4:1

Throughout history humans have been fascinated with the unknown. One mystery that has grasped the imagination and curiosity of people throughout the centuries concerns an extinction that hits close to home. When will Homo Sapiens, like so many unfortunate species before them, meet their end? After compiling predictions, prophecies, and scientific evidence, one single date stands out among the rest: December 21, 2012. According to scientists, historians, geophysicists, researchers, and religious leaders, this fateful day could mark the beginning of the end of human existence. My three entries this week will explore and explain the different theories behind this date of doom for mankind.

This particular doomsday date is most commonly attached to the calendars of Mayan society. The calendars of the ancient Mayans were composed thousands of years ago by a civilization that was culturally obsessed with the skies. They calculated the astronomical occurrences in the past, their present, and the future. These calendars correctly charted such astrological phenomenon as lunar eclipses, solar flares, and solar eclipses, thousands of years prior to their manifestations in the sky. Their calendars are so precise that they are more accurate then those calculated by scientists within this century. The calendars were not only able to inform the reader of celestial stargazing events, but also had the capability to be used as a prophetic device. Unlike many oracles, soothsayers, and so-called prophets, the prophecies of the ancient Mayans were not vague in their wording. They predicted the exact date that the Spanish conquistadores would come to the Americas. Amazingly enough Cortez and his men hit the shores of the Americas on the exact date predicted.

Since the Mayan society was so fascinated by the sky that they dwelled beneath, it is not surprising that the most important day within the Mayan calendar occurs during extremely rare, heavenly alignment. Calculations by the Ancient Maya within their most extensive calendar, appropriately called the Long Count Calendar, say that during the winter solstice on December 21, 2012 the Earth will align with the Sun, as well as the black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Mayan’s referred to this black hole as the Cosmic Mother, and it is so astounding because modern scientists have only discovered the discovery of a black hole in the center of our galaxy within this millennium. It was known that the Maya were more advanced intellectually to their neighboring Meso-American groups the Aztec and the Inca, but their superior knowledge of the black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy thousands of years prior to the discovery of black holes by modern “educated” men proves that their discovers should be both respected and revered in present times.

The Mayan society is an intellectual force to be reckoned with. It is easy to shrug away ideas of future disasters; it is easy to dismiss what has not yet occurred. The Mayans belonged to a rich culture, much of which is a mystery within itself. Some say the Mayan 2012 prediction signifies a new era, the point where the world as we know it will change, but still exists. Others say it will be the end of human existence. We can speculate to no end, but for now the mystery is buried away with the Mayans themselves.