It can be difficult to do, but sometimes soul searching is necessary – whether it be on a personal level, or even on the level of society at large. And sometimes that search can involve an effort to find light within a great darkness, as is the situation at the present time. With wars raging without solutions in sight, with corruption and lawlessness running rampant in the US and in too many other places, and with climate issues putting the planet itself at risk, the world is in a sorry state.

Fortunately, leaders such as New York’s mayor Zohran Mamdani are beginning to emerge, leaders who are bringing flashes of light and hope – small sparks that suggest that all is not lost and a much brighter future is still possible. Much much needs to be done in order to get there, but keeping an eye on the victories (such as the victories in courts) is one way to keep on track, and there have been a good number of court related victories in the fight for justice and accountability over the past cycle.

From the ancient Mesoamerican perspective, the Aztecs depicted the overseer of this period as a deity known as Itzpapálotl, aka Obsidian Butterfly, who sometimes appears as a seductress but more often is shown with a skeletal visage and knife tipped wings, representative of her role as a fearsome warrior on the search for truth. Emblematic of the struggles of the soul as it strives to overcome the trials and tribulations of life, this deity was often associated with the subconscious, with moral and ethical issues, and with the sacrifices that often must be made in order to navigate through the earthly realm. Indeed, this trecena has been known to “stir things up”, to bring things into the light, in order to expose issues that need to be addressed.

As everyone is aware, this is not the first time that the US has had to deal with severe issues that have swirled around a power mongering head of government residing in the White House. For the past few years there have been many parallels between the Nixon era and the current era, even though the current era is much, much worse. But, as it happens, over the past few years we have been paralleling precisely the same Maya calendar “day + month” energies that were in place during the Nixon regime.

The two years between June of 1972 and early August of 1974 were particularly problematic, as the Watergate scandal broke and had to be dealt with. But it was this trecena in particular that was most memorable as this was the time frame in which accountability finally caught up with Nixon and he was forced to resign from the presidency. The energies that were in place at that time have once again returned, and this time the Calendar Round energy that was in place at the time of Nixon’s resignation will be marking the start of the 100 day countdown until this year’s midterm elections in the US.

Back in 1972 issues pertaining to both ethics and criminality were definitely being stirred up when the whole Watergate subterfuge began unravelling during this trecena. This trecena’s emphasis on shedding light on “hidden secrets” was clearly observable as the unravelling began.

Similarly, over the past few years this trecena has clearly revealed its tendency to shed light on deep dark secrets, to bring “hidden” things into the light. Even way back in June of 2019 a massive #Impeach Trump National Day of Action took place near the beginning of this time frame, in more than 100 cities and towns across the U.S., and served as a precursor to the hearings that led to his impeachment in early 2020. Unfortunately, the resistance by the GOP-held Senate to the endorsement of that impeachment ruling, along with the denier-in-chief’s subsequent behaviour, fomented the very dark times that followed. Then, in November of 2020, it became clear that the very sore loser of the 2020 U.S. presidential election was going into meltdown mode, which devolved even further over the following weeks, culminating in the Jan. 6th, 2021 insurrection attempt. But again, the monumental failure to hold these actions to account resulted in the escalation in corruption and lawlessness that has brought the world to the current point. And his sick and perverted inability to accept the results of the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won, is still fueling his on-going efforts to subvert free and fair elections, and by extension, democracy itself. So this is where soul searching is needed – the question of what can individuals do, and what can society at large do, to address the enormous moral and ethical, and societal and legal, issues that have been created by the sickness that has been allowed to spread itself far and wide, even to the point of affecting the planet as a whole. This trecena asks – what sacrifices must be made in order to regain any sense of rationality and accountability?

And it is not just political realms (the US, the Middle East, Russia, and so many others) that need this kind of attention. Indeed, one of the areas in most dire need of attention relates to environmental issues. As UN secretary general Guterres said during the summit of world leaders, just prior to the opening of the Cop30 climate summit last year, the failure to limit global heating to 1.5C is a “moral failure and deadly negligence”, as he emphasized that even a temporary overshoot would have “dramatic consequences. It could push ecosystems past catastrophic tipping points, expose billions to unliveable conditions and amplify threats to peace and security.” At that time Guterres called the target of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels a “red line” for a habitable planet as he urged his audience to bring about a “paradigm shift” so that the effects of the overshoot could be minimised. “Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement and loss – especially for those least responsible. This is moral failure – and deadly negligence,” he said.

And now the planet is sweltering. France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths during its record-breaking heatwave in late June and thousands are now fleeing wildfires in the southern region. Spain is preparing for a heatwave that is projected to reach 47C or higher. Major wildfires are raging across Canada, and just before this trecena began Japan reported its first official kokushobi or “cruelly hot day” using a new term recently introduced for when temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius.

So during this current period, as temperatures continue to soar, and the evil power monger in the White House continues to push the country and the world at large towards annihilation, the question must be asked – “are they going to continue to allow him to do that, or will enough people with courage and resolve step up and finally take the kinds of steps needed to bring this nightmare to an end?” Let’s keep in mind that His Excellency Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva managed to defeat Bolsanaro and his dictatorship in Brazil, and became the oldest president of Brazil at the time of his inauguration on the first day of this trecena in 2023. So Lula proved that it CAN be done! In the US they could start by making sure that the dumpster’s soulless personal lawyer does NOT become the US attorney general!

It will not be easy but major shifts of a moral and ethical nature HAVE taken place in the past during this period. Let’s hope that those forces that worked so concertedly to oust Nixon in 1974 (one Calendar Round ago), and that helped Lula in Brazil, are returning with a similar intent. Here are the energies that are coming into play:

1 Ak’b’al (July 24th) – the “initiation” of “darkness” (or “contemplation”), in association with deep mysteries, now marking 520 tortuous days (two 260-day cycles) exactly since historians and journalists were announcing that the U.S. was “torpedoing world order”, bringing an end to 80 years of U.S. foreign policy as the then-recently inaugurated “president” appeared to be favouring Russia and undermining traditional transatlantic alliances. Currently this is Day 146 of the absurd US-Iran war, as the deranged warmonger in the White House threatens to target Iran’s bridges and power plants in retaliation for Iran’s strikes on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

As those announcements about the dumpster’s sabotaging of the world order were being made (in February of 2025) U.S. citizens were in despair as they found themselves under attack on multiple fronts as thousands of people were being fired from federal positions, federal support systems were being eroded or outright abolished, and people were being snatched off streets by federal agents and carted away to parts unknown. All of this caught many people flat-footed as this was taking place just one cycle plus five days after the dumpster’s first criminal conviction, on multiple felony charges.

Then, one cycle after that (last November), just prior to the opening of the COP 30 climate summit, UN secretary general António Guterres warned about the “dramatic consequences” of the failure to limit global warning.

Both of those warnings were speaking of moral failures and deadly negligence, the nature of which is often brought into sharp perspective under this energy influence. Indeed, some of the most dramatic days associated with the infamous Watergate burglary in Washington DC in 1972 and its aftereffects coincided with these energies.

But, in keeping with the idea of “the spark of early dawning” that is also associated with this energy, this is also marking five cycles exactly since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took over as president of Brazil when he announced that “the nightmare is over” as he vowed to pull Brazil out of the Bolsonaro era of “devastation”. That was when da Silva began the “herculean task” of sorting out all the damage caused by the gross mismanagement of that corrupt outgoing regime. And the last time this was in place New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani had just proclaimed that he could “see the dawn of a better day for humanity.” So this is something to hold onto, even in the darkness.

Note that this day is marking eight cycles exactly since US election security officials rejected the dumpster’s claims of election fraud in 2020, as they called it “the most secure in American history”, with no evidence whatsoever that voting was in any way compromised. Exactly one cycle later (end of July 2021) it was reported that handwritten notes were found that revealed that the dumpster, in the final days of his 1.0 presidency, had directly instructed the DoJ to take steps to overturn a free and fair election.

While this is the day when the US administration’s current 10% global tariff policy expires, it is being replaced by a new trade policy, involving tariffs of 10-12.5% to be imposed on more than 80 countries, so this begins another wave of darkness and callousness on that front.

But note, as well, that this is International Self-Care Day, which aims “to raise the profile of healthy self-care programs”. So this is a good time to remember the importance of self-care on every level, to fend off the physical, mental, and emotional threats that are all too prevalent these days.

2 K’an (July 25th) – a dynamic type of energy often aligned with the germination of new possibilities, coinciding at this time with the opening of Amsterdam’s World Pride international festival that draws millions of visitors from around the world. It is also the start of Vancouver’s Pride festival.

The last time this was in place a major “Students Rise Up” day of action was held across the US.

3 Chikchan (July 26th) – “the activation of lifeforce” – an important Burner Day oriented around the idea of “announcing the fire” at the start of a new “Burner” sequence, the type of energy that can sometimes “charge” people to take action, particularly if pressing issues suggest the need for consciousness raising.

This energy often serves as a “marker” day for consequential events, now marking five cycles exactly since the U.S. Congress went through a large re-shuffle in January of 2023, as Republicans assumed “control” of the House of Representatives. Since then five full cycles of chaos, wide-scale incompetence, and blatant corruption have resulted in the extremely dire situation currently playing out in the U.S.

In 1972 this was in place when The Washington Post reported that one of the burglars in the Watergate scandal was the security director for the Committee to Re-elect the President (CRP). Exactly three cycles after that (in 1974) this was in place when President Nixon gave his resignation address before stepping down the following day. This is the Calendar Round (52 years less 13 days) return of that exact energy, which is also marking the start of the 100 day countdown towards this year’s midterm elections in the US.

This is the opening day of the five-day AIDS 2026 International Conference, the world’s “most influential conference on HIV science”, which takes place in Rio de Janeiro, and virtually, which will feature many of the world’s leaders and top professionals on HIV research.

This is also coinciding with legendary rock musician Sir Mick Jagger’s 83rd birthday.
Happy Birthday Sir Mick! (The Rolling Stones released their 25th album on July 10th.)

4 Kimi (July 27th) – a “defining” force associated with “absolute foundations”, representative of the sun in combination with “death” or the point at which “all is revealed” so that regeneration can begin. This is the Calendar Round return (New Fire) of the energy that was in place on Maya date 4 Kimi 19 Xul in the summer of 1974 when President Nixon stepped down after the release of the proof of his covert involvement in the Watergate scandal.

In the Maya Calendar this is the last day of the Maya month of Xul, traditionally associated with Kukulcan (known as Quetzalcóatl 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.

It has now been 14 cycles since that early August day in 2016 when fifty of the most senior Republican national security officials signed an open letter declaring that Trump “lacks the character, values, and experience” to be president and would put the national security and well-being of the U.S. at risk. They warned that not only would he be “the most reckless president in American history” but that he would weaken the moral authority of the country. They also emphasized that he has “demonstrated repeatedly that he has little understanding” of the nation’s “vital national interests, its complex diplomatic challenges, its indispensable alliances and the democratic values” on which American policy should be based. They couldn’t have been more correct, nor could they have foreseen the extent to which “failure of moral courage” would run rampant through that party as his spineless minions kept supporting him.

This is a far cry from what happened on that 4 Kimi day in 1982 when President Reagan gave an impassioned speech to the British parliament, when he warned against totalitarian forces and “their barbarous assault on the human spirit”. In his words: “If history teaches anything it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly”. In that speech he extolled the importance of the freedom to vote and emphatically emphasized that

democracy is not a fragile flower. Still it needs cultivating. If the rest of this century is to witness the gradual growth of freedom and democratic ideals, we must take actions to assist the campaign for democracy.

Reagan would have been appalled to see the state of his party today, and the shameful, revolting behaviour of so many of its members.

Note, as well, that this day marks five cycles exactly since Special Counsel Jack Smith began his investigations into Trump’s criminality. That was nine cycles exactly after that warning issued by those senior Republicans about the perils that would lie ahead if the dumpster was ever elected. The situation had eroded so badly by the beginning of this 2.0 term that even the Jan. 6th case and the classified documents cases that Smith was preparing for adjudication had to be dismissed. And now the dumpster and his cronies are trying to “trump up” charges against Smith himself – a situation that would be laughable if it wasn’t so disgusting!

The last time this was in place the vile degenerate in Washington pardoned 77 people (including Giuliani, Meadows, and others) who sought to overturn the 2020 election.

Currently this is “The Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War”, a national holiday marking the 73rd anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice, signed by 22 nations in 1953, which ended over three years of fighting on the Korean peninsula.

In Mexico this is the second celebrational day of the vibrant La Guelaguetza festival in Oaxaca, that grand celebration of traditional food, music, dance, parades, and artistry that began one week earlier.

This is scheduled to be the day for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge, linking Canada with Michigan, which had been delayed by haggling on the part of the dumpster’s administration.

5 Manik’ (July 28th) – a “blessing” or “precision” type of energy associated with reciprocity, particularly as it relates to things of the earth, coinciding at this time with World Nature Conservation Day, dedicated to raising awareness about the need for the protection of nature and its resources. The theme this year will focus on climate change.

This is the peak of the Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower.

At this point it has been nine cycles exactly (9 x 260 days) since the first coronavirus case was confirmed in New York in March of 2020, and ten cycles (2600 days) since that massive June, 2019 National Day of Action in more than 100 cities and towns across the US that called for the first impeachment inquiry against the dumpster.

6 Lamat (July 29th) – a “structuring” type of energy associated with the heralding of consequential events, coinciding with the Full Buck Moon, at a time when the antlers of male deer are in full-growth mode. It is also known as the Feather Moulting Moon (Cree) and Salmon Moon (Tlingit).

In India this is Naga Panchami day – a Hindu festival when snakes are given milk and rice, and worshipped with flowers and sweets, to ward off evil. Three cycles ago Narendra Modi was sworn in for the third time as India’s prime minister.

This was also in place in 2021 when Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court said it would investigate President Bolsonaro for abuse of office, improper use of official communication channels, corruption, fraud, and other potential crimes in his attacks on electronic voting. Last November he was convicted and sentenced to over 27 years in prison.

Way back in late 2000, this was the energy in place at the time of a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court that settled a highly consequential recount dispute in Florida’s 2000 election between G.W. Bush and Al Gore, resulting in a Bush victory in that election, even though it was thought that a statewide recount would have resulted in a win for Gore instead of Bush. One could speculate on how history was changed as a result of that particular decision.

This is the Maya birth energy of the brilliant historian and light-shining political scientist Howard Zinn, who wrote dozens of books on topics such as race, class, war, and history – including “A People’s History of the United States”. In his “tell it like it is “manner, he noted that

The challenge remains. On the other side are formidable forces: money, political power, the major media. On our side are the people of the world and a power greater than money or weapons: the truth. Truth has a power of its own. Art has a power of its own. . . . A poem can inspire a movement. A pamphlet can spark a revolution. Civil disobedience can arouse people and provoke us to think, when we organize with one another . . . when we stand up and speak out together, we can create a power no government can suppress. We live in a beautiful country. But people who have no respect for human life, freedom, or justice have taken it over. It is now up to all of us to take it back.

Howard Zinn,  A Power Governments Cannot Suppress

7 Muluk (July 30th) – a “self-generating”, pivotal, shape-shifting type of energy associated with water, coinciding at this time with National Whistleblower Day.

One year ago Indivisible held its One Million Rising virtual event, focusing on strategic planning to fight authoritarianism. They are MUCH, MUCH more organized now.

This is the Maya birth energy of historian Timothy Snyder, author of the bestselling On Tyranny, one of many who warned that the dumpster would attempt to take control of the government. Nine cycles ago, as of this day, Nancy Pelosi (who will not use his name) called the orange felon “the most dangerous person in the history of [the U.S.]” – and that was well before the coup attempt, well before all the convictions in both civil and criminal cases, and well before all the corruption and damage that has been wreaked upon the U.S. and its people, and the world at large, over the last few years.

This is the opening day for Toronto’s five-day Caribana 2026, North America’s largest Caribbean carnival. It is also filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s 56th birthday. No doubt there will be a large party in his honour at this time, given the success of his blockbuster movie The Odyssey.

8 Ok (July 31st) – a “double sun” type of force, symbolic of the “regeneration of love, guidance, and loyalty”, in place on the day set by US judge Christopher Cooper for the dumpster’s administration to report on “the pupose and status of the tarp and scaffolding” on the John F. Kennedy Center.

9 Chuwen (Aug. 1st) “outwardly projecting creativity”, a “time weaving” type of energy now coinciding with Emancipation Day in Canada, commemorating the day in 1834 when the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect across the British Empire. In Canada this is the start day for Edmonton’s Heritage Festival, a three-day multicultural celebration. Toronto will be showcasing wildly costumed masqueraders as they take part in the Caribana Grande Parade.

It has now been four cycles exactly since New York state Judge Arthur F. Engoron issued a scathing ruling, in a New York civil case, that Trump’s business was based on rampant fraud and blatant lies. Judge Engoron found that Dump committed fraud for years while building his real estate empire, and that he and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing. Judge Engoron surmised that it was a “fantasy world” of real estate valuations that “can only be considered fraud” as he ordered the dissolution of the dumpster’s businesses in New York. He also chastized his lawyers for being obstreperous, for presenting a defense based on bogus arguments. That was the publication day for Cassidy Hutchinson’s book titled Enough. She was a pivotal witness in the Jan. 6th Select Committee’s hearings, as she bravely provided testimony about key behind-the-scenes events at the White House during the Jan. 6th, 2021 coup attempt.

Slightly less than one cycle after all that, in May of 2024, Trump was convicted on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, becoming the first former president to be criminally convicted at trial. In 2018 Stormy Daniels’ Full Disclosure book had been published under this same influence, on the same day as The New York Times published a report, based on tens of thousands of pages of confidential records, that revealed that Trump was bankrolled (in multiple ways) by his father and had spent much of the 1990’s participating in dubious tax evasion schemes.

In 1775 this was the Maya Calendar energy in place at the start of the American Revolutionary War, and in 1789 when the Bastille was stormed in Paris, marking the beginning of the French Revolution. In 1815 this was the energy in place when Napoléon Bonaparte landed back in southern France after leaving exile in Elba a few days earlier, on his futile quest to regain control.

10 Eb’ (Aug. 2nd) – “foundational animating vitality”, coinciding with the final day and closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

This is marking nine cycles since the dumpster signed the $8.3 billion coronavirus bill in March of 2020 and then used a “free-wheeling press conference” to lash out at Democrats and CNN. That was when it was revealed how “wildly unprepared” the U.S. was for dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. Since then there have been over 100 million documented cases of Covid-19 in the US and over 1,200,000 confirmed deaths – more than any other country.

This was the energy in place eleven cycles ago, in 2018, when The New York Times published a letter signed by over 2400 law professors that said that Brett Kavanaugh was not fit to sit on the Supreme Court, at the same time as some 300 Stop Kavanaugh vigils took place across the country, including a huge rally in front of the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., as people gave impassioned speeches and demanded that senators reject his nomination. Regardless, these demands were disregarded by the Republican-held Senate, and now, as one of the rightwing judges on the Supreme Court who voted in favour of presidential immunity, he is seen as the chief enabler of the corruption that is running rampant in the US.

11 B’en (Aug. 3rd) – “inspirational personal authority”, the Maya Calendar birth energy of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the highly ranked 32nd US President (a Democrat), who took office during the Great Depression and brought in a profusion of new programs designed to stimulate reform and economic recovery. Undoubtedly he would be appalled by the rampant cruelty, callousness, and incompetence of those currently in the White House who have been inflicting such pain on the American people and destabilizing the world at large.

This would have been the legendary singer Tony Bennett’s 100th Gregorian birthday. Nine years ago Tony was awarded the US Library of Congress Gershwin prize for his lifetime contributions to music.

Currently this is coinciding with civic/provincial holidays in several provinces, including B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. It is also the start of International Assistance Dog week.

In 2015 this was in place when hundreds of thousands of people marched in more than 2500 demonstrations worldwide in one of the largest ever days of protest to call for action to deal with climate change, on the eve of the UN Climate Change conference.

12 Ix (Aug. 4th) a “gathering together” type of energy oriented around earth forces, deep mysteries, and the power of transformation, coinciding at this time with congressional, state, and gubernatorial primary elections in a number of US states, and with the opening of Ai4, America’s largest AI Conference, in Las Vegas.

In 2010 this was the energy that was in place when the historic Health Care Reform Bill – “The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” – was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2021 this was in place when the U.S. Senate passed President Biden’s massive $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, following months of intensive negotiations.

Currently this is the 112th anniversary of Germany’s invasion of Belgium at the start of WWI in 1914, and Britain’s declaration of war against Germany. It is also former President Barack Obama’s 65th Gregorian birthday. Happy birthday President Obama!

13 Men (Aug. 5th) – transformational high vision, a high-energy “Eagle-eye” type of force that tends to be highly cause-oriented, and is often world-shaping.

This is an energy that has the potential to be “dangerously intense”, as could be seen 14 cycles ago, in 2016, when the dumpster was given his first intelligence briefing as the Republican nominee for president, even though the FBI and CIA were becoming aware of contacts between his campaign and Russia. Somehow he slithered past that, even though (as noted above on 4 Kimi) Republican national security officials had signed an open letter declaring that this candidate lacked “the character, values, and experience” to be president and would put the national security and well-being of the U.S. at risk.

Back in 2018 this was the energy in place at the time of that contentious Kavanaugh vote (see above re 10 Eb’), when lawmakers had an opportunity to nip some of the issues in the bud, relating to the dumpster’s destruction tendencies, but that chance was lost as the Republican-controlled US Senate chose to advance Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court despite an AVALANCHE of opposition.

Fortunately, the last time this was in place (last November), most of them managed to muster the courage to vote 427-1 (unanimously except for one vote) to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, followed by unanimous consent from the Senate. At the time this was seen as the vote that was finally loosening the dumpster’s dictatorial grip on the House and the Senate. Unfortunately it did not last long, as this prompted only a partial release of the files, and millions of files and related materials are still redacted or being withheld. So far only three people have been the subject of criminal investigations, but one of Epstein’s close associates commited suicide in 2022, and another was found dead just two days before this trecena began.

The last time this energy was in place a group of Epstein survivors, of what many have termed “one of the most horrific and disgusting corruption scandals” in U.S. history, held a candlelit vigil in Washington. The evening before activists had projected an image of the dumpster and Epstein onto the justice department building (aka the “Trump Revenge Department”), with the message: “Release the files now.” The effort to get the remainder of those materials released, and to achieve accountability with regard to the crimes, continues. But 13 Men is an energy that can open up possibilities for significant, world-shaping transformation, so it is possible that this day could once again provide a large boost of energy towards that cause.

Note that in August of 2021 an all-time heat record for Europe was set under this 13 Men influence, as temperatures soared to 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Sicily. Given the high temperatures in Europe again this year, this could be another sizzler.

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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.]