It is mid-December and 2018 is getting ready to pack its bags and retreat into the annals of history. For many this has been a year fraught with enormous challenges, many of which were directly linked to severe events associated with environment-related disasters.

From the perspective of the Maya calendar, we have just come through one complete cycle of the Tzolk’in that ran from late March to early December, with this new cycle beginning now, just prior to the end of the Gregorian year. And often it is the end of the cycle (the past 13 days) that “signals” what is to come. Many times those signals, on the world stage, point towards changes in leadership, and this time this past trecena brought an enormous number of shifts in that area, in many different countries. And so, as this new Imix-to-Ajaw (birth to enlightenment) cycle begins, the implications of all that shifting will begin to be felt.

As always, this first trecena of the new cycle begins with the Moon Goddess (aligned with the Number One and the power of birth) working in tandem with Imix, the birth-oriented “generative nucleus” that begins and carries forward this initiatory 13-day period that is representative of the “realm of all potential”, thereby setting the stage for new ideas or opportunities. Within this trecena the emphasis often seems to be on “world-making”, in the sense of opening up vast new arenas for engagement, as when this energy brought forth the first host-to-host connection between computers back in 1969, signalling a dramatic, quantum shift in the nature of world communications.

Currently it seems that during this first trecena of the new cycle, considerable attention is going to be put towards making preparation for the new Gregorian year. With so many recent departures from government positions, particularly in the US, and so many recent changes in power overall this trecena will truly place emphasis on the “birthing” of new possibilities, very much in keeping with this Imix trecena’s energies.

In so many places people are recognizing the need for dramatic restructuring – in places such as France, where President Macron has just agreed to a series of concessions after weeks of intense protest demonstrations over issues such as taxes and the high cost of living; in the UK where the Brexit issue has the government on the brink of chaos; and in the US where prosecutors are closing in on the widespread corruption that has held that nation hostage for the last two years. In that regard the federal crimes that have been committed are so blatant that “impeachable offenses” and the “real prospect of jail time” are now hot topics in the media. At the moment the White house is looking totally rudderless as Chief of Staff John Kelly is in the process of leaving and no replacement has been found.

And then there are the issues associated with climate change, which are now being addressed in the context of the Climate Change conference in Poland. The “final sprint” within that conference is taking place within the first few days of this trecena as various guidelines and strategies continue to be developed. Once those are in place participating countries can begin the challenging work of taking specific climate related actions to help reduce emissions and carry out “whatever needs to be done” to basically “save the planet” in a very short period of time. All of this is not only world-making, but also “world-saving”.

So what we will be seeing during this trecena are efforts to undertake new beginnings, on many levels. As always this is a time for the “birthing” new possibilities, which can be a bit chaotic at times. It can also be quite dramatic as “anything” can happen as new realities begin to take shape. Most assuredly this was what happened three cycles ago just before the 2016 U.S. election.

That was when FBI director James Comey announced that he was reopening his investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server in light of “new information found but not yet examined”. Even though many argued at the time that this action was likely in violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits interference with an election, it was an action that ultimately caused such a furor that it changed the course of the election. Many saw Comey’s action as “a mistake of historic proportions”. Ten years prior to that huge upset this same trecena brought forth a major Democratic sweep in U.S. midterm elections, as the Democrats took control of both houses of Congress. At that time Nancy Pelosi was elected as House Democratic leader, becoming the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in American history. And now, after the recent midterms, Pelosi is back at the helm and preparing to resume her role as Speaker in January.

Often, during this trecena, there is a focus on the cosmos as many pioneering events have occurred during this period, as when the first human ascent into the stratosphere took place in 1931. Under the auspices of this trecena test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, in 1947, and then in 1957 the launch of Sputnik I kicked off the space race.

Indeed, this trecena seems often to open portals to the cosmos itself – as happened in 1925, when the astronomer Edwin Hubble chose this trecena to announce the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way, which greatly expanded our awareness of the great cosmic expanse. In 2013 this was the trecena that saw the launch of the European Space Agency’s Gaia probe on a 5.5 year observational campaign to map this Milky Way galaxy. Such events certainly opened up new realms of thought, prompting inquiry into unexplored frontiers. Currently this trecena will coincide with a bypass of Wirtanen, the Christmas comet, and will also coincide with the Geminids meteor display.

During this opening of “the realm of all potential”, new tactics or “new beginnings” often come into play on many fronts, as happened in 1969 when when the internet became active under the influence of One Imix. Then three cycles ago, in early February of 2016, came the historic announcement about the discovery of gravitational waves that cause distortions in spacetime, as anticipated by Albert Einstein decades ago. This new discovery was called “transformational”, as this opened the door to the detection of completely different kinds of information, and is seen as the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy.

Unfortunately, on the downside, this trecena can sometimes foment some highly reckless action that can have severe consequences, as when the trade wars began between the US and several other countries the last time this trecena was in place. But even though this trecena has the potential to engender chaos as new ventures or ideas take shape, this is also a trecena that can prompt people to think “beyond the box”, embark on new adventures, and possibly even find solutions to long simmering problems, any of which can open up visions of new realities or possibilities. Given that this trecena is bringing us into the end-of-year holiday season, often giving people a chance to step back and “take stock”, this may be an opportune time to make life- changing adjustments, if needed. During this period these are the energies that will come into play:

1 Imix (Dec. 11th) – the initiation of the “realm of all potential”, on the day when UK lawmakers were scheduled to vote on Theresa May’s Brexit plan, until she abruptly cancelled the vote over fear that the plan would be defeated and she might have to resign. After cancelling the vote she is now planning to take the plan back to the EU this week, for further discussions. It is possible that before this is finalized one way or the other the people of the UK could be given a second chance to vote.

This is also the UN’s International Mountain Day, with the theme of #MountainsMatter (why Mountains are vital for our lives), and the second day of the 2-day Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration being held in Marrakech, Morocco.

Forty-nine years ago this was the energy under which the first host-to-host connection was made between computers (from UCLA to SRI), in October 1969.

2 Ik’ (Dec. 12th) – a dynamic energy associated with “wind, breath,  spirit”, currently coinciding with Comet 46P/Wirtanen’s bypass of the sun  (see also Dec. 16th). This is the day set for Michael Cohen’s sentencing for various crimes associated with the 2016 US presidential election. It is also the UN’s International Universal Health Coverage Day, dedicated to promoting collective action to build more equitable health systems for everyone on the planet.

In alignment with the energies of this Two Ik’ day, this is an excellent time to promote such a cause, and to call for equity and “balance”- principles that will be on the minds of many at this time, as this is the Feast Day for Tonantzin, Our Lady of Guadaloupe (patroness of the Americas), celebrated in Mexico and in many other Latin American communities. In conjunction with this feast day many churches in Canada honour this with a National Day of Prayer in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples

3 Ak’b’al (Dec. 13th) – the activation of darkness, associated with deep mysteries and sometimes the unexpected, at the peak of the Geminids meteor shower (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; into the early morning of 4 K’an. Precisely ten cycles since the UN announced (in 2011) that the global population officially hit 7 billion. As of last month it was estimated to be 7.7 billion.

4 K’an (Dec. 14th) – a “defining” energy associated with the resurrection of youthful vitality, on the final day of the UN’s 24th Climate Change Conference, in Katowice, Poland. This is also World Monkey Day  and the release day for the indomitable Clint Eastwood’s latest film titled “The Mule”, which includes a “forever young”-themed ballad called “Don’t Let the Old Man In”, based on a one-liner from Clint.

5 Chikchan (Dec. 15th) – associated with the “blessing of lifeforce”; Maya birth energy of ground-breaking astronomer Harlow Shapley who is credited with being the discoverer of the dimensions of our Milky Way galaxy, and of finding the location of its centre.

6 Kimi (Dec. 16th) a “foundational” type of energy that can often manifest as a kind of “equalization everywhere” type of force, which can often bring a sense of “release”; sometimes oriented around the setting of foundations for restructuring or for “regeneration” – coinciding at this time with the passage of Comet 46P/Wirtanen (aka “the Christmas Comet”) within 7.4 million miles of Earth. This is the brightest comet of 2018.  Also the opening day of New Zealand’s Festival of Lights.

One cycle since the private funeral service of Stephen Hawking, at Great St. Mary’s, the University Church in Cambridge. His ashes were interred near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton at Westminster Abbey this past June.

7 Manik’ (Dec. 17th) – a “self-generating” type of energy generally associated with the idea of reciprocity, symbolized by the Deer – often a good energy for “generating sustenance”, for being involved in humanitarian activities, or for working through negotiations or joint ventures, coinciding at this time with Pope Francis’s 82nd birthday. Final day of the Whirling Dervishes Festival in Turkey, an 11 day event in honour of Rumi, a 13th century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. This ties in with the number 7 as the whirling dance ceremony has seven different parts.

Traditionally it was recognized that there could be a strong sacrificial aspect to 7 Manik’ as well, as happened three cycles ago, in October of 2016, when FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to Congress indicating that he was “reopening” the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, an action that has disastrous consequences.

8 Lamat (Dec. 18th) – a “resurrection” of the Venus-oriented “heralding” energy, aligned with leadership; traditionally a Maya “Celebration of Abundance” day, this energy was known as “Rabbit” in some ancient Mesoamerican regions, and was seen as a symbol of abundance and proliferation.

At this time this energy coincides with rock legend Keith Richards’ 75th birthday
and the UN’s International Migrants Day

With thousands of Central American migrants in limbo as they wait in wretched conditions in Tijuana before they can be “processed” to enter the US, this “special day” needs to involve more action to actually help migrants than just being commemorated through sentiment only. Hopefully the Global Compact on Safe Migration that was adopted at the beginning of this trecena will speed up positive action in this regard.

This is also the day when former US national security advisor Michael Flynn is due to be sentenced. Due to Flynn’s “substantial” cooperation with the Special Counsel’s office it is expected that his sentence will be “lower end”.

One cycle since SpaceX launched an experimental system called RemoveDEBRIS, which is proving to be promising with regard to the challenge of cleaning up Earth’s space junk -littered atmosphere, wherein more than 500,000 pieces of defunct satellites, used rocket boosters, and other bits of space junk are posing a serious threat to other orbiting objects.

Maya birth energy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and primatologist Jane Goodall, who is credited with greatly increasing awareness of the reality of animal emotions and animal social structures.

9 Muluk (Dec. 19th) – representative of “the outward projection of water”, this is a path-finding and often “shape-shifting” type of force, on the legendary Cicely Tyson’s 94th birthday. Last month Cicely became the first African-American woman to receive an honorary Oscar. This is also the Maya birth energy of 91-year-old Sir Sidney Poitier, the first black actor to receive an Academy Award for Best Actor, and the Maya birth energy of the celebrated fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy.

10 Ok (Dec. 20th) – a Burner Day representative of “foundational” fire (or “heart fire”), often associated with love, protection, guidance, and justice, coinciding with the UN’s International Human Solidarity Day. Traditionally this would have been seen as an energy that “takes the fire”, as in the sense of setting something up for action. This energy can also provide a “course correction” if some significant adjustments are needed to a course of action.

Maya birth energy of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Queen Victoria’s husband and Consort, who introduced the Christmas Tree to England. Prince Albert was also highly instrumental in educational reform and the abolition of slavery, and led reforms in areas such as architecture, finance, and the applied sciences. He was notably associated with the Great Exhibition of 1851.

11 Chuwen (Dec. 21st) – a “change” oriented, “timeweaver” type of energy – the energy that brought forth the first untethered space walk in 1984. This is an energy that can prompt us to have fun, but also remind us to “be on our toes”, coinciding at this time with the shortest day of the year and the start of the winter season – the Winter Solstice, and a Jupiter – Mercury conjunction. The day when (once again) the US government could be shut down if a funding bill is not passed (the second such “crisis point” this month).

Two cycles since Walter Shaub, director of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) departed from office. Given how frequently the White House had disregarded his recommendations (even after he had been in office for 9 months!) he felt that his job was “pointless”. Maya birth energy of the beguiling super sleuth Mata Hari. Jane Fonda’s 81st Gregorian birthday.

12 Eb’ (Dec. 22nd) – a “gathering together”, “stream-of-consciousness” type of energy, this force can be quite intense, often containing within it a “spark” or “essence of revitalization” that hints at refreshing new possibilities, coinciding at this time with the Full Cold Moon (aka the Long Nights Moon) – the brightest of the year.

13 B’en (Dec. 23rd) – “transformational personal authority”, an energy under which many strongly transformative events have taken place in the past, as in the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, the inception of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the launch of Sputnik I by the USSR (signalling the beginning of the Space Age) in 1957, the inception of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (in 1979), and the election of Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006.

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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.]