What Is Your Maya Nawal (Nahual).
Enter your birth date and find your nawal, also called nahual, instantly and with no email required. This calculator uses the GMT 584283 correlation, the same standard used by Ajq'ijab (day-keepers) at Lake Atitlan and by Maya calendar researchers, to return your exact Cholq'ij day sign, your trecena number, and the meaning of all 20 nawales. It answers Maya nawal, nahual, Mayan day sign, Maya birth sign, and Tzolkin sign searches, all of which point to the same calculation.
Your Maya nawal (nahual) is the day sign that corresponds to your birth date within the Cholq'ij, the 260-day Maya sacred calendar. It is calculated using the GMT 584283 correlation, counting days from the Maya origin point, August 11, 3114 BCE, to your birthday. This calculator reveals it instantly, free.
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Calculated with the GMT 584283 correlation for the 260 day sacred calendar.
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Today's Maya nawal
Today in the Cholq'ij, the day 3 E (E, Road / Path) is in effect. The essence of this day: The traveler's path, destiny in motion.
Journey, opening of the way, life as road. Ajq'ijab observe this energy when planning ceremonies, seeking guidance, or beginning new projects. The calendar does not pause: every dawn arrives with a new day-sign in the spiral of 260.
How we guarantee accuracy
This calculator does not invent its own system. It replicates the Cholq'ij count exactly as it is kept today by Ajq'ijab (day-keepers) in Guatemala and as it is documented in academic Maya calendar research. The calculation starts from the GMT correlation (Goodman, Martinez, and Thompson), constant 584283, the accepted bridge between the Maya Long Count and the Gregorian calendar. It is the same reference point used by institutions such as the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in its Maya calendar converter and by Guatemala's Ministry of Culture and Sports in its nahual lookup tool.
The calculation engine on this page is powered by WooWoogle, which maintains the day sign, trecena number, and correlation database behind the calculator. The data is checked line by line against academic literature, including Barbara Tedlock's ethnographic fieldwork with Momostenango day-keepers, and against public Guatemalan government sources. Every update passes a two-source review before it goes live.
Unlike calculators that blend the Dreamspell system, a modern calendar created by Jose Arguelles and unrelated to the living Maya tradition, with the traditional Cholq'ij, this tool uses only the traditional 260-day count that Tz'utujil, K'iche', and Kaqchikel communities at Lake Atitlan have kept without interruption for generations. That is why the result follows the count an Ajq'ij consulted in person would use, not a commercially derived variant.
Maya nawal calculator by birth date
To calculate your Maya nawal, enter your birth date above. The tool returns your traditional Cholq'ij day-sign, your number from 1 to 13, and a link to the full meaning page. This is the page to use for searches like calculate nawal, nahual by date of birth, Mayan birth sign calculator, and today's Maya nawal.
The calculation uses the GMT 584283 correlation, not Dreamspell, so the result follows the traditional Cholq'ij / Tzolkin count used in Guatemala.
What is my Maya day sign?
Your Maya day sign is the nawal and number that fall on your birth date in the 260-day Cholq'ij or Tzolkin calendar. Enter your birthday above and the calculator gives a direct result like "Your nawal is 9 Aj" with the K'iche' name, translation, essence, and full profile link.
What is a nawal?
Each day in the Cholq'ij carries an energy: a character: formed by a nawal (one of 20 day-signs) layered with a trecena number (1 to 13). The 20 x 13 cycle creates 260 unique days that repeat in a perfect spiral. Maya people use this calendar to plan ceremonies, name children, choose marriage dates, and read the energy of any moment.
You will see this word spelled several ways: nawal, nahual, and nawale all refer to the same concept. Nawal is the K'iche' Maya spelling used by day-keepers at Lake Atitlan; nahual is the Spanish-influenced spelling common in Guatemala and Mexico; nawale appears in some regional traditions. This tool uses nawal throughout.
Mayan day sign, Maya birth sign, nawal, or nahual?
These searches usually point to the same need: finding the sacred-calendar sign for a birth date. In Lake Atitlan language, nawal is the clearest term. In Spanish and Mexican sources, nahual is common. In English travel and spiritual-search contexts, people often say Mayan day sign, Maya birth sign, or Tzolkin sign. This page calculates the traditional Cholq'ij / Tzolkin day-sign and its trecena number, then links to the full nawal profile.
How is it calculated?
This page uses the GMT correlation (584283): the consensus baseline used by Maya scholars and Ajq'ijab worldwide. Maya time begins on the day 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u, which in our Gregorian calendar lands on August 11, 3114 BCE. Your nawal is the day-sign that falls the exact number of days after that origin point as your birthday.
How to calculate your Maya nawal step by step
The Cholq'ij operates as a continuous 260-day cycle. To find your nawal, the classical method follows these steps:
- Identify your birth date in the Gregorian calendar (day, month, and year).
- Convert the date to a Julian Day Number (JDN) using the standard astronomical formula, which counts continuous days from January 1, 4713 BCE.
- Apply the GMT correlation 584283: subtract this constant from your JDN to get the number of days elapsed since the Maya origin point of 4 Ajaw 8 Kumk'u.
- Calculate your day-sign (nawal) by dividing that total by 20 and using the remainder to identify which of the 20 nawales governs your day.
- Calculate your trecena number by dividing the same total by 13 and using the remainder to get your number (1 to 13).
- Combine both: your complete nawal is the number plus the day-sign name, for example "9 Aj" or "4 Imox." The form above performs these calculations automatically and displays your full profile.
Is this real, or astrology?
The Cholq'ij is not astrology. It is a living indigenous calendar, used today by Tz'utujil, K'iche', and Kaqchikel families around Lake Atitlan. The interpretations on this page draw from public K'iche' Maya sources and are intentionally brief. To go deeper, and to do so respectfully, visit a local Ajq'ij. They will read not only your day-sign but the energies around it, and offer ceremony when called for.
The 20 Maya nawales
The Cholq'ij contains exactly 20 nawales. Each one carries a core energy, a symbol, and a set of gifts and challenges that Ajq'ijab have transmitted across generations. Click any nawal to read its full profile.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my Maya nawal?
Enter your birth date in the calculator above and click "Reveal my Nawal." The result shows your Cholq'ij day sign, your trecena number from 1 to 13, and a link to the full meaning of your nawal.
What is my Maya birth sign?
Your Maya birth sign is your nawal: the day sign that falls on your birthday within the 260-day Cholq'ij count. It is calculated using the GMT 584283 correlation from the Maya calendar's origin point.
What is my totem animal according to the Maya calendar?
This usually refers to your nawal. Several of the 20 Cholq'ij day signs carry animal names: Kej is deer, Tz'ikin is eagle, and I'x is jaguar. Enter your birth date above to see which one is yours.
What is today's Maya day sign?
Today's nawal changes daily within the continuous 260-day Cholq'ij cycle. Check the "Today's Maya nawal" section on this page, updated automatically, or visit the dedicated nawal of the day page.
How do I calculate my Maya nawal?
Enter your birth date in the form above and click "Reveal my Nawal." The calculator converts your Gregorian date to the Cholq'ij count using the GMT correlation (584283), the academic and Ajq'ij consensus standard. Your nawal is the exact day-sign that falls on your birthday within the 260-day cycle.
Is this a Mayan day sign calculator or Maya birth sign calculator?
Yes. People search for this as a Mayan day sign calculator, Maya birth sign calculator, Mayan calendar calculator, Tzolkin calculator, nawal calculator, and nahual calculator. This tool calculates the traditional Cholq'ij / Tzolkin day-sign for a Gregorian birth date and returns the nawal plus its number from 1 to 13.
What is my nahual according to my date of birth?
Your nahual (nawal) is found by counting the days from the Maya origin point, August 11, 3114 BCE, to your birthday. The result lands on one of the 20 nawales in the Cholq'ij, combined with a trecena number from 1 to 13. Together they form your complete day-sign, such as "9 Aj" or "4 Imox".
What is today's Maya nawal?
Today's Maya nawal is the Cholq'ij day-sign that governs the present day. The sacred 260-day calendar advances without interruption, so every day carries a specific energy that Ajq'ijab (Maya day-keepers) observe for ceremonies and decisions. You can see today's nawal in the section above.
What are the 20 Maya nawales?
The 20 nawales of the Cholq'ij are: Imox (primal water), Iq' (wind), Aq'ab'al (dawn), K'at (net), Kan (serpent), Kame (transition), Kej (deer), Q'anil (seed), Toj (offering), Tz'i' (dog), B'atz' (thread), E (road), Aj (cane), I'x (jaguar), Tz'ikin (eagle), Ajmaq (vulture), No'j (earth), Tijax (flint), Kawoq (storm), and Ajpu (sun). Each carries its own energy and meaning. Explore every nawal in detail in the grid below.
Are nawal and nahual the same thing?
Yes. Nawal is the K'iche' Maya spelling used by day-keepers at Lake Atitlan; nahual is the Spanish-influenced spelling common in Guatemala and Mexico. Both words name the same concept: the personal day-sign within the Cholq'ij that accompanies each person from birth.
How accurate is this Maya nawal calculator?
This tool uses the GMT correlation 584283, the consensus baseline used by academic researchers (Goodman, Martinez, and Thompson) and by practicing Ajq'ijab today. It calculates the number of days from the Maya origin to your birthday and returns the exact day-sign. It works for any date from the first century CE to the present.
Want to go deeper?
- Visit a vetted local Ajq'ij at Lake Atitlan (directory in preparation)
- Read the full Cholq'ij sacred-calendar guide
- Browse the 20 nawales in detail or the 13 numbers