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

Number 4 in the Tzolk'in (Dreamspell: "Self-Existing" Tone)

Number 4 is the fourth day of every thirteen-day run in the Tzolk'in. It is written with four dots, or in carved texts with a head with a large square-irised eye and a curling fang. The Classic Maya word was chan or kan. Four is the number of the Long Count's mythical creation date, 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u, and of 21 December 2012, which was 4 Ajaw 3 K'ank'in. Dreamspell calls it the "Self-Existing" tone. [1][2][3][4]

Number 4 at a glance

Place in each 13-day run (trecena)	Day 4 of 13
Classic Maya word	chan / kan (Kettunen & Helmke 2020: 48) [1]
K'iche' word	Not yet confirmed from a published source we have checked
Bar-and-dot form	Four dots [2]
Head-variant form	A large, prominent eye with a square iris (Morley: "square irid"), a snag-like front tooth and a curling fang at the back of the mouth (Morley 1915: 98) [2]
Days with this number in 260	20 (once with each day sign)
Dreamspell name (modern, from 1987)	"Self-Existing" tone [4]

How number 4 moves through the 260 days

The Tzolk'in pairs a running number from 1 to 13 with a running list of 20 day signs. Both advance by one each day, so a given pairing, such as 4 K'an, returns only after 260 days. [3][5] Number 4 therefore comes round every 13 days, each time with a different day sign: 20 times in each 260-day cycle. It is always the fourth day of a thirteen-day run. Spanish chroniclers called that run a trecena, "a group of thirteen", and Dreamspell calls it a "wavespell". [6] The day before a 4 is always a 3, and the day after is always a 5.

In the trecena that opened on 1 Imix, 10 October 2026, number 4 falls on 13 Oct 2026, the day 4 K'an (Haab' 17 Yax). [7] The next eight days carrying number 4:

Date	Tzolk'in	Haab'
13 Oct 2026	4 K'an	17 Yax
26 Oct 2026	4 Kaban	10 Sak'
8 Nov 2026	4 Ok	3 Keh
21 Nov 2026	4 Ak'bal	16 Keh
4 Dec 2026	4 Kib	9 Mak
17 Dec 2026	4 Muluk	2 K'ank'in
30 Dec 2026	4 Ik'	15 K'ank'in
12 Jan 2027	4 Men	8 Muwan

How scribes wrote number 4

Four is four dots. In the inscriptions the four dots of 4, 9, 14 and 19 sit together as a group. Morley knew of only one text where they appear separated by an ornament: the west side of Stela E at Quiriguá, where the number 14 is written that way (Morley 1915: 88, note 59). [2]

The head for 4 has one of the most recognisable faces among the head numerals: a large, prominent eye with a square iris ("square irid"), a snag-like front tooth, and a curling fang at the back of the mouth (Morley 1915: 98). [2] Add the fleshless lower jaw of the head for 10 and you get 14. Morley knew that combination from a single text, Stela F at Quiriguá, where the jaw replaces the lower part of the face, fang included (Morley 1915: 101). [2]

4 Ajaw: the creation date and 2012

The Long Count counts days from a mythical starting point, written 13.0.0.0.0 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u. The Smithsonian's Living Maya Time dates it to 11 August 3114 BCE and notes that it appears in hieroglyphs on Stela C at Quiriguá. [3] That is the GMT correlation (584283). Many epigraphers use the slightly adjusted 584285, which places the same day on 13 August 3114 BCE. [8][9]

When the count of thirteen bak'tuns came round again, on 21 December 2012, the Calendar Round date was 4 Ajaw 3 K'ank'in. [3] By our calculation that day is exactly 1,872,000 days, or 13 × 144,000, after the creation date. The Tzolk'in position matches because 1,872,000 is a multiple of 260.

K'atun 4 Ajaw

Colonial Yucatec chronicles named each 7,200-day k'atun after the day it ended on, and every k'atun ends on an Ajaw day (Morley 1915: 79–80). [5] In the GMT 584283 count, the k'atun that closed on 21 December 2012 began on 5 April 1993. It ended on 4 Ajaw, so in that naming system 1993–2012 was a K'atun 4 Ajaw (our calculation). The k'atun before it, which ended on 5 April 1993, was a K'atun 6 Ajaw. The numbers drop by two each time, exactly as Morley's rule predicts (Morley 1915: 80–81). [5]

In living practice

We have not found a published source that gives the number 4 on its own a fixed meaning in highland daykeeping. Four directions and four Year Bearers matter in Maya thought, but those are sets of four things, not meanings of the Tzolk'in number 4. We do not merge the two.

Dreamspell: the "Self-Existing" tone (a modern system)

This section describes the modern Dreamspell system (José & Lloydine Argüelles, from 1987; Dreamspell kit 1990), not the traditional Maya count. [10]

In Dreamspell, tone 4 is called "Self-Existing". The Foundation for the Law of Time lists its essence as form, its power as define and its action as measure. [4] These are Dreamspell teachings. They are not translations of a Maya word, and we have not found them in Classic, colonial or ethnographic sources.

Dreamspell also counts days differently. It fixes 26 July 1987 as Kin 34 and does not count 29 February. [11][10] So a Dreamspell tone 4 day is usually not a traditional number 4 day. For example, 13 Oct 2026 is 4 K'an in the traditional count but Kin 48, "Yellow Solar Star" in Dreamspell. Our reports show the Dreamspell name as a labelled alias next to the traditional number. Is "Self-Existing" a Maya term? How the two counts differ →

Number 4 with each of the 20 day signs

Each link opens the 4 section of that day sign's page. Dates are the next occurrence on or after 10 October 2026 (GMT 584283).

Day	Next date	Day	Next date
4 Imix	7 Feb 2027	4 Chuwen	17 Jun 2027
4 Ik'	30 Dec 2026	4 Eb	9 May 2027
4 Ak'bal	21 Nov 2026	4 Ben	31 Mar 2027
4 K'an	13 Oct 2026	4 Ix	20 Feb 2027
4 Chikchan	22 May 2027	4 Men	12 Jan 2027
4 Kimi	13 Apr 2027	4 Kib	4 Dec 2026
4 Manik'	5 Mar 2027	4 Kaban	26 Oct 2026
4 Lamat	25 Jan 2027	4 Etz'nab	4 Jun 2027
4 Muluk	17 Dec 2026	4 Kawak	26 Apr 2027
4 Ok	8 Nov 2026	4 Ajaw	18 Mar 2027

← Number 3 · All 13 numbers · Number 5 →

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Questions about number 4

Is "galactic tone" a Maya term?
No. "Galactic tone", and "Self-Existing" as the name for 4, come from the modern Dreamspell system (from 1987). [10][12] Maya sources speak of the days' numbers. The English word trecena comes from Spanish chroniclers. [6]

Why does another calculator give me a different number?
Most likely it uses Dreamspell, which anchors its count to 26 July 1987 and skips 29 February. The traditional count runs without a break and matches the dates published by Guatemala's Ministry of Culture. [11][13] A few calculators also use the 584285 or 584286 correlation, which moves results by two or three days. [9]

Is 4 a good or bad number?
We have not found a traditional source that ranks the thirteen numbers, and we do not rank them.

Why do some sources put the Maya creation date on 13 August 3114 BCE?
They use the 584285 correlation, which is two days later than the GMT 584283 used here. The day name, 4 Ajaw, is the same in both. [9][8]

Our sample pair report uses 21 December 2012. Why?
It is a well-documented 4 Ajaw date, so readers can check it against the Smithsonian. [3] Person B in the sample pair report was born on that date.

Is 4 a number of stability?
Words such as form, define and measure belong to the Dreamspell "Self-Existing" tone. [4] We have not found them in traditional sources.

Sources

1. Kettunen, Harri, and Christophe Helmke. Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs, 17th rev. ed. Wayeb, 2020, p. 48 (Table VI, Classic Maya numerals). https://www.mesoweb.org/resources/handbook/IMH2020.pdf
2. Morley, Sylvanus G. An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 57. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1915, ch. IV (pp. 87–103, "Bar and Dot Numerals" and "Head-variant Numerals"). https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Introduction_to_the_Study_of_the_Maya_Hieroglyphs/Chapter_4
3. Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. "The Calendar System." Living Maya Time. https://maya.nmai.si.edu/calendar/calendar-system
4. Foundation for the Law of Time. "Learning the 13 Galactic Tones and 20 Solar Seals." https://lawoftime.org/infobooth/sealsandtones.html
5. Morley, Sylvanus G. An Introduction to the Study of the Maya Hieroglyphs. Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 57. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1915, ch. III (pp. 41–43, 79–82). https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Introduction_to_the_Study_of_the_Maya_Hieroglyphs/Chapter_3
6. "Trecena." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trecena
7. Mayan Astrology Calculator. "Calculation Methodology and Cultural Scope." https://mayanastrologycalculator.com/methodology
8. Kettunen, Harri, and Christophe Helmke. Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs, 17th rev. ed. Wayeb, 2020, p. 49 (Tzolk'in, Haab and Calendar Round). https://www.mesoweb.org/resources/handbook/IMH2020.pdf
9. Van Stone, Mark. "2012 FAQ." FAMSI. https://www.famsi.org/research/vanstone/2012/faq.html
10. "Dreamspell." Wikipedia (used for dates of the system and 13 Moon structure; cites Argüelles & Argüelles 1990). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamspell
11. Foundation for the Law of Time (Galactic Research Institute). "The Wizard's Count and the Triumph of the Synchronic Order." Rinri Project Newsletter, Phoenix Edition, vol. 2, no. 1. https://www.lawoftime.org/pdfs/Rinri-II-2.1.pdf
12. AtitlanVida. "Two Distinct Streams: The Traditional Cholq'ij and the Dreamspell." https://atitlanvida.com/culture/tzolkin/traditional-vs-dreamspell/
13. Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala. "La importancia Waqxaqib' B'atz en la cosmovisión Maya." 18 January 2025. https://noticias.mcd.gob.gt/2025/01/18/la-importancia-waqxaqib-batz/