Mayan Prophecy: Will December 21, 2012 Be Doomsday?

Wendy Dawn, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jan 16, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Mayan's studied the stars and based their observations and knowledge developed an extremely advanced calendar, a calendar more precise than our own. Many predictions have been deciphered from the Mayan calendar. One of the more well known and controversial prophecies is that December 21, 2012 marks the end of the world, doomsday. The Mayan doomsday prediction coincides with a winter solstice that, when predicted, was to occur over 2,300 years later.

The problem of reconciling the Mayan long-count calendar with the Gregorian calendar has puzzled and intrigued researchers for years. Mayans measured time in cycles related to astronomical phenomenon. They had both a short-count calendar and a long count calendar, based on mathematical equations and their observations of the constellations and other astronomical phenomena. What most intrigues scholars is not the beginning dates of the Mayan calendar, but the projected end of all cycles date, known to us as December 21, 2012.

Some Mayan experts believe the Mayan calendar was based on precessions. Precessions are observations of the equinoxes as the earth wobbles, changing the precess of the earth's poles in relation to known constellations. In simpler terms, precession is the identification of a change, over time, in the constellations which provide a backdrop for the earth's poles. Today this is known as The Platonic Calendar. Egyptians, Babylonians, and Greeks also observed precession, but it wasn't until recently that scholars began to unravel the Mayan understanding of precession.

As scholars continue to exam Mayan calendars and astronomical observations many now agree that Mayan knowledge of precession seems evident. It has also become evident that the Mayans associated their observations with their belief system. Careful study of Mayan Mythology confirms the Milky Way as an essential part of their mythology and belief system. The position of the Milky Way was believed to be the integral opening from the heavens through with their god-king arrived on earth.

The Mayans understood that the Milky Way will arrive along the horizon during the winter solstice on December 12, 2012. Thus, the Mayan calendar does not predict doomsday, as some have referred to the prediction, but according to their beliefs it would mark the beginning of a New World Age, or significant change on the earth. This is because the Milky Way will be in a position to provide a birth canal, as it were, for the transfer of the heavenly to the earth and the earth to the heavenly.

Based on a better understanding of the Mayan calendar and culture, there is no need to anticipate doomsday on December 12, 2012. Nonetheless, the complex observations and calculations by which Mayans accurately arrived upon the exact date of an equinox over 2000 years in the future, which also correlates with a specific location of the Milky Way, is nothing less than genius.

The Mayan calendar and what has been referred to as the doomsday prophecy is evidence of the astounding intellect of the human mind through-out time.

Resources:
The Mayan Calendar
Why 2012 as the Mayan End Date

Published by Wendy Dawn

Wendy Dawn enjoys research and writing on various topics. Her areas of professional expertise include history, teaching, and fitness. Wendy's passions include health, fitness, wellness, and weight loss. She... View profile

Takeaways

For many years some have believed the landmark December 12, 2012 date marked doomsday.
Mayans developed a calendar based on advanced observation and calculations.
December 12, 2012 is not considered a doomsday as much as a date of change.

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Mayan Prophecy: Will December 21, 2012 Be Doomsday?

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