Ix

In the Mayan calendar, Ix is the energy of the Jaguar, and of Mother Earth. Ix is a divine feminine sign, and its energy is very motherly, but in a fierce and warrior way: Ix is the mother that protects and fights for her children, the Mama Bear that won’t let anything harm her loved ones. The mother that will fight tooth and nail to defend her loved ones if she has to.

Ix days are good days to create or freshen up your altar, to give offerings to the Earth and to create sacred spaces in nature. It is a day of spiritual potency and raw animal vitality. Of owning up to your wilderness and your fierceness, and the power that you have to take care of your loved ones and protect what is important to you. It is a powerful day to ask for abundance, and to manifest what you desire; in combination with creating an altar in nature and giving the Earth offerings, we know Pachamama will hear us and bring us what we ask for. This nahuale is about our connection to sorcery and our own magic, divinity and power.

About the Jaguar and Ix:

“Ix is possibly the most feminine of the nahuales. It represents the spirit of Mother Earth and could easily be seen as a Mayan representation of Gaia. Ix can be seen as a mothering energy, nurturing all things, but this should not be confused with weakness – the animal totem of Ix is the jaguar and it is as the jaguar that Ix is often known. The jaguar is, of course, powerful and stealthy. Ix also embodies these qualities. The jaguar is an animal of the night, slipping magically through the darkness, the spots of her back a representation of the milky way. She carries the sun on it’s nightly journey through the underworld.”

~ Mark Elmy

Ix reminds us that Mother Earth is an extension of us. It is a reminder to honor her and give gratitude to her, and knowing that the more we give thanks, the more we receive in return. Today, through giving back to the Earth, we can find wisdom, power and wealth.

“Ix has the power to engage with the magic of the Earth. The magic that runs through today can come so easily, that sometimes we forget that everything really comes from the Earth and it is to the Earth that we must show our gratitude. Ix is also the nahuale of natural shrines and altars, the places where fire ceremonies are made to give thanks. A spirit of gratitude and humility keeps Ix healthy. This is a day to give thanks, to remember gratitude, and a day to engage with your magic.”

~ Mark Elmy

This is also the nahuale of the goddess Ix Cacao, the sacred Mayan goddess of the cacao tree (and the goddess our name & logo is based after). Ix Cacao is present in the very first creation myths the Mayans have. She was the first to give the gift of agriculture to humans. She is the goddess of abundance, creation, fertility, and Mother Earth. She is a fierce protector and guardian of cacao, and she gave humans the first cacao tree so that our minds may rise to the level of the cosmos, so that we may know true divinity and true enlightenment comparable to that which the gods experience themselves.

Ix Cacao is kind, gentle, loving and yet also fiercely strong and protective. She reminds us to be abundant, to be grateful, to cherish the Earth and to be open and ready to receive the endless gifts she wants to give us— and to be fierce and dedicated to our conviction to the universe, to our higher selves, to our greater purpose, and to Spirit.

The divine feminine goddess in our logo is a representation of Goddess Ix Cacao, and the orange nahuale underneath her is what the Mayan drawing of the sign of Ix looks like.

:: May you be gentle, loving and nourishing as the Earth, and fierce, protective and powerful like a Jaguar. May you always take care of your loved ones, and simultaneously seek and receive what you need. ::

Read more about Ix and the Mayan calendar here.