As we head towards December, here we are again with the last trecena in the current 260 day cycle. This is the trecena that tends to herald change prior to the beginning of the new cycle, often with an emphasis on “leadership”. And the world is watching, as the negotiations are underway to achieve a temporary ceasefire in order to release about 50 hostages taken into Gaza, in exchange for the Israeli release of about 150 Palestinian prisoners.

From the perspective of this calendar, this trecena was ritualistically significant, with the first day, One Rabbit (the Aztec variant of the first day of this period), thought to have been the date in the distant mythic past when the cosmos was created by the gods. Its importance is reflected by the inclusion of a One Rabbit glyph on a number of monuments and markers, such as the back of the Aztec Coronation Stone.

This energy (known as One Lamat, aka “Star”, to the Maya) was also associated with New Fire ceremonies. Aztec priests conducting New Fire ceremonies (every 52 years) would climb the Cerro de la Estrella (Star Mountain) to conduct New Fire ceremonies in conjunction with the rise of the Pleiades. And although such ceremonies are no longer conducted, it is intriguing to see how so many events associated with renewal have just “naturally” coincided with this energy, at the beginning of this final trecena within the 260-day Tzolk’in cycle.

One Lamat, associated with Venus, was seen as the great celestial “signaller”, an energy that often heralds the need for alertness – as things are in the process of change. 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 during this period, particularly with regard to conflicts, and with regard to individuals in leadership positions.

It has now been four cycles since Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th President of the US on the fifth day of this period in 2021, after four years of “spiritual decay and moral decrepitude” fomented by his predecessor (as Harvard professor Cornel West put it), compounded by the mess of the coup attempt, and the “Big Lie” rantings of someone who could not admit defeat or comprehend the concept of a “peaceful transition of power”.

Six cycles before that, in 2016, this trecena sent out all sorts of warnings to the world to “get ready” for the monumental changes that were about to unfold, particularly with regard to the then-forthcoming U.S. presidential election. Conflicts within the Republican party were already emerging as Trump “declared war” on the GOP establishment, which cowered. Just one cycle after the 2016 presidential election, in 2017, this trecena brought forth massive protest demonstrations in dozens of US cities, in a huge call for the dumpster’s impeachment, with marchers’ signs signalling sentiments such as “Illegitimate, Corrupt Puppet”, and “Worst President Ever”. And yet, with 91 felony charges against him, in both criminal and civil cases, he is still wreaking havoc on the national stage, as the New York fraud trial relating to his business continues during this time frame, and preparations continue for other forthcoming hearings and trials.

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 time period, 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. Currently this trecena marks the 60th Gregorian anniversary of his assassination. In 2013 the inauguration of Pope Francis I coincided with One Lamat, with a large open air mass in St. Peter’s Square, and the last time this was in place China’s president Xi Jinping was sworn in for an unprecedented third term as the leader of China.

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 completion of the deconstruction of the Berlin Wall in 1990; the storming of Baghdad by U.S. forces in 2003; and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Two cycles ago this trecena not only brought forth the “bombshell” overturning of “Roe vs. Wade” by the US Supreme Court, which traumatized millions, but also brought forth some of the most “eye-opening” testimonies in the Jan. 6th Committee’s public hearings, which vividly provided insight into the inner workings of the insurrection scheme. The last time this was in place (last March) there were several major bank failures in the US, and significant evidence was released relating to the billion-dollar defamation lawsuit against Fox News, revealing the chaos inside Fox News pertaining to the 2020 election.

Currently the focus of world attention is on the humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in the Gaza Strip, with the Palestinian death toll surpassing 14,000 people (including over 5,800 children), with another 33,000 wounded, as Israel keeps pummeling Gaza and the world keeps calling for a ceasefire. Simultaneously the Russo-Ukrainian war continues on, with no sign of a resolution whatsoever.

And on another planetary front, this is the trecena that will bring the opening of the UN’s COP28 climate summit, in Dubai, UAE, as at least 196 countries meet to assess progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris agreement, and work to draw up an escape plan for “a world on fire”.

With many powerful energies in play during this important transitional period, this is a timeframe that tends to signal new directions, setting the stage for the new beginnings that will come into play in the following trecena.

This is also a particularly good time to set the stage for personal new beginnings, an excellent time to work with this trecena’s energies to “signal” your intentions as you work to make whatever adjustments might be needed to address shifting new realities. This is a great time to work with those “deities of renewal” who oversee this trecena – the Lord of Renewal and Liberation and the Lord of Fire and Time – who will be helping to set the foundations for the changes that will come. Here are the energies that will be in place at this time:

1 Lamat (Nov. 22nd) – the “initiation of leadership”, a heralding type of energy that can point towards change or new directions, as the world watches for new directions to open up in the Gaza hostage situation. In the distant past this was the energy (known to the Mexica as One Rabbit) that often coincided with New Fire ceremonies, associated with renewal. But even in contemporary times many important events associated with new beginnings have taken place on One Lamat, as seen four cycles ago when preparations were being made for Joe Biden’s inauguration as the 46th president of the US.

Currently, the early morning hours of this first day of this trecena brought the announcement that a deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas to exchange some 50 Israeli hostages for some 150 Palestinian women and children that had been held by Israel, along with a brief ceasefire. It is a start, but given the horrendous Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, the horrific humanitarian crisis that has been unfolding in the Gaza Strip through almost seven weeks of Israeli bombardment, and the worldwide call for a ceasefire (not just a pause), much, much more needs to be done. However, pauses in the attacks could at least allow some desperately needed supplies to get through.

As this day coincides with Thanksgiving-eve in the U.S., the thoughts and prayers of millions for humanitarian solutions for both sides of the conflict will be directed towards that dire situation. At this time severe storm warnings are in place in many parts of the US, with a high risk of tornadoes – which often tends to go hand-in-hand with the energy of Lamat.

This energy has often 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 – echoing the fact that the Aztec version of this energy (known as One Rabbit) was carved into the Aztec Coronation Stone. In 1960 this was in place at the time of John F. Kennedy’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention after winning the Democratic nomination for president, and currently this energy is marking the 60th Gregorian anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. In 2013, One Lamat coincided with the inauguration of Pope Francis I. Intriguingly, this is the day for the U.S. release of Ridley Scott’s new epic film called Napoleon, which has been termed “an awe-inspiring achievement”. In the year 1800 it was a One Lamat day when then-General Napoleon began leading his army across the Alps in his Second Italian campaign.

Significantly, this energy was in place two cycles (520 days) ago at the time of the dissolution of Israel’s coalition government, when a new election was called, setting the stage for the return to power of former prime minister Netanyahu several months later. Even then this was highly problematic as this move was soon followed by intense protests against him, as could be seen one cycle ago (earlier this year), with demonstrators often calling him the “Crime Minister”, relating to his indictments for breach of trust, accepting bribery, and fraud, as well as his plans to overhaul Israel’s judiciary.

One Lamat is the Maya birth energy of philosopher, political activist, and social critic Dr. Cornel West, who has often spoken about the massive “spiritual meltdown” taking place in the U.S., which he sees as a massive collapse of spirit, of morality, and of integrity, with its accompanying “poverty of imagination” and “poverty of vision”. His concern for what has been happening led to the declaration of his candidacy as an independent in the 2024 US presidential election.

This is the first day of a two-day Nordic defence ministers meeting in Stockholm within the framework of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) at which time the ministers will, among other things, discuss various aspects of Nordic defense as well as support for Ukraine and the overall security of Nordic and Baltic regions.

2 Muluk (Nov. 23rd) – the “dynamic shape-shifting” energy of water, coinciding at this time with Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., on the day when the Lights-of-Hope will be lit up outside St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.

Two cycles ago this was in place when the Jan. 6th Committee held its fourth public hearing, which focused on the dumpster’s alleged efforts to unduly influence state legislators and election officials. Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger and one of his top aides were called in to testify. Eight Tzolk’in cycles ago thousands of students participated in the National School Walkout Day protests (on Mar. 14, 2018) across the US under this influence, to spur action on gun control . . . . and yet . . . .

Forty-six years ago this was the Maya calendar energy in place at the time of the sudden death of Elvis Presley in mid-August, 1977, which came as a great shock to a whole generation of his admirers.

3 Ok (Nov. 24th) – a Burner Day representative of the “activation of fire” (or heart-fire), coinciding at this time with Native American Heritage Day (part of Native American Heritage month). Click here for 8 ways to commemorate this day.

This is also Black Friday, which used to be the biggest shopping day of the year in the US, but much of this is now done on-line instead. Increasingly, this has become known as Buy Nothing Day, an international day of protest against consumerism.

In 1954 this was the energy in place when the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union passed a decree to hand over the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.

This day marks four cycles since Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel, known as the “world’s crisis manager”, announced that she would be stepping down. Perhaps she needs to come out of retirement to help find a permanent solution to the long standing crisis in Gaza. If all goes as planned this could be the day when the first of the hostages will be released in Gaza.

This was Nelson Mandela’s Maya birth energy, and the Maya birth energy of Argentinian surgeon Rene Favaloro, the doctor who performed the first bypass surgery, changing heart treatment forever.

4 Chuwen (Nov. 25th) – a “defining” day associated with creativity (and sometimes mischief); a “time-weaver” type of energy that can be quite eventful, coinciding at this time with a national “stop the Gaza war” demonstration in London. This will likely be when more hostages will be released through the hostage exchange deal in Israel/Gaza.

This is also the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the beginning of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (to Dec. 10th), currently coinciding with Saint Catherine feast
day, with Saint Catherine seen as the patron saint of students, philosophers, and unmarried women.

This tends to be an energy that can “weave events together” in often unusual ways. Four cycles ago this was the last day of what many refer to as “the worst presidency in history”, as factcheckers have reported that the dumpster told an average of some 4,000 lies per month during his time in office, with the biggest of all being the BIG one about the results of the 2020 election.

That was the day when Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were certified as the winners of the Georgia Senate elections, which gave the Democrats control of the Senate in Washington, making it evenly split, giving Vice-President Kamala Harris a tie-breaking vote, whenever needed. On that day then-President-elect Joe Biden held a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, just before he was sworn into office, in memory of the 400,000 people in the U.S. who had died from Covid by that point.

This is the Maya birth energy of both David Bowie and Tuna Turner – now in place the day before what would have been Tina’s 84th birthday.

5 Eb’ (Nov. 26th) – a “precision” type of energy associated with restorative vitality, as was in place in January, 2021 at the time of the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th US president, and Kamala Harris as the first female Vice-President, with rays of sunlight coming through to illuminate them. That was the 60th Gregorian anniversary of the day when Pres. 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.

That day in 2021, when Joe Biden became the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, was 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).

Two cycles ago (in June of 2022) major protests erupted in many parts of the US after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in a 5-4 ruling, ending a 50-year constitutional right that allowed women to make their own decisions about their own bodies. It was seen as a “decision heard around the world”.

6 B’en (Nov. 27th) – representative of “personal authority everywhere”, at the time of the Full Beaver Moon, with the Pleiades and Jupiter very close by, now marking four Tzolk’in cycles since President Biden unveiled a comprehensive Covid strategy, the day after he assumed office. On that day he also signed 10 more executive orders and invoked the Defense Production Act in order to increase the supply of vaccine-related materials and ramp up testing, after the discovery that the dumpster administration’s so-called “vaccine distribution plan” turned out to be non-existent.

On this day a memorial event will be held at Georgia Southwestern State Univerity for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, with her funeral to be held two days later. It is also Cyber Monday.

In addition, this marks eight cycles since Vladimir Putin was re-elected in Russia, for his fourth term, in 2018. Since then many who have attempted to oppose him have either died mysteriously (often by falling from windows) or been subject to severe persecution – in addition to the thousands of civilians and tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers who have lost their lives due to Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and the on-going war.

At this point it has been ten 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). This also marks four years since environmental scientists warned that the world may have already crossed a series of climate tipping points, posing a risk that is “an existential threat to civilization”, putting us into “a state of planetary emergency”. That was when they called for urgent international action – a warning that came in just a few weeks before the coronavirus was identified. And now, with a new UN report having been released just days before the opening of COP28, the warning has been put out that world is on track for a “hellish” 3C increase in global heating.

7 Ix (Nov. 28th) – a “self generating transformation” type of energy, coinciding with Giving Tuesday, the global day of giving that “unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world”. At the same time
this is CNN’s third Call to Earth Day: Taking action to protect the planet, with this year’s theme being “Our Shared Home”. This is a worldwide call for people to get involved, to do something personally to protect the planet. This is the day when CNN will use its global presence for special coverage of “a day of action to raise awareness of environmental issues and to engage with conservation education”. Last year events related to this call took place in more than 80 countries around the world.

In Hawaii this is Independence Day, and across Thailand this is the day for the traditional Loy Krathong (Festival of Lights) and Yi Peng (sky lantern) celebrations when purification rituals take place to float away bad luck while paying respect to the goddess of water. For Loy Krathong small containers containing candles, incense sticks, and flowers are floated on bodies of water to symbolize the letting go of past mistakes and negative thoughts. The purpose of Loy Krathong is to enlighten the mind and bring good fortune. Loy = “to float” and krathong = “container”. On this day there will be a tribute service for Rosalynn Carter at Emory University in Atlanta.

It has been exactly nine cycles since protesters across the U.S. in dozens of cities held massive rallies, calling for the dumpster’s impeachment, in the summer of 2017. As it turned out, they finally got their wish – TWICE, but it took much too long to get there – and was not adequately supported by Republicans. And now he’s pushing for re-election???

8 Men (Nov. 29th) a “resurrection” type of energy associated with the high vision of the Eagle, coinciding with the UN’s International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Normally this would have focused on events designed to educate the public to gain support for a peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, given that Gaza is currently being blown to smithereens as Israel attacks cities, targets hospitals, and slaughters thousands of innocent Palestinian people, including children, the focus at this time will be on rescue, and on the push for both a ceasefire and humanitarian aid.

This marks five cycles since early 2020 when 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. Unfortunately the legacy of that tsunami is still being felt, and hate and xenophobia appear to have taken over as a worldwide epidemic. The “high vision of the Eagle” is greatly needed at this time as people frantically search for ways to tone down the rhetoric and work on viable solutions to Earth’s many critical problems.

This is International Jaguar Day, highlighting conservation efforts to preserve and protect this amazing species. This is also the day of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter’s funeral in Plains, Georgia.

9 Kib’ (Nov. 30th) – an expansive, “restoration of order” type of energy, sometimes associated with making “adjustments”, often with long term implications, now marking the end of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season.

This is the opening day for the COP28 UN climate summit, in Dubai, UAE, the most important meeting yet on the future of the global climate. Cop28 will gather the heads of state and government from a potential 196 countries to assess progress towards meeting the goals of the Paris agreement, and work to draw up an escape plan for “a world on fire” as seen this past summer.

Known as the “global stocktake”, this assessment will show that the world is far off track in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the 43% needed during this decade, in order to have a good chance of limiting temperature rises to 1.5C. Indeed, just before the start of this Lamat trecena, Earth’s temperature briefly surpassed a key climate threshold, reaching 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels for the first time in recorded history, so much work needs to be done to address this existential problem.

During this summit world leaders will continue working on ways to fulfill promises made at COP21 under the Paris Agreement where countries pledged, collectively, to cut their greenhouse emissions enough to keep the planet from surpassing that heat theshhold, as all sectors of society appear to be failing to meet the targets set in 2016. At this time a blueprint will be formally adopted for how to deal with funding for “loss and damage” to help the world’s most vulnerable people affected by climate breakdown. A new Oxfam report, titled ‘Climate Equality: A planet for the 99 per cent’, which highlights how the top one per cent of earners are responsible for the same amount of carbon emissions as the bottom 66 per cent, will most likely be the focus of considerable discussion as well.

It has now been two cycles since ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson (aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows) gave a terrifying first hand account of the situation in the White House before and during the attack on the Capitol, including the conversations that she heard, which confirmed that the dumpster not only knew what was going on regarding the attack, but encouraged it, and would not do anything to stop it, even though he was urged to do so.

This is the Maya birth energy of Maria Branyas Morera, who celebrated her 116th birthday on Mar. 4th. She was declared the world’s oldest person on Jan. 17th. It is also the unstoppable director/producer Sir Ridley Scott’s 86th Gregorian birthday. Sir Ridley’s epic Napoleon movie, noted above, has just been released and his Gladiator 2 movie will be released next year.

10 Kab’an (Dec. 1st) – a foundational type of energy associated with the earth and evolutionary movement, coinciding with World AIDS Day, which provides “an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness”, with this year’s theme being “Let Communities Lead”.

Ten Kab’an was the energy in place in 1917 at the time of the October Revolution in Russia – when the Communists (Bolsheviks) came to power. This energy was also in place at the second inauguration of President Lincoln, in 1865, 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.” Compare that to the 10 Kab’an day in 1973 when the first Watergate hearings took place as major insights into Republican chicanery during the Nixon era began to be revealed.

This marks two cycles since Sweden and Finland were formally invited to join NATO. Finland was officially accepted as NATO’s 31st member this past April, and Sweden is expected to join soon, after Turkey and Hungary give their approval.

11 Etz’nab’ (Dec. 2nd) – an “inspirational flint” (knife-edge) type of force that can be quite decisive, dazzling and attention-getting, a kind of “wake up and pay attention” type of energy, now coinciding with UN’s International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, which (according to the UN’s website) is still a major worldwide issue, with over 40 million people worldwide still existing in slavery. In addition this is World Computer Literacy Day, World Pollution Prevention Day, and the first day of the four-day World Leader Summit Online (for entrepeneurs in all industries).

This marks one cycle exactly since the International Criminal Court issued an indictment and arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes relating to the deportation of Ukrainian children.

Two cycles ago, in June of 2022, the “knife-edge” nature of the energy, unfortunately, sliced into one of the key agendas of the Biden administration when the US supreme court sided with Republican-led states in their effort to hobble the federal government’s ability to tackle the climate crisis. That court opted to support West Virginia’s position that the EPA should not be allowed to regulate the amount of pollution that can be produced by companies responsible for gas emissions. This was seen as a landmark moment in conservative ambitions to dismantle the “regulatory state”, by stripping away protections from Americans across a wide range of areas. Prior to this, President Biden’s plans for tackling the climate crisis were seen as having significant potential in the overall global effort to deal with this crisis.

12 Kawak (Dec. 3rd) – the “gathering storm/catalyzation” type of energy that can provide a final big PUSH toward enlightenment, coinciding with the UN’s International Day for Persons with Disabilities. The UN indicates that there are some one billion people with disabilities worldwide, 80% of whom live in developing countries.

This is now marking 8 cycles exactly 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”, with millions more estimated to have marched throughout the world in support of gun control legislation.

The last time this was in place (in March) tens of thousands of Israelis were marching in nationwide protests against the Israeli government’s plan to undermine the judicial system.

13 Ajaw (Dec. 4th) – “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, now marking 4000 days since the beginning of the current era in the Maya Calendar (from Dec. 21, 2012). This is the World Wildlife Fund’s Wildlife Conservation Day.

In 1945 this was the energy in place at the time of the jubilant celebration of VJ Day at the end of World War II after the unconditional surrender of Japan.

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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.]