It has been known to bring hurricanes – some of the world’s largest; it has been known to bring floods and dramatic water rescues. But it has also been known to bring important developments that have been significantly “healing” or transformative in positive ways.

This is the Water trecena, and water is the ultimate shapeshifter. As much as it can be turbulent at times, it can also be calm, tranquil and highly supportive of life. It can also be significantly cleansing, with the capacity to “wash away” stagnation and disorder.

In terms of energy surges, this trecena has factored significantly over the past few cycles in the waves of immigrants from Honduras and other places who have attempted to reach the US by streaming together in “caravans”. This could come into focus again during this period due to the expiration of the Title 42 Health authority pandemic restrictions.

The first day of this period, One Muluk, marks an important 52-day Shift-point within the 260-day cycle, signaling the start of the final 52 days before the current 260 day cycle is completed. This is often the point where some major switch-overs seem to take place, when new courses of action can suddenly appear, as happened on the first day of this trecena in 2010 when President Obama signed his Affordable Care Act into law.

Three cycles ago, in March of 2020, it seemed as if nations around the world were suddenly coming to the realization that drastic measures were going to have to be taken to turn the tide of the pandemic that seemed to be breaking out everywhere. The UK, Mexico, India, and Australia all began nationwide lockdowns just as this trecena was beginning, just after New Zealand and Italy shut down all nonessential services. By the third day of this time frame it was estimated that one-third of the world was in lockdown mode, and people everywhere were scrambling to sort out how to deal with the rapidly changing situation.

In December of that year, one cycle later, another major shift took place and suddenly vaccine programs were underway. Indeed, the very first day of this trecena was V-Day in the UK, the start of the biggest ever vaccination program, the day that the UK’s Health Secretary called “the start of the fightback against the coronavirus”. That was the day when Joe Biden pledged to distribute 100 million vaccine shots in the first 100 days of his presidency. That was one Gregorian year after one of the first cases of coronavirus was detected in Wuhan, China. Then one cycle later, by the start of this trecena last summer, Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine had just received full approval from the US FDA – the first one to be fully licensed in the US – as a new push got underway to get the vaccine into the arms of those who had been awaiting this new development.

What we are working with here is a trecena that holds the potential to be massively life-changing through the infusion of an often “electrifying” energy sequence that was seen traditionally as being under the patronage of a deity known as Chalchiuhtolin, the jade or “jewelled” turkey, a symbol of magic, abundance, ultimate authority, and even sorcery. This complex deity has been associated with darkness, disease, and even the plague, but in his turkey form, as overseer of this time frame, he also has the power to cleanse and to eradicate pestilence. The great “watery” Feathered Serpent also provides support, so this creates a generative “firewater” kind of force representative of the original creation forces that sparked life. These forces have been known to open the door to many new and exciting possibilities. They have also been known to trigger major shifts in direction, even to the point of significantly altering personal lives or changing the world, like they did in the spring of 2020.

Sometimes a hint of what is to come can appear just before the start of this trecena, as we are seeing now with the release of Mark Esper’s new book titled A Sacred Oath: Memoirs of a Secretary of Defense During Extraordinary Times that sheds much light on the extraordinarily dysfunctional nature of the dumpster’s administration. This is echoing much that has been heard before, as could be seen four cycles earlier (in July of 2019) when Sir Kim Darroch, the then-UK ambassador to Washington, said that the White House was “uniquely dysfunctional”, faction-driven, and “diplomatically clumsy and inept” under the dumpster. Exactly one cycle after that, in March of 2020, 160 intelligence and national security professionals (of all political persuasions) signed a joint letter warning that the destructor-in-chief had “created an existential danger to the United States”, pointing out that “Democracy itself” was at stake and that the election of Joe Biden would be their best chance of surviving that danger and reversing course. At that time Congressman Jamie Raskin characterized the Republican party as “a massive religious cult surrounding an organised crime family headed by a deranged narcissist.”

Two cycles ago came the first sign of relief when the 538 members of the electoral college in the US cast their ballots to officially confirm Joe Biden’s win as President-elect. And even though there was an attack on the Capital and all sorts of machinations to try to prevent Biden from assuming the presidency, action has been taken on multiple fronts to bring to justice those who were involved in various anti-Democratic plots. Indeed, the first day of this trecena last summer brought forth a scathing rebuke by U.S. District Judge Linda Parker of nine attorneys aligned with the dumpster who had tried to mess with Michigan’s 2020 presidential election results. Judge Parker ruled that they will have to pay financial penalties and face other punitive actions relating to their “profound abuse” of the legal system.

Now, as this trecena returns, it is likely that much more will be seen with regard to how the US justice system is proceeding in these matters. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against the dumpster and his cronies, many people have already been sentenced, and more and more people are calling for indictments at the highest levels. Hopefully, as this huge saga continues to unfold, more and more people will see that muck for what it is and start leaning more towards the light, and towards choices more aligned with truth, justice, and healing – a path aligned with hope, revitalization, and the restoration of life. And as it happens, we even have a day for that during this time frame – on 5 B’en, UNESCO’s International Day of Light!

Among the many inspirational events that have occurred within this period, 4 Eb’ (the 4th day) often figures prominently. This energy, representative of a solar force in combination with Eb’s “animating vitality”, can create an uplifting, refreshing type of energy marked by a sense of the opening up of new possibilities. This is what was in place in June of 1965 when the first spacewalk took place, and then again in 1968 when the “Earthrise” photo was taken from Apollo 8, becoming the iconic first photograph taken by a human of Earth from Deep Space. Two cycles ago this was the energy in place when the US FDA granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer’s vaccine, which enabled widespread vaccination programs to begin.

In 2008 the Maya energy of 4 Eb’ was in place when Barack Obama became the first African-American to win the U.S. presidential election. In April of 2015, this same energy brought the historic nuclear reduction agreement with Iran, which was seen as a significant political breakthrough, the most important foreign relations negotiation of the Obama presidency up to that point.

In December of 2015 it was the first day of this trecena that brought the release of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, on the findings from several years worth of investigation into the residential school abuses inflicted on tens of thousands of indigenous children in Canada. That was when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would work with leaders of First Nations, the Métis Nation, Inuit, provinces and territories, and other key partners, to design a national engagement strategy for developing and implementing a national reconciliation framework, informed by the Commission’s recommendations.

And now, the just-released report by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has revealed that at least 408 Indian boarding schools were operated in 37 states or territories for 150 years in the US. Some 53 burial sites have been identified and investigations are now getting underway to examine the legacy of that system and uncover the truth about the US federal government’s role in that regard. The beginning of this trecena marks the start of a year-long tour by US interior officials that will allow former boarding school students from Native American tribes, Alaska Native villages and Native Hawaiian communities to share their stories as part of a permanent oral history, in an effort to begin a healing process. The beginning of this process in the US comes in nine 9 cycles after the release of the Canadian report, with work on Truth and Reconciliation also continuing in Canada.

So as we go through this period we have another opportunity to tune in to the life-enhancing energies of water, and to “go with the flow”, to allow for purification and refreshment. Hopefully “rivers of assistance” will flow into Ukraine to help with the battle against Russia. Hopefully “rivers of aid” will be made available for all those who have been dispossessed due to that war. Hopefully, as well, rivers of actual water will direct themselves towards New Mexico and other such drought-ridden regions to bring relief and revitalization.

As always, this would be a great time to go to a river or a lake, or an ocean, if you can, and give thanks for the waters of this earth, and pledge, once again, to protect them. While you are there, this would be a good time to petition those waters to direct themselves towards the regions where they are greatly needed. During this watery, shapeshifting, purifying – and potentially even electrifying – time frame these are the energies that will come into play:

1 Muluk (May 12th) – “the initiation of water (purification)” – a kind of “double water” day associated with the Moon Goddess (symbolic of water and the Number One) in conjunction with the refreshing shape-shifting energy of water, marking two cycles exactly since One Muluk opened the door for Covid-19 vaccination programs to begin in several countries, in December of 2020. That was the day when England, Scotland, and Wales begin administering their first doses of the vaccine, precisely one cycle after the UK and several other countries began nation-wide lockdowns in March of 2020. On that day in 2020, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, appealed for an immediate global ceasefire, calling for an end to all armed conflicts so that the world could instead focus on fighting the rapidly advancing coronavirus. Obviously Russia was not listening – or didn’t care.

Currently this is the day when the White House hosts the second Global Covid-19 Summit, in virtual conference with representatives from various countries, as well as international and regional organizations, and other health-related alliances. The flag over the White House is flying at half-mast at this time, to commemorate over one million deaths lost to Covid in the U.S.

This is also International Nurses Day, last day of the Canadian Nursing Association’s National Nursing Week, with this year’s theme being Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing. This marks Florence Nightingale’s 202nd Gregorian birthday.

One Muluk is an important 52-day Shift-point within the 260-day cycle, the first day of a trecena that often brings forth dramatic shifts in state and sometimes even a sense of relief, as new pathways for action begin opening up. One cycle ago this energy saw thousands of people being rapidly evacuated from Kabul airport in Afghanistan. That was the day when the Jan. 6th committee in the US Capitol got down to business and issued a sweeping records request to the National Archives for documents pertaining to the dumpster’s administration, as well as phone records from members of Congress, in its first demands for documents relating to the Jan. 6th attack.

In Canada this marks 9 cycles since the release of the final report of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (in 2015), which involved documenting the history and lasting impacts of the Indian residential school system. Pope Francis will be visiting Canada in July on a “pilgrimage of healing and reconciliation”.

2 Ok (May 13th) – a dynamic yin/yang type of force relating to love, warmth, guidance, and loyalty (symbolized by the Maya glyph for Dog), coinciding at this time with the Feast day of Our Lady of Fatima in Catholic traditions, at which time thousands of pilgrims from around the world will gather in Fatima, Portugal. Prayers for Ukraine will likely be a major focus at this time.

Three cycles exactly since the US Surgeon General strongly urged everyone to stay at home as the pandemic was firmly taking hold.

3 Chuwen (May 14th) – the “activation” of creativity; an important “time-weaving” type of energy that can often bring forth powerful shifts, coinciding at this time with World Fair Trade Day and World Migratory Bird Day, the first of two this year, with the focus at this time being “Dim the Lights for Birds at Night”, to highlight the impacts of light pollution on migratory birds.

This is the 74th anniversary of the day in 1948 when the British Mandate expired in Israel and the new Jewish state was established. This was celebrated on May 4th this year.

In 1929 this was the energy in place on Black Tuesday, when investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day at the time of the Wall Street crash. Unfortunately, there were again huge stock market declines just as this current trecena was coming in.

As of this current day it has been exactly fifteen Tzolk’in cycles since the premier of the 2011 action thriller called Contagion that depicted the rapid spread of a virus to cities around the globe.

4 Eb’ (May 15th) – the “defining of animating vitality” – an uplifting, refreshing type of energy that often brings a sense of new possibilities, often highly eventful, coinciding at this time with a Total Lunar eclipse. Visible for almost 1.5 hours over most of the Americas, this will be the longest total lunar eclipse since 2007. This marks the official start of the eastern Pacific Ocean’s hurricane season.

Back in 1968 this was the energy in place when the “Earthrise” photo was taken from Apollo 8 as it orbited the moon. That was the first photo of Earth from the perspective of the moon – one of the most famous photos ever taken, which, according to Al Gore, kicked off the modern environmental movement. Five cycles earlier, in 1965, Ed White made the first space walk by a U.S. astronaut under this same energy influence.

Currently this is International Conscientious Objector Day, marked around the world, and associated with raising awareness of those who refuse to participate in armed conflict for moral or religious reasons. Russia – are you listening???

This is also the 74th Gregorian anniversary of Nakba (“Catastrophe”) Day, marking the explusion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes when their land was expropriated by the Israeli government after the declaration of the state of Israel in Palestine in 1948. Many fled to Gaza where they continue to live in fear of raids and bombardments from Israel.

5 B’en (May 16th) – the “blessing of personal authority”, coinciding with the UN’s International Day of Living Together in Peace, a special day that the UN designates as a means of “mobilizing the efforts of the international community to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding and solidarity” with the aim of upholding the desire “to live and act together, united in differences and diversity, in order to build a sustainable world of peace, solidarity and harmony”. Many special events in support of Ukraine will likely be held at this time.

This is also UNESCO’s International Day of Light, “a global initiative that provides an annual focal point for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy”. In Berkeley, Ca this is the 16th Annual War Resisters’ Day.

This marks three cycles since U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at the first joint video briefing for the 193 U.N. member nations, at the launch of the U.N.’s COVID-19 Communications for Solidarity Initiative to rapidly inform people about facts and science, “and promote and inspire acts of humanity around the world.” During that briefing he said that not only were people fighting the “common enemy” of the coronavirus but also a “growing surge of misinformation” about the disease. Unfortunately far too many did not get the message!  This also marks three cycles since Congress in the US passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to help people in the US affected by the pandemic.

This is the Maya birth energy of Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who issued the first warning about the coronavirus in the early days of the outbreak, who later died of it. He is now honoured as one of the Heroes of the pandemic.

6 Ix (May 17th) – the energy of the six directions in conjunction with the jaguar (and Jaguar Warrior) and the fate of the earth. This energy, which is now marking two cycles exactly since Covid-19 vaccines first arrived in Canada, is the Maya birth energy of Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett – the immunologist who played a key role in developing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Currently this is the UN’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB): a worldwide celebration of sexual and gender diversities, with this year’s global focus being “Our Bodies Our Lives Our Rights” . This event is celebrated in more than 130 countries.

7 Men (May 18th) – a “self-generating” type of energy associated with the Eagle’s “higher vision”, coinciding at this time with International Museum Day, with this year’s theme being “The Power of Museums”, highlighting how museums “have the power to transform the world around us”.

This is the Maya birth energy of Luba, a Ukrainian-Canadian pop singer who has produced a number of memorable songs, including “Giving away a Miracle” which is something greatly needed in Ukraine these days. Check it out

At this point it has been two cycles since the Electoral College in the US voted to formalize Joe Biden’s win as President-elect. That was the day when coronavirus vaccines began to be distributed and administered in both the US and Canada. But it was also the day when the Delta variant was discovered in the UK. The last time this energy was in place (last summer) President Biden declared that “the Afghan war is over”, a war that cost “$300 million a day for 20 years” and the lives of 2,448 US service personnel.

And as far as wars are concerned, we are now one cycle away from Feb. 2, 2023, when Russia will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the USSR’s defeat of the Nazi’s during World War II. Perhaps that is one of the reasons behind the so-called Russian leader’s intent on causing such misery for Ukraine, and thus the lie about trying to “defeat Nazi’s” in Ukraine – part of his very warped way of thinking?

8 Kib’ (May 19th) – the “resurrection” of the transmutation oriented force that can lead towards the restoration of order, coinciding with World Family Doctor Day and Global Accessibility Awareness Day, associated with spreading awareness about how to make technologies more available to people with disabilities. This marks three cycles (780 days) since the launch of the USFDA’s rapid coronavirus test, which was able to speed up the processing of Covid test results, and one cycle exactly since Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with President Biden at the White House.

9 Kab’an (May 20th) – representative of “outwardly-projecting” longevity in connection with the earth and evolutionary movement, where there can be long range implications for actions.

This is the UN’s World Bee Day, which ties in perfectly with this day’s energy, as the bee is one of the symbols associated with Kab’an. This day is oriented around raising awareness concerning the importance of protecting bees and other pollinators of the threats they face and of their contribution to sustainable development. The goal is to strengthen measures to protect bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and help to eliminate hunger in developing countries.

This is also the 17th annual Endangered Species Day, a global day of awareness raising and global action.

Note that the Endangered Species Act became effective on the last day of this time frame in 1973.

In China this day is like a second Valentine’s Day since the Mandarin pronounciation for 5.20 “five- two-zero”) sounds like “I Love You”.

This is the third Gregorian anniversary of the inauguration of President Zelenskyy in Ukraine on May 20, 2019 (Maya day on 5 Imix). It’s also Cher’s 76th Gregorian birthday.

10 Etz’nab’ (May 21st) – foundational “flint”; an intense sparkling, “knife-edged”, “flash-point” type of energy that can either dazzle or divide and separate, coinciding at this time with Australia’s federal election, with National Armed Forces Day in the U.S., and with UNESCO’s World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

This is the opening day for the World Heart Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, when world leaders in cardiovascular health meet with the goal of strengthening the global response to cardiovascular disease to help people live longer, healthier lives.

This was the energy in place three cycles ago when UN Sec-General Guterres said that the Covid-19 outbreak was the biggest challenge for the world since World War II and could bring a recession that “probably has no parallel in the recent past”.

11 Kawak (May 22nd) – inspirational “storm of compassion”, coinciding with the opening of the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva. In addition, this is the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity, with this year’s theme being “Building a shared future for life”.

It has been four cycles since the WHO declared the Ebola epidemic to be an international emergency, and three cycles precisely since early April of 2020 when the global number of  Covid-19 cases passed the one million mark, with the global death toll over 50,000. By the time this 11 Kawak energy returns this time the global number of cases will be well over 520 million, with the global death toll close to 6.3 million. At the current rate, the number of cases in the US will be well over 84 million, with the death toll in that country escalating well beyond one million. Brazil’s death toll is also particularly high, at over 665,000 by this time. Who knows whether or not Shanghai will be out of lockdown, which has now been in effect for several weeks.

12 Ajaw (May 23rd) – a “gathering together” force aligned with the full sun and “enlightenment”, a day that often sheds light on human conditions, coinciding at this time with Victoria Day in Canada. This is the day when the Title 42 Health authority pandemic restriction that blocked people from entering the U.S. from Mexico comes to an end, the day when a new wave of immigrants is expected, exactly one cycle after another large caravan of about 800 migrants was broken up last summer by Mexican border agents in Huixtla, Mexico. The issue of how to handle this expected new wave of immigrants could become very prominent at this time. As of the start of this trecena it has been five cycles since Mexico began letting the Honduran immigrant caravan of over 3000 people into Mexico, en route to the US border.

And let’s not forget that some six million people have fled from Ukraine, due to the war, and large numbers of those people are seeking asylum as well.

It has now been three cycles since the head of the IMF called the coronavirus epidemic “humanity’s darkest hour” as we witnessed the world economy grinding almost to a standstill. Currently the issues of high gas prices and potential food shortages loom large.

13 Imix (May 24th) – “transformational birth”, another force that can be highly intense, coinciding at this time with the long anticipated opening of the Elizabeth line in London, the initial phase of a significant new passenger service between 10 new London underground stations, which will increase London’s rail capacity by 10% – just in time for the opening of the huge Chelsea Flower Show, seen as “the world’s greatest flower show”, created by world renowned garden designers.

This is the legendary Bob Dylan’s 81st Gregorian birthday, and the 92nd Gregorian birthday of renowned naturalist/artist Robert Bateman who has devoted his life to raising awareness about the beauty and majesty of the natural world and the wonders of its inhabitants.

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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.]