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21
December, 2012
The Beginning...or the End? THE MAYA CALENDAR Throughout the jungles of Guatemala, Yucatán
Mexico, Belize and
some of Honduras, are the remains of the Maya Civilization. Their
mysterious
temples, calendars, stone carvings, hieroglyphs, etc. are scattered
almost
everywhere. Reading what the anthropologists, astrologers
or astronomers say about
The Maya and the approaching Winter Solstice on the 21st of
December
2012 is interesting. This is the so-called End Date that comes from the
most
accepted Maya Calendar. The vast majority
of writing found on this subject is written in words aimed at
specialists and or
written in language that is hard to read. A great deal of scientific and visionary
research work has been done
about the Maya. The Maya tracked cycles within cycles and also within
cycles of
time. Their calendar seems to link and coordinate the lunar, earth,
solar and
galactic seasons in a simple but elegant manner. So why is there so much talk about the "end
of the Maya
calendar" and what does it mean? Is there something especially
significant
we should know about the Winter Solstice on 21st day of
December
2012? Why should anyone care about the
Maya today? Is there anything that can be learned from them? How did
the Maya
track such long periods of time with such accuracy? Some answers are found in the book “The Mayan
Factor” by Jose
Arguelles. His book explains the 20 Maya day signs and the thirteen
Maya
numbers in the mysterious 260 day Maya ceremonial calendar, called the
Tzolkin.
Other books also offer numerous and varied explanations of the Maya
calendars. On the Winter Solstice of 21 December 2012
there is something we
should all know about. On this day a rare astronomical and Maya
mythical event
occurs. Using astronomer’s terms on that date, the
Sun conjuncts at a point
in the Milky Way and the plane of the ecliptic East to West track on
which the
Sun, Moon, the planets and stars appear to travel in the universe. The
Milky
Way
extends in a general North to South direction. The
East to West plane of the ecliptic track intersects
the Milky Way at an approximate 60 degree angle near the constellation
Sagittarius. A cosmic cross is formed by the intersecting
Milky Way and plane of
the ecliptic. The Maya called this cross the Sacred Tree (Today known
as the Ceiba
Tree). The trunk of the tree is the Milky Way or the axis, and the main
branch
intersecting the tree is the plane of the ecliptic track. Mythically,
at
sunrise on 21st December 2012, the Sun (The Maya Father)
rises to
conjoin with the center of the Sacred Tree, sometimes called The World
Tree, or
the Tree of Life. The Maya believed that
the tree meant survival of humanity and that "if the last tree dies,
soon
after the human race will also die. Today the giant Ceiba tree is
believed to
be the Sacred Tree of The Maya. The Ceiba is also Guatemala’s National
Tree. This rare astronomical event that was
foreseen in the Maya story of
the Hero Twins, and calculated by them, will happen for many of us in
our
lifetime. The Sun has not conjoined the Milky Way and the plane of the
ecliptic
since some 25,800 years ago, long before the Maya arrived on the scene
and long
before their predecessors arrived. Meaning that due to a phenomenon of the
equinoxes, caused by the
Earth's wobble that lasts almost 26,000 years, the apparent location of
the
Winter Solstice sunrise has been ever so slowly moving toward the
galactic center.
The Maya noticed the change of the positions of stars in the night sky
over
long periods of observation, they noticed the earth rise and dip on its
axis
and foresaw this coming event. Using Long Count, the Maya forwarded the
count
to 21 December 2012, the end of their Great Cycle, and then they likely
counted
backwards to decide where the calendar would begin. Meaning the Great
Cycle (we
are currently in) began on August 11, 3114 BCE (Before the Christian
Era). Many believe The
Maya calendar does not actually end in 2012, but more likely, all the
cycles
turn over and start again, going into to a new era. It is believed The
Maya
writings describe the large and fast growing Ceiba trees as
intermediaries
between the physical and spiritual worlds, and believed them to be
absolutely
essential to life. They also seemed to believe that without the trees
man could
not survive and that with the death of the last tree, the human race
will also
perish. The many ancient carved stone and wood
figures in addition to the
stars themselves possibly just tell us we are on the brink of a new
world age. Man
can only imagine what may be in store in the year 2012.
No, not in terms of complete destruction or annihilation of the earth. Most people contemplate the expression "end of the world" as the end of everything, but maybe we should think of the phrase as the end of a period of time, a cycle or era. In that sense, 2012 could signify the end of a world cycle. The earth and its inhabitants could enter into a new age, with new way of thinking, goals and beliefs. The new world to follow could be founded on different values in which the belief of the inter-dependence of all life is emphasized, unlike the world we are in today which is dominated by materialism and ego-consciousness. Some Maya enthusiasts assert that 2012 brings the "end of the world as we know it", which may be linked to the "end of linear time". True or not, it is hard to predict the longevity of our modern world, based on the complex situation that we are in as a planet, humanity's dependence on technology and unsustainable customs. Almost all of us can agree that we are living in times of uncertainty and imbalance, but it's important to realize that frightening ourselves by believing in doomsday theories doesn't really help in rising up to face the great challenges before us today. We must understand that if we believe these fearful thoughts, one can easily shut down, which will lead us further into darkness. When thinking about what the world might be like beyond 2012, it should be clear that no one knows or can really predict how things may be as we enter this new world cycle. We need to move from fear to awareness. The population of the world must open their hearts and follow their inspirations. The changes to come may start gradually or swiftly, it all depends on how conscious we become, and how we all participate in this process of awakening our human potential. As far as the specific date of December 21, 2012; most of the present day Maya people of Guatemala want it to be known that their ancient prophecies have been distorted. Most do not support the hysteria that is being raised by different 2012 theories. They want the world to understand that much of the 2012 information being put out is not truly sourced from the Maya or their calendars. |
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