Cette anthologie regroupe les ouvrages précédemment publiés sous les titres Le Necronomicon du nouveau millénaire, Les Liturgies du Necronomicon, Le Grimoire du nouveau millénaire et Le Livre de Marduk par Nabu, disponibles séparément. Cette présentation du Necronomicon est une série de textes antiques provenant du Proche-Orient ancien, principalement de l’ancienne Babylone, témoignant de l’évolution de la tradition dite Mardukite — un nom provenant de celui du dieu national de Babylone, Marduk, fils d’Enki.
Édité par Joshua Free. Traduit de l’anglais par David Zibert.
Liber-N+L+G+W
L’importance historique de cette tradition, et de son évolution à travers le temps et la géographie apporte, outre sa valeur pédagogique évidente, une véritable clé sur l’état actuel de l’existence humaine et sa prochaine évolution. Chacun de ces textes est agrémenté d’un commentaire initiatique de l’éditeur, Joshua Free, également directeur de l’Organisation de recherche Mardukite, qui cumule plus de 25 ans d’expérience dans l’étude et la pratique de la Grande Tradition à Mystères. Le résultat d’un voyage dans les sources undergrounds des mystères métaphysiques du Nouvel-Âge, Joshua Free est tombé sur ce qui semble être un courant pur vers les sources de la tradition babylonienne.
Édité par Joshua Free. Traduit de l’anglais par David Zibert.
Liber-N+L+G+W
Cet ouvrage fut conçu à l’origine afin de valider la reconstruction d’un mouvement « Mardukite », qui était en fait la base des clergés mystiques de l’ancienne Babylone et d’Égypte et qui est ensuite devenue la source d’un éventail diverse de traditions pratiques. Plus que cela, toutefois, le Necronomicon est dévoilé au public dans cette présente condition pieuse afin de donner une nouvelle fraîcheur concernant le livre dans la conscience humaine et qui n’est pas simplement voilée dans un moule d’horreur fantastique gothique. Les éléments de cette nature ne se trouvent pas dans le présent texte, qui fut préparé pour les prêtres et les prêtresses de cette tradition et non pas comme un grimoire de la voie de la main gauche servant à effrayer les amateurs qui, de toute façon, ne seront sans aucun doute aucunement capables de comprendre assez ces mystères pour être en mesure d’en abuser.
Édité par Joshua Free. Traduit de l’anglais par David Zibert.
Liber-N+L+G+W
Un « Necronomicon du nouveau millénaire » apportant un savoir pur et ancien concernant les sujets les plus chauds de notre époque et de toutes les époques, comme le divin, la création, les extra-terrestres, les humains, la religion, les traditions magiques panthéistes, les dimensions alternatives, les portails et la vie après la mort. Qu’est-ce qu’un chercheur peut désirer de plus?
Édité par Joshua Free. Traduit de l’anglais par David Zibert. Préparé pour publication by Amanda Shea.
Conflict. . . Unrest. . .
On earth as it is in heaven. . .
At the precipice of a planetary evolution, the world ends.
It always does.
Global tensions rise to unprecedented heights with the passing of each day. The bright future once wrought for mankind grows dark for the race as a whole. To it: arcane philosophy failed; ageless religion failed; humanistic ideals failed; and every magic spell and scientific formulae furthers sealing mortal man in his own self-made systematic prison, driving the coffin nail home—a single-track to travel upon furthering our journey into the downward spiral sending a world into inevitability. . .
. . .apocalypse
And this is my hope for the world, shared from the depth of my soul and joined in the voices of many self-honest truth seekers who have seen for themselves. . . renewal!
The mystics know; the children know; even the birds know – the world is ending. Of course, this does not imply the blatant physical, material and totalitarian destruction of humans (so let us not employ the same scare tactics of every evangelizing preacher under the sun), it is instead the ending of a human world.
Recorded legends on ancient tablets point toward an era of renewal that will give way to the fabled Golden Age, a Brave New World—a true new age. But this is no new idea at all, rather it is something predicted by the main tenets of every true spiritual path throughout history, differentiated solely by semantics and appearing as varied as opinions from the Second Coming of Christ to the the cosmic collapse of the material universe by some rift in space-time or even dark matter and black holes.
You can label and interpret, even sugarcoat, what is happening any way you like—the simple fact remains: There is an undeniable feeling shared throughout the collective human consciousness that something is about to happen—that something is happening—and yet it all seems to endlessly cycle back and forth in some determined fragile balance.
So what are we to do?
While the bungled confusion of the world plagues the mind with anxiety demons and victimization tendencies, the answer couldn’t be simpler: we must provoke the end of the world, in this case, through a massive paradigm shift, meaning the necessary return of the true spirituality. By this, I mean the original stuff; untainted; undefiled through time by the analytical minds and personal truths of men corrupted into systems—fragmented from the whole; never the tween shall meet;
thank you, call back later. It may seem like nothing new; but no, this time it is different.
In the wake of this self-honest planetary need for a Great Awakening, and on the cusp of a true new age, many “cults” have risen in recent past, loosely termed “pagan.” Yet, in all of their once revolutionary efforts marked upon human consciousness, what they have to offer is often really only a “turn of the wheel,” simply providing a different container for the same content, proving to us once again that humanity has not evolved much since the days of antiquity.
Understand we are not here to tell you what to think, raising our “Mardukite literature” to some new authoritarian heights, but we are offering critical information and data correction for your noggin so that you might self-honestly think for yourself. The emphasis here on self is not merely some glorification of individualism or newfangled ego-worship, but an affirmation that if we really want to change the world, we had better clean up and change our self first.
When each
human being takes the responsibility to grasp the self-honest realizations of who they are and where they come from, what the world is and how it was made, of the stuff dreams and stars are made of, the universe and everything—when the experience of all these things can be done honestly from self, then the race will see an end to the current melancholy, heinous nonsense that is happening and has been happening for quite some time—a condition that is actually anathema to the survival of the very creatures that keep these things the way they are!
The premises we use to chart a new world are simple enough:
• Every human being has the potential and responsibility to experience life in self-honesty.
• Every human being has the right and freedom to demand this of their existence.
• Every human being has to embrace some universal oneness in order to live in harmony with itself as a race of brethren; with the Earth as a base of homestead; and with the universe as a matrix of existence. Only then can humans experience true unity with all life, the universe and everything!
This is our true and destined existence.
But what has kept man from achieving these ends? Why is it that the shortcomings of humanity throughout history seem to keep repeating recursively? Why has everything failed? As with all else, we find that the answer is again quite simple:
because humans are forgetful.
We forget easily; we are often sad; we suffer; we lose sight. To regain anything meaningful for the present and any hope for the future, we must remember what once was, and fortunately for us, an order of some of the earliest mystics thought of just that—so they created cuneiform-writing.
GATES OF THE NECRONOMICONorTHE SUMERIAN LEGACY, as with the remaining “cycle” of literature produced by the “Mardukites,” is sure to present to you ideas of “history” and “magic” in ways you have never seen, or maybe even imagined before. The tradition that it represents does not deal in rudimentary hierarchical grimoires or the application of general hermetic principles upon some historical ethnocentric tradition. The “Mardukite” work runs much deeper than even this. It presents The System—the archetypal system—that has formed the basis for every mystery tradition to later emerge.
In other words: if you can correctly understand the means and motives of the mysteries and religion of Babylon and Sumer, you will correctly be able to interpret “history” and “magic” as a whole—whatever these words may mean to you. You will become privy to the beauty of the original efforts that have mostly deteriorated with time, probably attaining its lowest evolutionary depths in Christian-controlled medieval Europe – or even in the practices of modern day Jews and Muslims who use religion to shroud political reasons for killing one another. Even more important perhaps, you will become aware of what really happened in ancient Babylon, and understand whether or not it really was the right way to execute Divine Order, and why.
Indeed—the focal point of the modern Mardukite movement has never been about bringing back the verbatim “Babylonian paradigm” one-to-one, because this would only be the “turn of the wheel” again, and we’ve already grown dizzy and tired by such ventures. This time, it’s all about fixing what went wrong, actually fixing the problem of systems, the root of all problems really, at the core. When every individual takes up the Sword of Truth against the world, executing the acid test of self-honesty on reality, then no doubt a new, better, upgraded aeon will really begin for mankind. This, we call: New Babylon!
To those who also feel called to pursue this with us, we say:
WELCOME HOME!
FOR TEN YEARS a wide-spanning global “Mardukite“ underground organization has progressively developed a modern methodology reviving the most ancient spiritual technologies on earth — beginning with those gleaned from cuneiform Mardukite Tablets of ancient Mesopotamia (meaning Sumerians, or more specifically the “Mardukite” Babylonians) appearing within an amazing core anthology: THE NECRONOMICON ANUNNAKI BIBLE edited by Joshua Free and now available in its 10th Anniversary Seventh Edition! The “Mardukite” work is based extensively on historical research and mystical traditions independent of anything involving Simon, Lovecraft, Tyson or the rest. Here is your REAL ‘NexGen’ NECRONOMICON for the 21st Century!
BUT HOW DOES IT ALL REALLY WORK ???
…I will tell you!
1. Self-purity and acquisition of True Knowledge
2. Self-dedication and development of True Understanding
3. Pure Invocation and execution of True Action
The path to power begins first by purifying the self, both within and without, in addition to the material and the immaterial, the mind and the environment, the set and setting. Without self-honesty, which is the state of being in “Self” free of worldly conditioning (and especially the last few thousands of years of misinformation), a practitioner is unable to fully “self-actualize” beyond what they have been conditioned to be or “kNow,” typically a “victim” of circumstances, unable to channel and manifest from within the self-made prison.
This is accessible through one level of practicum: work which will lead to self-honest knowledge and experience of Self (and the Anunnaki). This is the true and faithful dedicated devotion that is prerequisite to this work in general. One could classify this first form of practicum as “magick” or “prayer” since it is based on a ‘transmission’ of intention for the sole purpose of establishing the necessary relationship (and communication) with ‘spiritual’ forces existing in the background reality of the material world.
Systematic spiritual and mystical prayer-books (not bound “books” of course, but cuneiform clay tablets) are found in the private collections and even bed-chambers of the most successful priest-kings, scribe-priests and magicians in Babylonian history. Although this part of the work is primarily “introspective” in nature and meant to prepare the individual, it can also be studied and developed in groups, orders and priesthoods (as it once was) — such as seen among the modern “Mardukite” revival occurring today!
Beliefs and judgments affect our personal attentions and flow of energies that use our being as a catalyst. We are all interconnected to the divine spiritual grid-like matrix. Energy flows where attention goes. To become an empty vessel is not enough – one must be filled with Truth, “true knowledge” and then only afterward, via dedication and commitment, can it be realized as “true understanding.”
Personal dedication in the material world means understanding the knowledge of how and why things are, and learning when to give up the hold on the narrow mindedness carried by all concerning their confrontations with fate. The powers and ethics that bind them are, in their most pure form, well beyond comprehension from a “human” point-of-view. A second level of practicum the Anunnaki Star-Gate System, described in the new 10th Anniversary Seventh Edition of the NECRONOMICON ANUNNAKI BIBLE with a supplemental education spanning the remainder of the ‘Mardukite Core’. This form of practice is also “introspective” — it composes “private” practices of members of the “priesthood” developed from personal work with the Anunnaki in ancient Mesopotamia (Sumeria and Babylon). This is different from ‘public’ displays and later more recognizable ‘folk magick’ of common people, which was usually more ‘superstitious’ in nature, often employing religious talismans and amulets.
The “ladder of lights” — as described in the NECRONOMICON ANUNNAKI BIBLE edited by Joshua Free — is not concerned with further accumulation of ‘additional fragmented energies’ or ‘layers of consciousness’, but rather the removal of these ‘artificial light filters’ by which the Anunnaki had influenced the parameters of awareness capable to humans in their experience of reality. This more cosmic development of practice could be classified as a “Celestial” form of “Ceremonial Magick.” This is not necessarily the same, one-to-one, with the contemporary understanding of what you may already know as “Ceremonial Magick.” However, the archetypal Mesopotamian practice of ‘high magick’ did evolve into the later Egyptian and European “Hermetic” practices as well as the Judeo-Christian forms of kabbalistic “Gnostic-Mysticism.”
An additional level of practicum also exists in ancient Mardukite Babylonian Tradition, closely identifiable with what anthropologists observe as ‘cultural magick’ and it was the only aspect of the tradition that allowed for public observation and participation. Compared to the previously described “religious” and “celestial” forms, this practice is highly qualified to earn the title “low magick” in many respects. It reflects everything we have come to expect from the cultural archetype of Babylon – the rites of national spirituality that further strengthened the ‘system’ and the people’s belief in it via annual festivals; the ritual gestures and idol statue use among commoners to accomplish fertility and healing effects (often with the assistance of priests, but not necessarily so); even the ‘personification’ or demonization of perceived ‘negativity’, or even ‘pestilence’ and ‘infertility’ as a means of ritually destroying evil in the land with ‘suggestive symbolism’ that later became the basis for a morally-defined demonology (such as seen in the maqlu series of tablets).
But… this is certainly not where the journey ends.
Powers of a dedicated priest and magician (and these are NOT to be misunderstood as gender-specific terms) are drawn from both internal and external sources. From within the power of this magick is drawn forth by BIRTHRIGHT! From without the power of the magick is drawn forth by DEDICATION! Combined, the practitioner effectively executes an “Invocation” which is to “invite in” a specific persona and energetic current. In our example, the Solar Lord of Jupiter, regardless of whether we label the current “Enki,” “Marduk,” “Aten,” “Amon,” “Jesus,” “Dys Pater” or “Jupiter” – the effect is unchanged and dependent solely on “true understanding” and the ability to tap into that specific current beyond titles and labels alone. The final introductory secret of this system is essentially revealed with an initiate’s first utterance of: “It is not I, but Marduk, that commands you…”
LOOKING BACK…NOW
In the end, what we take away to understand about the ancient world is: All of this resulted in a representation of the human relationship with the earth in ‘everyday life’ and ‘material existence’ on the planet within the systems of human civilization. In essence, just looking at these three aspects of the tradition described, one can even recognize the subsequent and cumulative fragmentation of the ‘systems’ as the relay of the energy evolved and developed outwardly among the human populations – and in essence, human consciousness. We begin with a self-honest life of unity with the ‘gods’ and a pious condition of ‘golden age’ living – ending with the use of waxen dolls to represent one’s enemy before a sacred fire and other forms of sympathetic magic used to affect worldly change at the most condensed end of the spectrum.
Also spelled “Anunaki” or “Annunaki,” this race of humanoids appear as genetically superior avatars responsible for the genesis of Man and human civilizations in the lore found on the most ancient tablets. Their name can be translated literally as “Star-Dragons” (“anu-nagi”), but may interpreted as “they whom from Heaven to Earth came” or “they whom decree Fate on Earth.” Lore of Anunnaki appears prominent in Sumerian “Creation epic,” the most ancient paradigm to emerge from prehistory, later carried forth by such cultures as the Akkadians and Babylonians.
“Arcanum” by Joshua Free, 10th Anniversary Edition
The entirety of this Mardukite NecroGate blog post is based on the new 10th Anniversary edition of “ARCANUM: THE GREAT MAGICAL ARCANUM” by Joshua Free, considered the “greatest underground occult classic of the 21st century” prior to the release of any other of Joshua Free’s prestigious titles. The Arcanum materials spawned the Mardukite Research Organization a decade ago! Arcanum materials span nearly 1000 topics including many pertaining to Anunnaki, Mesopotamian Mysteries, Sumerian Religion and Babylonian Magick.
According to the Edaphic Tradition, the Anunnaki are the original intelligent race to occupy the Earth Planet, known as the Children of the Stars or Gods of Anu, later called dragons and Elves. Some evidence supports the possibility that they arrived here from a an exo-planet home base, called Nibiru or the “Place of Crossings” that the Egyptians called the “Planet of Millions of Years.” If we are to adopt the research of Zecharia Sitchin, then this place is unique from other planets in our Solar System because of its comet-like elliptical orbit estimated (from Sumerian numerology interpretations) to take 3,600 Earth years to complete a cycle around the Sun (giving time and lifespans on Nibiru relative appearance of “eternal” or “immortal” in comparison to cycles on the Earth Planet). Contemporary society has difficulty accepting theories of an interdimensional or “extraterrestrial” origin to human existence (and we can thank the Church for this omission in knowledge). According to some interpretations of the ancient tablets, environmental conditions of Nibiru were suffering (not altogether dissimilar to present-day life and future projections for the Earth Planet). They possessed a belief that injecting gold into their planetary atmosphere would protect them from a deteriorating atmospheric shield.
A council of fifty Anunnaki arrived on Earth, dispatched by Anu, including his direct descendants: Enlil and Enki. These “fifty names” were later unified under the Mardukite banner in Babylon. For years the original dispatched Igigi-Watchers toiled, mining the mineral (which maybe why the Sahara desert exists where a plush rainforest once occupied). Other interpretations explain that the Anunnaki and Watchers were working the lands to make the Earth Planet livable. In some biblical translations, integration or interaction of Anunnaki races on Earth are referred to as Nephilim or “Sons of God,” describing a clear distinction between their race’s terrestrial existence and the “Sons of Man” (later called Sons of Mil by Tuatha d’Anu).
One day, the “Workers” decide to stop toiling after observing a potential chance for bioengineering. They proposition the Anunnaki Council for approval. Some version say that Enki had discovered early able hominids who had naturally evolved to a “primitive” form from the life seeded on the planet. Anunnaki believed that by mixing some of their own coded genetic material (DNA) with the “ape-man,” a more accelerated race of workers could be formed. Though similar, they would look different from the ”ape-man” and bare an image more closely resembling their creators. Without this understanding, the original Homo sapien race emerged as if from nowhere. [Darwin’s model of evolution accounts for natural development of many life forms on the Earth Planet, but modern man is not one of them.] It may seem harsh, but humans are the result of “genetic intervention,” a naked slave race for the gods, treated like domesticated work animals by a “Watcher” race.
From Tablet A, within the “Necronomicon Anunnaki Bible,” a seeker is introduced to these beings as follows:
“This is the Book of Dead Names of the Anunnaki, Watchers & IGIGI, those beings which have appeared to man in ages past, both physically on Earth and in global mythologies as ‘gods.’ While the text which follows, spanning thousands of years of primordial lore, illustrates the ‘gods of Men,’ no illusion should be maintained over the true nature of their divinity. The ‘powers’ and ‘forces’ that have historically appeared to humans are simply that and nothing more, and yet mankind followed in with the plan of ‘deifying’ these beings into “gods” complete with religious traditions and followings defended by the sword. Offerings which first served to feed the Anunnaki themselves would later feed priests and their families once the “gods” left the Earth, leaving their shrines and temples empties, and humans seemingly forgotten.”
The story of the Anunnaki takes a twist when Enki, the chief scientist, mates with a “mortal,” an act that enrages the others (interpreting such behavior as “bestiality”). The similarity in DNA allowed reproduction. As “Lord of the Earth,” Enki’s dynastic bloodline from ancient Mesopotamia (also known as the “Line of Samael”) launched the legacy of Dragon Kings, who ruled here in Anu’s name. Sons of God were Children of the Stars born of stellar genetics, not natural evolution. The “ape-man” continued to evolve on its own separate from the star-race until it was eventually replaced by interbreeding “Homo sapiens” altogether. Understand, that against popular anthropological belief, Neanderthal and “Homo erectus” are bred out and go extinct. They do not “evolve into” “Homo sapiens.” In addition to the lineage of Enki on Earth, Marduk was a pioneer in actually espousing an Earthling wife, Sarpanit (who gives birth to the messianic heir Nabu). This lineage was carried by dedicate priest-king lines in both Egypt and Babylon.
The “Old Testament” story of the “Garden of Eden” is derived from pre-Semitic lore (from Mesopotamia) of E.DIN. The Anunnaki created “star-gates” for transportation and alleged physical landing stations in three regions (Mesopotamia, Egypt and South America) sparking the religious tradition of building ziggurats and pyramids. The Anunnaki also began the process of cultivating and harvesting (agriculture) that began in the experimental “gardens” of E.DIN. The hybrid slave-race was specifically selected for the task of maintaining the garden and tending the land. There are cuneiform tablets mentioning integration of Anunnaki genetics with these hybrids to create “Adapa,” the biblical “Adam.” Much of this is lost in contemporary scriptures, although even the Holy Bible informs that a different evolution took place outside of Eden and Adam’s bloodline. After Cain kills Abel he leaves to join the primitive culture of the nomadic Nodites that had previously existed apart from the Adamic line!
After gold had been excavated and Anunnaki were in dispute over Enki, the High Council learned of a geologic shift about to take place on Earth due to shifting ice masses and the poles. A deluge was coming. Enlil and the Anunnaki decided to leave and return to Nibiru. Their intention: to abandon humans to die. Enki felt differently and gives humans specific instructions for construction of an “ark” (possibly a submarine) in which to preserve tablets of knowledge and living creatures of the planet. Here, in ancient Sumerian lore, on the “Atra-asis Tablets” and again in the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” we find an obvious source for the story of “Noah’s Ark” thousands of years before the Jewish Tradition.
The Flood Archetype may relate to origins of the Atlantis legend as well. Traditions developed in the form of Egyptian and Greek “Hermetics” and also by the Tuatha d’Anu tribe of Dragon Kings that ignited the La Tene/Danubian culture across mainland Europe. The “ark” was directed to Mt. Ararat, the highest point in the region and logically the first place that the waters would subside after the deluge. The Anunnaki returned after the “flood” to “inspect the damage.” They found life on the Earth Planet (at least in Mesopotamia) had survived. Even Enlil was pleased and decided to assist other Anunnaki in helping humans launch the first human Sumerian civilizations of known history based at a site that had been used before the flood, named Eridu. After society was developing well, the Anunnaki leave a final time and genetic hybrids (Dragon Kings) become the “ruling class.” The Eridu civilization transformed into the Ubaid and Uruk cultures before being handed down to the Akkadians, Egyptians and Babylonians, where Enki and Marduk, not Enlil, were revered.
In addition to the GREAT MAGICAL ARCANUM by Joshua Free, the Mardukite Truth Seeker Press is proud to present a complete course curriculum in ancient mysteries including the “Mardukite Core” available in four annual anthologies, each composed of three or more titles and now available more economically than ever before!
A new economical edition of the Mardukite Year-3 Anthology — A Workbook in Modern Magick Using the Sumerian Anunnaki of Mesopotamian Religion and Babylonian Magical Tradition — previously available as “Necronomicon Workbook” and “Mesopotamian Magic” in honor of the Mardukite 6th Anniversary!
NECRONOMICON GRIMOIRE — A master compilation of mystical exploration into the heart of the ancient Mesopotamian Mysteries, this complete practical occult workbook based on the Mardukite “Necronomicon Anunnaki Bible“ illuminates the revolutionary teachings and source materials of the Modern Sumerian-Babylonian-Anunnaki Tradition brought to life by the Mardukite Chamberlains (Ordo Nabu Maerdechai), edited by Joshua Free, the presiding Nabu of the organization since its public inception on the 2008 Summer Solstice.
3-BOOKS-IN-1
NECRONOMICON GRIMOIRE is a highly innovative and accessible anthology of the complete “Year-3” (2011) research and development of the Mardukite Research Organization including three volumes (“Magan Magic“, “Maqlu Magic” and “Beyond the Ishtar Gate“, simultaneously released as the “Necronomicon Spellbook” trilogy series) in a single incredible compilation! This newly revised ‘Anniversary Edition’ perfectly companions the latest editions of the Mardukite Chamberlains Year-1 (2009) anthology “Necronomicon Anunnaki Bible“ and Year-2 (2010) anthology “Gates of the Necronomicon“, both edited by Joshua Free for the Mardukite Truth Seeker Press.
3-BOOKS-IN-1
In NECRONOMICON SPELLBOOK I: MAGAN MAGIC – THE ENUMA ELIS (Liber-E) amazing cuneiform tablet records of magick and creation are drawn together to reconstruct the most antiquated, powerful and legendary “magician’s primer” ever known to the minds of men –formulated by the ancient Sumerians and Babylonians!
NECRONOMICON SPELLBOOK II: MAQLU MAGIC (Liber-M) reveals an authentic “Necronomicon Spellbook” of advanced Mesopotamian Magick drawn from the sands of Babylonia – the Maqlu Tablet series – forming a complete Anunnaki (‘alien sky god’) “grimoire” used by magicians and priests for thousands of years to combat in wizards’ duels, reverse the effects of evil spells and curses, banish disease and nightmares, and conjure the protection and blessings of the gods!
Finally, NECRONOMICON SPELLBOOK III: BEYOND THE ISHTAR GATE (Liber C) is concerned with the ‘other side’ of the tradition, parts that have been concealed and yet also what made the tradition famous – mainly, the connection to the “Other”, that which we have been programmed to perceive as ‘separate’ from this reality and prepares the seeker/student for the Year-4 cycle that follows.