Remember back to early February of this year, when Republicans in the US Senate voted to acquit the havoc-creating pretender-in-chief who has been occupying the highest office in the land, whose actions on both national and international levels had clearly risen to the level of “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Do you remember how close that was to the warnings being given about the deadly nature of the recently discovered coronavirus and about how rapidly it might spread? Those events took place within the context of the Kab’an trecena, the trecena associated with “evolutionary movement” – the kind of movement that can bring forth massive shifts on Planet Earth, the trecena that is now, once again, coming into place. The opening of this trecena is a key point within the overall 260 day cycle, that can be seen as a 52-day “shift-point”, marking the start of the fourth 52-day period within the cycle as a whole.

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This is the second time this trecena has been in place this year, and it is the last full trecena before the 2020 US presidential elections. At this time, with the numbers of new coronavirus cases rising rapidly in many parts of the Europe and elsewhere, tougher restrictions (many at “high alert” levels) are being put into place as this trecena is beginning.

It’s interesting that in India the first day of this trecena coincides with what would normally be the great Navratri festival that celebrates the arrival of the great mother Goddess Durga, a dazzling 10-armed warrior deity who comes in to do battle against the forces of evil that threaten peace and prosperity. The fact that the first day of this ten day festival coincides with the opening of this trecena at this time is fascinating, since there is currently such a huge battle going on along those lines in the US, a battle against the forces of darkness and deception, and against the evil emanating from the highest levels of government, that have not only been threatening peace and prosperity, but have been “willfully and knowingly” putting millions of Americans at risk, with a death toll already over 220,000.

It’s also fascinating to see that this great Hindu deity is not unlike the Aztec patroness of this time frame, who was traditionally seen as an aspect of Tlazoltéotl, the “Great Mother Goddess”, known as the “Eater of Filth”, who was associated with forgiveness and purification. She was the overseer of this trecena which was often seen as a time when confessional rites were conducted. Since this deity was also seen as a fertility goddess who worked with major generative forces, this metaphor ties in with the tendency for many events within this period to be world-shaping in nature, in terms of both major endings as well as the emergence of new beginnings in association with issues that are often of an “earth-shaking” nature.

So at this time we can picture the multi-armed Durga swinging her weapons in every direction to root out and abolish evil, while Tlazoltéotl works on purification. Not a bad way to look at things since, at this point, it would seem that pulling in help from as many cultural traditions as possible would be welcomed if it contributes to lessening the darkness that has been plaguing the world for much too long.

Note that one of the Aztec variants for this daysign (Movement, the equivalent of Kab’an for the Maya) shows two interlocked elements that are representative of movement – generally “evolutionary” movement, and many, many consequential world-oriented events have happened during this period in the past. This is often a time when “consequences” from an earlier event can come back to “haunt”, as opposite forces swing into action.

Within this calendrical system this Kab’an trecena tends to be associated not only with the opening and closing of major eras but with events that are often significant to the world as a whole. Sometimes this has to do with “ways of thinking”, as in the “end of the world” fears in 2012 when legions of people were convinced that the world was going to end on Dec. 21st, the fourth day of this trecena, even though most people didn’t know a thing about the calendar other that what was promulgated through media hype about the Mayan calendar “coming to an end”. Any Mayanist who tried to point out that the calendar was not coming to an end but rather coming to the end of an important cycle was simply not heard at that time. Currently we are now eight years into a new era, and this time fears are being fueled by conspiracy theories about politicians and falsehoods pertaining to the coronavirus.

In the past this trecena saw the departure of Christopher Columbus from Spain in 1492 en route to the “discovery” of the “New World”. This is the trecena that has brought the beginning and ending of World War II, beginnings and endings of important space exploration events, the “powering up” and the shutting down of the atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider, and the failure of major investment companies in the U.S. which precipitated chaos in world financial markets.

Six cycles ago (in 2016) this was the trecena that brought forth a change in power in the U.K. as Theresa May became Britain’s second female Prime Minister, just before the earth-shattering RNC convention in the U.S. that brought the nomination and acceptance of Trump as the Republican candidate for president. On that same day, the Turkish government initiated the sudden detainment or dismissal of some 50,000 people in a far-reaching backlash after a failed military coup. Two cycles ago many seismic shifts (with massive consequences) took place in political systems in places such as Europe, Australia and India as a result of elections – including the swearing in of Ukraine’s president Zelensky who was so strongly linked to Trump’s impeachment. At that time strong emphasis was placed on issues associated with the planet itself, as that was when the Second Global Climate Strike for Future took place as young people demanded concrete action from governments globally regarding climate change, with then sixteen-year old activist Greta Thunberg leading the charge. Currently the first day of this trecena will bring the results of the New Zealand elections.

Often this Earth oriented trecena serves as a kind of check-point with regard to global evolution. Within the 260-day cycle as a whole the beginning of this trecena is one of the most important “trigger points” that seems to bring key issues into focus as it sets the stage for critically important actions that can have significant implications for large numbers of people. Aligned not only with Earth, but with “evolutionary movement”, the Kab’an trecena often coincides with radical shifts in world order.

Currently, as everyone is aware, the stakes are significantly high, and millions of Americans are currently in the process of casting their ballots as early voting opens up in various states. By the end of the last trecena (Oct. 16th) over 22 million voters had already stood for hours in long lineups in order to ensure that their vote is counted, and millions more will be voting throughout this trecena.

So it seems that a great deal will be “in motion” during this critical period as the battle to eradicate the pandemic continues worldwide, and as Americans battle to regain some sense of stability and “normalcy” in terms of the leadership of their country.

As always this would be an auspicious time to review one’s personal journey in order to set the course and intent for the next 260 days. What will be your next “evolutionary leap” and how will you facilitate it? During this critical time frame these are the energies that will come into play:

1 Kab’an (Oct. 17th) – the “initiation of evolutionary movement”, the start of the trecena that begins the twelfth Tzolk’in cycle of the new era (since December 2012). As a key 52-day “shift-point” within the 260 day cycle, this is a point that often initiates dramatic and/or consequential movement with planetary consequences.

In India and many other places where Hindu festivals are celebrated this energy is currently coinciding with Shardiya Navratri, an auspicious Hindu Masik Durgashtami day associated with the arrival of the dazzling 10-armed warrior Goddess Durga, who comes in to battle against the forces of evil that threaten peace and prosperity. This Hindu deity represents the positive female forces of the universe, and is generally seen as the great divine mother whose name translates as “the one who eliminates sufferings”. Durga is seen as the protector of all that is good and harmonious in the universe. Traditionally this would be the day of her arrival on an elephant, amid great festivities. Although this would normally be a huge festival marked by colourful processions, performance arts, and great pagentry, people are being urged to take careful precautions this year since India has the second highest number of global coronavirus cases, after the U.S.

Note as well that the word Devi is the Sanskrit word for “Goddess”, meaning “heavenly, divine, anything of excellence”, so this word is also associated with Durga. Devi is also Senator Kamala Harris’s middle name.

On this day in the US The Women’s March organization is calling for a massive, nationwide march to protest against Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, to underscore their fierce opposition to him and to the overall Republican agenda.

In another arena this day coincides with the opening of the Eleventh Annual Global Oneness Summit and Celebration, with the theme “The Power of Love: Resetting Humanity to a New Way of Living on the Earth”, with the Dalai Lama and others.
Tied into this same idea, this is the first day of a virtual six-day “Planetary Reboot” event that is focusing on shifting consciousness in order to bring more light into the world, to eradicate darkness (through a “World Congress on Illumination”).

These kinds of events seem to constitute some kind of cosmic pushback against what happened the last time this energy was in place (this past Jan. 31st), when the US Senate voted 51-49 against allowing new documents and witnesses in the impeachment trial. At that time Nancy Pelosi provided the reminder that “Even if Trump is acquitted, he is impeached forever . . . There can be no acquittal without a trial. And there is no trial without witnesses, documents and evidence.” Since then the pretender-in-chief has been trying to get revenge for the impeachment – with disastrous consequences! So this time it seems that One Kab’an is bringing in “the light brigade” to set a completely opposite intent to what happpened the last time. As noted above, this swinging between two different kinds of forces is even reflected in the two interlocked elements in the Aztec hieroglyph for this daysign’s energy.

It has now been one cycle since BREXIT Day in the UK and the end of an era, when the UK formally left the EU at 11 PM after 47 years of membership. However, that left the nation deeply divided as many celebrated with speeches and light shows, while many others held vigils and pledged that the UK would one day rejoin the EU. That was the day when the British flag was lowered at the European parliament. Now, one cycle later, with no deal in place between the UK and the EU, the situation has reached a stalemate with the EU insisting that the UK accept the EU’s trade terms, and the UK saying the talks are over (with no agreement made).

In 1939 this was the energy in place as German troops were assembling in preparation for the invasion of Poland; in 1940 this was the energy in place at the time of Germany’s invasion of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, the first stage in the Battle of France. In 1943 this energy brought the beginning of the largest convoy battle of the Atlantic during WWII. Eventually, however, the pendulum swung, and this energy brought the surrender of Germany in 1945.

Currently this is the UN’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, with this year’s theme being “Acting together to achieve social and environmental justice for all”. The UN’s website on this issue highlights many astonishing facts related to the issue of global poverty.

2 Etz’nab’ (Oct. 18th) – a dynamic “knife-edged” type of energy that can dazzle and/or divide and separate, coinciding at this time with Anti-Slavery Day, and Persons Day in Canada. Given the current rate of spread of coronavirus, this is likely the day when the global number of cases will reach over 40 million.

3 Kawak (Oct. 19th) – an “activating storm” type of influence that can manifest as a true weather storm or a “storm” of compassion or emotion .  In 2008 this was the energy in place when it was announced that the Lehman Bros. investment bank had run out of cash, triggering a massive financial meltdown over the next few days, referred to at that time as “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” in the US.

4 Ajaw (Oct. 20th) – a “defining” energy associated with the full light of the sun, symbolic of renewal and enlightenment, the same “defining” Burner Day energy that coincided with Long Count 13.0.0.0.0, the end of the 13th B’aktun on Dec. 21st, 2012, the day in which a whole new Great Cycle of Time was “seated”. Currently this day marks the completion of the eleventh Tzolk’in cycle since Dec. 21, 2012, and the beginning of the twefth cycle since the end of the 13th B’aktun. Currently this is the UN’s World Statistics Day, with this year’s theme being “Connecting the world with data we can trust”, that has the goal of reflecting on “the importance of trust, authoritative data, innovation and the public good in national statistical systems”. Given the proliferation of lies coming from the White House, and so many other places, this year (often based on pressure from the White House) there has been a huge erosion of trust. Perhaps this forum will address this situation.

Four Ajaw was the energy that brought forth the signing of the unconditional documents of surrender by German forces in 1945. In 1969 this was the energy in place when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module on the moon and made their historic moon walk.

Three cycles ago, in 2018, this was in place at the time of Sen. John McCain’s memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral, with Presidents Obama and George W. Bush delivering eulogies. In early February this was the energy in place at the time of the first nominating contest for the Democratic Party presidential primaries for the 2020 election.

This is the Maya birth energy of climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg, who was chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year last year, at age 16. A documentary about her (called I Am Greta) was released just 4 days ago.

This is a peak viewing time (through to the following morning) for the Orionids meteor shower which was created from debris from the famous Halley’s comet.

5 Imix (Oct. 21st) – the “blessing of birth”, representative of both “the realm of all potential” and chaos; symbolic of the primordial realm, which contains “all possibilities”. This is the start day for several events in the Global Digital Summit series. This also marks a return of the energy that was in place on VE day in 1945, when the world jubilantly celebrated the end of World War II in Europe and the beginning of peace.

One cycle since Trump delivered the State of the Union address to Congress which was so filled with lies that many referred to it as a “game show”. Several Democrats declined to attend, several walked out of the chamber during the speech, many hissed and booed during the speech, and Nancy Pelsoi stood behind him and ripped up each page of her copy of the speech. She later said that he disgraced the House of Representatives by using it as a backdrop for a reality show. In her words: “He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech.”

In 2016 this was the energy in place when Theresa May took office as the UK’s Prime Minister. And she spent much of her time in office trying to broker a Brexit deal.

6 Ik’ (Oct. 22nd) – an “everywhere” type of energy associated with wind, breath, and spirit, on the day scheduled for the third and last presidential debate (in Nashville), exactly one cycle since the vote to acquit Trump in the Senate, after Republicans voted to disallow witnesses and a great deal of evidence, even though 75% of American voters were calling for witnesses and a proper trial. At that time Republican Senator Mitt Romney spoke on the Senate floor, indicating that he would vote for impeachment, since Trump’s actions were a “most abusive and destructive violation of one’s oath of office”. As Romney put it, “what Trump did was wrong – grievously wrong” . . . he was “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust”. His vote for impeachment denied the GOP unanimous support for acquittal.

Shades of the GOP’s abuse of power are appearing again at this time, one cycle later, as this is the day when the vote to advance Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court takes place in the Senate, with Republicans breaking their own rules about not undertaking such a move so close to an election, disregarding the rights of the people to choose who they want to fill that position. Senator Blumenthal called it “an exercise in raw political power”.

Note that this will be taking place exactly 17 Tzolk’in cycles after the announcement in 2008 of the failure of two of the five major investment companies in the U.S. (with the failure of a third shortly thereafter), which was called “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” – a failure that triggered a dramatic plunge in the stock market and outright chaos in world financial markets. In 2008 the bottom fell out of financial markets resulting in financial meltdowns for many; in 2020, that impeachment acquittal triggered the bottom falling out of democracy itself. So once again, just like before, whatever happens on this current day, the “winds of 6 Ik’ ” will reverberate “in all directions” for some time to come.

At this time this energy coincides with the National Day of Protest known as The October 22 Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation, on the Maya birth energy of Elijah Cummings, the “formidable orator” and civil rights champion who served in the US House of Representatives from 1996 until his death just over a year ago. He was the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, which led investigations related to the Russia probe.

In India this day is the beginning of Durga Puja, tied in with a celebration of the victory of good over evil, through the intervention of that great 10-armed warrior Goddess. This is a key day in India within this overall Durga oriented festival which continues for several more days – to Oct. 26th.

In 1945 this was the energy in place when World War II officially ended, after the unconditional surrender on 4 Ajaw.

7 Ak’b’al (Oct. 23rd) – a “self-generating” type of energy associated with the concept of “temple” or “house”, but also darkness or “sanctuary”, marking one Calendar Round (52 years) since Richard Nixon’s presidential win and two Calendar Rounds (52 years x 2) since the end of the dreadful Battle of the Somme in 1916. In 1492 this was the energy in place when Christopher Columbus embarked on his first voyage into the unknown.

8 K’an (Oct. 24th) – a “resurrection” type of energy associated with germination and even opulence; an “harmonious gift” type of influence, on the 75th Gregorian anniversary of the day when the UN’s Charter came into force. This is also World Development Information Day, the final day of the Global Oneness Summit and Celebration, and the day of the BC Provincial election.

At this point it has been one cycle since two major “head’s up” events that seemed to foreshadow the horrors of the past 260 days. One was the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the doctor who issued the first warning to colleagues back in late December that there were 7 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Another was Trump’s admission to Bob Woodward that Covid-19 was deadlier than the flu and could be transmitted by particles in the air (an admission that was withheld from the people, and publically denied or downplayed as the White House did nothing to address the issue).

Two long cycles before that (just over 2 years ago) an anonymous report had detailed the crisis associated with Trump’s “amorality”, with his leadership style described as being “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective”, which was published on the same day as immigrant families filed a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration over “life altering trauma” and psychological devastation they suffered based on Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy and their treatment at the border when children were separated from their parents.

9 Chikchan (Oct. 25th) – representative of “outwardly-projecting” lifeforce, a powerful force that can spawn major weather events such as typhoons, and even push forth “evolutionary” events that can significantly impact the world, as happened when the First Women’s Rights Convention convened in New York in 1848. This energy was also in place at the beginning of World War II when Germany invaded Poland in 1939, and again in 1944 when Paris was liberated by the Allies. In 1863, this was in place at the beginning of the horrific Battle of Gettysburg, seen as a turning point during the U.S. civil war, as the Confederate army was forced to retreat.

Six cycles ago (2016) this energy coincided with the beginning of the consequential Republican National Convention in the U.S. Four cycles ago (Dec. 2017) the GOP shoved a massively unpopular tax bill through Congress, with no hearings, no Democratic support, no expert testimony, and no advance planning, in order to slash tax rates for corporations and provide huge benefits for the wealthy. It was a bill that provided the top 1% of Americans with 83% of the tax benefits and was projected to add $1.46 trillion to the U.S. debt over a decade.

Currently this is the day of China’s Double Ninth (Chongyang) Festival, aka Height Ascending Festival or Chrysanthemum Festival, occurring on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month – and, as it happens this year, coinciding with a “nine” day in the Maya Tzolk’in. This is also known as Seniors’ Day, and is the day when many will visit the graves of ancestors to pay respects and clean the stones. As chrysanthemums are considered to have cleansing qualities these flowers are also prominent at this time. The Chinese pronunciation for the word “nine” is similar to that for the word “forever”, symbolizing longevity, which ties in very well with 9 Chikchan which can translate as “immortal lifeforce”.

This is the final day of Shardiya Navratri, which ends with Dussehra, one of the Hindu festivals that celebrates the triumph of good over evil, with similar celebrations taking place in other areas the following day. At this point (Oct. 25th) there will be 9 days remaining until the US election.

10 Kimi (Oct. 26th) – a double “absolute foundations” type of energy that is represented by the death god in both the number and daysign positions; six agonizingly long cycles since Trump’s nomination as a GOP candidate for president, and three cycles since the final day of the contentious Kavanaugh hearing related to US Supreme Court, as Democrats attempted to expose the fact that Kavanagh blatantly lied, under sworn testimony, with regard to a host of issues in the past. Currently this will be the day of the final confirmation vote to advance Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, against fierce opposition from Democrats in Congress.

Last February it was reported that 97 people had died from coronavirus on this day, which – at that time – brought the deadliest number of casualties in one day, but a far cry less than the 6,000 or so deaths currently reported on a daily basis globally.

11 Manik’ (Oct. 27th) – “inspirational deer”, a change-oriented day aligned with the idea of reciprocity and new possibilities, although there can be a sacrificial aspect to it. This is an energy that can be somewhat “fiery” since Manik’ is a “carrier” of the sun on Earth, with the number 11 also being highly Earth-aligned. Situated in a position of intensity near the end of this “earth-movement” trecena, this energy is representative of solar power in tandem with strong Earth-aligned forces. The last time this energy was in place (last Feb.) the White House 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 US funding for the World Health Organization, in addition to calling for deep cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to the Infectious Diseases Rapid Response Reserve Fund. These “sheer madness” calls were made at the same time as the pandemic was ramping up in earnest.

12 Lamat (Oct. 28th) – a double Venus type of force representative of the “grouping together” influence of the number 12 in combination with Lamat’s “heralding” type of energy, which sometimes “signals” war or some other critical development. This was in place during the summer of 2016 at the time of Trump’s acceptance speech as the Republican nominee and the closing of the Republican National Convention.

In 1947 this was the energy in place when a brilliant object plunged to the ground NW of Roswell, New Mexico, touching off great speculation about whether or not it was a UFO.

The evening brings the start of Mawlid al-Nabi, the observance of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad in the Muslim calendar.

13 Muluk (Oct. 29th) – “transformational water” – an energetic, often dramatic, type of energy that can trigger strong feelings and stir environmental forces which have, on occasion in the past, developed into floods, tornadoes, and even hurricanes. It has been six cycles since the July 2016 Wikileaks release of documents stolen by Russian hackers from the DNC (and called for by Trump), intended to hurt Hillary Clinton, which triggered the torrent of speculation that ultimately resulted in Clinton’s loss in the November election – and all the political chaos that has happened ever since. Currently this is the full day (until sunset) of Mawlid al-Nabi, and the eve of the trecena that will bring the long awaited US election. The election takes place in 5 days.

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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.]