It was an intense and tearful conclusion to the last cycle over the past couple of days as hundreds of thousands of young people marched on Washington DC and in hundreds of other cities in the US and other countries to call for stricter gun controls in the US. In many other regions, such as the UK, the battle with severe winter weather continued on, days past the official arrival of Spring.

This year Spring arrived just slightly ahead of the new beginnings associated with the Maya Calendar, with the start of this calendar’s new Imix-to-Ajaw (birth to enlightenment) cycle coming into place just six days before the Maya New Year, an unusual juxtaposition, with the Maya New Year coinciding with Easter Sunday.

And as if there are not enough “tensions” in place these days, we find an unusual “beginning” and “ending” overlap happening as this first trecena of the cycle gets underway, as the final day of the last 20-day month in the Ha’ab (365 day year) cycle coincides with the first day of this new 260-day cycle. During the last five days of March the Wayeb’ will be in place, leading up to the start of the Maya New Year. These are the transitional days at the end of the Maya year, a short five day energy sequence around which there is some disagreement with regard to their nature. In some places these days have been seen as “dangerous” or at least a time frame that required special vigilance or caution. Other just saw them as transitional days or “days of rest”. In any case, the fact that these special days coincide with the very early days of the new cycle at this current time suggests that an interesting kind of dynamic might be in play, akin perhaps to the type of back-and-forth, “death-to-birth” kind of duel that takes place as winter begins to release its grip and spring gains momentum. Given the positioning of these energies at this time it seems to suggest that the overall dynamic could be intensified at this time as new directions start to take shape.

As always, this first trecena of the new cycle begins with the Moon Goddess (who is aligned with the Number One and the power of birth) working in tandem with Imix, the birth-oriented “generative nucleus” that begins and carries forward this initiatory 13-day period aligned with the “realm of all potential”, thereby setting the stage for new ideas or opportunities. This trecena often places the emphasis on “world-making”, in the sense of opening up vast new arenas for engagement, as when this energy brought forth the first host-to-host connection between computers, back in 1969, signalling a dramatic, quantum shift in the nature of world communications.

At this time it may be important to keep in mind that as much as this is a new beginning, a time of “birthing” new possibilities, it still has the potential to be quite chaotic. The process of “birthing” can be painful and dramatic as “anything” can happen as a new “being” struggles to make its entry into the world.  Most assuredly this was what happened two cycles ago just before the last U.S. election.

As it happened the Imix trecena was the last full trecena in place before that election, and it was at precisely the mid point of this trecena when FBI director James Comey sent a letter to Congress saying he was reopening his investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server in light of “new information found but not yet examined”. Even though many argued at the time that this action was likely in violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits interference with an election, it was an action that prompted Trump to claim that she would be indicted, as he urged his followers to “lock her up”.  Even though Comey reported, nine days later, that there was nothing new or incriminating about  the information, this “October Surprise” caused such a furor that it changed the course of the election. Many saw Comey’s action as “a mistake of historic proportions”.

Intriguingly, ten years earlier this same trecena brought forth a major Democratic sweep in U.S. midterm elections, as the Democrats took control of both houses of Congress. At that time Nancy Pelosi was elected as House Democratic leader, becoming the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives in American history.

Often, during this trecena, there is a focus on the cosmos as many pioneering events have occurred during this period, as when the first human ascent into the stratosphere took place in 1931. Under the auspices of this trecena test pilot Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, in 1947, and then in 1957 the launch of Sputnik I kicked off the space race.

Other important “firsts” brought forth during this “birthing” time frame include the landing of NASA’s Spirit Rover on Mars (in 2004), and the first flight powered entirely by solar energy by the experimental Solar Impulse 1 (in 2010).

This trecena seems often to open portals to the cosmos itself – as happened in 1925, when the astronomer Edwin Hubble chose this trecena to announce the existence of galaxies other than the Milky Way, which greatly expanded our awareness of the great cosmic expanse. In 2013 this was the trecena that saw the launch of the European Space Agency’s Gaia probe on a 5.5 year observational campaign to map this Milky Way galaxy. Such events certainly open new realms of thought, prompting inquiry into unexplored frontiers.

During this opening of “the realm of all potential”, new tactics or “new beginnings” often come into play on many fronts, as happened in 1969 when the internet became active under the influence of One Imix. Then three cycles ago, in early February of 2016, came the historic announcement about the discovery of gravitational waves that cause distortions in spacetime, as anticipated by Albert Einstein decades ago. This new discovery was called “transformational”, as this opened the door to the detection of completely different kinds of information, and is seen as the beginning of gravitational wave astronomy.

So even though this trecena has the potential to be somewhat chaotic as new ventures or ideas are taking shape, this is also a trecena that can prompt people to think “beyond the box”, embark on new adventures, and possibly even find solutions to long simmering problems. As noted above there could be some back-and-forth dynamics happening near the beginning of this particular Imix trecena, because of the overlap with the Wayeb’ at this time, which could cause, among other things, that “battle” with winter weather conditions to continue for a few days in some areas. But that duality will  clear by the time of the “seating” of the New Maya Year on Easter Sunday. These are the energies that will come into play:

1 Imix (March 26th) – the initiation of the “realm of all potential”, the energy under which the first host-to-host connection was made between computers (from UCLA to SRI), in October 1969. On this day Rock ‘N’ Roll music legend (and Aerosmith front man) Steven Tyler turns 70, just a few weeks before Nashville’s mayor proclaims May 10th to be “Steven Tyler Day” in that city as Stephen Tyler: Out on a Limb opens the Nashville Film Festival, all suggesting that Stephen is about to have a great year.

2 Ik’ (March 27th) – a dynamic energy associated with “wind, breath, and spirit”, as was in place when Solar Impulse I made its first flight powered entirely by solar energy (in 2010), charging its batteries in flight. At the present time Two Ik’ coincides with the “seating” of the Wayeb’, the transitional days at the end of the Maya year, the 5-day lead-up to the Maya New Year, so this day in particular brings into play many, many dualities, beginning with the “yin/yang” of “two” and also emphasizing that “end of year/beginning of cycle” interplay mentioned above. This is the first of those five transitional days that some have deemed as requiring special vigilance or caution, with others seeing them as transitional “days of rest”. Bottom line – especially as this is a “two” day – would be to watch for dualities. Try not to get caught in any kind of cross-fire kinds of situations, particularly with regard to communication (“wind/breath/spirit”), but rather hold on to the idea of “maintaining balance”.

3 Ak’b’al (March 28th) – the activation of darkness, associated with deep mysteries and sometimes the unexpected, coinciding at this time with a National Day of Mourning for the victims of the shopping mall fire in Siberia. Precisely nine cycles since the UN estimated that the global population officially hit 7 billion (in Oct. 2011), which is quite astonishing since a mere 85 years ago it was estimated to be less that two billion.

4 K’an (March 29th) – a “defining” energy associated with the resurrection of youthful vitality

5 Chikchan (March 30th) – associated with the “blessing of lifeforce”, coinciding at this time with Good Friday and, in the evening, the beginning of the Jewish celebration of Passover; 165 years since the birth of Vincent van Gogh.

6 Kimi (March 31st)  a “foundational” type of energy that can often manifest as a kind of “equalization everywhere” type of force, which can often bring a sense of “release”; sometimes oriented around the setting of foundations for restructuring or for regeneration” – coinciding at this time with the final day of the Maya Wayeb’ and the second Full Moon (Blue Moon) of 2018 – a very rare event, as the last time this occurred was 1999. On this day a private funeral service will be held for Stephen Hawking, at Great St. Mary’s, the University Church in Cambridge. His ashes will be interred near the grave of Sir Isaac Newton at Westminster Abbey later this year.

7 Manik’ 0 Pop (April 1st) – a “self-generating” type of energy generally associated with the idea of reciprocity, symbolized by the Deer – often a good energy for “generating sustenance”, for being involved in humanitarian activities, or for working through negotiations or joint ventures, coinciding at this time with Easter Sunday, April Fool’s Day, the Sun conjunct Mercury (“Cazimi”), and the Classical Maya New Year. This is also the day when China’s 9.4 ton Space Station Tiangong-1 is expected to fall to Earth. Three cycles since the historic announcement concerning the discovery of gravitational waves that cause distortions in spacetime, as anticipated by Albert Einstein decades earlier; a discovery that was seen as the “transformational” beginning of gravitational wave astronomy.

Traditionally it was recognized that there could be a strong sacrificial aspect to 7 Manik’ as well, as happened two cycles ago, in October of 2016, when FBI Director James Comey delivered the “October Surprise” when he sent a letter to Congress indicating that he was “reopening” the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, an action that precipitated disastrous consequences with regard to the U.S. election.

8 Lamat (April 2nd) – a “resurrection” of the Venus-oriented “heralding” energy, aligned with leadership; traditionally a Maya “Celebration of Abundance” day, this energy was known as “Rabbit” in some ancient Mesoamerican regions, and was seen as a symbol of abundance and proliferation – coinciding at this time with Easter Monday. Maya birth energy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and primatologist Jane Goodall, who is credited with greatly increasing awareness of the reality of animal emotions and animal social structures. Her Gregorian birthday is tomorrow.

9 Muluk (April 3rd) – representative of “the outward projection of water”, this is a path-finding and often “shape-shifting” type of force, correlating at this time with the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s memorable “I’ve been to the mountain” speech. Jane Goodall’s 84th Gregorian birthday, and the Mayan birth energy of the legendary fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, who passed on last month.

 10 Ok (April 4th) – a Burner Day representative of “foundational” fire (or “heart fire”), often associated with love, protection, guidance, and justice, coinciding with a Day of Remembrance in many areas in honour of the 50th anniversary of the shocking assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., seen as “one of the most tragic, catalytic, and meaningful events in American history” and the beginning of a whole new era.

Traditionally this would have been seen as an energy that “takes the fire”, as in the sense of setting something up for action. This energy can also provide a “course correction” if some  significant adjustments are needed to a course of action.

11 Chuwen (April 5th) – a “change” oriented, “timeweaver” type of energy – the energy that brought forth the first untethered space walk in 1984. This is an energy that can prompt us to have fun, but also remind us to “be on our toes”, coinciding at this time with the 50th anniversary of the night James Brown “saved” Boston during the 1968 riots.

One cycle since Walter Shaub, director the the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) departed from office. Given how frequently the White House had disregarded his recommendations (and that was 9 months ago!) he felt that his job was “pointless”. Since then the turn-over at the White House has been rapid and on-going.

Also the day of China’s Qingming Festival, aka Chinese Memorial Day, Ancestor’s Day, or Tomb-Sweeping Day and the Maya birth energy of the beguiling super sleuth Mata Hari.

12 Eb’ (April 6th) – a “gathering together”, “stream-of-consciousness” type of energy, this force can be quite intense, often containing within it a “spark” or “essence of revitalization” that hints at refreshing new possibilities.

13 B’en (April 7th) – “transformational personal authority”, an energy under which many strongly    transformative events have taken place in the past, as in the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, the inception of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the launch of Sputnik I by the USSR (signalling the beginning of the Space Age) in 1957, the inception of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (in 1979), and the election of Nancy Pelosi as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. Currently this enegy coincides with the completion of the Jewish celebration of Passover and International Pillow Fight Day.

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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.]