With the arrival of the Eb’ trecena on August 26th, aspects of that benevolent water-oriented energy from the last trecena seemed to dove-tail with the sense of “animating” or “restorative” vitality that can come through Eb’. That sense of restoration and renewal seemed to be particularly strong on August 29th, on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. On this 4 Men “burner” day, President Obama visited New Orleans to congratulate the people on their resilience and their ability to face and overcome the tremendous challenges that have been imposed upon them, first by that hurricane, and then by the BP oil spill. In an article that emphasized the continuation of the rebirth process in that city it was noted that New Orleans’ population has now “rebounded to 78 per cent of its pre-Katrina level”. Two days later (on 6 Kab’an, an energy associated with “evolutionary movement”) President Obama made the declaration that the U.S.-Iraqi war had officially come to an end, indicating that “out of the ashes of war, a new beginning could be born in [that] cradle of civilization”. As mentioned in mid-August, the last U.S. combat unit had withdrawn from Iraq on 7 Chikchan, representative of “self-generating liberation”. Two days after that, under 8 Kawak’s “resurrection of compassion” influence, the leaders of Israel and Palestine agreed to officially recognize the nation states of Israel and Palestine, as they began direct peace negotiations, to be continued every two weeks as they work to address key issues associated with past conflicts.
It was during the early days of this trecena that hope also began to built for the well-being of the 33 Chilean miners who have been trapped deep undergound since early August. Food, water, clothing, medicine, entertainment, and many other necessities (including video communication) have been delivered to these men through a narrow shaft, as work continues on the drilling of the relief shaft that will eventually bring them to safety. The men have created a micro-society, where they all have particular roles to play – an action that is credited with helping them to maintain positive attitudes even in the context of this most difficult situation.
As much as this trecena began relatively gently, the last few days of this Eb’ trecena concluded with a roar as the higher numbered days brought forth a number of daunting events, including the powerful 7.1 earthquake that struck New Zealand in the early morning hours of 10 Imix (Sept 4th.) This juxtaposition of the number 10 (the “fundamental ground of being”) in conjunction with Imix’s world-building, world-shaking type of influence often presents an “anything can happen” type of force. In this situation, this 10 Imix event rattled, rolled, and damaged some 100,000 buildings (several hundred of which were destroyed completely), but fortunately no one was killed.