“Vulture” – not necessarily the prettiest high flying bird and yet in world history vultures are often highly revered for their resourcefulness, intelligence, adaptability, and perceptive abilities, and for their connections to death and rebirth. And this is the theme of the Kib’ trecena, with One Kib’, the first day of this time frame representing the “initiation of the restoration of order”, marking the beginning of a time frame often oriented around the idea of “getting down to business” in order to resolve problems.

Kib’ is often symbolized by a vulture that is tasked with “cleaning things up” after some kind of carnage. The emphasis during this period tends to be on fomenting “new thought” and shifting towards “new kinds of action” in order to find solutions. Traditionally there has been a strong emphasis on ingenuity, industriousness, practicality, and learning to “think differently” during this period. This can be a time when important transmutations take place, often triggered by dramatic events that demand change.

During this energy sequence there is often an emphasis on duality, sometimes involving paired events or paired ideas struggling to maintain equilibrium or overcome obstacles. Often there is a kind of “teetering” between two polarities, reflective of the “sun close to the earth” or “fire in the earth” kinds of forces associated with the patron energies of this period, energies that have been known to foment havoc for the purpose of transmutation, often as part of a push towards the birthing of a new type of order.

In the past one of the most vivid manifestations of this duality in action was the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 2001 when hit by two planes intent on wreaking havoc on the Western world. That world-shifting event brought massive changes in terms of national and international security practices.

In 1521 the world shifted significantly during this time period when a ruthless mercenary and hundreds of his allies savagely beat the once-powerful Aztec empire into submission and took over control. And now another ruthless tyrant is attempting to shift power in the world by sending his forces into another sovereign country and attempting to take control. But after 65 days of this aggression this Russian oppressor is finding that the Western world is becoming more and more aligned, more and more committed, to doing whatever it takes to bring an end to that conflict. Which seems to be how it goes – no matter what the threat there will be those who will step up and rally to stamp it out. In the past this trecena has been often quite instrumental in that regard – as is has been with the global threat of Covid.

The opening of this trecena marks three full cycles (780 days) since the whole of Italy was quarantined to prevent the spread of Covid-19, in March of 2020, at the time when  thousands of flights were being cancelled worldwide. The following day marks three full cycles since the World Health Organization formally declared a pandemic and called for governments to take “urgent action”.

Immediately thereafter countries around the world began going into lockdown, some completely, and some only partially. By the middle of this trecena the director of the U.S. Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy was calling it the beginning of a “coronavirus winter”, and indeed, life did seem to be going into suspension as people retreated and hunkered down, often with large stashes of toilet paper and non-perishables, in efforts to wait it out, in hopes that things would soon “transmute” and they would be able to re-emerge before too long.

However, that was not to be. By one cycle later (November of 2020) it was clear that much more needed to be done. During the span of the Kib’ trecena at that time worldwide case numbers increased by 7 million, reaching 67 million by the final day. Covid cases in the U.S. were increasing by over a million a week. On the first day of this trecena at that time there were over 180,000 new cases in the U.S. on that day alone! And that daily number continued to escalate to over 235,000 new cases a day within the span of just over a week. But during that period a great deal was being done to try to develop viable vaccines to tackle the problem, and by the middle of the trecena the UK became the first Western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use.

By the time this trecena returned one cycle later (last August) the global number of covid cases had more than tripled, and a fourth wave was sweeping through many countries. In the U.S. the death toll reached the same as the estimated death toll from the U.S. civil war. But by the end of the trecena the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine received full approval from the US FDA, the first one to be licensed in the US.  Fortunately this vaccine had received  emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration several months earlier so a large scale immunization campaign was already underway, including in Canada.

So where are we now? Well – the numbers are quite horrifying: over 512 million cases worldwide, with over 6.25 million deaths; some 83 million cases in the U.S., with over a million deaths; and daily new case numbers still in the tens of thousands in a number of countries. But billions of vaccine doses have been, and continue to be, administered. And now we are beginning to see some reversals from earlier trends.

New Zealand, for example, was successfully keeping numbers down in the early stages, as was China, which was beginning to return to normal three cycles ago just as the rest of the world was shutting down. But now cases in New Zealand are climbing quickly and Chinese cities are scrambling to deal with the pandemic, with Shanghai still in lockdown and citizens in Beijing stockpiling supplies as events are halted and schools are closed. In many other countries, however, the case numbers and death numbers have dropped significantly over the last few days, so hopefully that will continue.

Unfortunately a couple of other worrying trends have developed recently that will require close scrutiny, one of which is a mysterious liver disease that has infected at least 190 children worldwide, with the other being a surge in measles cases, due to a disruption in vaccination programs for non-Covid diseases worldwide. So some kind of balance needs to be found to achieve some kind of overall stabilization with regard to these matters.

During this period we see a number of health related events coming in, including World Healing Day, National Physicians’ Day in Canada, Global Love Day, and the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week.

In 2010 it was the first day of this time frame that brought the signing into law in the U.S. of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act by President Obama.

This trecena also tends to play an important role with regard to enhancing awareness about the health of the planet, as this trecena is now marking five cycles (5 x 260 days) since the release of the UN’s “final call” Climate Change report (in 2018), and nine cycles since 196 nations involved in the COP21 (Climate Change Conference) in Paris voted to approve an historic global accord to fight climate change, signalling an end to the fossil fuel era, as they committed for the first time to a universal agreement that has the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and limiting temperature rises. While much has stalled due to the pandemic, and other factors, progress has been made of several fronts, including the launch (at the end of the last trecena) of Ford’s new electric trucks.

Changes are in the works in terms of politics and alliances as well. Seven cycles ago there was considerable evidence of Russian meddling in U.S. politics. When this trecena was in place for the first time after the 2016 election the Washington Post reported that the dumpster disclosed top level, highly classified, information on ISIS to the Russian ambassador, at the same time as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (who has close connections to Russia) met with the dumpster at the White House. At the same time several countries were being hit with massive cyber attacks, triggering urgent calls for action to deal with it. As we all know, many other dark deeds took place after that, and many investigations are now underway relating to those deeds, but the forces of justice are now gaining traction. The dumpster has been ordered to pay $10,000 per day for contempt in one of the New York fraud cases against him, and in Georgia a grand jury is convening during this period to examine the evidence pertaining to his attempt to overturn the results of the election in that state. An explosive book titled “This Will Not Pass” written by two NYT journalists is also being released during this period, which reveals many of the insidious machinations at the highest levels of U.S. government.

Over this past 260 day cycle a tremendous amount of “Smoking Gun” evidence has come to light about the involvement of the dumpster and many members of the GOP in what is now being referred to as a “coup attempt” in the U.S. Given all these judicial developments, and this trecena’s emphasis on “setting things right” and “restoring order”, it could be that this trecena will see some significant progress towards “cleaning things up” after all the carnage of the past few years.

Let’s keep in mind that the first day of this trecena in 1987 was when President Reagan challenged President Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, and in 2009 this trecena was in place when the U.S. and Russia mutually agreed to reduce nuclear arsenals, which set the course to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. In 1972 this was the trecena in place when the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam, and again in 2021 when the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan. What we need now is for Russia to back away from Ukraine. Hopefully, all the new commitments of allied nations to come to the support of Ukraine, working through the energies of this time frame, will bring that very result.

As always, this trecena holds great potential for illumination, pathfinding, and for the development of practical approaches towards finding solutions to even the most challenging of problems – all oriented around transmutation and the “restoration of order”. Here are the energies that are coming into play:

One Kib’ (April 29th) – the “initiation” of the transmutation force that leads towards the restoration of order, coinciding with the start of Japan’s Golden Week, a collection of four national holidays within seven days. In this U.S. this is National Arbor Day, when people often get together to plant trees.

It has now been five cycles (5 x 260 days) since the release of the UN’s “final call”
Climate Change report (in 2018) that gave that extensive warning on the need to
limit global warming to no more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, which would
require “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”.
Amazingly, that is exactly what has happened since then, but it was Covid that
precipitated those changes, and not humans. Given how much time has been lost since
that warning, it seems that the need to get together to plant trees has never been greater!

This is also International Dance Day, an observance of the 295th Gregorian birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre, the 18th century French dancemaster who is seen as the creator of the ballet d’action, a precursor to modern ballet. This is also country singer Willie Nelson’s 89th Gregorian birthday.

2 Kab’an (April 30th) – a “dynamic” type of energy related to the earth, or “earth movement”, coinciding with a partial Solar Eclipse and a Venus-Jupiter conjunction. This marks the start of the sixth trecena since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, and three T’zolkin cycles exactly since the WHO declared a global pandemic in 2020 and called for governments to take “urgent action” against the coronavirus. As if coming full circle, this return of this energy is bringing in World Healing Day, which includes an amalgamation of events such as World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, World Yoga Day, World Reiki Day, World Art Day, and World Music Healing Day – events that will be taking place in cities in over 80 nations in order to promote global health and healing. This year the motto is “One World . . . One Breath”.

During this evening the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner will be held for the first time since the start of the pandemic, with President Biden planning to be in attendance.

This would have been the 102nd Gregorian birthday of Captain Sir Thomas Moore, the former British soldier who raised over £32 million in aid of NHS Charities Together to help fight the pandemic, by walking the 25 metres around his garden in Bedfordshire, central England 100 times before his 100th birthday, even though he had to use a walker to do it.

3 Etz’nab’ (May 1st) – the “activation” of a sparkling, “knife-edged” type of energy that can dazzle, shock, and/or begin a separation process, marking three cycles exactly (780 days) since “America shut down”, as theatres, museums, restaurants, entertainment venues, colleges and school districts across the U.S. closed up; and many other events were cancelled or postponed indefinitely due to the pandemic. Currently this is National Physicians’ Day in Canada, a good day to give thanks for all the extraordinary work done across the country by health care professionals in their long battle against the pandemic.

This is May Day and International Workers’ Day, known in many countries as Labour Day, which has been celebrated on May 1st since 1886, when hundreds of thousands of American trade union workers took to the streets to demand the universal adoption of the 8 hr. work day. It is also Global Love Day, a celebration of unconditional love and compassion, still so greatly needed at this time.

4 Kawak (May 2nd) – a “defining” type of energy aligned with “storm”, representative of the sun working together with the energy of intense rain, which can sometimes manifest as a “storm of compassion”. This is one of the five key energies identified at the centre of the Aztec Sun Stone.

Three cycles ago this was in place when PM Justin Trudeau announced sweeping steps to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in Canada, and Canada began going into lockdown. Currently this marks two Calendar Rounds (2 x 52 years, less 26 days) since a May 28th, 1918 newspaper article in Madrid ran a story about a “fever” that had infected 80,000 people. This is what came to be known as the “Spanish flu”, which became the second deadliest pandemic in human history.

Currently this is the first day of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week, the start of Teacher Appreciation week in the U.S., and International Harry Potter Day (the 24th Gregorian anniversary of the fictitional Battle of Hogwarts when Harry defeated the Dark Lord). In real world history this is the 77th Gregorian anniversary of the day in 1945 when the German surrender in Italy came into effect. This evening coincides with the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On this catalytic day the impanelling of the grand jury will begin in the Fulton County, Georgia case pertaining to the dumpster’s attempted meddling with the results of the 2020 election. Many streets will be closed in Atlanta as this selection of jurors gets underway.

5 Ajaw (May 3rd) – the “blessing of enlightenment”, but also a “full sun” day, coinciding with the full day of Eid al-Fitr (the festival of “the feast that breaks the fast”), marking the end of Ramadan. Israel’s Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) begins at sundown.

In ancient Mesoamerican mythology this is the energy associated with Xochipilli’s birthday – a deity associated with the arts and beauty and games.

This energy, aligned with the sun, often manifests as “enlightenment breaking through” in some way, which it certainly could on this day, through the release of This Will Not Pass, an explosive new book by NYT journalists Alexander Burns and Jonathan Martin, that exposes deep fissures at the highest levels of the US government that are placing democracy itself in jeopardy.

This is the Maya birth energy of Dr. Peter Bryce, the Canadian public health physician who highlighted the mistreatment of indigenous children in Indian residential schools during the early 20th century.

6 Imix (May 4th) – an “everywhere” type of energy associated with “birth”, which can often bring chaos as some new order of being is manifested, marking five cycles exactly since huge migrant caravans began trekking north from Central America towards the U.S. border in 2018.

Currently this is the UN’s offical International Anti-Bullying Day, and International Firefighter’s Day, a day to reflect on the dedication given by firefighters to the protection of life and property and to remember the ultimate sacrifices that many have made in the interest of helping and protecting others. It is also “Star Wars Day” (“May the Fourth be With You”), at the peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower.

Israel’s full Yom HaZikaron day (official Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism) comes in at this time, with Israel’s Independence Day celebrations (Yom Ha’atzma’ut in Hebrew), beginning at sundown, with the ceremonial lighting of twelve beacons (representing the 12 tribes of Israel) at Mount Herzi, Israel’s national cemetery.

7 Ik’ (May 5th) – “self-generating” wind/breath/spirit, coinciding at this time with
Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo, World Password Day, National Astronaut Day in the U.S.,
and the 77th Gregorian anniversary of the surrender in 1945 of German forces in NW Germany, Bavaria, Denmark and the Netherlands, ending WWII in those regions.

In Japan this is Children’s Day, the final day of Japan’s Golden Week, and in Canada
and the U.S. this is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered
Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirits (MMIWG2S), aka “Red Dress Day”.

The start of this Kib’ trecena marked one cycle exactly since the Canadian government announced that more than $180 million is pledged for new programs to help address items on the action plan drawn up in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

In the U.S., this day marks two cycles exactly (520 days) since former US Attorney-General Barr said that there was no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election, a statement that preceded his resignation and the concoction of the BIG Lie on the part of the dumpster and his allies that led to the Jan. 6th insurrection and its aftermath. At that time Georgia’s voting systems implementation manager angrily admonished Republicans for spreading these lies, and specifically called upon the dumpster to “stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence”. As Georgia will be impanelling a grand jury during this trecena to investigate these issues, this can be seen as another one of those “circling back” moments.

8 Ak’b’al (May 6th) – a “resurrection” type of energy associated with “temple” or “house”, “darkness”, and deep esoteric mysteries, coinciding at this time with the Canadian Nursing Association’s National Nursing Week, and the 77th Gregorian anniversary of the beginning of the Liberation of Paris in 1944. In 1909 this was the energy in place when the first National Women’s Day was celebrated in the U.S.

Currently this is Vesak Day (Buddha Day) in India, Tibet, Malaysia, Indonesia, and other south and southeast Asian regions – a major Buddhist festival oriented around the celebration not only of the birth and death of Buddha, but also of his attainment of enlightenment (nirvana).

This marks three cycles exactly since Dr. Michael Osterholm (Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy, and author of “Deadliest Enemy”) said (in March of 2020) that that was the first day of a “coronavirus winter” – which, he said, could last for months (a significant underestimate!)

9 K’an (May 7th) – representative of “outwardly-projecting” longevity in association with germination, as when the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed in 1990 after its launch the day before. This is Leonard Nimoy’s Maya birth energy – and he will always be remembered as Star Trek’s iconic “Mr. Spock”. Nine K’an could also translate as “Live Long and Prosper”, Spock’s famous Vulcan salute, that has now become a meme.

This is World Labyrinth Day and International Astronomy Day. It is also the 77th Gregorian anniversary of the final signing of the unconditional documents of surrender of the German forces to the Allies in Reims, ending World War II in 1945.

10 Chikchan (May 8th) – a Burner Day associated with “Foundational Lifeforce, Liberation, and Higher Consciousness” that is often quite intense, currently coinciding with National Student Nurses Day (US), International Mother’s Day, and the final day of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week. This is the 77th Gregorian anniversary of VE Day, when frenzied, chaotic celebrations marked the end of WWII, including the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, Canada’s longest military engagement.

Note that 10 Chikchan is a kind of “seesaw” force that represents a balancing between Death (10) and Life (Chikchan), so the choices made at this time can be highly consequential. Three cycles ago the dumpster in the White House told journalist Bob Woodward that his first instinct regarding the coronavirus was to “always play it down”. The fact that some 83 million people in the U.S. have been infected, and a million have lost their lives to it in that country alone, underscores how diabolically wrong that “instinct” was!

Note that since the last time this energy was in place (last August) both the number of cases globally and the number of cases in the U.S. have more than doubled, but this was actually an improvement over the previous 260 day period, during which the global cases had tripled.

This was the energy in place in 1980 when the World Health Organization announced that smallpox has been eradicated. Three cycles ago (March of 2020) this energy was in place when, for the first time since the outbreak, China reported no new local coronavirus infections. Unfortunately that situation has changed and millions in Shanghai are still under severe lockdown.

Back in March of 2020 the first statewide mandatory restrictions were issued in the U.S. to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, as California’s governor ordered the shut-down of all non-essential services. One cycle later (by Dec. of 2020) Texas, Florida, and California had all registered over a million cases each. Now, three cycles after those restrictions were issued, California has registered over 9 million cases and over 90,000 people have lost their lives to Covid in that state alone.

11 Kimi (May 9th) – “inspirational” death/new foundations, the day (supposedly) of
Moscow’s annual “Victory Day” Parade commemorating the surrender of Nazi Germany after World War II. The parade normally showcases Russia’s military arsenal in pompous style, with the general opinion being that Putin was hoping to flaunt his hoped-for “quick” conquest of Ukraine during this year’s parade. The reality, however, is much, much grimmer than were his hopes, as over 20,000 Russian troops have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including an estimated 10,000 in the heavily beseiged city of Mariupol. A parade of coffins representing all those senseless deaths, and a parade of trashed vehicles (including more than 450 Russian tanks), cities, and lives would more realistically represent the havoc that Putin has wrought on the world all because of his sick megalomanical ambitions. Unfortunately his desire to claim some sort of “Victory” to parade at this time will likely mean that he will concentrate his offensive on certain parts of Ukraine in his effort to have something to “show” at this time. Fortunately, significant reinforcements are now being delivered to Ukraine through Western alliances.

At this time the EU will be celebrating Europe Day, the 72nd Gregorian anniversary of the day in 1950 when French foreign minister Robert Schuman presented his proposal for the creation of an organized Europe. This was known as the “Schuman Declaration”, the precursor to the European Union.

At this point it has been 9 cycles since 196 nations involved in the COP21 (Climate Change Conference) in Paris voted to approve an historic global accord to fight climate change, signalling an end to the fossil fuel era, as they committed for the first time to a universal agreement that has the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and limiting temperature rises. As we all know, politics, the pandemic, and wars have all played havoc with that goal.

12 Manik’ (May 10th) – a “gathering together” type of energy associated with reciprocity, marking one cycle since Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine received full approval from the US FDA, the first one to be licensed in the U.S. That was when New York City mandated Covid-19 vaccines for all public school teachers and staff, and the U.S. military mandated vaccinations for its personnel. In the spring of 1968 this was the energy in place when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his memorable “I’ve been to the mountaintop” speech the day before his assassination.

13 Lamat (May 11th) – “transformational star”, an intense and often highly consequential “heralding” type of force, as was in place at the time of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and at the end of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam, when the last remaining U.S. combat soldiers left Vietnam in 1973. One cycle ago this was in place when U.S. forces airlifted some 19,000 people out of Kabul over a 24 hour period, after the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, part of approx. 48,000 people who were evacuated during this trecena after the fall of Kabul. The U.S. Dept of Defense recently reported that some $7 billion worth of U.S. military equipment was left behind (and is now under Taliban control) after the U.S. withdrawal was completed.

Currently this is National School Nurse Day in the U.S.

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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.]