Nexus - 1905 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

THE MAYAN CALENDAR AND THE 2012 END DATE CALENDAR THE MAYAN 2012 END DATE AND THE The end of the fifth Great Cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar coincides with the solstice of 21 December 2012 at 11:11 am Universal Time and with the end point of philosopher Terence McKenna’s Timewave Zero. Is humanity on the verge of a new evolutionary cycle? Arise, all arise, not one nor two groups be left behind; together we will see once again the place from where we have come. Minunan neanhanr ype "Mayan calendar" into an Internet search engine and you'll find millions of references to this ancient device. It has been the subject of countless media reports, a Hollywood blockbuster and much conjecture. So, why all the attention? This article explores the history of the calendar, the significance of its 2012 end date, and its connection to the 11:11 phenomenon and the Chinese "I Ching”. The End of the World or A New Beginning? The ancient Maya people dominated Mesoamerica, the narrow landmass hat lies between North and South America, from around 2000 BC to 900 AD. tt was during their classic period, from 250 AD to 900 AD, that they constructed an extensive empire of cities. They built impressive palaces, religious temples and stepped pyramids. The Maya created magnificent carvings and ceramics as well as sophisticated mathematical systems, and they devised the only nown fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas. The Maya people were also keen astronomers. They were particularly interested in the planet Venus. Without the use of telescopes and with only he naked eye to guide them, the Maya were able to measure the Iunar month, predict eclipses and determine the revolutions of Venus. They made incredibly accurate records of the stars and Sun, and they aligned many of heir ceremonial pyramids accordingly. Even today, thousands of people gather at El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes to watch the Sun cast a shadow over the edge of the pyramid. For a few moments, the shadow creates the illusion of a snake slithering down to Earth. It was the ancient Mayan fascination with astronomy that also led to the development of their now-famous calendars. While the Gregorian solar calendar that we use today was primarily created for agricultural purposes, the calendars of the Maya were based on a very different set of principles. The Maya believed that the solar system cycles are connected to our collective consciousness, and they included spiritual elements in many of their calendars. The most important Mayan calendar is the sacred Tzolk'in (or "count of days"), a 260-day calendar that combines a cycle of 20 day-names with a cycle of 13 numbers to create 260 days, each with its own set of characteristics. It was said that an individual's personality could be predetermined according to the Tzolk'in day on which they were born. The Maya then combined two cycles of the Tzolk'in calendar with a third cycle, known as the Haab’, to produce a longer cycle of time. Each Haab' cycle is made up of 365 days and consists of 18 months of 20 days each as well as When Tomorrow Comes Perth, WA, Australia Email: NEXUS ¢ 47 — Mayan prophecy by Belinda Doyle © 2012 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2012 www.nexusmagazine.com