Will 21st December 2012 be a defining date in time? Are three years all we have or are we falling for another doomsday hoax? In the following pages Anu Gulmohar brings you the convictions of the scholars, scientists and seers…
Dr Synthia Andrews gets us up-to-date with the Mayan Calendar…
You may have heard that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. Who decided this and where did the idea come from? The answer lies 2,000 years ago in the jungles of the Yucatan where the culture of the Maya flourished. Living in highly developed communities amongst pyramids and palaces, the Maya were some of the most advanced astronomers of the ancient world. Without telescopes or modern equipment they observed the movement of planets, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and understood advanced astronomical concepts. They calculated the true length of the year (365.2425 days), the precession of the equinox (25,630 years), and the eccentricity cycle of the earth’s orbit (100,000 years), to name a few of their accomplishments. They were extraordinary mathematicians, architects and timekeepers. According to the Mayan calendar, time is running out. The calendar of the current period ends on December 21, 2012.
The debate as to what this means rages. To the Maya, the end of one calendar marks the end of a particular cycle and the beginning of the next. What makes the end of this calendar cycle different is that more than one cycle and more than one calendar are coming to an end. The Maya maintained a series of calendars tracking different astronomical cycles and on December 21, 2012, several events coincide. First, the 5,126 year Long Count calendar ends, marking the completion of a Great Cycle. Five Great Cycles equals a Grand Cycle of 25,630 years, marking a full progression through the precession of the equinox. A Grand Cycle was known to the Maya as an “Age” or “World.” In 2012, both a Great Cycle and a Grand Cycle come to close marking the end of a Mayan “World.” Hence, the mistaken belief that the world is ending. Second, approximately every 26,000 years the solar system crosses the equatorial plane of the galaxy, aligning us with the centre of the Milky Way. According to John Major Jenkins our solar system is currently crossing the plane of the Milky Way, a process that takes about 36 years. On Dec 21, 2012, as the Great Cycle ends, we will be in alignment with the centre of the galaxy. Third, an amazing alignment occurs in the sky on this date between Mars, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn under the constellation of the Winged Horse. One has to wonder how the Maya knew of these events when they created their calendar.
Dr Synthia Andrews gets us up-to-date with the Mayan Calendar…
You may have heard that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. Who decided this and where did the idea come from? The answer lies 2,000 years ago in the jungles of the Yucatan where the culture of the Maya flourished. Living in highly developed communities amongst pyramids and palaces, the Maya were some of the most advanced astronomers of the ancient world. Without telescopes or modern equipment they observed the movement of planets, the Milky Way and other galaxies, and understood advanced astronomical concepts. They calculated the true length of the year (365.2425 days), the precession of the equinox (25,630 years), and the eccentricity cycle of the earth’s orbit (100,000 years), to name a few of their accomplishments. They were extraordinary mathematicians, architects and timekeepers. According to the Mayan calendar, time is running out. The calendar of the current period ends on December 21, 2012.
The debate as to what this means rages. To the Maya, the end of one calendar marks the end of a particular cycle and the beginning of the next. What makes the end of this calendar cycle different is that more than one cycle and more than one calendar are coming to an end. The Maya maintained a series of calendars tracking different astronomical cycles and on December 21, 2012, several events coincide. First, the 5,126 year Long Count calendar ends, marking the completion of a Great Cycle. Five Great Cycles equals a Grand Cycle of 25,630 years, marking a full progression through the precession of the equinox. A Grand Cycle was known to the Maya as an “Age” or “World.” In 2012, both a Great Cycle and a Grand Cycle come to close marking the end of a Mayan “World.” Hence, the mistaken belief that the world is ending. Second, approximately every 26,000 years the solar system crosses the equatorial plane of the galaxy, aligning us with the centre of the Milky Way. According to John Major Jenkins our solar system is currently crossing the plane of the Milky Way, a process that takes about 36 years. On Dec 21, 2012, as the Great Cycle ends, we will be in alignment with the centre of the galaxy. Third, an amazing alignment occurs in the sky on this date between Mars, the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Saturn under the constellation of the Winged Horse. One has to wonder how the Maya knew of these events when they created their calendar.
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