It is truly head spinning to see how quickly massive change is taking place these days. And with this trecena beginning right after the Full Thunder Moon, a Lunar Eclipse, and the conjunction of bright Sirius (the Dog Star) with the Sun, with Sirius in a position where is it seen by some as sending “booster energy” to our sun, it would seem that there are some particularly strong forces in play – all begging the question: What can we expect from these particular “dogs days of summer”?

Click here for the Podcast for this trecena

This trecena begins with One B’en, representative of the “initiation” of “self determination”, which kicks off the second 52-day period within the 260 day Tzolk’in. This is a force that often presents itself in bold ways, picking up the banner of authority, so to speak, and pointing towards new kinds of action that will play out over the next 52 day period (4 trecenas).

This could be seen very clearly in 2018 when the beginning of the last trecena (Ajaw) jolted the Big Island of Hawaii and triggered early eruptions of Mount Kilauea. Then, 13 days later, at the beginning if this current trecena, the early morning hours of One B’en brought “the big bang”, an explosive eruption of Mount Kilauea that shot a plume of ash more than 9 kilometers into the sky. This was a highly visible illustration of the “personal authority” of that mountain, sending its own “pillar” (symbolic of B’en) literally “sky high”.

Represented by robust growing corn, symbolic of strong self determination and “personal authority”, many “pillar-like” symbols tie in with this idea, including the Tree of Life. It is such a strong force that it is often not difficult to see how its influence can affect the following 52 day period. Traditionally the Classical Maya patrons of this B’en trecena were highly oriented around the idea of cleansing and “purification”, and the shifting of energies to clear out stagnation.

With its potential to turn lives upside down and sideways, and so many major issues now needing attention, the question of “what next?” truly does loom large. With the pandemic picking up speed, particularly in the US, Brazil, Russia, and India, it is likely that the total number of world cases will reach 13 million or more before the trecena concludes, and more than 3 million of those cases will be in the US.

Without doubt protest demonstrations will continue worldwide as strong calls to end racism can now be heard globally, on multiple fronts. In this regard more than 700 major advertisers have stopped advertising on Facebook during the month of July, as part of the Stop Hate for Profit campaign that is calling for an end to hate speech and the spreading of misinformation.

This kind of “standing up for justice and equality” is very much in line with the energies of this trecena, which has often begun with the “stepping up” of individuals who have moved themselves forward into leadership positions at critical times. This could be seen when John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy and initiated his campaign for the US presidency under the influence of One B’en in early January of 1960. This was also the energy in place in 2011 when President Obama announced that he would be running for a second term as U.S. president. Last year several Democratic presidential candidates stepped forward during this period. Abraham Lincoln was not only born during this trecena, but his funeral also took place during this time period.

It was ten years ago, on the first day of this trecena, when Nelson Mandela celebrated his 92nd birthday, which was the focal point for the first official Nelson Mandela International Day. Designated as a day of public service, thousands of people worldwide found ways to devote at least 67 minutes worth of time to some form of public service, in honour of Mandela’s 67 year fight against social injustices and his long dedication to human rights causes.

In 2015, Maya day One B’en brought the UN’s announcement of Malala Day, the day designated by the United Nations as a day to stand up for the cause of world wide education. One cycle before that, in 2014, Ottawa had unveiled a $1.9 billion plan as funding towards First Nations education, including recognition of aboriginal control over their own schooling. In 2007 the second day of this trecena brought the adoption by the United Nations of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It is not hard to see that there is still much work to be done in this regard, particularly since the destroyer-in-chief is still stoking hate at every opportunity, including at Mount Rushmore on territory that was stolen from the Lakota Sioux. (More on this in the Podcast.)

Historically the B’en trecena has been a force often associated with huge shifts in the balance of power, as when Hernán Cortés and his conquistadores began pushing into the interior of Mexico some 500 years ago during this period, fomenting the devastating events that dramatically changed the whole of Mesoamerica. Several centuries later this same trecena saw the start of the Mexican revolution when Francisco Madero led strikes to denounce the dictator Porfirio Diaz.

In 2007 this was the trecena that was in place when Nancy Pelosi made history by becoming the first woman Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, the highest ranking female lawmaker in American politics. At 80 years old she is still a powerful figure to be reckoned with, as she continues to navigate the highly turbulent waters of American politics. She has spearheaded the passage of hundreds of bills (90% of what are bi-partisan) that are still awaiting action in the Senate because of the stonewalling of the Republican Senate leader. Last December Democrats began tweeting images of the situation – with that stack now looking like another tower that needs to be scaled.

During the last appearance of this B’en trecena, last October, Nancy and her colleagues had to oversee the first group of testimonies associated with impeachment hearings in Congress. The conclusion of the trecena coincided with the “benchmark moment” when the House approved an historic vote to set the ground rules for the next phase of the impeachment process that was to include public hearings.

Three cycles ago (in 2018) the first day of this trecena had coincided with the beginning of the second year of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Two cycles ago (in early February of last year) this trecena began with an announcement by Trump that the US would exit the intermediate- range nuclear forces (INF) treaty, which was immediately followed by Putin’s announcement that it would suspend its involvement in the cold war-era nuclear pact and begin developing new nuclear-capable missiles that were banned by the treaty. That was when senior intelligence officers began expressing concern about the destructor-in-chief’s “willful ignorance” and his rejection of facts in private briefings, as well as his dangerous “leaking” of classified information.

Last October the report came out, on the first day of this trecena, that the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails has ended with the finding that there was “no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information” – – – even though her opponent in the 2016 election had made a big deal out of trying to accuse her of criminal activity during the presidential campaign. The investigation had “involved thousands of person-hours of review and investigative reports, including gathering statements from hundreds of past and present [state department] employees”. The 9 pg. report was seen as a final and anticlimactic chapter in a controversy that overshadowed the 2016 campaign and exposed Clinton to fierce criticism that she later cited as a major factor in her loss of the presidency.

The B’en trecena last October also brought Canada’s federal election, a critical Brexit vote, a state of emergency in Chile’s capital, and many anti-government protests in other countries. In Japan there was the enthronement of an emperor.

Given the critical nature of so many current events at this time, including the enormous – and long overdue – demands for human rights on so many fronts, there is no doubt that not just a few, but likely millions of people, will be willing to “stand up and be counted” during this hugely transitional period, as they go to battle against tyranny and injustices. This should be another highly eventful trecena in that regard. Here are the energies that will come into play:

1 B’en (July 5th) – the “initiation” of personal authority, an important 52-day Shift-point within the 260-day cycle, at the beginning of a time frame that is often associated with some significant form of social or political adjustment, or some important announcement, with Jupiter and the Moon close together in the early morning sky. In early 1960 this was the energy in place when John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy and initiated his campaign for the Presidency. It was also a One B’en day when President Obama announced that he will be running for a second term as U.S. president, in 2011.

On the last appearance of this energy there was a special sitting of the UK Parliament, the first Saturday sitting since the Falklands conflict in 1982, on what was a decisive day for the future of Brexit and the UK as a whole, when MPs approved an amendment that forced Prime Minister Johnson to ask for a Brexit delay. While this was happening hundreds of thousands of People’s Vote campaign anti-Brexit protesters demonstrated outside the Parliament buildings.

Currently this is Independence Day and Armed Forces Day in Venezuela, which is generally marked by a large military parade. However, given the pandemic and the fact that Juan Guaidó, and not Maduro, is recognized by almost 60 important nations as the legitimate president of Venezuela, the nature of this year’s celebration in that country is yet to be revealed.

2 Ix (July 6th) – a dynamic type of energy aligned with “jaguar” earth mysteries and transformation, coinciding at this time with the opening day for the first virtual edition of the IAS Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2020), the world’s largest open scientific conference on HIV and AIDS. Maya birth energy of António Guterres, the current Secretary-General of the U.N.

At this point many are anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court’s rulings regarding the cases associated with Trump’s taxes and financial records, rulings that were expected by the end of June.

3 Men (July 7th) – the “activation of Higher Vision”; a Burner Day oriented around
“announcing the fire” at the beginning of the “Eagle” burner sequence, an energy that
sometimes heralds the nature of some forthcoming event or challenge, coinciding at this time with World Chocolate Day, and the New Jersey and Delaware primaries. This 3 Men (“activating Eagle”) day is Sir Richard Starkey’s 80th birthday. Aka Ringo Starr, “Sir Ringo” was born on an Eagle day in 1940 and received his knighthood on an Eagle day in 2018.

On the last appearance of this energy Emperor Naruhito, the 126th Emperor of Japan, went through a supreme act of “personal authority” ceremony as he officially proclaimed his enthronement, with dignitaries from over 190 countries and international organizations in attendance for the elaborate event.

In 2015 this was the energy in place when Iran and six world nations brought an end to a 12-year stand-off when they reached an historic agreement to place strict restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and enable sanctions against Iran to be lifted. One cycle after that, in 2016, this energy brought the opening of the Nuclear Security Summit that was attended by world leaders from more than 50 countries and 4 international organizations (but boycotted by Putin), in the fourth and final nuclear summit initiated by President Obama.

Five cycles (1300 days) ago this was in place when US intelligence agencies announced that they had overwhelming evidence that Russian operatives linked to the Kremlin were behind the hacking of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. On the last appearance of this same energy, last October, it was reported that Facebook had found evidence of new disinformation campaigns involving Russian accounts that seemed to follow the same playbook as in 2016, with much of this done through Instagram this time, as they warned against the “2020 torrent”.

4 Kib’ (July 8th) – a “defining” day associated with the restoration of order; often a “getting down to business” type of force, coinciding at this time with Venus at her greatest brightness as the Morning Star.

Under this energy influence in 1947 the UN passed a resolution to divide Palestine into Arab and Jewish states, with Jerusalem as an internationalized city; in 1979 this was the influence in place when the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty was signed after intense negotiations the year before (the 1978 Camp David Accords). And recently Israel has been teetering on the edge of another land grab as they tried to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

It has been three cycles since Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in the Venezuela election in 2018, and two cycles since France, Germany, the UK, and 13 other European countries announced their support for Guaidó and his opposition party in Venezuela at the same time time as Putin announced that 400 Russian contractors were being sent to Venezuela in support of Maduro.

5 Kab’an (July 9th) – a “pivotal” type of energy associated with evolutionary movement – This is the Calendar Round return of the energies that were in place on that dreadful day in Winnipeg in 1968 when the historic St. Boniface Cathedral went up in flames, consuming valuable historical parish records pertaining to Canada’s early settlements. It was the day when Winnipeg’s French community was celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first Roman Catholic mission in that region. At that time, as now, this was the beginning of the Maya month known as Xul, symbolized by both a dog and a baby jaguar, but also traditionally associated with Kukulcan (known as Quetzalcoatl to the Aztec), the great Feathered Serpent, who was thought to descend from the heavens to collect offerings at the end of this Maya month. By extension, the combination of these symbols also suggests that the Classic Maya “Hero Twins” are also aligned with this month. Xul can also translate as “end” which it certainly was in 1968 for that important part of Canada’s history. This also suggests that there might be some other consequential endings over the next 20 days.

6 Etz’nab’ (July 10th) – a “six directions”, “knife edge” type of energy often associated with “separation” that can often be quite attention-getting, coinciding with the 80th Gregorian anniversary of the start of the Battle of Britain. This was the energy that was in place at the time of the funeral of Abraham Lincoln in 1865.

Currently this is 81st Gregorian birthday of the marvelous Mavis Staples, one of the great queens of rhythm and blues who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999 and into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2017. Her Maya birth energy is 8 Eb’ which ties right in with the uplifting nature of her music. As a civil rights activist her repertoire includes songs such as “Long Walk to D.C.” and “When Will We Be Paid?” She performed “Purple Rain” at the Grammy’s Salute to Prince that aired on April 21st this year, on the 4th anniversary of the death of Prince.

7 Kawak (July 11th) – “self-generating storm”, which could bring intense weather or potentially manifest as a “storm of compassion” or a “storm of passion” oriented around a cause. One cycle since the funeral in Baltimore for the much loved Congressman and civil rights advocate Elijah Cummings. At that time eulogies were given by former presidents Clinton and Obama as well as by both Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi. On that same day more than a million people took to the streets of Santiago in Chile to call for President Sebastian Pinera’s resignation, bringing that capital city to a standstill, at the same time as massive anti-government protest demonstrations were taking place in Iraq.

Currently this is the 31st anniversary of World Population Day, which was established through the United Nations Development Program in 1989 when the world’s population was some 3 billion less than it is now. This year the focus is being placed on the unfinished business that stemmed from 1994’s landmark International Conference on Population and Development. At this time the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is also drawing attention to issues associated with the pandemic and its impact on the health and rights of women and girls in marginalized communities, and how that could affect global population. At the current rate of increase the world’s population is due to reach 7,800,000,000 sometime during this month. We will likely hear more about this in August, on World Overshoot Day.

On an entirely different note, today would have been Yul Brynner’s 100th birthday. Renowned for parts such as the King of Siam in The King and I, and the Pharaoh Ramesses II in The Ten Commandments, he will always be remembered as moviedom’s “King”. New York’s “full sun” Manhattanhenge will take place at this time.

8 Ajaw (July 12th) – “resurrection” of the sun and “enlightenment”, four cycles since the sun unleashed two powerful X-class solar flares, with the second being the most powerful in more than a decade, resulting in a “wide area of blackouts” over the sunlit side of Earth. At that time massive wildfires were raging across eight western states as well as in B.C.’s interior. Currently this is the day of the Puerto Rico primary, on the same day as New York’s “half sun” Manhattanhenge.

9 Imix (July 13th) – “immortal” birth/the realm of all potential – a force that could have a far reaching influence, as was seen in 2015 when, under this influence, NASA released the first image of Earth from its Deep Space Climate Observatory satellite, showing Earth from one million miles away. This is the 35th anniversary of the Live Aid rock concert that was watched by 1.5 billion people in 1985. The largest benefit concert in history, this concert earned $80 million U.S. for famine relief in Africa, and was seen as “the day when music changed the world”. Maya birth energy of the “immortal” Aretha Franklin.

10 Ik’ (July 14th) – “foundational wind/breath/spirit” – an energy highly aligned with Source and with things pertaining to the air, to communication, and to things of a spiritual nature. In 1978 this was the energy in place at the conclusion of The Longest Walk, a peaceful transcontinental trek for Native American justice, as 30,000 supporters arrived in Washington D.C. This is also the Maya Calendar anniversary of the energy in place in 1962 when New York honoured Col. John Glenn with a huge ticker-tape parade after his historic first space flight aboard Friendship 7. In 2014 this was the energy in place at the time of the “opening for business” of One World Trade Center, the tallest building in the Western hemisphere.

Currently this is Bastille Day in France, the 231st anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, which was a critical turning point in the French Revolution – a significant event that led to the overthrow of the monarchy. It is also the 4th Gregorian anniversary of the day in 2016 when 86 people were killed and 434 were injured in a terrorist attack on a promenade in Nice.

11 Ak’b’al (July 15th) – “inspirational night” or “inspirational temple of mysteries”, a force often aligned with deep thought – or even “blackness”, but also a good day to enjoy the sanctuary of home or temple, or to give “deep thought” to something of an inspirational nature. In 1895 this was the energy in place at the time of the world’s first public screening of a moving picture – the showing of 10 short films by Auguste and Louis Lumiere using their “cinématographe” device that functioned as a camera, projector, and printer, all in one.

On the last appearance of this energy Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council, provided testimony for over 10 hours concerning the infamous Ukraine phone conversation that was the focus for the impeachment inquiry in the US. That same day brought the resignation of Lebanon’s PM Saad Hariri after nearly two weeks of protests against the ruling elite, amid nationwide demonstrations that involved both pro and anti-government protests in that country.

This is also Abraham Lincoln’s Maya birth energy, and the 42nd anniversary of the conclusion of The Longest Walk, the trek for Native American justice noted above.

12 K’an (July 16th) – a “dedicated” type of energy often associated with youthful vitality and the joyful celebration of life’s bounties, coinciding at this time with the start of the virtual edition of the Pride London Festival

13 Chikchan (July 17th) – “transformational lifeforce”; an intense and often impassioned energy, coinciding at this time with a conjunction of the waning crescent moon with Venus as the Morning Star. This is the reported deadline for the release of children held with their parents in US immigration jails, from an order given on June 26th. At that time more than 2,500 people in ICE custody had tested positive for Covid-19.

On the last appearance of this energy, last October, John Bercow stepped down as Speaker in the House of Commons in the UK. and Lebanon’s President Aoun pledged to form a new government in which ministers would be chosen by expertise rather than political affiliation. That was seen as a a “benchmark moment” as the US House of Representatives approved an historic vote to set the ground rules for the next phase of the impeachment process that was to include public hearings.

This is the Maya birth energy of the legendary Katherine Hepburn, who lived to be 96.

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[Please note that the brief descriptions of the days provided above are only “thumbnail sketches”. Much greater detail can be found in Manual for the Soul: A Guide to the Energies of Life.]