-day Tzi' (Dog) Week
10 Makchan (Chorti'): Rainbow. Glyph of clouds, rain, and box-like structure.
10 Kawuq (Quiche) / 10 Kawak (Yucatec Maya): both mean rain, rainstorms, or thunder
10 Quiahuitl (Aztec): Rainstorm, linked to the goddess 'Chantico'; goddess of hearth and home
Direction: West
Note: Makchan or 'rainbow' consists of mak, a 'covering' or 'to stop up', and chan is 'snake'. A snake which covers up and stops the rainstorm. This day sign explains the totem of the Chorti' Maya people, which is chan or serpent. Perhaps better thought of as rainbow. One of their first homes was on an island inside a crater lake, Tammakchan, or 'deep inside the rainbow'. They were safe inside the rainbow since the Xibalbans could not swim. Other Mayans later called this Tamoanchan. Kirik is 'thunder' and might explain the Quiche and Yucatec names for this day.
Tzi' Week: In this hemisphere, dogs accompanied and guided early people from the north as the only domesticated animal - the earliest companion to humans. Tzi' also represents Sirius, the dog (guide) star. When Venus is not visible it is the brightest object in sky, aside from the sun and moon. Tracking Sirius through the elliptic the Mayans were able to predict precession of the solar system through the galactic elliptic. This is, in part, how the Mayans were able to set their calendar to end one cycle and begin a new cycle in December 2012. Today, Sirius disappears from the sky in April and reappears in the early morning sky in June in Central America. Its reappearance would have been an indicator to plant, just after the rainy season had started.
Acajutla High Tides: 6:43 AM and 7:09 PMSemi-diurnal Tide range (Difference in High/Low Tides): 1.70 meters average and decreasing. Fishing won't be so good for the next 7 days.
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