Now starting the final 52-day segment of the current Maya 260-day T’zolk’in cycle, we are once again entering a zone where major shake-ups often occur. As this is the Muluk (Water) trecena, there is a good chance that water may factor into important events during this period. Certainly this is the situation in Southeast Asia, as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand grapple with widespread floods and landslides that were triggered by monsoon rains and a devastating cyclone. Sri Lanka’s president has called this the “most challenging natural disaster” in that country’s history, as the cyclone destroyed some 20,000 homes and water levels are still rising in some areas. The last time this trecena was in place, last March, it was Spain that was dealing with raging floods that turned streets into rivers as ferocious storms swept across the eastern region. While we can certainly pray that the storm gods take a break and settle down, this IS early December, so “water, water everywhere” is to be expected in many areas.

But it is not just the wet stuff that could be of concern, as this is a period that often brings a “tidal wave” of transformative events. Indeed, the last time this was in place, hundreds of thousands of people were gearing up for massive protests against the dumpster and his cronies in the U.S., after they had been hit by a torrent of executive orders, mass firings, and widescale assaults by DOGE. Currently, with DOGE disbanded, and a nationalwide resistance movement now in place – with the goal of Impeaching, Convicting, and Removing the monster in the White House – that country is much more prepared than it was one cycle ago to push back against the tyranny and darkness that has been wreaking havoc on so many fronts.

From the perspective of ancient Mesoamerican mythology, this trecena was seen as having the potential to be massively life-changing through the infusion of an often “electrifying” energy sequence that was seen traditionally as being under the patronage of a deity known as Chalchiuhtolin, the jade or “jewelled” turkey, a symbol of magic, abundance, ultimate authority, and even sorcery. This complex deity has been associated with darkness, disease, and even the plague, but in his turkey form, as overseer of this time frame, he also has the power to cleanse and to eradicate pestilence. The great “watery” Feathered Serpent also provides support, so this creates a generative “firewater” kind of force representative of the original creation forces that sparked life.

These forces have been known to open the door to many new and exciting possibilities. They have also been known to trigger major shifts in direction, even to the point of significantly altering personal lives or changing the world, like they did in the spring of 2020 when an estimated one-third of the world was in lockdown mode, and people everywhere were scrambling to sort out how to deal with the rapidly changing situations being triggered by the global pandemic.

Fortunately, by the end of that year, one cycle later, another major shift took place and suddenly vaccine programs were underway, with the very first day of this trecena being V-Day in the UK, the start of the biggest ever vaccination program. That was the day when President Biden pledged to distribute 100 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days of his presidency. That was one Gregorian year after one of the first cases of coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China. One cycle after the start of that UK program, Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine program was picking up steam after receiving full approval from the US FDA – the first one to be fully licensed in the US (although emergency use had been granted one cycle earlier). Note, as well, that the first day of this trecena in 2010 was when President Obama signed his Affordable Care Act into law in the U.S. Now, sadly, the fate of the ACA is again in the spotlight, as lawmakers wrangle over its continuation.

As this trecena begins, it seems that much is on the edge of collapse, particularly in the U.S. Fortunately it seems that millions of people were paying attention one cycle ago (last March) when many were turning on “flashing red lights” and warning that America was “sleepwalking into authoritarianism” (as David Smith wrote in The Guardian). Some commentators suggested that the Trump administration was exploiting the power of sadistic spectacle, priming the public for future crackdowns and testing its level of tolerance. But they have been finding, particularly recently, that tolerance is disintegrating.

Indeed, during the previous trecena there was a great deal of discussion about how the current administration is collapsing. At the start of that trecena (on Nov. 19th) Nobel economist Paul Krugman noted that “U.S. markets are inextricably tied to politics, but Trump’s politics are pulling his market to pieces.” “Trump seems to be collapsing on multiple fronts, with the collapse on each front reinforcing the collapse on others,” Krugman noted, as he pointed out that “the Epstein affair is coming to a head even as the public loses all faith in his economic policy, and the whole structure of fear on which his regime rests appears to be evaporating. . . . a rapid implosion looks possible”. Certainly the widespread incompetence demonstrated by so many in key positions, such as at the DoJ, FBI, and Pentagon, have created a completely unsustainable situation, and so the dominos HAVE to fall. Whether or not this happens during this particular trecena, or sometime during this final 52-day period at the end of the current cycle, or sometime during the next cycle, remains to be seen. But it WILL happen!

Similarly, on the world stage, the Trump administration is now under scrutiny for allegedly committing war crimes in the Caribbean and for threatening to impose a regime change in Venezuela. So that situation remains volatile. The so-called Ukraine-Russia peace talks seem to be going nowhere, and the Middle east is still a powderkeg as Israel continues to attack in multiple directions – Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and even into Syria. But again, that is unsustainable.

Looking at the potential influence of this Water trecena’s energies, it might be helpful to keep in mind that water has a tremendous ability to “wash away” and cleanse. And indeed, many inspirational events have occurred in the past during this period, with 4 Eb’ (the 4th day) often figuring prominently. This energy, representative of a solar force in combination with Eb’s “animating vitality”, tends to manifest as an uplifting, refreshing type of power marked by a sense of the opening up of new possibilities. This is what was in place in June of 1965 when the first spacewalk took place, and then again in 1968 when the “Earthrise” photo was taken from Apollo 8, becoming the iconic first photograph taken by a human of Earth from Deep Space. In 2008 that was the energy in place when Barack Obama became the first African-American to win the U.S. presidential election, and masses of people world-wide were feeling buoyant by a wave of “hope” and the whole idea of new possibilities.

Undoubtedly there will still be many times during this period when a long hot shower may be needed to cleanse off the grime that accumulates as battles are fought, but keep in mind that this trecena has been known to bring forth developments that have been significantly “healing” or transformative in positive ways. Remember that water is the ultimate shapeshifter, and as much as it can be turbulent (and even highly destructive) at times, it can also be calm, tranquil and highly supportive of life. It can also be significantly cleansing, with the capacity to “wash away” stagnation and disorder.

So with a great deal “teetering on the brink” at this time, it seems that the stage is set for significant change. And with the generative, life-enhancing forces of the Muluk trecena supporting the battle against the darkness, it is possble that some significant “toppling” might take place during this period. During this watery, shapeshifting, purifying – and potentially even electrifying – time frame these are the energies that will come into play:

1 Muluk (Dec. 2nd) – “the initiation of water (purification)” – a kind of “double water” day associated with the Moon Goddess (symbolic of water and the Number One) in conjunction with the often shape-shifting energy of water, which is coinciding with World Computer Literacy Day and World Pollution Prevention Day. This is also the UN’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, which (according to the UN’s website) continues to be a major worldwide issue, as this includes human trafficking, forced labor, debt bondage, and forced marriage. As many of these things are on the rise, the UN now estimates that over 50 million people worldwide still exist in slavery.

In addition, this is Giving Tuesday, “the world’s largest generosity movement”, the global day of giving that “unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world”.

Within the 260-day cycle, One Muluk is an important 52-day Shift-point that often brings forth dramatic shifts in state, as new pathways for action begin opening up, as could be seen six cycles ago when thousands of people were being rapidly evacuated from Kabul airport in Afghanistan. As that was happening the Jan. 6th committee in the US Capitol was getting down to business with its investigation of the Jan. 6th attack.

Unfortunately, this “shape-shifting” force can be overwhelming at times, as seen one cycle ago when Spain was inundated by raging floods. Currently there is extensive flooding in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand.

This marks seven cycles exactly since Covid-19 vaccination programs began in England, Scotland, and Wales and several other countries. That came precisely one cycle after the UK and many other countries began nation-wide lockdowns in March of 2020. That was when António Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, appealed for an immediate global ceasefire, calling for an end to all armed conflicts so that the world could instead focus on fighting the rapidly advancing coronavirus. Obviously that appeal fell on deaf ears.

Five cycles ago, as the White House hosted the second Global Covid-19 Summit, the flag over the White House was flying at half-mast in remembrance of the more than one million deaths lost to Covid in the U.S. It also marks two cycles since the eve of the “death of democracy” at the hands of the dumpster and the U.S. Supreme Court.

2 Ok (Dec. 3rd) – a dynamic yin/yang type of force relating to love, warmth, guidance, and loyalty (symbolized by the Maya glyph for Dog), coinciding at this time with the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The UN indicates that there are some one billion people with disabilities worldwide, 80% of whom live in developing countries.

This marks eight cycles exactly since the US Surgeon General strongly urged everyone in the US to stay at home as the pandemic was firmly taking hold. It was a time for people to make many radical changes as so many adjustments were needed in daily lives in the interest of keeping people safe.

It has now been two long, devastating cycles since U.S. Supreme Court rendered what might be considered its worst decision EVER – the landmark ruling that said that a U.S. president is entitled to immunity for “some official acts”, the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution had ever been granted. And, as predicted by almost everyone, the orange felon in the White House has been riding on the coattails on that ruling ever since. As Justice Sotomayor, who wrote one of the dissents said, “The president is now a king above the law” . . . they have “let him use his official power for evil ends”. Sen. Adam Schiff added that this ruling fundamentally reshaped the presidency, because it fully authorized the president “to commit crimes”. As President Biden said at the time: “It’s a dangerous precedent, because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law . . . . the only limits will be self-imposed by the president alone”. Compounding the problem is the fact that the orange felon has been increasingly seen as “Demented Don”, as the deranged nature of his mental faculties has become more and more apparent.

3 Chuwen (Dec. 4th) – the “activation” of creativity; an important “time-weaving” type of energy that can often bring forth powerful shifts, coinciding at this time with the Full Cold Super Moon and World Wildlife Conservation Day.

This is the day when the huge white spruce tree, cut on Nov. 12th in Lunenburg County, will be lit up in Boston (an annual tradition, with a tree donated every year by Nova Scotia as a thank you for the help received after the 1917 Halifax Explosion).

In 1929 this was the energy in place on Black Tuesday, when investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day at the time of the Wall Street crash.

In 2011 this was the energy in place when the action thriller called Contagion was released, depicting the rapid spread of a virus to cities around the globe.

4 Eb’ (Dec. 5th) – the “defining of animating vitality” – an uplifting, refreshing type of energy that often brings a sense of new possibilities, often highly eventful – coinciding at this time with International Volunteer Day, and, in France, the start of the city of Lyon’s glorious 4-day Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières) – a tradition dating back to 1852, and still continuing its tradition of infusing light and joy into the darkness of early December.

Back in 1968 this was the energy in place when the “Earthrise” photo was taken from Apollo 8 as it orbited the moon. That was the first photo of Earth from the perspective of the moon – one of the most famous photos ever taken, which, according to Al Gore, kicked off the modern environmental movement. Five cycles earlier, in 1965, Ed White made the first space walk by a U.S. astronaut under this same energy influence. In 2014 this energy brought forth an agreement on the framework for an historic nuclear reduction agreement with Iran, seen as the most important foreign relations negotiation of the Obama presidency.

Four cycles ago, early in 2023, New York prosecutors began presenting their case to a grand jury with regard to Trump’s falsification of records relating to hush money payments. During the trial the following year he was found Guilty on 34 criminal counts, marking the first time in history that a former U.S. president was convicted on criminal charges. Although he was eventually given an unconditional discharge, just prior to being sworn in for his 2.0 term last January, he is still attempting to get the conviction overturned.

5 B’en (Dec. 6th) – the “blessing of personal authority”, coinciding with St. Nicholas Day, with Saint Nicholas being the originator of the “gift-giving” traditions now associated with Father Christmas and Santa Claus.

This is the 160th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment in the U.S. in 1865 (the formal abolition of slavery), by 27 of the then-36 states, and the 70th anniversary of the start of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, a foundational event in the U.S. civil rights movement, that lasted for 381 days. That was the day of the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, with Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. as its leader. This is also the Calendar Round return of the same day + same month energy that was in place at the time of the overwhelming approval, in 1973, of the Endangered Species Act by both the US House and Senate.

In Canada, this is White Ribbon Day, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, in remembrance of the 14 women who were killed at Montreal’s École Polytechnique in 1989. At this time an annual shoe memorial is often placed on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery, in downtown Vancouver, in memory of murdered women.

Back in 1973 this was the energy in place when the first cell-phone call was made, by wireless communications pioneer Martin Cooper, who will be celebrating his 97th birthday on Dec. 26th.

It has now been eight cycles since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at the first joint video briefing for the 193 U.N. member nations, at the launch of the U.N.’s COVID-19 Communications for Solidarity Initiative to rapidly inform people about facts and science, “and promote and inspire acts of humanity around the world.” This also marks seven cycles since Congress in the US passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to help people affected by the pandemic. Let’s pray that there won’t be another pandemic while the current regime is in power.

This is the Maya birth energy of Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who issued the first warning about the coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak, who later died of it. He is now honoured as one of the Heroes of the pandemic.

6 Ix (Dec. 7th) – the energy of the six directions in conjunction with the jaguar (and Jaguar Warrior) and the fate of the earth, coinciding at this time National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, the 84th Gregorian anniversary of Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. This is also the UN’s International Civil Aviation Day, which celebrates the impact that civil aviation has had on the World. This year’s theme is “Advancing Innovation for Global Aviation Development”, part of a four-year theme that runs through to 2027.

This is marking the one year anniversary of the official reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, which was attended by dozens of heads of state. It is also marking 53 years exactly since the release of the “Blue Marble” photo that was taken on Dec. 7th, 1972 by NASA astronauts Eugene “Gene” Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt aboard Apollo 17 as it circled planet Earth.

This 6 Ix energy, which is now marking seven cycles exactly since Covid-19 vaccines first arrived in Canada, is the Maya birth energy of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett – the immunologist who played a key role in developing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

7 Men (Dec. 8th) – a “self-generating” type of energy associated with the Eagle’s “higher vision”, marking seven Tzolk’in cycles since the Electoral College in the US voted to formalize Joe Biden’s win as President-elect in 2020. That was the day when coronavirus vaccines began to be distributed and administered in both the US and Canada.

It has now been three cycles since the Biden administration submitted a $106bn request to Congress, in October of 2023, for military and humanitarian aid for Israel and Ukraine and humanitarian assistance for Gaza, insisting lawmakers had an obligation to support US allies standing up to tyranny and aggression worldwide. Congress had to fight among themselves about this for several months before the aid began to be sent, due to the complete disarray and lack of leadership in the Republican party. Those regions have had to endure an untold amount of suffering since then, and STILL no real solutions have been found. The last time this energy was in place the death toll in Gaza had reached 50,000. Tragically, since then more than 20,000 more have been killed, even after the declation of a so-called ceasefire.

Currently this is

•  the Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception, one year since the inaugural Mass and consecration of the new Notre Dame Cathedral altar. The mass was followed by a “fraternal buffet” for the needy.
• the opening of the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) which will take place from Dec. 8-12 at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, on the theme of Advancing sustainable solutions for a resilient planet.”.
• the 34th Gregorian anniversary of the signing of the Belovezha Accords in 1991, an agreement that declared the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• six years since one of the first cases of coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China, and five years since the UK began its Covid-19 vaccine program, the first country to launch this type of program in response to the pandemic.
• “secular” Bodhi Day, aka rohatsu, in Japan – a day wherein Zen monks conduct ceremonies to commemorate the historic Buddha’s attainment of enlightenment. There is also a lunar Bodhi Day on Jan. 7th.

 

8 Kib’ (Dec. 9th) – the “resurrection” of the transmutation oriented force that can lead towards the restoration of order, coinciding with the UN’s International Anti-Corruption Day, this year focusing on the theme of “Uniting with Youth Against Corruption: Shaping Tomorrow’s Integrity”.

This is the day of the Ripple of Hope Awards Gala, when Stephen Colbert and four others become the 2025 Ripple of Hope Award laureates.  The Ripple of Hope Award was inspired by Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s renowned speech in 1966 – the Day of Affirmation remarks he made when addressing students in South Africa at the height of apartheid:

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

This marks six cycles exactly since Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first met with President Biden at the White House, and five cycles since Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO. Both countries have now been accepted as full members.

This is the Maya birth energy of prominent civil rights and social justice activist Rev. Al Sharpton, whom many see as the most influential civil rights leader in the US.

This is also Dame Judi Dench’s 91st Gregorian birthday. Happy birthday Dame Judi!

9 Kab’an (Dec. 10th) – representative of “outwardly-projecting” longevity in connection with the earth and evolutionary movement, where there can be long range implications for actions.

This is International Animal Rights Day, and the UN’s World Human Rights Day, on the 77th Gregorian anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.

This is the day of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, banquet, and torchlight procession in Oslo, Norway. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan politician and activist Maria Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.

10 Etz’nab’ (Dec. 11th) – foundational “flint”; an intense sparkling, “knife-edged”, “flash-point” type of energy that can either dazzle or divide and separate, as was in place one cycle ago when Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Jair Bolsonaro would stand trial for leading a coup attempt after he lost the 2022 election. During the trial he was found guilty and sentenced to 27 years in prison. He began serving that sentence, in prison, just a few days ago, on November 25th – which goes to show that when a functioning judicial system is in place (unlike in the U.S.) justice can be served and people can be held accountable for such gross and obvious crimes.

Back in 1861, this was the energy in place when President Abraham Lincoln addressed the U.S. Congress in his call for 500,000 militia for the Civil War. Not only does it seem like that war has never really ended, but, as Ken Burns’ remarkable series on the U.S. Revolutionary War reveals, it seems that bitter internal stife has been part of the very fabric of the U.S. since the days of its inception 250 years ago. Indeed, much of the brutal eight year conflict that ensued after the declaration of independence was essentially a civil war, as patriots fought against loyalists, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties. It seems that something fundamental in the American psyche has to change in order to break this ongoing cycle of internal conflict. Perhaps this is what this “era” is all about – opening up an opportunity to see what is at the core of the divisiveness, so that core issues can be identified and eventually healed.

Note as well that this was the energy in place in October of 2023 when a Colorado judge rejected an attempt by Trump to throw out a lawsuit seeking to block him from the 2024 presidential ballot based on the 14th Amendment insurrectionist ban. The 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War, states that U.S. officials who take an oath to uphold the Constitution are disqualified from future office if they “engaged in insurrection” or have “given aid or comfort” to insurrectionists. Again the question should be asked: How did the dumpster get past this in order to even be on the ballot in the 2024 election?? And what about the issue of pardoning insurrectionists after he returned to power? Again – it seems that there is a stark difference between U.S. and Brazilian judicial systems!

Back in July of 1940, this was the energy in place at the beginning of the Battle of Britain, when intense daylight air raids began. That was when the Vichy state was setup in France, a rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain after the French capitulated to Germany. It was named after its seat of government, the city of Vichy.

Currently this is the UN’s International Mountain Day, with this year’s theme being “Glaciers matter for water, food, and livelihoods in mountains and beyond”. It is also:

• the day of the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Oslo, Norway.
• the 94th Gregorian anniversary of the establishment of the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1931, through an act of the Parliament in the United Kingdom.
• the 84th Gregorian anniversary of the Nazi declaration of war against the U.S., and the U.S. declaration of war against Nazi Germany in 1941.  In 1918 these were the energies in place at the completion of the last major action on the Eastern Front near the end of World War I, with the Bolshevik capitulation.

 

In addition to all that, this is Rita Moreno’s 94th birthday. Her career as an entertainer has spanned eight decades, and she has won Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and Tony awards as well as being given the National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2010. Rita received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2014. Happy birthday Rita!

11 Kawak (Dec. 12th) – inspirational “storm of compassion” now marking one cycle exactly since leaders from 31 countries gathered in Paris for a high-stakes “coalition of the willing” summit on Ukraine to lay the groundwork for long-term security guarantees.

Currently this 11 Kawak energy is coinciding with the UN’s International Day of Neutrality to promote the role of neutrality in international relations, as well as the UN’s International Universal Health Coverage Day, dedicated to promoting collective action to build more equitable health systems for everyone on the planet. As it happens, this marks six years since “a new viral outbreak” of the coronavirus was first detected on 2019, and eight cycles precisely since early April of 2020 when the global number of Covid-19 cases passed the one million mark, on the way to the current tally of over 7 million.

This is the Feast Day for Tonantzin, Our Lady of Guadalupe (patroness of the Americas), which is celebrated in Mexico and in many other Latin American communities. Many churches in Canada, the U.S., and elsewhere  honour this feast day as a National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. Millions of people make pilgrimages to the Virgin of Guadalupe basilica in Mexico City, the most visited Catholic shrine of the Americas, which was constructed next to a hill in the north of the Mexican capital where Catholics believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to an Aztec man in 1531, a decade after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.

This is the legendary singer Dionne Warwick’s 85th birthday. She is seen as one of the most-charted vocalists of all time. This is also E. Jean Carroll’s 82nd birthday. Although Ms. Carroll she won her rape and defamation cases against the dumpster, and the verdict has been upheld by a federal appeals court, she is still awaiting the $83.3 million in defamation damages that she was awarded, as Trump’s legal team has requested a Supreme Court review of the case.

12 Ajaw (Dec. 13th) – a “gathering together” force aligned with the full sun and “enlightenment”, a day that often sheds light on human conditions, as veteran actor Dick Van Dyke celebrates his 100th birthday. Attributing his longevity to his “bright outlook on life”, he has recently published a book titled 100 Rules for Living to 100. It seems that even the heavens are acknowledging this milestone, as this is the peak of the Geminids, known as the “king of meteor showers”, associated with the 3200 Phaeton asteroid – named after Phaëton, the son of the Greek-named sun god Helios – that travels closer to the sun than any other asteroid . . . going into the early morning of the following day. It has now been one year since the Crown of Thorns, a sacred relic for believers, was returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris to be installed in the heart of a new 4-metre high reliquary.

This is the American Horse Council’s National Day of the Horse, a day to celebrate the economic, historic, and cultural contributions made by horses over hundreds of years.

This marks nine cycles since Epstein appeared in court (in 2019) where he was denied bail re his sex trafficking case, three cycles since the “fiery” day in a New York courtroom when Michael Cohen testified for a second day during the Trump fraud trial, and two cycles since the New York Times published a scathing, five-part piece that bluntly summarized why Trump 2.0 should not be allowed to happen, as they highlighted multiple ways in which it had been demonstrated that the Orange Felon was “unfit to lead”. And, as the world has seen ever since, even the worst of the warnings pale in comparison with what has actually taken place since that unthinkable election.

13 Imix (Dec. 14th) – “transformational birth”, another force that can be highly intense, coinciding at this time with the National Energy Conservation Day, with its emphasis on raising awareness about energy efficiency and conservation, and International Monkey Day, a celebration of “all things simian”.

This marks the start of Hanukkah, the Jewish “festival of lights”, which begins in the evening, featuring the lighting of menorahs over eight consecutive nights. Given what has been happening in Ukraine, in Gaza-Israel, Sudan, and in so many global strife-ridden regions, there continues to be much to focus on at this time as menorah candles are lit and prayers for enlightenment are sent.

This day is also marking five years since coronavirus vaccines began to be distributed in the U.S. and Canada, on the same day as the electoral college in the U.S. cast their ballots to confirm Joe Biden’s win as President-elect. A $908 billion bipartisan Covid-19 relief plan was introduced in Congress on that same day.

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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.]