A presidential inauguration, all 50 states on high alert in the U.S., a second  Senate impeachment trial, severe moral and economic crises in multiple areas, and an out-of-control global pandemic – all this and much more is in motion during this final trecena of the current 260 day calendrical cycle.

Click here for the podcast to accompany this trecena.

The last time this trecena was in place we were enthusiastically applauding the amazing “Captain Tom” phenomenon that has been sweeping through the UK, in honour of Captain Tom Moore who had celebrated his 100th birthday by raising over £32 million for the NHS to help with Covid-19 relief efforts by walking around his garden. It was a stunning example of what one person could achieve when their heart is in the right place. This time we are suffering from PTSS as we attempt to recover from the shock of seeing thousands of armed domestic terrorists attack the U.S. Capitol while Congress was in session, as lawmakers were forced to break away from their process of confirming the results of the 2020 election and flee the chambers, fearing for their lives.

As we arrive at this final trecena in this current One Imix to Thirteen Ajaw cycle, a momentous transition is underway in the U.S., with one administration limping its way out, leaving a catastrophic trail of destruction behind, as a new administration comes in – faced with the enormous task of cleaning up the gigantic mess, stained by “spiritual decay and moral decrepitude” (as Harvard professor Cornel West put it). It seemed that nearly half the country had been sucked into “the Big Lie” that was told, over and over again, by the dumpster over the past few weeks as he tried to overturn the results of the presidential election. All this while millions continue to deal with the challenge of the coronavirus.

So let’s have a quick look at the energies coming in during this period – energies that often call for particular alertness, as Lamat, the first day of this trecena, is associated with Venus, the great celestial “signaller”. There is often a connection with conflict as well, as the ancient Maya often referenced Venus as a “signaller” for war related events.

One of the major patrons of this trecena was known to the Aztec as Xipe Tótec, the ancient Lord of Renewal and Liberation. The other was Xiuhtecuhtli, the Lord of Fire and Time – a deity connected with time-related change, as in cycle endings. Both of these entities are oriented around the idea of setting the stage for new beginnings. Sudden and dramatic change is not unusual at this time, particularly with regard to individuals in leadership positions.

In some parts of ancient Mesoamerica the first day of this trecena was known as One Rabbit, often serving as a Year Bearer, and often depicted graphically as “bearing the burden” for the forthcoming year – even seen as a supernatural being that carried the burden of cyclical time. This date seemed to be particularly important to the Aztec since it can be found carved onto a number of important marker monuments, including one that was thought to be a throne for Motecuhzoma.

Although One Rabbit/One Lamat is not carrying the burden of the year at this particular time, it definitely has a large “responsibility” even now as this is the energy that is “bearing the burden” for this current Lamat trecena during which the significant change-in-office in Washington DC will take place.

As always it is informative to reflect back on events that have occurred at other times under the same influences as “energy echoes” are common within this system, as when the energies of this trecena were in place in France in 1968 when hundreds of students and millions of workers who were all calling for radical change. At that time the Lamat trecena was one of the key turning points that led to the implementation of major reforms.

A large number of events relating to world leadership seem to surface during this period as well, as seen six cycles ago, in October of 2016, when this trecena sent out all sorts of warnings to the world to “get ready” for the monumental changes that were about to unfold with the forthcoming (2016) U.S. presidential election. That included (on the final day of this trecena – the last day of the cycle) a massive internet cyber attack that involved the “weaponization” of internet-connected everyday devices, which knocked out access to many of the top internet sites such as Amazon, Twitter, Paypal, and Netflix. As it happened that “weaponization” seemed to continue on during the whole of the dumpster’s presidency, as he used his Twitter feed to promulgate widespread “truth decay”.

Five cycles ago, during the summer of 2017, massive protest demonstrations took place in dozens of US cities during this trecena, in a huge call for the dumpster’s impeachment, with marchers’ signs signalling sentiments such as “Illegitimate, Corrupt Puppet”, and “Worst President Ever”.

Four cycles ago (in early 2018) there were a number of departures from the White House on the very first day of this trecena, which including the firing of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and three of his close associates, on the same day as Paul Manafort was put under house arrest. Others who lost their jobs during this period included national security advisor H.R. McMaster who had concurred with Tillerson that Russia was responsible for such things as the attacks on spies in the UK, FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, and John Dowd, the head of the dumpster’s legal team.

There were also a number of huge demonstrations, such as National School Walkout Day, a nationwide protest that saw students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and others take part in walkouts, sit-ins, and other related actions on school campuses across the U.S. as they called for tougher gun control laws.

During that same period Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah survived an assassination attack in Gaza, Peru’s President Kuczynski resigned on the eve of an impeachment vote, and Vladimir Putin won Russia’s presidential election by a wide margin, giving him Russian leadership for another six years.

When this trecena returned in November/early December of that year, just after the mid-term elections (three cycles ago), Democrats were starting their preparations to resume control of the US House of Representatives, with 102 newly-elected women. During that time several significant lawsuits against the dumpster were cleared to proceed, including the one against his Foundation in New York.

At the same time more and more information was coming out about the situation along the southern border, as it was learned that over 2300 migrant children were still being held in a huge tent city in Tornillo, with no known end in sight, and that more than 6000 bedraggled (mostly Honduran) men, women, and children were holed up in a filthy, overcrowded sports complex in Tijuana, waiting for help, after US border guards had fired tear gas at them. Two cycles ago (in August of last year) a federal appeals court in California ruled that migrant children detained by US immigration authorites must be provided with edible food, clean water, and basic hygiene items. (One might well ask – Why did it take a whole cycle for that ruling to come through?) And now . . . with the monster-in-chief’s term in office finally coming to an end, comes the statement from Rod Rosenstein that the zero tolerance immigration policy that had been responsible for all that “was a failed policy that never should have been proposed or implemented. I wish we all had done better.” [Yes . . . I guess SO!!!!] Although President Biden is making U.S. immigration reform a high priority, the damage done to the lives of thousands of people (including children) during the past four years is incalculable.

In the deeper past this is the trecena that was in place in 1918 when Russia’s Czar Nicholas and his family were executed by Bolshevik troops, at the beginning of this trecena, after being removed from Imperial power and held in captivity for several months. Thirty-five years later this energy brought forth the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, on the first day of the same trecena that saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth I in 1559 (the two coronations were only five Maya calendar days apart). Seven years after Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation that same One Lamat energy saw John F. Kennedy give his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention (1960) after winning the Democratic nomination for president. Fast forward to 2013 and we find the inauguration of Pope Francis I on One Lamat, in an open air mass in St. Peter’s Square with heads of state and religious leaders from 132 international governments or organizations, and some 200,000 people in attendance.

In terms of this trecena as a whole, this is a time period that has precipitated a number of important “world shifting” events in the past, including the discovery of gold in California in 1848; the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, followed by the unconditional surrender of Japan at the end of World War II; the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the U.S. in 1957; the first major Greenpeace event, in 1975; the completion of the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall in 1990; the storming of Baghdad by U.S. forces in 2003; the approval of the sweeping Wall St. reform bill in the U.S. in 2010; and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

As always this is a particularly good time to set the stage for personal new beginnings, an excellent time to work with the trecena’s energies to “signal” your intentions as you work to make whatever adjustments might be needed so that the new cycle that follows may better serve you. This is a great time to work with the “deities of renewal” – the Lord of Renewal and Liberation and the Lord of Fire and Time – who will be laying the foundations for the changes that will come. Given what is in play at the present time this is a good time not only to “brace” for the “unexpected”, but to work consciously on setting up a strong frame of reference for the new cycle. Here are the energies that will be in place at this time:

1 Lamat (Jan. 16th) – the “initiation of leadership”, a heralding type of energy that can point towards change or new directions, in place as rehearsals begin and bunting is being installed for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the US. Thousands of National Guard troops are taking their places in Washington DC to provide extra security. This is not only a particularly important “marker” point in terms of Maya calendar cycling (at various levels), but – as noted above – has been an important marker point in terms of leadership in world history. George Washington was selected to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army under this influence in 1775, and Queen Elizabeth II’s elaborate coronation took place under this influence in 1953. In 2011 this was the energy in place on the dedication day for the $120 million memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington D.C., and three cycles ago this was in place when US House Democrats voted overwhelmingly to nominate Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House (the actual election was a few weeks later).

2 Muluk (Jan. 17th) – the “dynamic shape-shifting” energy of water, coinciding at this time with the Feast Day of St. Anthony the Abbot, at which time the Blessing of Domestic Animals often takes place. This is veteran entertainer (and staunch animal rights supporter) Betty White’s 99th Gregorian birthday, and the Maya birth energy of civil right activist Mary Church Terrell, one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and a charter member of the NAACP.

Four Tzolk’in cycles ago thousands participated in the National School Walkout Day protests across the US under this influence, to spur action on gun control . . . . and yet, not only does the violence continue, but has clearly escalated. Due to threats that further violent rallies by right-wing extremists might take place on this day, both on the US Capitol and across the country, law enforcement officers will be on high alert at this time, and throughout the next few days.

3 Ok (Jan. 18th) – a Burner Day representative of the “activation of fire” (or heart-fire), coinciding at this time with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Blue Monday, the third Monday in January, which many claim to be “the most depressing day of the year”, calculating in such factors as weather conditions, debt level and low motivation levels at this time of the year. No doubt many will be feeling this way, especially if they were supporters of the last US administration. But if they were among the hundreds of millions (both in the US and around the world) who have been anxiously waiting to breathe again, after the catastrophic dumpster-dive of the last four years, this will be a day of JOY – much more along the lines of “the activation of hearts-starting-to-beat again”, with the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th US President just two days away.

On this day the UK is closing all travel corridors to protect against what PM Boris Johnson called “the risk of as yet unidentified new strains” of coronavirus. The new rules are to be in place until at least Feb. 15th.

4 Chuwen (Jan. 19th) – a “defining” day associated with play (and sometimes mischief); a “time-weaver” type of energy that can be quite eventful, coinciding at this time with Orthodox Epiphany (Russia, Eastern Europe), aka The Feast of Theophany, which commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan; at this time many Orthodox Christians submerge themselves in holes of icy water – to wash away their sins.

This is the day when the US Senate reconvenes to begin confirmation of Joe Biden’s picks for key positions in his administration, including his Defense Secretary, Secretary of State, and Homeland Security chief, and well as starting proceedings for the dumpster’s second impeachment trial. It is also the day when Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are expected to be certified as the winners of the Georgia Senate elections, meaning that as of the next day when the Democrats officially take control of the Senate it will be evenly split, at 50-50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris able to provide a tie-breaking 51st vote, whenever needed. Also in the US, this is the National Day of Racial Healing, which will feature virtual events across the country.

In the evening, the plan is for President-elect Joe Biden to hold a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, just before he is sworn into office the following day, to honor those killed by the coronavirus. This will be the “first-ever lighting around the Reflecting Pool to memorialize American lives lost.”

The Biden inauguration committee is inviting communities around the country to join Washington in lighting up buildings and ringing church bells at 5:30 p.m. in “a national moment of unity and remembrance.” Inauguration committee spokesman Pili Tobar said that “In the midst of a pandemic — when so many Americans are grieving the loss of family, friends, and neighbors — it is important that we honor those who have died, reflect on what has been one of the more challenging periods in the nation’s history, and renew our commitment to coming together to end the pandemic and rebuild our nation.”

As this day is also referred to as Hope Tuesday (the day after Blue Monday), this ceremony will fit in well with that idea.

5 Eb’ (Jan. 20th) – FINALLY!!! the “blessing” of restorative vitality, on a Palindrome (1-20-2021) day, at the time of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th US president, and Kamala Harris as Vice-President, on the 60th Gregorian anniversary of the day when President John F. Kennedy took his oath of office in 1961 as the 35th president. That was when President Kennedy gave his famous “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country” speech.

The swearing-in takes place at noon, when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris officially become the next president and vice-president of the US. Intriguingly, One Lamat was the energy in place at the time of JFK’s acceptance speech after winning the Democratic nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention the previous summer (1960).

Another example of “energetic intrigue” can be seen in the “coincidence” that this day, when Joe Biden becomes the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is also a Maya Calendar anniversary of the energy that was in place in 1775 when George Washington formally received his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the army during the Revolutionary War (after being selected for this on One Lamat).

Despite the fact that over 80 million people voted for Joe Biden, the most in history, the National Mall will be closed to spectators this time, due to intense security concerns, following the storming of the Capitol the week before by violent extremists. This time people have been told to stay home, as the threat of domestic terrorism remains and security forces are everywhere.

In China this is the day of the Buddhist oriented Laba Festival, when memorial ceremonies are held to pray to ancestors and deities for good fortune; it also marks the beginning of the Spring Festival.

6 B’en (Jan. 21st) – representative of “personal authority everywhere”, as Joe Biden and his team get down to business, and Congress continues with its work to confirm Biden’s team. It has been four cycles since Vladimir Putin was re-elected in Russia, for his fourth term. At that time most of Putin’s opponents had to battle hard to even qualify as candidates. Currently this is the day when the dumpster can be charged and prosecuted for his crimes – including the “incitement of insurrection”, the focal point for the second impeachment trial, which should now be underway. This is the fourth anniversary of the Washington DC Women’s March which was held three times before in resistance to the dumpster’s presidency.

At this point it has been six cycles since a monumental climate change deal was finalized under this influence by nearly 200 countries at the UN’s 24th Climate Change Conference in Katowice, Poland (in 2016). Joe Biden has plans to re-join this global effort to address climate change issues.

7 Ix (Jan. 22nd) – a “self generating transformation” type of energy – exactly five cycles since protestors across the U.S. in dozens of cities held huge impeachment rallies, calling for the dumpster’s impeachment. As it turned out, they finally got their wish – TWICE!

Four cycles ago it was reported that Facebook lost more than $50 billion in value due to a huge data breach related to unethical tactics that had been used to spread misinformation among politicians and influence elections around the world. One has to ask how this kind of thing factored into the issue of so many people believing “The Big Lie” that led to the insurrection on Jan. 6th.

8 Men (Jan. 23rd) – a “resurrection” type of energy associated with the high vision of the Eagle, three cycles since the funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral for former president George H.W. Bush, with five US presidents in attendance.

On the last appearance of this energy (in early May of last year) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement where he said that the coronavirus pandemic has been unleashing “a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering”, as he appealed for “an all-out effort to end hate speech globally.” At that time Guterres called on political leaders to show solidarity with all people, and on educational institutions to focus on digital literacy at a time when extremists were seeking to prey on captive and potentially despairing audiences. It is evident that not everyone was paying attention to this important appeal, certainly not the Pino (“President in name only”) who was in the White House at that time.

9 Kib’ (Jan. 24th) – an expansive, “restoration of order” type of energy, sometimes associated with making “adjustments”, often with long term implications, coinciding at this time with the UN’s International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. The theme for 2021 is Recover and Revitalize Education for the COVID-19 Generation. As mentioned on their site, there are still hundreds of millions of children and adolescents globally who cannot read or write or do basic math, so it is definitely time to step up “collaboration and international solidarity to place education and lifelong learning at the centre of the recovery”.

10 Kab’an (Jan. 25th) – a foundational type of energy associated with the earth and evolutionary movement, coinciding at this time with Robbie Burns’ Day, the 262nd anniversary of the birth of much loved Scottish poet Robbie Burns.

This day marks precisely three Calendar Rounds (3 x 52 years) since the second inauguration of President Lincoln, at which time he said:

With malice toward none; with charity for all…let us strive on to finish the work we are in…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.

11 Etz’nab’ (Jan. 26th) – an “inspirational flint” (knife-edge) type of force that can be quite decisive, dazzling and attention-getting, as it was when the worst fighting of the May 1968 crisis in France took place, as students calling for radical change took over the Paris Stock Exchange, raised a communist flag over the building, and tried to set it on fire. This was also in place when the Tulsa race massacre took place in 1921, when mobs of armed white residents attacked black residents and citizens, killing at least three dozen people.

In 1325 this energy was in place at the time of the founding of Tenochtitlan, the axis of the Aztec empire. In 1944 an attempt was made to assassinate Hitler under this influence (one of three such attempts that year); and in 1955 a young Elvis Presley gave his first professional performance under this influence in his hometown of Tupelo. During the summer of 2012 Venus achieved her greatest brilliance under this influence in conjunction with an “extreme” X1.4 solar eruption.

Currently this is the 72nd Republic Day in India and the tenth Gregorian anniversary of the start of both the Egyptian Revolution and the anti-government protests in Syria. All things considered – a good day to exercise caution.

12 Kawak (Jan. 27th) – the “gathering storm/catalyzation” type of energy that can provide a final big PUSH toward enlightenment, on the UN’s International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. All events this year will be online.

It has been four cycles since the massive “March for Our Lives” demonstrations in Washington and other major cities in the spring of 2018, when some two million people marched across the U.S. in the “largest student protest in American history, one of the largest marches on Washington in history, and the second largest march in American history, with millions more estimated to have marched throughout the world” in support of gun control legislation.

The last time this was in place the US Supreme Court heard, by teleconference – for the first time ever, two of the cases associated with the release of the dumpster’s financial records.

13 Ajaw (Jan. 28th) – “transformational Full Sun”, a day often filled with high drama and great change – and sometimes even great light (enlightenment), at the conclusion of the Imix to Ajaw cycle, at the time of the Full Wolf Moon. This day marks 106 cycles since the jubilant celebration of VJ Day in 1945 at the end of World War II after the unconditional surrender of Japan. It is also a Tzolk’in anniversary of the awarding of the contract for construction of the Space Shuttles Atlantis and Discovery in 1979.

It has been 14 cycles exactly since the great “moment of transition” in Egypt in 2011 when hundreds of thousands waited for President Mubarak to step down, and three cycles since President Macron declared a state of emergency in France and agreed to a wide range of concessions, in response to massive protests that had been taking place, including a minimum wage rise and tax cuts.

The last time this energy was in place (last May) it was reported that the US was expelling hundreds of child immigrants who would normally be allowed to remain in the US to argue their case in court. Considerable light was shed on the horror of the dumpster  administration’s approach to immigration at that time.

During this trecena last May the UN warned that the pandemic was causing widespread psychological distress worldwide. It called on all countries to make mental health support a key part of their virus response. At that time US coronavirus advisor Dr. Fauci warned that rushing to reopen schools and the economy could significantly set back the US recovery. At that time there were approximately 1.4 million cases in the US, the highest in the world. Unfortunately, due to the gross ineptitude of the dumpster and his administration in terms of responding to the pandemic during this past cycle, the number of cases in the US had risen to nearly 25 million by the time this trecena opened on Jan. 16th, and over 400,000 people had died in that country (over 2 million worldwide). By this day, at the end of this trecena and current cycle, that number in the US will have surpassed the 416,800 Americans killed during World War II. It is likely that this number will be reached by the time of the inauguration on Jan. 20th, and that as many as 20,000 -25,000 more will have died by the end of the trecena. The new administration in the US has daunting challenges ahead of them. We wish them well.

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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.]