Maya Calendar Date Calculator

Three labels for one day

The Tzolk'in combines a sequence of 20 named days with numbers from 1 to 13. The two sequences advance together, so a particular number and name recur after 260 days. The Haab is a separate 365-day cycle: 18 named months of 20 days and a final five-day period called Wayeb. The Long Count records elapsed days in larger units. These are related ways of naming a day, not three competing predictions about a person.

The Smithsonian's calendar-system guide explains how the cycles fit together, and its calendar reference lists the day and month names. I use the Yucatec names in that reference for the public result here. Other Maya languages and living practices use different names and emphases. A spelling difference is not necessarily a different day.

If you came here looking for a "Mayan astrology sign," the Tzolk'in number and day name are the calendar elements this page can supply. I do not attach a stock personality to them. My Mayan Astrology Reading is separate interpretive work, done privately in writing.

How I check the conversion

I start from one published correspondence. The Smithsonian identifies December 21, 2012 as 13.0.0.0.0, 4 Ajaw, 3 K'ank'in. I count whole Gregorian days forward or backward from there. For the Tzolk'in, I move the number through 1 to 13 and the day name through the 20-name sequence. For the Haab, I move through its 365 positions. For the Long Count, I divide the elapsed day count into baktun, katun, tun, uinal, and k'in. A tun is 360 days, not a Gregorian year.

This method gives a result you can check rather than a label whose origin is hidden. The Smithsonian's Maya calendar converter gives January 1, 2000 as 12.19.6.15.2, 11 Ik', 10 K'ank'in. It gives December 20, 2012 as 12.19.19.17.19, 3 Kawak, 2 K'ank'in. The next day is the 2012 anchor above. Those three dates test a backward count and the step across the Long Count boundary.

Where answers can differ

A date-only calculator cannot settle every question about a birth near midnight. This tool takes the calendar date you enter as the day to convert. It does not infer a birth place, time zone, or historical local clock rule. If a record gives an exact time but the local date is uncertain, establish the date first. Entering a guessed date can produce a precise-looking result for the wrong day.

Some websites also use a different Long Count correlation or a modern symbolic system that is not the same as the historical calendar conversion shown here. Check the stated anchor and the day-name language before comparing results. I use the Smithsonian correspondence and ordinary Gregorian day counting for 1900 through 2100. I do not claim that every Maya community uses one single interpretive vocabulary, or that a modern personality description follows automatically from the calculation.

The Long Count can be written with spacing or apostrophes different from mine. Those are presentation differences. If your Tzolk'in number or day name differs, first check whether the date was entered as day-month-year or month-day-year, whether a time zone changed the civil date, and whether the other source names its correlation. Do not assume that the longer description is the more accurate one.

What this result cannot tell you

The displayed day name and number do not tell you a person's character, compatibility, medical condition, future income, or what another person will decide. They do not establish a past life or prove a fixed purpose. A calendar label is a public calculation. An interpretation is a separate piece of work that must state its limits. If an important decision has practical consequences, use the evidence and qualified advice available to you.

My Mayan Astrology Reading uses the Tzolk'in day sign and tone as a symbolic starting point. It costs CA$65 and I send a written report by email within 3 days. I do not ask you to buy it to verify the calendar conversion above. If you would rather consider a different date-based framework, my Chinese zodiac year calculator explains its own calendar boundary. The two calendars answer different questions and should not be treated as interchangeable.

You can also read my journal comparison of chart systems before choosing a service. I work alone, in writing. I will not describe an outcome as guaranteed because a date has a certain label.

Questions about the calculation

Is this a personal Mayan astrology reading?

No. It converts one Gregorian date into three calendar labels. The CA$65 written reading is a separate service that interprets the day sign and tone in the context you bring.

Why do I see a number beside the day name?

The Tzolk'in advances through 13 numbers and 20 named days at the same time. Both are needed to identify its position in the 260-day cycle.

Does the Long Count stop in 2012?

No. The 2012 date marks a cycle boundary, not an end of time or a prediction of catastrophe. The count continues on the next day.

Do you need my birth time for this conversion?

No. Enter the Gregorian calendar date you want converted. If a birth was close to midnight and its local date is uncertain, check the record before relying on this result.