You Won't Believe What I Stepped On!

My heel hurt. I mean it hurt a lot. Every step was painful. I knew I injured it, but the really weird part was how. (I mean SUPER WEIRD)

I was walking just outside my home and wearing my favorite Birkenstock sandals (I’m telling you the brand only so you know I had great, protective shoes on!) when suddenly I felt like I stepped on a large, pointed rock. Ow! I started limping immediately and bent down to see what happened. I was sure it was something hard and large and that it should be obvious to see. But there was nothing there. Nothing!

The next morning, when I got out of bed, I could put zero pressure on my foot. Zero! It was really bad. I spent the day stretching it out and by the evening it felt much better.

But, the next day it was worse again.

For a month it got better and worse and better and worse, but never was completely ok. So weird.

So, I went to see Don Francisco, my Maya healer friend who works with plants and energy. I sat on a wooden stool in his home, and he lit some incense and pulled out the shaman stone that he uses to read his patients’ energy. He rubbed some herb-soaked rum on my foot and then looked through the turquoise colored crystal at me to diagnose the problem.

Needless to say, I was shocked (and secretly delighted) when he announced the cause of the problem.

“You stepped on an alux.”

In case you don’t know what an alux is, you might compare it to a Maya elf. It is a guardian that is created by a shaman and then brought to life with the purpose of guarding your home and property. I have an alux. You might not believe in them, but I know they are real because I have had run-ins with them.

I have seen their footprints.

I have heard them yell my name.

I have needed to shut off small appliances they have turned on in the middle of the night.

I have seen one.

I have even been slapped by one.

But I have never stepped on one!

a stone alux with offerings — alux who is well fed

“You walked across its path and stepped on it, and it pinched you,” Don Francisco explained.

Then he took out a snake’s tooth (fang) and, after rubbing herb-soaked rum on my foot, he poked my foot all over in a manner similar to acupuncture. It was a little prickly, but other than that, seemed fairly inconsequential.

“Your alux might be hungry,” Don Francisco suggested.

Perhaps this is why the little being pinched me. Maybe I haven’t been feeding him often enough. Don Francisco went on to give me instructions on how to feed my alux so he would happily protect my home and not pinch me again.

He told me to fill two gourd bowls with atole and place them on a table. Then, light a candle and put it between the bowls. The candle would attract the alux so he would know where to go to get his meal. He also said to leave the offering out all night and then throw the left over atole outside in the morning.

Just in case you have a hungry alux, I thought I would share the atole recipe with you so you can make sure to feed your alux and not get pinched.

HOW TO MAKE ATOLE TO FEED YOUR ALUX

Boil about 5 kernels of corn until they are soft.
Put them in a blender with a half-liter of water and blend until the water turns white.
Pour the atole into your gourd bowls.
Add a few strands of corn silk to each bowl.
Set the bowls on a low table with a lit candle.
Leave out overnight (You can blow out the candle when you go to bed if you want to. I don’t want you to burn your house down)