The Mayan Calendar: History vs. Hysteria

The buzz that has been in everyone’s ears concerns the Mayan calendar and it’s end dating December 21, 2012. Most theories entertain the thought that this date will bring about cataclysmic events because of the calendar’s abrupt end. Other theories suggest that this date will bring about an age of spiritual enlightenment.  Theories even include the end of the world as we know it.  But when theories run rampant, we should look at the facts, not the fiction.

The Mayan calendar system is based upon a system dating back to at least the 6th century BC. It shares many characteristics with calendars used by other earlier Mesoamerican civilizations and later ones, but of them all, the Aztec and Mayan calendars are the most widely known and comprehended. And the Mayan calendar system that’s creating all the mayhem is the Long Count calendar. The Long Count calendar is based on the number of days passed since the starting date of that calendar. In this case, some believe that this date approximately occurred in August or September 3114 BC with a speculated end date of the 5,125-year long cycle to fall around December 20-23, 2012. According to some scholars who are attempting to interpret the calendar, December 20, 2012, marks the end of the 13th world (perhaps compared to an era or age?) and December 21 marks the beginning of the 14th world. Some theorists also predict that during this time, the winter solstice in 2012, the sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way for the first time in approximately 26,000 years, causing some sort of disruption of energy received by Earth from the Milky Way. Another astronomical event that is supposed to take place is the galactic alignment between the sun and the galactic equator, according to the galactic coordinate system as defined by the International Astronomical Union. And yet, throughout the Mayan culture, there are no indications that this time would bring about any catastrophes, but instead, a time of celebration for the end of another cycle. In fact, Mayans believed it was an honor to be around when entering the age of a “new world” as predicted in 2012.

So where does the hype come from? Misconceptions, misinformed hysterics, the media?  No one on this Earth really truly knows what the future holds for us.  But yet we consistently rely upon the tales conceived by others that distract us with the “What IF…” instead of what IS.