The 20 Maya Day Signs

Prepared by the Mayan Astrology Calculator editors · Sources below · Reviewed 10 October 2026 · Calculation: gmt584283-proleptic-gregorian-v1

Quick answer. The 260-day Maya calendar, called Tzolk'in by scholars and Chol Q'ij by K'iche' daykeepers, combines 20 named days with the numbers 1 to 13. Each day sign returns every 20 days, and each combination, such as 8 B'atz', returns every 260 days. The signs have Yucatec names (Imix, Ik', Ak'bal …) and highland names (Imox, Iq', Aq'ab'al …). Several English labels found online are borrowed from Aztec days or from Dreamspell, a modern system begun in 1987. [1][2][3]

Your day sign is only half of your birth signature. The number from 1 to 13 is the other half.

How the 20 signs work

The 20 day signs run in a fixed order, and the numbers 1 to 13 run alongside them. After 13 the numbers start again at 1 while the signs continue, so 13 Ben is followed by 1 Ix. Every combination comes round once in 13 × 20 = 260 days. [1][2] The count is still kept by Ajq'ijab' (daykeepers) in highland Guatemala. [2] The numbers have their own pages: The 13 Numbers (Tones).

On this site every date is calculated with the GMT correlation 584283, in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. Other correlations shift results by a day or two. [4][5]

The 20 day signs

"Points to" summarizes what the names and glyphs are linked to in the sources cited on each page. It is not a fixed translation; for several days scholars disagree, and each page explains why. "Common label" is the English word often used online, and its status.

#	Day sign (Yucatec)	K'iche'	What the name or glyph points to	Common label online	Dreamspell alias (modern, from 1987)
1	Imix	Imox	Waterlily glyph; the Water Serpent	"Crocodile": from Aztec Cipactli, debated	Red Dragon
2	Ik'	Iq'	Wind, air, breath	"Wind": sourced	White Wind
3	Ak'bal	Aq'ab'al	Night, darkness; in K'iche' also dawn	"Night": sourced	Blue Night
4	K'an	K'at	Ripe maize, yellow; K'at "net"	"Seed": Dreamspell name	Yellow Seed
5	Chikchan	Kan	Serpent	"Serpent": sourced	Red Serpent
6	Kimi	Kame	Death	"Death": sourced	White World-Bridger
7	Manik'	Kej	Deer (glyph: a hand)	"Deer": sourced	Blue Hand
8	Lamat	Q'anil	Venus, "star"; Q'anil "yellowness"	"Rabbit": from Aztec Tochtli	Yellow Star
9	Muluk	Toj	Jar glyph; Toj "payment"	"Water": from Oaxaca and central Mexico	Red Moon
10	Ok	Tz'i'	Dog	"Dog": sourced	White Dog
11	Chuwen	B'atz'	Howler monkey; artisan	"Monkey": sourced	Blue Monkey
12	Eb	E	Jawbone glyph; E "tooth"	"Road": no source found	Yellow Human
13	Ben	Aj	Young maize; Aj also "reed"	"Reed": from Aztec Acatl	Red Skywalker
14	Ix	I'x	Jaguar	"Jaguar": sourced	White Wizard
15	Men	Tz'ikin	Mythic bird; Men "make"	"Eagle": central Mexican name	Blue Eagle
16	Kib	Ajmaq	Wax; Ajmaq "sinner"; ancestors	"Owl": no source found	Yellow Warrior
17	Kaban	No'j	Earth; No'j "thought"	"Earth": sourced	Red Earth
18	Etz'nab	Tijax	Flint blade	"Mirror": Dreamspell name	White Mirror
19	Kawak	Kawoq	Storm, thunder, rain	"Storm": sourced	Blue Storm
20	Ajaw	Junajpu / Ajpu'	Lord	"Sun": from Ixil name and Dreamspell	Yellow Sun

Sources for each row are on the individual pages. [1][3][6][7][8]

Two sets of names

The names most often used in English are Yucatec, recorded in colonial Yucatán and spelled here in the revised orthography (K'an, Chikchan, Manik') rather than the 16th-century spelling (Kan, Chicchan, Manik). [1] The highland names come from K'iche' daykeeping, documented in colonial calendars from 1685, 1722 and 1854 and still in use. [3] We also note older and regional spellings, such as Imux, Keej or Kawuq, on each page.

What the Classic-period Maya called most of these days is still uncertain. Many signs are written with a single picture and few phonetic clues. [6] For a few days the glyph and the word clearly agree: Ik' writes "wind", Kaban writes "earth", Ajaw writes "lord". [1][6]

Year bearers

In the K'iche' calendar, a 365-day year is named after the day that begins it, and only four days can do so: Iq', Kej, E and No'j (Ik', Manik', Eb and Kaban). [3] These four are also the only day signs that can fall on day 0, 5, 10 or 15 of a Haab' month. [1] → How we calculate

Traditional count vs Dreamspell

Dreamspell is a modern system created by José and Lloydine Argüelles, begun in 1987 and published as a kit in 1990. [9] It renames the 20 days as "solar seals" with colors and keywords (the last column above), fixes 26 July 1987 as "Kin 34, White Galactic Wizard", and skips 29 February. [9][10] As a result, a Dreamspell birthday usually differs from the traditional day, and Dreamspell names are not translations of the Maya names.

This site calculates the traditional count and shows Dreamspell names only as labeled aliases. → Dreamspell vs traditional Maya calendar

Colors, directions and "elements"

• Direction. Prehispanic calendars assigned the days to east, north, west and south in turn. Contemporary K'iche' practice instead links four days with the four directions (Aq'ab'al east, Imox north, Kame west, Q'anil south). [11]
• Color. Colonial Yucatec texts pair the east with red, north with white, west with black and south with yellow. "Blue" comes from Dreamspell. [8][12]
• Element. Some charts, including earlier versions of this site, give each day an "element" such as fire or water. We found no traditional source for this. Where it appears on this site it is labeled as a modern convention.

What we do and don't claim

Each day-sign page reports what sources say about the name, the glyph and how communities used the day. They are not forecasts, and we are not daykeepers. Our compatibility tool and reports are modern reflective writing, not documented historical Maya methods. → How we calculate

Read your own signature in depth

Calculate your full signature free, with no sign-up. Under the result you can add an 11-page personal PDF report ($7, one-time).

FAQ

What is my Maya day sign? The day sign of your birth date in the 260-day count. Enter your birth date in the calculator above.

Are Maya day signs like zodiac signs? No. Each names a day that recurs every 20 days, not a period of the year. [2]

Why do sites give different meanings for the same sign? Some labels come from Aztec day names or from Dreamspell; scholars also disagree about several glyphs. Each page shows which is which.

Why does another calculator give me a different day sign? It may use the Dreamspell count, or a correlation constant other than 584283. [4][5]

Sources

1. Kettunen, Harri, and Christophe Helmke. Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs, 17th rev. ed. Wayeb, 2020, pp. 49, 51, 56–57. https://www.mesoweb.org/resources/handbook/IMH2020.pdf
2. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. "The Calendar System." Living Maya Time. https://maya.nmai.si.edu/calendar/calendar-system
3. Weeks, John M., Frauke Sachse, and Christian M. Prager. Maya Daykeeping: Three Calendars from Highland Guatemala. University Press of Colorado, 2009, pp. 2–3, 13–16. https://www.upcolorado.com/media/acfupload/9780870819969.pdf
4. Mayan Astrology Calculator. "Calculation Methodology and Cultural Scope." https://mayanastrologycalculator.com/methodology
5. Van Stone, Mark. "2012 FAQ." FAMSI. https://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/faq.html
6. Stuart, David. "Day Sign Notes" series. Maya Decipherment, 2024–2026 (Men, Caban, Manik, Imix/Imox, Ben/Aj, Muluc/Toj). https://mayadecipherment.com/2024/04/19/day-sign-notes-men/
7. Thompson, J. Eric S. Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction. Carnegie Institution of Washington, 1950, pp. 70–92.
8. Foundation for the Law of Time. "Learning the 13 Galactic Tones and 20 Solar Seals." https://lawoftime.org/infobooth/sealsandtones.html
9. "Dreamspell." Wikipedia (citing Argüelles & Argüelles, Dreamspell kit, 1990). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamspell
10. Argüelles, José. Rinri Project Newsletter II.2.1. Foundation for the Law of Time. https://www.lawoftime.org/pdfs/Rinri-II-2.1.pdf
11. Estrada Peña, Canek. "Anima' ri cho, anima' ri plo: Imox y el agua entre los k'iche'." Estudios de Cultura Maya 45 (2015): 191–224, pp. 202–203. https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/2813/281336894007.pdf
12. Stuart, David. "Day Sign Notes: Imix / Imox." Maya Decipherment, 14 Aug 2025. https://mayadecipherment.com/2025/08/14/day-sign-notes-imix-imox/

Reviewed: 10 October 2026 · Calculation: gmt584283-proleptic-gregorian-v1 · Corrections: contact us