2012 Mayan Calendar Prophecies

What does the 2012 Mayan calendar tell us about our future? Did this much-revered ancient civilization predict our demise, or will mankind be flipping the calendar to 2013 with ease? Not everyone agrees on what the Mayan 2012 prophesies mean, but their predictions have many people preparing for the end.

2012 Mayan Calendar: Apocalypse Soon?

As the calendar edges forward in 2012, there has been an increase in the discussion of the Mayan prophesy regarding this year. Several new books on the subject have been published, television specials produced, and sensational stories written, predicting what could happen by the end of the year.

At the heart of the debate is a calendar created by the Mayans that lasts for 5,126 years, and then stops abruptly on December 21, 2012. Accompanying the calendar are the writings of a Mayan philosopher named Pacal Votan who said that the world will "transform" on that date, since it marks the end of a 26,000 year period.

The Origin of Prophecy

Pacal Votan, also known as the Sage King of the Classic Maya, predicted that December 21, 2012 will mark the end of the evolutionary cycle which we now know. Although this prediction often gets translated into an "end of days" prophecy, Votan's prediction is actually a bit more complex. The Mayans believed that evolution happens in a 26,000 year cycle, roughly the amount of time it takes the Earth to spend about 2152 years in each of the Mayan astrological signs. When this cycle is complete, according to Votan, a "new world" will be created, with different evolutionary characteristics.

What They Believed

Mayans believed that 26,000 years was the length of time one cycle of evolution lasted. In fact, they believed that the world and the history we know, the one that includes their civilization, is actually part of the fourth such evolutionary cycle the Earth has been through.

Words like "transformation" and "evolutionary cycle" are a bit vague, and indeed many people who believe the Mayan prediction do not agree on exactly what they mean. Some people believe that December 21, 2012 will be an "end of times" event. This prediction takes on different names in different belief systems, including the Apocalypse and Judgment Day. To others, this event will be less dramatic. They believe a kind of spiritual awakening will occur or that there will be a redressing of the balance between man and nature.

2012 Prophecy Interpretations

2012 Prophecy theories and interpretations of the Mayan calendar try to explain why the calendar ends on December 21, 2012. Mayanpredictions.net catalogues some of the more prominent and recent theories. The most popular postulates revolve around a celestial alignment, mega solar flares or a magnetic pole shift that will cause cataclysmic events.

Cosmic Alignment

The Mayans' knowledge about the cosmos was so profound that the calendar ending date of December 21, 2012 is believed to hold a secret message and signifies a 26,000 year old, recurring event. This event is an alignment of the earth, the sun (winter solstice sun) and the center of the Milky Way. Unfortunately, the Mayans didn't leave behind the most important information: What it all means.

Less Fearful Theories

There are many interpretations the 2012 prophecy that don't involve doomsday. In fact, those theories call the alignment an opening of a gate to transforming vibrational patterns. During this gate opening, humankind will leap to the next level of evolution and the message from the Mayans is for everyone to re-examine their lives so we don't become victims of the impending cataclysmic events. By taking responsibility for yourself, you'll emerge from this spiritual planetary shift a newly recreated being.

Dawn of the New World Age

The Mayans were mathematicians, great scholars, accomplished astronomers and astrologers. The December 21, 2012 date is considered by many to be the end of the Fourth World and the beginning of the Fifth World. The question remains, will this Fifth World be heralded by a cataclysmic event like the one that took out the dinosaurs, or will it be a kind of ascension for humans?

The Hopi speak of this Fifth World as the time when the Fourth World of Destruction ends. The Fifth World is supposed to be a time of World Peace. If this prophecy is true, it means a time of transformation or rebirth.

Will Cataclysmic Events Strike Our Planet?

Will this 26,000 year cosmic alignment have a negative effect on the earth? Will we be plagued with volcanoes becoming active, earthquakes shaking the globe and tidal waves flooding the planet, or will it be a spiritual transition? While it's comforting to think the shift will be a spiritual one and not like the movie 2012, doomsday theories are the most commonly held beliefs for the date.

Solar Storm Climax

A theory often associated with the 2012 prophecy is that a mega solar flare will blast the earth sending bursts of radiation pulsing toward the planet. The only way you could survive such a blast would be if you were several feet underground. That means you'd need a shelter already built and waiting for you.

Another version of the solar flare theory foregoes the blast of radiation. People won't die of radiation, but the results will be just as catastrophic with the world's power grids going offline. If you've ever been caught in a power outage for a few days, you can begin to understand the impact that a four- to six-year power outage could have on the world. Without electricity, civilization will deteriorate. Governments will fall and chaos will rule the planet.

Magnetic North Has Moved

In 2009, National Geographic presented disturbing evidence that the earth's north magnetic pole is moving towards Russia at an alarming rate. Though scientists have not formed conclusions as to any calamitous consequences, such findings have generated a lot of talk amongst End Times theorists. Dramatic changes in the earth's core makeup lead many to believe that there is only a matter of time until the planet gives up entirely.

Deciphering the Calendar

People on both sides of the debate about the Mayan 2012 prophecies generally turn to the same set of arguments to bolster their cases. Here are a few commonly argued points:

Mayan Believers

• The Mayans are widely regarded to be one of the most advanced ancient civilizations, and they accurately discovered, devised or described mathematical and astronomical facts we still accept today.

• The Mayans are not the only civilization to have settled on the idea of 26,000 years as being a unique point in time, and that December 21, 2012 is the day that marks the end of that period. In fact, a host of Native American tribes, the Egyptians and several other groups have made similar predications.

• Patterns of climate change could be indicators of the slow slide to the evolutionary transformation predicted.

• The Milky Way and the center of the sun will be aligned on December 21, 2012 for the first time in 26,000 years.

Mayan Skeptics

• Past civilizations have left us with many predictions, and historically, none of them have come true. Why should we consider the Mayan predictions to be any different?
• Mayan writings don't actually predict an end of world event, and scientists believe it would be impossible for them to have understood the alignment of the Milky Way and the Sun without modern technology.
• The Discovery Channel outlines the manipulation of the Mayan calendar to unveil non-existent catastrophes.
• People have a long history of looking for meaning in certain dates, such as the Y2K calamity, and they have yet to pan out.
• National Geographic has handled many of the greatest 2012 fears with great finesse, stating scientific responses to proposed disasters.

One Prophecy, Many Cultures

Psychiatrist Stanislav Grof M.D. pointed out in his essay 2012 and Human Destiny that, although Pacal Votan and the Mayans are most closely associated with December 21, 2012 prophecies, they are not the only culture to believe that this day holds special significance.

Aborigines, Hopis, Cherokees, Essenes, Egyptians, Kabbalists, Qeros, Navajos and the Dogon tribe all have similar prophesies regarding a 26,000 year evolutionary cycle and the end of that cycle on 2012.

Some cultures have a more "doomsday" nature to their prophesies than the Mayans. Even certain Christian groups believe that December 21, 2012 will be the Judgment Day mentioned in the Bible.

Modern Resonance of 2012 Prophecies

In March of 2007, USA Today ran an article characterizing the 2012 hysteria as attempts by the media and inclined individuals to promote their own agendas. The Mayans never suggested that the world would end with a bang on December 21, 2012, but rather that that date would be the culmination of several years of events in which the world and mankind were changing.

Modern believers in the prophesy point to the current debate about climate change and global warming as proof positive that the world is indeed heading for the kinds of changes that the Mayans predicted. Even non-believers sometimes use the writings of the 2012 Mayan prophecies and other ancient civilizations to illustrate their case that humans need to take climate change seriously.