There is a saying in the Haida language that translates as “The World is as Sharp as the Edge of a Knife”, which refers to that thin line between dualities such as sanity and insanity, control vs. chaos, humanity vs. inhumanity. And it seems that, as we begin this “knife-edged” trecena, that the edge of that knife is particularly thin at the moment.

One of the biggest questions that must be on the minds of millions who are following world events at this time must be: Have we reached a tipping point? Is the madness of anti-government organizations and right-wing conspiracy theorists driving the world to the point of complete anarchy? Given that a few thousand (or hundred) protesters (seen as “a minority of a minority of a minority”) who think that their own personal freedoms are more important than the freedoms of the rest of the country have brought Canada’s capitol city to a standstill and spawned shutdowns in other places, and even copycat protests in other countries, we appear to have reached a precipice.

As a whole, we are on the “edge of the knife”. Not only are there no easy solutions in sight, but in too many situations logic and reason and civility and humanity seem to have vanished completely. . . . Unless you happen to be in a place like Venice, where Carnevale is beginning, in which case you can gleefully step into a completely different, and much more colourful and joyful, “alternative” reality! And for those who would prefer to Celebrate Canadian culture and heritage rather than stomp it down, there are events such as the Festival du Voyageur coming up during this time period, providing opportunities to remember, recognize, and honour the hard work that has gone into the creation of this country.

From the perspective of the Maya Calendar this is a trecena during which stark contrasts often come into view, with Etz’nab’ (Flint) serving as the “knife-edge” between two opposing forces. This can play out in many different ways, even to the point of “severing” realities, thereby triggering massive change. And as much as the “truck seiges” are making for horrific situations at this time, this is not the first time that this trecena has coincided with decisive (or turning-point) moments in history.

Just over 200 years ago the world had seen a former Second Lieutenant in the French army turn into a revolutionary and then rise to become one of the greatest military commanders in history. He had garnered public recognition and support through an extensive propaganda campaign, and eventually crowned himself as Emperor of France. He was said to have been power hungry, profit-driven, socially awkward, arrogant, and hypersensitive to criticism. Yes, much of that sounds like someone who strongly factors into the lunacy of the present moment, but back in the early 1800’s that was Napoléon Bonaparte. It had been an Etz’nab’ day that had ushered him into this world and the Etz’nab’ trecena that eventually “cast him down” from his self-styled lofty perch and exiled him in disgrace to a small island.

Indeed, not only did this trecena serve as the conduit for the deposition of this tyrant, but we are now experiencing the “New Fire” return of the energies that were in play when France’s Senate passed a resolution to oust Napoléon in 1814, precisely four Calendar Rounds ago (4 x 52 years, less 52 days).

And what do we find at the centre of the current state of chaos but a would-be dictator who has continuously used disinformation and mal-information, not only in his efforts to maintain power, but also to fire up his base and foment anarchy as more and more civil and criminal cases pile up against him, and as investigations continue in these matters.

In the case of Napoléon Bonaparte, this Etz’nab’ trecena was a very, very low point for him since this particular time frame not only brought his ousting but also his attempted suicide. Although Napoléon did briefly “bounce back” and lead another army at the Battle of Waterloo the following year, that was his last attempt and he was again exiled after that to another remote island, which was where he died.

In terms of parallels it may be that we will see some particularly low points for the dumpster during this period, as more and more evidence builds up in the myriad cases that are underway against him, including the mishandling of White House records. And even if he manages to find some way to deflect, as is his usual tactic, in order to briefly “bounce back”, as Napoléon briefly did, this could well be the last time, as the “island of exile” awaits. How this will play out in terms of the larger sphere is anyone’s guess, but four Calendar Rounds ago the Napoléonic era came to an end and massive change was underway.

Currently, in addition to all the political upheavals and the associated angst, we still have a lot of issues to face with regard to the pandemic. As we reach the second Gregorian anniversary of the period when northern Italy began locking down due to the coronavirus in early 2020, as the realization really set in as to how quickly the virus could spread, we are also seeing some significant marker points through the lens of the Maya Calendar as it relates to the pandemic as well. One of these is 9 Kimi, on Feb. 18th, the energy that really signalled the beginning of the pandemic, and the start of the adjustments to living in a pandemic-oriented reality.

The numbers tell us that this is far from over, and just because anarchists want governments to lift all mandates does not mean that the coronavirus is going to suddenly and magically disappear. Currently the number of global cases is rising by 2-3 million cases per day, with individual countries still recording tens of thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousands, of new cases every day.

In September of 2020 when this trecena came into place over 900,000 deaths had been recorded globally as of the first day of this time frame. But that number is now over 6 times higher, with the US alone recording over 900,000 deaths. Yes, everyone is tired, but close to six million people have lost their lives and in many places the daily numbers of new cases being recorded are higher than ever!

As we make our way through this volatile time frame the great divide over how to deal with this situation is starker than ever. And the “mirroring” nature of this trecena will reflect the harshness of the opposing realities.

Indeed, many things of a “shocking” nature have taken place during this trecena in years past, including assassinations. In 1933 this was the trecena that was in place when Herr Hitler and other Nazis stepped in to consolidate their authoritarian power after the Reichstag fire in Berlin, a pivotal event in the establishment of the Nazi regime. In 1948 Mahatma Ghandi was killed on the first day of this trecena, and in 2019 General Qasem Soleimani, Iran’s top military commander, was assassinated by a US drone strike.

This was the trecena that was in place at the time of the devastating 7.0 earthquake that flattened Haiti in 2010, at the time of Superstorm Sandy on the east coast of the US in 2012, at the time of the horrific terrorist attack on journalists and cartoonists at the headquarters of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015, and at the time of the horrific fire that consumed the roof and spire of the famed Notre Dame de Paris cathedral in 2019. Last summer this trecena became a “time of national reckoning” with regard to Canada’s residential schools, and there was a major call for the Catholic Church to become fully transparent with regard to its archives and records regarding the history and functioning of those schools and the students under their care.

During this same trecena last year it was already evident that the dumpster was actively trying to cooerce the GOP into going along with “The Big Lie”, as he gave a speech at an extremely creepy GOP convention during which he tried to “rewrite history” in this regard.

Significantly, this trecena was in place in 2014 when the Ukrainian government began mobilizing its military for “large scale anti-terrorist operations” after a day of violence in eastern Ukraine when government buildings in several cities were seized by heavily armed, masked pro-Russian activists. Five years later, as 2019 drew to a close, a “full and comprehensive” ceasefire between Russia and eastern Ukraine came into effect, echoing other instances in world history where particular trecenas have seen the beginnings and endings of specific conflicts. BUT, we are now on the verge of what could be a much more intense version of this kind of situation with the massive buildup of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border once again, as this trecena comes back into place. Hopefully negotiations with world leaders will bring an end to this before another (and likely much worse) go-round in this regard.

In the US this particular trecena has brought forth many massive anti-Trump strikes and protest demonstrations, starting in early 2017, with themes such as the “National Day of Action to Push Back Against Assaults on Democratic Principles”; the nationwide “Not My President’s Day” protest marches; the huge “Day Without Latinos, Immigrants, and Refugees” demonstrations; the Refuse Fascism protests, and Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Within the context of such events many stark contrasts in “realities” have come into view, and with each event the divisions in that country became more and more exposed. And now it seems that the forces of destruction that fueled so much conflict within those contexts are set to be exposed as never before, in many different ways, as this current trecena unfolds.

There is no doubt that sparks will fly, once again, during this trecena. As always, this is an energy zone that can bring things into sharp focus. It is often a time when unresolved issues from the past may resurface in order to be re-evaluated and dealt with. Issues of “right” vs. “wrong”, “good” vs. “bad”, “sick” vs “healthy”, and “moral” vs “immoral” are often starkly contrasted. This is now playing out on a global scale so we can expect large-scale actions during this period. Through all this it is likely that some intense “shifting” will take place during this period – which will hopefully include the “shifting” of those big rigs in Ottawa and elsewhere, and the return to some sense of normalcy and “decency” in terms of resolving issues. Keep in mind that this is a time frame that often brings the ending of one form of “reality” prior to the creation of something new.

On a personal level this would be an opportune time for reassessment, a great time to cut away whatever no longer “works” and make adjustments that could lead to new forms of thought or action. It is a favorable time to “clean house” (both physically and metaphorically) in preparation for the “creation” energies that will follow in the next trecena. Overall, this is definitely a time to “tread carefully” as we work our way through these extraordinarily difficult situations. Here are the energies that will be in play:

1 Etz’nab’ (Feb. 10th) – the “initiation” of Flint, a sparkling, attention-getting “shock and awe” type of energy that can dazzle and/or divide and separate, as Russia and Belarus undertake joint military exercises, reportedly one of the largest joint military exercies ever held.

This day marks four Calendar Rounds (4 x 52 years, less 52 days) precisely since the day in 1814 when France’s Senate passed a resolution to depose Napoléon Bonaparte (or “cast him down from the throne”, as noted in their decree). This is also the Maya birth energy of Louis Xavier Stanislas, brother of Louis XVI, who became King Louis XVIII of France after the ousting of Napoléon in 1814. Louis XVIII also died on an Etz’nab’ day (12 Etz’nab’), the last French monarch to do so during his reign.

This marks two Gregorian years since the dumpster rolled out a budget that called for $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act over a decade, as well as seeking to halve U.S. funding for the World Health Organization and calling for deep cuts to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund – at the same time as a global emergency was underway due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus.

In 1948 the was the energy in place when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated.

2 Kawak (Feb. 11th) – “dynamic storm, catalyzation”, often manifested as the “generation of a storm, or a storm of compassion” – a highly cause-oriented energy often fueled by strong emotion or great passion, as was in place when the graves of at least 215 Indigenous children were discovered last year at the former Kamloops Indian residential school on Tk’emlups te Secwépemc First Nation.

Eight cycles ago, in June of 2016, this energy was in place when Hillary Clinton emphatically warned that electing the “dangerously incoherent” dumpster would be an historic mistake, as she warned about what that might trigger. Precisely one cycle after that warning, on 2 Kawak in February of 2017, people were already acknowledging the truth of her warning through a nationwide General Strike/ National Day of Action in the U.S. at the same time as The Washington Post unveiled their new slogan: “Democracy Dies in Darkness”. But is is doubtful that even Hillary could have predicted the tremendous loss of life that would ensue from the dumpster’s playing down (three cycles ago) of the warnings that the coronavirus was “highly contagious, airborne, and deadly”. Almost 200,000 people had to die before he would admit that. At the time Carl Bernstein referred to this as the “ultimate felony” – a felony that has now ballooned to over 900,000 deaths in the US alone, the country where over 78 million cases have been registered to date (50 million more than at the same time last year). With only 64.2% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated, and still averaging close to (or over) 200,000 new cases per day (over 520,000 on the first day of the last trecena and over 200,000 on the last day), there is still a long way to go before this pandemic is over.

Currently this is the opening day for the Nice Carnival, one of the largest in the world. This year’s theme is “King of Animals. (Note that France, with the 4th highest numbers of global covid cases, has registered over 21 million cases by this time and is also recording very high numbers of new cases.)

This is the 118th Gregorian birthday of Lucile Randon, the French nun known as Sister André, reportedly the world’s second-oldest verified living person (born on 10 Kawak). She is a survivor not only of the 1918 flu epidemic, two world wars, and many other things, but also of Covid-19.

3 Ajaw (Feb. 12th) – the “Activation of Enlightenment” – an important Burner Day traditionally oriented around the idea of “announcing the fire”. This is the first of four Ajaw related “Burner Days” that run from here until April 13th, so whatever is “in the works” would be “announced” around this time. Traditionally this is a point where clarity can suddenly break through on important issues, with Ajaw’s “full sun” illuminating things that previously may have been hidden. (There are 20 days between each of these Burner “stations” – the next one will be in the next trecena.)

Four Calendar Rounds ago (in 1814) this was the energy in place when Napoléon Bonaparte abdicated the throne. In 1944 an attempt was made to assassinate Hitler under this influence.

This marks one 260-day cycle since the announcement of the discovery of the graves of the 215 indigenous children at the former Kamloops residential school, which really began to “wake people up” to the severity of the abuses that had been inflicted on Canada’s indigenous nations for over a century.

Opening day for the spectacular Carnevale Di Venezia (Venice), one of the oldest and most spectacular carnivals in the world, although still scaled back due to Covid. However, if you want to have FUN while wearing a mask, Venice would be the place to do it!

4 Imix (Feb. 13th) – representative of the sun working with the waters of creation to bring something new into being, this is a “defining” type of energy associated with “birth” (ie. a “whole new world” or a “whole new way of thinking”), coinciding at this time with Superbowl Sunday, and with Wear Red Canada day, in support of heart health.

This marks two Calendar Rounds (2 x 52 years) precisely since the Spanish flu reached Queens, New York in 1918.

5 Ik’ (Feb. 14th) – the “blessing” of wind/breath, and spirit – an energy that could enhance communication and perhaps even assist with bringing clarity or the idea of “hope” with regard to critical issues or events, coinciding at this time with Valentine’s Day, and with Lantern Decoration day just before the Chinese Lantern Festival (part of Chinese New Year).

This is day for the 31st annual Women’s Memorial March in Vancouver, in memory of missing and murdered indigenous women, a march that also draws attention to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual issues that many vulnerable women still face today. This is a good time to send deep source-centred love to the women taking part in that march and to ALL who are affected by these issues, and to all who are in need of warmth and kindness – including the four leggeds and winged ones who are facing extreme challenges due to climate change.

This is the Maya birth energy of Captain Sir Thomas Moore, who was knighted for raising over £32 million for the NHS Charities Together in the UK in the lead-up to his 100th birthday.

6 Ak’b’al (Feb. 15th) – a “structuring” type of energy sometimes associated with “home and/ or sanctuary”, but also “the darkness before dawn”, coinciding at this time with one of two days associated with the Buddhist Parinirvana or Nirvana Day, celebrating the day when Buddha was said to have achieved Nirvana or full Enlightenment (the other is Feb. 8th). This is also National Flag Day in Canada, and the day of the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival, the 15th and final day of Chinese New Year festivities. This is the time when special sweet dumplings (called yuanxiao) resembling the shape of the full moon are eaten, and lanterns are lit to facilitate the return of light. Let that be so since pundits have been foreseeing that by this time Russia could be ready to attack Ukraine.

As it happens this is a Tzolk’in anniversary of the energy in place in June of 1917 when the first of 14,000 US soldiers began arriving at the port of St Nazaire in France to join the Allied forces in fighting against Germany during World War I.

7 K’an (Feb. 16th) – “self-generating germination”, situated at the pivotal middle point in this “knife edged” trecena, coinciding with the Full Snow Moon and an important public holiday in North Korea called The Day of the Shining Star, an anniversary of the birthday of Kim Jong-il, the father of Kim Jong-un.

At this point it has been eight cycles since Hillary Clinton became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in 2016, a day seen as an historic milestone for women.

8 Chikchan (Feb. 17th) – the “resurrection of Lifeforce”, often associated with hurricanes, now marking the completion of three 260-day cycles since late December of 2019 when Dr. Li  Wenliang issued the first warning to colleagues that there were 7 confirmed cases of coronavirus in his hospital in Wuhan.

In 1945, near the end of World War II, this was the Maya energy in place at the beginning of the push by the Canadian Forces to liberate the Western Netherlands.

9 Kimi (Feb. 18th) – the “outward projection of death/new foundations” – a critical marker point, as it has now been three cycles exactly since New Year’s Eve in 2019 when China alerted the WHO about several pneumonia cases that were, in fact, Covid-19 cases. That was the first official announcement about the coronavirus. Just one cycle after that (mid-September of 2020) the global number of cases had reached 30 million and the US had recorded some 200,000 deaths. One cycle after that (June 2021) the energy of 9 Kimi brought the US death toll to over 600,000. By that time the global number of cases had reached almost 173 million, with 3.7 million deaths.

At the current rate those numbers will likely rise to some 420 million global cases, with close to 5.9 million deaths globally during this time frame. The US number of cases will likely rise to be in the neighbourhood of 80 million, with some 950,000 or more deaths from covid, even though the daily case numbers and recorded deaths have begun trending downwards in some areas. In others the numbers are still rising, and the vaccination rates are definitely not as high as they could be.

In Gregorian time, this is the second anniversary of the discovery of Italy’s first case of Covid-19. Shortly thereafter dozens of towns began locking down to prevent the spread.

In Winnipeg, this is the opening day for the 10-day Festival du Voyageur, Western Canada’s largest winter festival, which runs to Feb. 27th . The logo for this festival was designed by Oji-Cree artist Jordan Stranger.

10 Manik’ (Feb. 19th) – the bare-bones/ foundational energy of “source” combined with that of the sun-carrying Deer, symbolic of reciprocity but also sacrifice, marking four Calendar Rounds (4 x 52 years less 52 days) since the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 that stripped Napoléon Bonaparte of his powers as ruler of the French Empire.

This is the 82nd Gregorian birthday of the great Smokey Robinson, commonly referred to as “The Soul of Motown”.

11 Lamat (Feb. 20th) – a “bright light” kind of energy that often heralds something new, or some significant change, as happened two cycles ago with the death of the legendary US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, one of the most admired, respected, and influential women in the US. This quickly turned into “the crisis of the Supreme Court” as politicians wrangled over who would replace her.

In 1933 this was the energy in place on that pivotal day in Berlin in 1933 when a fire broke out at the Reichstag (assembly location of the German government). That was when Herr Hitler and other Nazis stepped in to consolidate their authoritarian power – a “pivotal” event in the establishment of the Nazi regime.

This marks nine cycles since the launch of the UN’s sustainable development agenda called “The 2030 Agenda” which was seen as “the new universal agenda for humanity” aimed at bringing an end to world poverty and biodiversity loss. But that was in 2015 and . . . well . . . the clock keeps ticking, more loudly every day.

Currently this is the closing day for the 2022 Winter Olympics, on the 60th Gregorian anniversary of Col. John Glenn’s historic first space flight aboard Friendship 7 in 1962.

This would have been Sir Sidney Poitier’s 95th Gregorian birthday, had he not departed last month, on Jan. 6th.

12 Muluk (Feb. 21st) – a “pulling together” or “grouping together” type of energy associated with water, a good time for people to find ways to be adaptable and to “put heads together” to search for new pathways or find new solutions to problems; generally a very intense energy that can create situations where people have no choice but to work together to find solutions. This energy marks four Calendar Rounds since Napoléon tried to end his own life in 1814, after his abdication, rather than face a life in exile.

This is President’s Day in the U.S., as well as Louis Riel Day in Manitoba, Family Day in several Canadian provinces (B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan), and the UN’s International Mother Language Day, a worldwide observance to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity. This is also one of the days when the sun will illuminate the inner shrine at the Great Temple at Abu Simbel in Egypt.

13 Ok (Feb. 22nd) – associated with “transformational love” or “transformational fire”, this is an energy that holds the potential to be a real “scorcher”, marking 14 cycles since a massive solar flare erupted from the sun, one of the strongest ever recorded, and 11 cycles since the peak of a powerful X1.3-class solar flare (that erupted the night before), which triggered temporary communications blackouts at the time of a Mercury Superior Conjunction.

This is the second Gregorian anniversary of the day in 2020 when towns in northern Italy began locking down due to the coronavirus, including Milan, where shops, museums, theatres, restaurants, schools, and universities began closing, as the number of cases was quickly rising. This was a real “head’s up” as to the seriousness of what was quickly developing into a pandemic.

As of this day it has been four Calendar Rounds since the ratification of the Treaty of Fontainebleau, at which time Napoléon Bonaparte abdicated his powers unconditionally. The former Emperor of the French “renounced for himself, his successors and descendants, all rights of sovereignty and domination in France and in Europe” and agreed to retreat into exile on the island of Elba.

As it happens this energy is now coinciding with one of the peak points in the U.S. Pluto Return, seen in Western astrology as a time of instability and change, when “darkness” from the past may re-surface and deep hidden secrets can be revealed, providing opportunities for amelioration or restructuring (the influence of this is not just this day but has been in effect for the past year or so, continuing into the next couple of years ). Since Pluto is a slow moving planet that takes 248 years to complete a cycle, it is bringing a return of influences that were in place in the mid-1770’s, at the time of the formation of the U.S. as a democracy. And, intriguingly, it is democracy itself that is now being tested, with one of that country’s major political parties abandoning its basic principles and morphing into a cult of personality, following the dictates of a disgraced, twice-impeached psychopath (as defined by clinical pyschologists) who not only fomented a violent insurrection, but is under multiple investigations for civil and criminal offences on multiple levels. Aspects of the constitution itself are under intense scrutiny, so it is highly likely that considerable restructuring will take place on multiple levels during this overall  period.

This 13 Ok energy can manifest as the final big push away from “sacrifice and separation” towards greater freedom, creativity, and integration, as seen in the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution in 1783.

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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.]