With a highly challenging January now behind us we find the Chikchan trecena aligned with early February and a number of delightful diversions such as the continuation of Chinese New Year festivities, Valentine’s Day, and Carnevale in Venice.

This is a force that can bring forth strong energy surges, as seen two cycles ago when the migrant crisis in Europe increased to “biblical proportions”, intense weather events occurred in several regions, and thousands were forced to flee from horrific wildfires in central California. On its last appearance (last May) this trecena brought a huge tornado outbreak in the U.S., heavy flooding in the southern U.S. and in Europe, and yet another another significant migrant crisis that led to the drowning in the Mediterranean of hundreds who were trying to escape from Libya.

It is not surprising that so many would risk so much during this energy frame in their struggle for freedom, as this trecena’s emphasis on “Emergence and Liberation” can strongly energize and push people into action. Great passion and intensity, and even bravery, often comes into play at this time, in keeping with Chikchan’s lifeforce-oriented nature.

Aligned with justice, freedom, higher knowledge, cyclical renewal, and even the triumph of lifeforce over death this force can be highly transformative. This is the energy of the great Plumed Serpent – an energy so vibrant and inspirational that it was the focal point for all that was sacred in Mesoamerica prior to the 16th century Spanish intrusion.

In 1776 that push towards a new state of being was significantly in evidence when the U.S. Declaration of Independence was adopted on the ninth day of this trecena, and again in 1960 when John F. Kennedy delivered his acceptance speech after narrowly winning the presidential election. In that speech an echo of this energy push could be heard in Kennedy’s pledge to devote himself “to the cause of freedom around the world”.

In 1886 it was the initiating energy of One Chikchan that was in place at the time of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty in New York – with the reopening of that statue (after renovations) taking place on the second day of this time frame in 2012. Unfortunately Lady Liberty, who was once a bright beacon of hope and salvation for the oppressed and displaced, has been feeling anachronistic and dejected in recent months.

In 2012 this was the trecena that not only brought Superstorm Sandy to the U.S. east coast, effectively shutting down New York City, but it also brought a resounding victory for President Obama during the presidential elections.

This idea of freedom and the opening up of new possibilities seems to be a common theme during this sequence. Often infusing people with a strong sense of “mission”, this energy sequence has often fomented world-shifting actions, as when Hernan Cortés and his conquistadores accepted the surrender of the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan on the first day of this trecena in 1521, after defeating them in a fierce battle.

Just over 100 years ago it was this trecena that kicked off the German invasion of Belgium and Britain’s declaration of war against Germany at the beginning of World War One. And then four years later this energy also brought that war to an end, precisely six Tzolk’in cycles after it began.

Of particular note at this time is the fact that we are now paralleling precisely the energies that were in place in 1861 that precipitated the start of the U.S. Civil War. These are Calendar Round energies, the particular combination of forces that return every 52 years. These parallels became evident just as scientists re-set the Doomsday Clock (conveying the notion of how close this planet is to self destruction through the use of dangerous technologies) to “two and a half minutes to midnight”, the second closest to midnight since its introduction in 1947.

The U.S. president’s denial of climate change is particularly problematic in this regard, as such a position is in direct contrast to the extraordinary work done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Four cycles ago the beginning of this trecena coincided with the release of their 2610 page report on the perils of climate change and the dire need to cut greenhouse gas emissions. The report emphasized the risks to the planet on multiple levels from destruction of the ecosystem to species extinction to the threats to food production, and led to the development of the historic Climate Change Accord which was signed by 196 nations in April last year.

Right now, of course, all of this work seems in jeopardy due to the unfathomable events going on in Washington D.C. Fortunately rays of hope can still be found in many places – such as the insightful article published by Eliot Cohen on 9 Ajaw (Jan. 29th) titled “A Clarifying Moment in American History”. In it he vividly highlights the dangers associated with the person “in charge” in the White House, and lays out the dire implications associated with which “side” people choose to be on. Noting the many reasons why Trump will ultimately fail, he also provides the reminder of Lincoln’s way of seeing the story of the U.S. as perpetual story of “a rebirth of freedom”.

In this regard Cohen advises Americans to “steel themselves” for the fight and hold their representatives to account. And, of course, there are many avenues available for this, such as on-going demonstrations of resistance, social media platforms such as Avaaz that currently has collected over 5 million signatures (and counting) to emphasize the world’s rejection of all that Trump stands for, and creative geniuses such as Jon Stewart who, through his comedy, reminds us that “all actions” will be necessary to counter the “purposeful, vindictive chaos” that is currently being generated.

As happens so often during this period, there will likely continue to be a strong power-push during this time frame, but with the assistance of this Lifeforce energy it has the potential to be the sort of push that can release blockages or even bring forth inspirational energy surges. Perhaps this will facilitate, once again, a major shift from one state of being into another.

The best way to go with this is to “tune in” to Chikchan’s Lifeforce energy, and the energy of the other 12 days that will work in conjunction with it at this time. This is a good time to let this energy sink in, fuel you, and assist you in all efforts to overcome tyranny and oppression. Here are the energies that will come into play:

1 Chikchan (Feb. 3rd) – the “initiation” of Lifeforce/Higher Wisdom at the start of the third 52- day period within the 260-day cycle, an intense and highly influential position within the overall cycle, coinciding at this time with a day in the Chinese New Year sequence is known as “Ren Ri”, the day of the human, the day in Chinese mythology when the Goddess Nu Wa (aka Nu-Gua) created the world and human beings.

2 Kimi (Feb. 4th) – a dynamic type of energy aligned with “death” or the “return to source” which often manifests as a push-pull type of force that can shake things up and set new foundations for action (as was in place at both the beginning and end of World War I). At this time 2 Kimi coincides with the day in the Chinese New Year sequence aligned with the honouring of food and agriculture. At this time there is Muslim Ban protest scheduled for Washington D.C. and worldwide protests against the travel ban.

3 Manik’ (Feb. 5th) – the “activation” of reciprocity, symbolized by a deer that “embodies” the sun on Earth, a kind of harmonizing, “hands-on” type of energy connected with the natural world, this time coinciding with the ninth day of the Chinese New Year sequence, celebrated as the birthday of the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Deity of Taoism, a day celebrated by all the deities of heaven and earth. The day of the U.S. Superbowl game.

4 Lamat (Feb. 6th) – a “defining” energy associated with Venus (the sun and Venus working together), often serving as a beacon or herald, this time coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. In the Chinese New Year sequence this day is seen as the birthday of the god of stone, where incense and candles are burned for stones. Known as “Shi Bu Dong” (not moving stone), stones or rocks are not moved or cut on this day, in the interest of protecting crops. This would have been Zsa Zsa Gabor’s 100th birthday.

5 Muluk (Feb. 7th) – a “precision” (or “blessing”) type of energy associated with the shape-shifting energy of water; one cycle since the opening of the first World Humanitarian Summit (in Istanbul) to address the global crisis of more than 130 million people needing humanitarian help. More than 9,000 participants were involved in the summit.

6 Ok (Feb. 8th) – a “love everywhere” type of force – the Maya Calendar birth energy of Shepard Fairey, the talented artist and social activist who has created a wide range of powerful political posters, including the iconic “Hope” portrait of Barack Obama and the “resistance” ones that were so prominent during the Women’s March on Jan. 21st. More of Shepard Fairey’s work can be found at artsy.net

 7 Chuwen (Feb. 9th) –“self-generating play”, a highly creative “time weaving” (and sometimes trick playing) type of energy that can sometimes conjure up things of an unusual nature

8 Eb’ (Feb. 10th) – the “resurrection” of the pathfinding energy of vitality, associated with the “dew of life”; a day which the Maya traditionally devoted to the Celebration of Personal Life, as was in place in 1994 when Nelson Mandela won the election to become the first democratically elected State President of South Africa. At this time this energy coincides with a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse.

9 B’en (Feb. 11th) – the “outward projection” of “personal authority”, this time coinciding with the Full Moon (the Snow Moon), on the opening day of Venice’s Carnevale and the Nice Carnival, one of the largest in the world. In the early hours of the morning Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova makes its closest approach to the earth.

Nine B’en is also Barack Obama’s Maya birth energy (and the birth energy of the U.S.), which was in place at the time when President Obama made his historic visit to Hiroshima last year, the first visit to that city by a U.S. president since the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. Completion of the fifth Tzolk’in cycle for little Prince George of England. On this date Alec Baldwin will reprise his caricature portrayal of Trump in an entire episode of Saturday Night Live.

10 Ix (Feb. 12th) – a “source” based energy associated with the jaguar and the mysteries of the earth, on the day of the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. Maya birth energy of Butch Trucks, one of the founders and original drummers for the Allman Brothers band, who died less than 3 weeks ago.

11 Men (Feb. 13th) – “inspirational Eagle” – a Burner Day that can bring change or a new form of Higher Vision, this time in conjunction with Family Day in B.C.

12 Kib’ (Feb. 14th) – a “gathering together” type of energy, associated with the ability to “survey”, clean things up, and ultimately restore order, this time in conjunction with Valentine’s Day and the 27th Women’s Memorial March in Vancouver, in memory of missing and murdered indigenous women

13 Kab’an (Feb. 15th) – transformational movement (or earth movement), a powerful force that can bring either heavy weather conditions, or significant “movement” of an evolutionary nature, at the time of a conjunction of the moon and Jupiter, on the opening day of the International UFO Congress in Arizona. Two cycles since astrophysicists were able to detect and observe the warping of space-time, seen as the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy.

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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.]