With this trecena opening on the 5th straight day of catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles, with states of emergency having been declared for several southern states due to a massive winter storm, and with a hotly divisive presidential transition about to begin, there is no way to sugar-coat this one – this will be a wild ride. But this is not the first time that rapid, life-changing events have taken place during this period, as we could see five years ago when the WHO declared a global health emergency relating to Covid-19. The last time this was in place, last spring, this trecena began with more than 100 tornadoes reported across several states, that flattened or damaged hundreds of buildings. This time it is not only the horrific wildfire situation in California, and people having to deal with ice and snow in the south, but another major rescue effort is also underway in Tibet, as workers rush to help the thousands who were left homeless after a 7.1 earthquake hit the region on Jan. 6th.

During this period there is often an “opulence” aspect to events, sometimes tied in with great wealth, or a kind of overwhelming, over-the-top sense of excess, symbolized traditionally by the young Maya corn god who represents exuberance for life and the bounties of the earth (as does the lizard, the Aztec namesake for this trecena). Although this tends to open up all sorts of possibilities, the trecena overall can often manifest as a time of “testing”, as new ideas or ventures begin to take shape and the process of nurturing new endeavors begins.

At this time this sense of excess will be seen and experienced in different ways. With regard to California it will take the form of complete overwhelm as people continue to battle the fires and start to come to terms with the staggering losses that will tally into the billions. With regard to the U.S., and the world as a whole, millions will be trying to sort out how to grapple with the Trump 2.0 “situation”, which basically has resulted from the outrageous manipulations of self-aggrandizing billionaires whose primary interests are self-oriented (even feudal) rather than egalitarian. What kind of twisted person runs on a platform of border protection and then, as soon as the election is over, starts threatening to take over other countries?

In ancient Mesoamerica this trecena was seen as being under the patronage of a formidable deity known as the Itztlacoliuhqui, the God of Frost, often associated with coldness, punishment, rigidity, and even blindness, sometimes seen as representing “blindness to the implications” of what others might have to suffer through harsh treatment. This element will be one to watch during this period as there are many ways in which this aspect could play out.

In the past this trecena has shed a great deal of light on what can happen when “blindness to realities” plays out, as it has highlighted many of the key issues associated with the tawdry Trumpian saga over the past few years. Indeed, some of the dumpster’s worst nightmares have manifested during this time frame, beginning back in 2018 when his ex-campaign manager was found guilty on 8 counts of tax fraud, and his former “fixer” pleaded guilty to a number of other felony charges. In January of 2020 this same trecena brought the start of the dumpster’s first impeachment trial, for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. One cycle after that, in October of that same year, as the world was grappling with Covid, the “super-spreader-in-chief” was either denying that there was a global health problem or making extremely dangerous claims even as hundreds of thousands of people were dying, even in his own country. When this was in place earlier this year the early rounds in the sleazy hush money trial were playing out in New York. And now, one cycle later, after being officially convicted in that regard, he will become the first convicted felon to take up residence in the White House. And so the era of shame begins.

Traditionally, this trecena’s “God of Frost” patron deity provides a reminder of potential jeopardies. He is sometimes shown holding a broom, which can be read as representing the idea of “sweeping clean” whatever might endanger Germination, in order for new life to emerge. The general idea with regard to this patron is to carefully nurture, but not endanger, new opportunities, because if caution is not exercised, there could be disasterous results. Note that the mythological story of this former Lord of the Dawn tells of him being turned into the God of Frost when the Sun shot an arrow back at him when he tried to engage in a shooting match with the sun. This seems like a pertinent metaphor, given that Trump 2.0 is about to begin, as that individual seems to have a knack for shooting at the sun (or trying to outshine the sun). But as Mesoamerican mythology tells us, the sun has ways of dealing with that sort of thing, and will shoot back! Ultimately, any attempt to usurp the sun will be monumentally self-defeating. So this is something to keep in mind.

The second patron aligned with this time frame (shown in the trecena image above), was known as Black Smoking Mirror, representative of the mysteries of the cosmos and “the fate of the earth”. In the past many key events have happened during this period that have set trajectories for “the fate of the earth”, as when Napoléon Bonaparte proclaimed himself Emperor of France in 1804, and when Hitler acquired dictatorial powers in 1933, and then became Führer of Germany the following year. But for both of these oppressors this trecena later brought a turn of the tide, as Napoléon was exiled to Elba during this trecena in 1814, and Hitler died at his own hands during this trecena in 1945. At that time the unconditional surrender of the German forces in Italy took place near the end of the trecena, along with the surrender of German forces in Berlin. Other key events during this time frame have included the “Saturday Night Massacre” related to Watergate in 1973, Mikhail Gorbachev’s election as Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party in 1985, and Barack Obama’s acceptance as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidency in 2008.

In the past many leaders have intuitively aligned themselves with that key idea of Germination that is characteristic of this period – jumping in and opening up all sorts of new possibilities. Indeed, it was three cycles ago when the DoJ’s Special Counsel Jack Smith began his federal investigations into the wrongdoings of the then-disgraced, twice-impeached, defeated, former “illegal” occupant of the White House. But now, with the . . . gasp . . . return to the White House of this same individual, now officially a convicted felon, many of the DoJ’s still outstanding criminal proceedings (including the classified documents case and the Jan. 6th case) against him are set to “disappear”, with a highly problematic US Supreme Court having been a central factor in this charade. So now the “trajectory for the fate of the earth” is about to shift once again, dramatically.

This is in keeping with this period during which very “big”, very consequential, events can take place – events that can be so big that they are almost incomprehensible, often involving “high drama” related to “outrageous behaviour”. To be sure, the implication of the fires in California will be a central part of this at this time, but much, much more is also at stake at this time.

When this trecena was in place during the summer of 2021, major discoveries were revealed about gross atrocities that had been inflicted on indigenous children at Catholic-run residential schools in Canada. That was when the January 6th select committee was formed in Congress to take on the very large task of investigating the insurrection attempt in the U.S., and 15 tax related criminal indictments, including federal fraud, conspiracy, and grand larceny, were brought against the Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg, who then surrendered and later served prison time for crimes committed as CEO of that organization. When this was in place during the summer of 2023 Trump and 18 others were charged with multiple felony counts in Georgia relating to election interference.

When this was last in place a considerable amount of new aid arrived to help replenish Ukraine’s dwindling arms supply, which helped to revitalize their push-back against Russia. But the situation in Gaza was extremely dire, and the final resolution to that unthinkable tragedy has remained elusive, as people continue their daily battle for survival. Indeed, a new study has estimated Gaza’s death toll to be over 64,000, considerably higher than the earlier tallies. The fact that this situation was not resolved during the Biden administration may have factored into his election loss this past November.

As we move through this period, the Maya day 8 Chuwen, on Jan. 18th, is of particular importance as this is the most auspicious festival day for K’iche’ Maya daykeepers. This is a sacred day oriented around the renewal of calendar traditions and the initiation of new daykeepers, but traditionally this was seen as a special kind of force aligned with “weaving together” past and future to help the “new entity” (associated with the fate of the world) gain a foothold on the road of life. Intriguingly, and seemingly “right on schedule”, this is the day when strong pushback to the incoming administration will be seen in the People’s March – a resistance-oriented, feminist-led Day of Action that will take place not only in Washington DC, but “Everywhere”.

This will be just the start of a resistance movement that will do whatever-it-takes to resist Trumpism and Project 2025, so the battle will be on to see who and what will gain that foothold. As the Resist Project 2025 site puts it, “We will fight every attack on our freedoms by Trump and his willing sycophants with every bit of energy, passion, skill and resources we have, and we’re inviting people to join us.”

Two days later will be the day that millions are dreading, the unthinkable second inauguration of the dumpster. Not surprisingly that will be a Maya calendar day (10 B’en) aligned with self determination and personal authority, which is what he has been exerting all along, in order to get there. However, let’s not forget that essential message from the patrons of this trecena – that if someone tries too hard to outshine the sun, the sun will shoot back. Something to watch for!  It’s also not surprising that this day is coinciding at this time with Blue Monday, often thought of as “the most depressing day of the year”. Undoubtedly there will be collective groans happening in many places.

As we journey through this energy sequence keep in mind that whatever happens will be “planting the seeds”, and providing the groundwork for what is to follow. This is a period when sacrifices may have to be made to make room for new growth and new life. This may well require the abandonment of old ideas in favour of something new, fresh, life-enhancing, and perhaps even untried. As this trecena holds the potential to bring forth surprises it would be a good idea to exercise caution, care, and prudence with regard to whatever one might want to “germinate” at this time. Certainly, with vigilance, anything “planted” and carefully tended at this time could easily “sprout” into something strong and robust. Coldness, recklessness, and “blindness”, on the other hand, could be very, very problematic, and it appears that there is a high likelihood that, in “some” arenas, that will continue to prevail. Here are the energies that will come into play:

1 K’an (Jan. 11th) – an “initiating” energy associated with germination (or even the creation of new abundance), marking five years since China announced its first Covid-19 death, as scientists in many places were scrambling to develop reliable tests for that disease. Now, with a new metapneumovirus, aka HMPV, reportedly surging in China, there are some concerns about a potential new pandemic, but these concerns are being downplayed by experts. Let’s hope they’re right.

Currently one of the most immediate concerns relates to the wildfire inferno in Los Angeles. With the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, thousands of homes already destroyed, and the fires continuing, the situation is dire. A massive rescue effort is also underway in Tibet, in response to the 7.1 earthquake that collapsed thousands of buildings on Jan. 7th.

This is Day 1,052 of the Russia-Ukraine war, marking four cycles since President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s impassioned address to British MPs in the House of Commons, the first of many such addresses to world parliaments as he called for assistance to help defend Ukraine from Russian attacks. Since then much assistance has been given but there is still no end in sight to that war, or to the horrific situation in Gaza.

This day marks one cycle exactly since the release of a report that revealed that Tesla vehicles set on Autopilot and Full Self-driving mode have been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths. As a full investigation into this has been opened, one might ask if this situation is linked in any way to Elon Musk’s significant involvement is the last presidential election, and beyond.

2 Chikchan (Jan. 12th) – a “dynamic, vitality-oriented, yin-yan” type of energy associated with lifeforce, and often with “justice”, now marking two cycles exactly since the first courtroom hearing in the Jan. 6th case, as U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan heard arguments on how to structure a protective order for evidence turned over by prosecutors and addressed the case’s unprecedented mix of legal and political concerns, warning about the limits on what the defendant could publicly say about evidence. At that time the trial was awaiting the Supreme Court decision on the question of presidential immunity.

On that same day two constitutional scholars who had been studying the issue for more than a year published their conclusions that all evidence indicated that the dumpster “cannot be president — cannot run for president, cannot become president, cannot hold office — unless two-thirds of Congress decides to grant him amnesty for his conduct on Jan. 6.” Whatever happened to all that?

3 Kimi (Jan. 13th) – the “activation of death/absolute foundations”, seen in Maya creation mythology as the day when “the first death” was “invented”, now marking 5 years exactly since the WHO reported a Covid-19 case in Thailand, the first outside China. It also marks seven cycles exactly since January 2020 when a 35-year old man in Washington state, who had recently returned home after visiting family in Wuhan in China, became the first person in the US to be diagnosed with Covid-19. At that time the first confirmed case was reported in South Korea, and China began warning the world about the coronavirus. Currently this is in place at the time of the Full Wolf Moon.

This same 3 Kimi energy was in place in 1918 when a U.S. public health report was released about severe cases of influenza (Spanish Flu) that had broken out at an army base in Kansas several days earlier. This became the trigger for the deadliest pandemic in human history.

In 1934 Hitler became Führer of Germany under this influence and in January of 2020 this was in place on the eve of the start of the dumpster’s first impeachment trial in the US Senate, as the rules for the trial were being discussed. This was also in place in August of 2018 at the time of the death of Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General (the world’s top diplomat for 10 years from 1997-2006) and Nobel Peace prize laureate who was well known for quietly reminding world leaders that they needed to put their duty to their citizens above their own political careers.

4 Manik’ (Jan. 14th) – a “defining” energy associated with reciprocity and the energy of deer – a kind of harmonizing energy connected with the natural world, but there is also a strong “sacrificial” aspect to it. In combination with the solar energy of the number four this is a “double sun” type of force, as the deer was seen as an embodiment of the sun. This is the Maya birth energy of George Floyd, whose death sparked the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in the U.S. in 2020.

In India this is a highly auspicious day, as this is the first day of India’s Makar Sankranti festival, a Hindu astrological “holy phase of transition” event that marks the end of winter solstice period and the return of the sun – and light – and wisdom. One of the main activities during this festival is kite flying by day to send prayers to the Sun God (which ties in well with this solar-oriented energy), and the flying of stunning sky lanterns by night, in order to send hopes and aspirations skyward.

 Hundreds of thousands of Hindu worshippers flock to the Ganges River, and other rivers, at this time to bathe in its holy waters.

5 Lamat (Jan. 15th) – a “blessing” type of energy associated with Venus, which can serve as a beacon or herald, on the day when U.S. President Joe Biden will deliver his farewell address from the Oval office, just prior to the end of his presidency. This also marks two cycles since the pivotal moment in history when the grand jury in Georgia investigating the dumpster’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss handed down a 97 page indictment that named Trump and 18 others in 41-felony counts. Over 160 separate criminal acts were listed relating to the first felony count, related to violation of the RICO Act, detailing who was involved in each act. The RICO documents stated that the defendants “constituted a criminal organization” (ie. a criminal racketeering enterprise). That was when it became known that there is evidence that the Trump team was behind the Georgia voting system breach. Unfortunately this entire case became significantly stalled over an “appearance of impropriety” issue associated with DA Fani Willis, and is still “up in the air”.

Five Lamat was the energy in place in 1968 when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his prophetic speech about being a “drum major for peace”.

6 Muluk (Jan. 16th) – the energy of the six directions in conjunction with the purifying or shape-shifting energy of water, marking seven Tzolk’in cycles since the city of Wuhan, the most populous city in Central China, was first put under quarantine lockdown (in the biggest lockdown in world history at that point – January 2020) in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.

It has now been nine cycles since August of 2018 when Paul Manafort, the dumpster’s ex-campaign manager, was found guilty on 8 counts of tax fraud, and (in another court) the dumpster’s former “fixer” Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to a number of other felony charges, one of which implicated the dumpster as an “unindicted co-conspirator” in campaign finance violations. Both were sentenced to prison. Michael Cohen was a key witness in the hush money trial one cycle ago, which resulted in the dumpster being found guilty on 34 felony counts.

7 Ok (Jan. 17th) – translating as “self-generating” love, guidance, and/or loyalty, coinciding with the Catholic Feast Day of St. Anthony the Abbot, often commemorated with “Blessing of Domestic Animals” ceremonies. This is also the start date for International Green Week 2025 in Berlin which features the Grüne Wochen traditional trade fair, one of Germany’s best-known events. Founded in 1926 this is seen as the leading international trade fair for food, agriculture and horticulture. It runs until Jan. 26th.

This energy is now marking 11 cycles since the dramatic hearing before the US House Intelligence Committee in early 2017 when former FBI Director James Comey told that committee for the first time that the FBI was investigating the possible collusion between the dumpster’s campaign and Moscow – the first time a seated president had been under FBI investigation. Note as well that this is the Calendar Round return of the exact 7 Ok 13 Muwan energies that were in place at the time of the first Watergate-related convictions, when two high level operatives associated with the Watergate break-in were convicted of conspiracy, burglary, and illegal wiretapping. This was the beginning of the unravelling that led to President Nixon’s resignation.

8 Chuwen, aka 8 Batz’ (Jan. 18th) Day of the Monkey – a “resurrection” type of energy associated with play, creativity, and “time weaving”. This is a highly auspicious day for the Maya, as this is the time when K’iche’ Maya daykeepers celebrate the renewal of their sacred calendar traditions and initiate new daykeepers.

Currently this is World Religion Day, and the day of a massive People’s March – a “feminist-led Day of Action”, in DC & “Everywhere”. The Women’s March Network is a significant part of this, as they take on “the Billionaire Boys Club” and unite to push back against all forms of oppression. The vow is: We’re Not Going Backwards. Clearly, the fight is on!

This is currently marking 9 cycles exactly since it was reported that the National Enquirer had kept a safe full of damaging “catch and kill” stories about Trump – which was confirmed through David Pecker’s testimony just over one cycle ago during the hush money trial.

This is also the Maya birth energy of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who – four cycles ago – gave an historic speech to Canada’s parliament, as he asked Canadians to “imagine” their own country being attacked. While that seemed impossible at the time, it is now – chillingly – something to fiercely push back against, given the dumpster’s recent appalling threats in that regard. In any case, Happy Maya birthday President Zelenskyy, and thanks for the “head’s up”!!!

9 Eb’ (Jan. 19th) – “outward projecting stream of consciousness”, or “outward projecting road”, an energy that could also translate as “immortal healing”, marking President Biden’s last full day in office, on the eve of inauguration day.

10 B’en (Jan. 20th) – “foundational personal authority”; symbolic of the full authority of maize, this is a strong “pillar” type of energy representative of strength, inner power, and self determination, coinciding at this time with the end of President Biden’s presidency and the inauguration of a convicted felon (as well as a convicted sex offender, frauder, and defamer) as the next president, at the start of what millions believe could become a reign of vindictive terror, if the orange menace attempts to assume the role of dictator.

It is anyone’s guess as to what this day will bring, but for many it will be seen as a day of infamy. Not surprisingly, this is coinciding at this time with Blue Monday, often thought of as “the most depressing day of the year”, calculating in such factors as weather conditions, economic conditions, world conditions, and low motivation levels at this time of the year. The Department of Veterans Affairs will fly the American flag half-staff on this day in honor of President Jimmy Carter’s life, but hopefully this will not mark the death of democracy as well.

Note that in the spring of 1945 this was the energy in place when Hitler committed suicide, two days after the fascist dictator Mussolini was executed by firing squad. In 1973 this was the energy in place at the time of the “Saturday Night Massacre” related to Watergate, and seven cycles ago (in January of 2020) the sham of an impeachment trial was taking place in the US after the coup attempt.

Two cycles before that, in August of 2018, the Trump 1.0 administration cancelled more than $200 million in aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, and shortly thereafter ended funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency, the main UN program that provided assistance for Palestinian refugees. Shortly after that they cut funding to Palestinian hospitals. One might ask: what connections might be found between those cruel actions and the absolute disaster that has been unfolding in Gaza and the West Bank ever since then? How many people in that region have lost their lives because of those actions?

Five cycles ago this energy brought not only the filing of tax related criminal charges against the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg, but also approval of the resolution to form a select committee to investigate the January 6th insurrection.

Currently, as a counter to what will be happening with regard to the transfer of power, this is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the U.S., a “We Fight Back” day honoring Martin and his “Legacy of Struggle”.

This is the opening day for the 55th World Economic Annual Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and is also U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s 95th birthday. He is the last surviving crew member from the Apollo 11 Lunar mission, and one of the first two people to walk on the Moon. In 2023, on his 93rd birthday, he was honoured as a Living Legend of Aviation and got married for the fourth time.

This is the Maya birth energy of celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés, the founder of World Central Kitchen, whose organization has sent thousands of fresh meals to families in need, including in war zones. He recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden, and currently his WCK network is distributing hot meals to the public at various locations in Southern California to help people whose homes have been lost in the firestorms.  This is also the Maya birth energy of Nostradamus, the 16th century seer whose predictions helped to fuel speculations about the “end times”.

Six cycles ago (October 2020), this energy brought the release of Totally Under Control, a documentary that highighted the gross failure, mismanagement, and incompetence of the dumpster White House with regard to the pandemic.

11 Ix (Jan. 21st) – “inspirational magic” in conjunction with the jaguar and the mysteries of the earth, coinciding at this time with Hope Tuesday (the day after Blue Monday). In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was appointed dictator for life under this influence. A few weeks later he was assassinated.

This marks exactly one cycle since Day 12 of the hush money trial, that began with a strong warning from Judge Merchan that, after ten $1000 fines for violations of the gag order, jail time for Trump would be the next step for any further violations. On this day the Trump Organization’s financial controller testified about payments made in the corruption scheme.

Five cycles ago (in 2021) this was the energy in place when 15 tax related criminal indictments, including “staggering” federal fraud, conspiracy, and grand larceny charges against the Trump Organization and CFO Allen Weisselberg were unsealed in a New York court.

Seven cycles ago this was in place when the dumpster’s legal team made their final arguments in the second week of the impeachment trial (in January of 2020) – a trial where witnesses were not allowed to testify even though 75% of registered voters (bipartisan) thought testimony from witnesses should have been allowed. That was the day when Israel’s attorney-general filed a formal indictment in court against Prime Minister Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

Given all that, can some kind of fireworks be expected on this first full day of Trump 2.0? And will this National Day of Racial Healing help to counter some of that? For many, the focus for this particular day will be on building relationships necessary “to create a more just and equitable world”. They will have their work cut out for them.

This is the Maya birth energy of New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, author of 27 books, including “The Great Republican Abdication –A party that no longer believes in American values”.

12 Men (Jan. 22nd) – a “gathering together” type of energy associated with the high vision of the Eagle, marking seven cycles exactly since that day in January of 2020 when the head of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme said that the “whole world needs to be on alert”. At that point entire cities in China were under shutdown but it was being downplayed in the U.S. by Trump 1.0

13 Kib’ (Jan. 23rd) – a transformation-oriented energy aligned with the ability to “fly high”, survey, and ultimately restore order, although this intense force can also bring forth great change. The last time this was in place the sun emitted two enormous solar flares.

Note that Kib’ is an energy that can often prompt people to think differently, with 13 Kib’ often pushing particularly hard, often compelling people to take some kind of direct action. That was certainly the case seven cycles ago, at the end of January 2020, when the WHO declared a global health emergency with regard to the coronavirus outbreak, as the virus had spread across China, from the epicentre in Wuhan to at least 16 countries globally, including Thailand, France, the US and Australia. It was the beginning of a global catastrophe that took the lives of almost 7 million people.

This is National Handwriting Day – perhaps a good time to review those signatures on the Declaration of Independence and remember the ideals that they represented.

 

**************************

[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.]