This Ok (Dog) trecena, returning for the second time this year, this time as the final trecena of 2022, is coinciding exactly with the last 13 days of 2022. When this was in place in early April it was just after the start of the Maya New Year, just after the entire Kyiv region was liberated from Russian forces, and just after the formal apology from Pope Francis for the “deplorable conduct” of those members of the Roman Catholic Church who had perpetuated abuses and crimes against thousands of children in the context of Canada’s residential school system. The emphasis, in many ways, was on renewal, exactly as it is now.

Indeed, the first day of this time frame (One Ok) was celebrated traditionally as a Feast Day of Renewal, oriented around the idea of guidance, justice, and the restoration of life.

Thought of as being under the influence of Xipe Tótec, the Lord of Renewal, and Quetzalcóatl, Lord of Life, this trecena was seen, traditionally, as a time when a new sense of direction in conjunction with the energies of renewal come into play. The Aztec deity known as Xipe Tótec, who was generally depicted wearing a flayed skin, symbolic of the “sloughing off” of the old and the bursting forth of the new, symbolized this idea. One of the key symbols associated with this time frame is a dog holding a torch, bringing light into the darkness and showing the way, which is exactly what has happened during this period, many times in the past.

As this trecena opens on the first full day of Hanukkah (which began the evening before), the lighting of menorahs will tie right in with the nature of this time frame. That will be the final day of the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal, after two weeks of intense negotiations. Many world leaders have called for ambitious recommendations to better protect Earth’s vital ecosystems, including new financing mechanisms to support the preservation of biodiversity. If they can come up with a workable plan this would mark the start of a major effort to scale back destruction of this planet, and to work more cooperatively and more sustainably with nature. The overall goal is “to reach a peace pact with nature”, starting with a 30×30 target – to protect at least 30% of the planet by 2030.

This is also the day for the final public hearing of the Jan. 6th Committee, prior to the release of its final report relating to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. This committee had convened two cycles earlier, for the purpose of “shedding light” on what had transpired and who was involved. They have done a remarkable job and they will be providing the Department of Justice with considerable evidence to support the prosecution of many in the upper escelons of power. Note that we can see another “echo” here as it was the first day of this trecena in 2019 when the Mueller investigation concluded its probe into Russian interference with the 2016 election.

As this trecena opens with the lighting of menorahs in Ukraine as well as elsewhere, we again see the remarkable resolve of the millions of people who are determined to remain free and  unbreakable, regardless of what Russia throws at them. Many gathered in Kyiv’s Independence Square, joined by ambassadors from many countries, to sing blessings and participate in a ceremony organized by the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine. At the same time President Zelenskyy provided the reminder that this is “a war between darkness and light”. He also put forward a proposal for a global peace summit.

Looking back we can see that it was the first day of this trecena in 2014, at the opening of the 40th G-7 summit in Brussels, when the Ukraine crisis related to Crimea was a significant focus for discussions. In 2018 Russia began its massive Vostok-2018 war games on the first day of this trecena, involving some 300,000 personnel, more than 1000 aircraft, two naval fleets, and some 36,000 tanks and other military vehicles. But despite that show of might, much of that is now in ruins, and Ukraine has reclaimed some 54% of the territory that Russia had tried to seize. No doubt Ukraine’s resolve will continue to shine brightly through this current Ok trecena, as they continue with their efforts to push back the darkness.

As noted before, one of the things that the Maya Calendar offers is the opportunity to look at the evolution of life from the perspective of energy cycles, as “themes” related to events have a way of returning and evolving in a cyclical manner.

During the early 1960’s President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was not only inaugurated as the 35th US president during this energy frame but also assassinated and interred. During the following decade this was the time frame that brought an end to the whole Nixon era, culminating with the Watergate scandal. During the summer of 1974 the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that President Nixon had to turn over the tape recordings of 64 White House conversations, and it was this Ok trecena that accompanied the review of those tapes, including the discovery of “The Smoking Gun Tape” that contained evidence of obstruction of justice. Articles of impeachment were then approved by the House Judiciary Committee, which brought forth Nixon’s resignation at the beginning of the trecena that followed.

Fast forward to the summer of 2016 and we find Hillary Clinton making history during this time period by becoming the first female to be officially nominated as a presidential candidate by a major US political party. We all know what happened after that. Fast forward to February of 2020 and we find that this trecena was the first full trecena in place after Republicans blocked the impeachment of the dumpster in a sham non-trial by the US Senate. Related issues triggered a HUGE call for A-G William Barr’s resignation, also during this Ok trecena.

The last time this generative, renewal-oriented trecena was in place, this past April, the Jan. 6th committee’s investigation was boosted by the announcement that the Department of Justice was greatly expanding its criminal probe into the events of Jan. 6, including leadup preparations for the coup attempt. Information from the committee’s report that will be released at this current time will now be used to bolster the DoJ’s ongoing investigations, leading towards further prosecutions.

It was in the midst of the fallout from that so-called “impeachment acquittal” in early 2020, during this “fiery” period, that the flames of Covid-19 began to take hold. Italy was beginning to lock down while the dumpster was flailing around and claiming that he had the situation in the US “very much under control”, even as the CDC’s top official on respiratory diseases warned the American people that “disruption to everyday life might be severe”. And indeed it was – by the time this trecena returned in July of 2021 the US had recorded over 35 million cases of Covid and over 4 million people had died from it globally. It was the start of another wave, which began to take a high toll among the unvaccinated. And, as everyone is aware, there were many more waves after that . . . . with Japan even now experiencing its eighth wave, with tens of thousands of new daily cases.

Looking back at history there are many examples of people “holding high” the torch, to light the way forward. During his inauguration speech on the eighth day of this time period in 1961 John F. Kennedy said that “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility –I welcome it. . . . . The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it–and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.”

That sense of defending freedom and lighting the world with the energy and devotion brought by such an endeavor is unmistakenly a powerful motivator for the people of Ukraine and its resilient leader. They are reminding the world about the power of “ordinary citizens” who so often rise to the challenge when threatened by darkness.

Keep in mind that this was the trecena in place during World War II at the time when British and Allied forces were knocked back to the beaches of Dunkirk as they became trapped by the German army. For some “still debated” reason the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk for several days near the beginning of this trecena, which allowed the Allies to organize an evacuation. Over 800 vessels, both large and small, raced to the rescue of over 338,000 Allied troops as the call for assistance went out. It was a seemingly impossible situation that was turned around by the unselfish actions of people who leapt into the breach throughout this trecena to save the lives of all those men who were cornered in a hellish situation. The bravery and force of intent that went into that operation of rescuing those troops from the Dunkirk beaches became known as the “Dunkirk Spirit”. And there is no doubt that the people of Ukraine are showing that same spirit as they continue rescuing people who become trapped in cities and villages that come under missile attacks, and as they rebuild their infrastructure again and again, despite the waves of attacks. Fortunately allied nations are now sending a considerable amount of equipment to Ukraine to help with this fight.

Hopefully Xipe Tótec, the ancient Mesoamerican Lord of Renewal, and Quetzalcóatl, Lord of Life, Knowledge, and Culture, the patrons of this time frame, will muster their forces to push back the darkness, to allow for the blossoming of new possibilities as we close out this year and get ready for the new. Here are the energies that will be in play:

1 Ok (Dec. 19th) “One Dog” – the “initiation of love, loyalty, warmth, guidance”, an energy associated with regeneration, sometimes depicted as a dog holding a torch, leading the way through the darkness.

This was an ancient Maya Feast Day of Renewal, the calendrical energy associated with an Aztec deity known as Xiuhtecuhtli, associated with the renewal of time and the creation of life itself. He was sometimes depicted as Huehuetéotl – the Old, Old [Fire] God, whose image was often shown on braziers. Associated with purification, transformation, the regeneration of natural cycles, and even the regeneration of the cosmos, Huehuetéotl-Xiuhtecuhtli presided over New Fire ceremonies (marking Calendar Round returns, every 52 years) and the lighting of the fires of renewal.

In 1991 this was the energy in place when the Act of Declaration of Independence (from the USSR) was adopted by the Ukrainian parliament, thereby establishing Ukraine as an independent state. It has now been one cycle since last April when Viktor Orban and his right-wing government won a fourth term in the parliamentary elections in Hungary. Even though Orban has been critical of President Zelenskyy he has condemned the Russian invasion and allowed Ukrainian refugees to enter Hungary.

Currently this is first full day of Hanukkah (which began the evening before) and the final day of the COP15 biodiversity summit, when (hopefully) some important announcements will be made with regard to the preservation of Earth’s biodiversity.

This is also the day for the final public hearing of the Jan. 6th Committee, exactly five Tzolk’in cycles since Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced that he was formally closing his office and resigning from the DoJ to return to private life. At that time Mueller said that his investigation had shown that Russian intelligence officers, indeed, had used sophisticated cyber techniques to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and that he did NOT exonerate the dumpster from obstruction of justice in that regard.

In 1974 this was the energy in place when the US Supreme Court ruled that Richard Nixon had to
turn over the recordings that included “The Smoking Gun Tape” which contained evidence of his obstruction of justice. Three days later the first of three articles of impeachment against him were passed, and Nixon resigned shortly thereafter.

2 Chuwen (Dec. 20th) – a dynamic type of energy traditionally aligned with creativity, often involving some kind of “intense heat”, currently coinciding with the UN’s International Human Solidarity Day, marking the 300th day of the Russia-Ukraine war. It is also a National Day of Mourning in Panama to commemorate the hundreds of Panamanians who died during the 1989 U.S. invasion of that country.

Note that metaphorcally 2 Chuwen is a solar force within a fire-oriented time frame, so this energy can often trigger intense engagement and action, as it did on that dramatic day in 1970 when the Apollo 13 spacecraft successfully returned to Earth after its aborted mission to the moon. The last time this energy was in place a critical report on climate change was released by the UN that highlighted the fact that harmful carbon emissions between 2010-2019 were the highest ever in human history – proof that the world is on a “fast track” to disaster. Scientists were emphatically pointing out that it’s ‘now or never’ to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. This is the kind of information that has been underscoring the intense global summits on climate change and biodiversity preservation.

Currently much local action during this period will involve finding creative ways to keep warm, as a major polar vortex will be bringing extremely cold temperatures to much of Canada and the U.S., and Ukraine will still be frantically dealing with infrastructure restorations as that country continues to respond to Russian attacks on various cities.

3 Eb’ (Dec. 21st) – the activation of “animating vitality”, a pathfinding/stream-of-consciousness type of force, coinciding with Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year for sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, with the lowest noonday sun, at the start of the winter season. This is the tenth Gregorian anniversary of the highly auspicious Maya Calendar Period Ending and the start of whole new “great cycle” era in December of 2012.  (Remember when so many people were mistakenly thinking that the world was going to end since they really didn’t understand the cyclical nature of the calendar?)

On this auspicious day the Jan. 6th committee will be releasing its final report, which is expected to include recommended charges (most likely insurrection against the government, obstruction of an offical proceeding of Congress, and conspiracy to defraud the government) against those involved in plotting, or taking part in, the attack against the U.S. Capitol, including top former White House advisors and the person who was more willing to foment a coup than admit that he had lost the election.

This is also the day when Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy will travel to Washington to meet with President Biden and address a joint session of Congress. In addition, this is the day when the Trump era Title 42 immigration order comes to an end, and hundreds of thousands of immigrants will attempt to seek asylum in the US (although a surge began a few days earlier).

This marks three Gregorian years since the first cluster of patients with “pneumonia of an unknown cause” was first identified (later labelled as COVID-19). Currently the “unknown” appears to be how are the people in China dealing with the surge that is beginning to happen there, now that restrictions have been relaxed.

It has now been two cycles since “Freedom Day”, in the summer of 2021, when the UK lifted its last coronavirus restrictions, even though they had registered over 5 million cases by then and case numbers were still sharply rising. NHS representatives were not happy with this “all open” idea, which made England an outlier since restrictions remained in much of the rest of the world. Since then more than 19 million new cases of Covid-19 have been registered in that country (now over 24 million in total) and over 198,000 people have been lost to it.

This is Jane Fonda’s 85th birthday, just 5 days after it was reported that the cancer she had is in remission. Way to go, Jane – and happy birthday!

4 B’en (Dec. 22nd) – a “defining” energy associated with personal authority, coinciding with the peak of the Ursid meteor shower.

This 4 B’en energy has often been highly consequential in world and U.S. history, as this was in place at the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. This was also in place when the first article of impeachment was approved against Richard Nixon in 1974, and in place when Hillary Clinton made history in 2016 by becoming the first female to be officially nominated as a presidential candidate. This was also the Maya birth energy of both Emmeline Pankhurst, who organized the UK suffragette movement in the early 1900s, and the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Anton Zeilinger.

5 Ix (Dec. 23rd) – a “precision” type of energy associated with mystery and transformation, and even rulership, coinciding at this time with the New Moon, and with Kisan Diwas, National Farmer’s Day in India, in celebration of the birth of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the “Champion of Indian Peasants” who became the fifth prime minister of India, the establisher of farmer-friendly policies and welfare programs.

Three cycles ago, in November of 2020, this is the energy in place on the day of the US presidential election, when Joe Biden had to “battle for the soul of America”.

In 1919 this was the energy in place at the opening of the Paris Peace Conference for negotiation of treaty settlements after World War I, and then again in 1939 when Canada declared war on Germany. One cycle after that, in May of 1940, just over 82 years ago, this energy was in place at the start of the huge efforts to undertake evacuations from Dunkirk beaches during World War II.

This would have been Nichelle Nichols’ 90th Gregorian birthday, the beloved Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek series and films.

6 Men (Dec. 24th) – a “stabilizing” type of energy associated with the high vision of the eagle, coinciding with National Consumer Rights Day and with Christmas Eve. This marks 50 years since the release of the “Blue Marble” photo that was taken on Dec. 7th, 1972 by NASA astronauts Eugene “Gene” Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt aboard the Apollo 17 mission. As it happens this 6 Men (6 Eagle) energy was also in place in 1946 when the first ever photo of Earth from space was taken from a German V-2 rocket launched from New Mexico.

7 Kib’ (Dec. 25th) – a self-generating type of energy, often associated with engendering the kind of thought that can lead towards the restoration of order, coinciding at this time with Christmas Day, the first anniversary of the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (aka the “first light telescope”), and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s 51st birthday.

This was the energy in place when the first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 when over 20 million Americans poured into the streets to demand environmental justice, in one of the largest single day protests in human history. And the battle still goes on . . . .

In 1963 this was in place at the time of President John F. Kennedy’s state funeral and burial, after he was assassinated several days earlier.

8 Kab’an (Dec. 26th) – a “resurrection” type of energy associated with “evolutionary” movement, on last day of Hanukkah; and with Boxing Day in British Commonwealth countries.

In 1961 this was the energy in place at the time of the inauguration of President John F. Kennedy, when he called for “high standards of strength and sacrifice”, and for “invoking the wonders of science”, as he called for unification to “undo the heavy burdens”. Near the end of his speech were the immortal words: “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”.

Three cycles ago, when this energy was in place, the states that were still finishing up with vote counting all flipped in Joe Biden’s favour, as everyone awaited the final tally. That was when Washington Post columnist Peter Marks tweeted, with regard to the dumpster: “He will never have another good day. Loser label will haunt him. The law will pursue him. Mental illness will hobble him. His properties will bankrupt him.” Never was a tweet more prophetic!!

9 Etz’nab’ (Dec. 27th) – representative of “outwardly-projecting” flint, a “spark-oriented” (and even knife-edged) type of energy that can be quite dramatic and consequential – sometimes bringing something to a definite conclusion.

In 1963, this energy was in place five days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, at which time President Johnson gave an address to the joint session of Congress when he strongly advocated for the earliest possible passage of JFK’s civil rights bill.

When this energy was in place three cycles ago Joe Biden had received over 75,500,000 votes in the election, the most votes ever cast for a presidential ticket, and was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. He then delivered a highly inspirational victory speech in Wilmington, Delaware, during which he called for healing for America. He pledged “to be a President who seeks not to divide but to unify” and said that he “sought this office to restore the soul of America, to rebuild the backbone of [the US]”. Cities around the world erupted in celebration, reacting as if a dictator had been overthrown and democracy had been saved. Congratulations poured in from leaders around the world. Since then he has demonstrated tireless leadership in his efforts to bring in beneficial legislative reforms, and to help western nations to remain united in their response to helping Ukraine defend itself from the horrors being inflicted upon that country and its citizens by Russia.

10 Kawak (Dec. 28th) – “foundational storm” – an energy associated with intense catalyzation as often can be seen and felt in major energy pushes or strong weather systems, exactly four cycles since a dozen towns in northern Italy went into lockdown due to the coronavirus in February of 2020.

This is the Maya birth energy of Lucile Randon, the French nun known as Sister André, who became the world’s oldest verified living person after the death of Kane Tanaka in April. She is a survivor not only of the 1918 flu epidemic, two world wars, and many other things, but also of Covid-19. She will turn 119 on Feb. 11th. This is also the Maya birth energy of Marie Marthe Augustine Lemaitre Brémont who was verified as the oldest recognized person in the world from November 2000 until her death at age 115 years in 2001.

Currently this is Dame Maggie Smith’s 88th Gregorian birthday. Happy Birthday Dame Maggie!

11 Ajaw (Dec. 29th) – an “inspirational sun” or “inspirational enlightenment” Burner Day, the last Burner Day in the Ajaw “Burner” sequence and the final Burner Day of the year, marking two cycles exactly since the convening of the January 6th special congressional committee to investigate the Jan. 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. During that investigation the committee conducted more than 1,000 closed-door interviews, investigated tens of thousands of documents, and held 10 public hearings. At least 964 people have been arrested and charged for taking part in that attack, and many have already been sentenced.

This day also marks three cycles since the announcement in November of 2020 that a preliminary analysis showed that the “first milestone” vaccine for Covid appeared to offer at least 90% protection. Pfizer and BioNTech described this as a “great day for science and humanity”. As over 1000 deaths per day were being registered in the US at that time, this news about a vaccine was a great cause for celebration.

This “day of enlightenment” marks 4 Calendar Rounds since the Proclamation of Peace on Feb. 18, 1815 , when the Treaty of Ghent that brought the offical conclusion to the War of 1812 between the US and Great Britain came into effect. This is also the Maya birth energy of Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final President of the Soviet Union, who won a Nobel Peace prize in 1990 for helping to end the Cold War.

12 Imix (Dec. 30th) – a “gathering together” type of force oriented around new beginnings (often “cosmic”), on the 100th anniversary of the formation of the USSR, aka the Soviet Union.

This marks one cycle since the inauguration of former school teacher and leftist union leader Pedro Castillo as Peru’s 130th president. However, he faced a steep learning curve in terms of governance, with one significant challenge being how to work with a highly conservative congress. It seems that that did not go well, as he was arrested and impeached earlier this month, during the last trecena, for illegally trying to dissolve Peru’s Congress, even though he had been elected for a 5-year term. That country is currently in a state of emergency as the crisis in leadership triggered major political protests, and trapped thousands of tourists in Cusco, near Machu Picchu.

This marks 3 years since December of 2019 when Dr. Li Wenliang in Wuhan, China issued the first emergency warning to colleagues that there were 7 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the city (he later died after contacting it himself).

At this point it has been four Tzolk’in cycles (1040 days) since February of 2020 when the dumpster claimed the Covid-19 situation in the US was “very much under control”. When he made that proclamation about 80,000 cases had been registered worldwide. That number is now over 657 million!

13 Ik’ (Dec. 31st) – “transformational wind, breath, and spirit”, this time coinciding with New Year’s Eve

This marks 3 years since China alerted the World Health Organization about the detection of a “pneumonia of unknown cause” in the area surrounding a seafood market in the industrial city Wuhan, which prompted the Chinese government to lock down that area. It also marks four Tzolk’in cycles since the CDC’s top official on respiratory diseases in the US warned people to prepare for the inevitability of community spread, indicating that the “disruption to everyday life might be severe”. Italy was coming to a standstill by then . . . and within 260 days (one cycle later) Italy had surpassed one million cases! Now, at the end of 2022, that country has registered close to 25 million cases. In the U.S. number of cases is now well over 101 million, with over 1.1 million deaths. Japan is currently experiencing a lengthy 8th wave, often registering over 150,000 new cases a day.

Note that this is the Maya calendar energy that was in place in 1940 during the final day of the enormous Dunkirk rescue operation during World War II. The last time this was in place (last April) it was reported that Ukrainian forces have liberated the entire region around Kyiv from Russian military forces. Let’s pray that today’s “transformational wind, breath, and spirit” helps to bring a “new spirit” to Ukraine to help the people continue to repel Russian attacks, and bring a “new and kinder spirit” to Planet Earth to help get 2023 off to a positive start.

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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.]