"I Am Caban Ca Lahun/Red Crystal Earth." That's a Mayan Mouthful!

Finally getting around to posting on the shamanic workshop I attended this past weekend. Ready for some woo-woo wackiness? I say that with affection since this spiritual path I'm on really does offer lots of insight and benefits, however, I know some think it's loony. Even I think parts of it are loony sometimes. But keeping a sense of humor is something we all need to do, and it preserves the sense of playfulness and joy that I have discovered along this path as well.

So what is Caban Ca Lahun/Red Crystal Earth? Well, silly, that's my Mayan spirit name, of course! This was the "ice breaker" of sorts this past weekend, so I thought I'd post first on this. I'll also post some pics of the mountain where we held some activities as well as insights, likes and dislikes.

The facilitators of the workshop used Mayan calendars and astronomy to select spirit names for each of the participants. Based on my birthday and year, my name is Caban Ca Lahun (Mayan), which in English translates as Red Crystal Earth.

Ooooh, "crystal"--fancy! The Mayan glyph shown above (caban) represents "red" and "earth." The "crystal" or ca lahun part is another component that comes from Mayan numerology and is represented by dots/bars (at top). Put these together and you have Red Crystal Earth (sorry they're a bit off in alignment here!).

How this comes together is all very complex, and it makes my head hurt! The facilitators used a book full of charts and graphs, but the MayanTimes site does a good job of explaining how it works and what it all means.

And, naturally, it has a meaning--well, several meanings to be sort of exact. Seems my name is aligned with the heart chakra, although I don't know enough about chakras to understand the significance.

Interestingly, caban can also be translated as "incense," "earthquake" or "rainbow." I like incense and rainbows! There's more, something about "eternal hearbeat of the present moment" and, apparently my birthdate also corresponds to the Year of the White Magnetic Wizard. How cool is that! I don't know what the hell that signifies but it sounds cool, right? Yeah, those Mayans were so totally on 'shrooms, peyote or something.

Last, along with our names came a blessing, invocation--not sure what to call it. Here's mine. Very evocative, though, and even a little sexual. "Enter me?" I'm blushing!

I dedicate in order to evolve
Universalizing synchronicity
I seal the matrix of navigation
with the crystal tone of cooperation.
I am guided by the power of Universal Water.

I am a galactic activation portal--Enter me.

Wow--a galactic activation portal! I'm like some fucking star gate, so watch out, bitches!

Ok, let's get serious. Lots to meditate on. One thing that jumps out is the "universal water" part. I've always been drawn to water--lakes, the ocean, rivers. After all, my original spirit name is Riverwolf. And it talks about dedication, cooperation and activation--all great things.

In the end, I'm not sure how much I believe in the meanings of things like this, but it does help break us out of our linear mindsets. That's one of the reasons behind why I have the name Riverwolf. It actually means something to me in contrast to my given name. It symbolizes qualities that are important to me, it reminds me of the things I value and how I want to live my life. Maybe spirit names aren't so silly after all.

Keep watch for more posts on my shamanic workshop.