2012 millenarianism is a present-day cultural
meme proposing that cataclysmic or transformative events
will occur in
the year 2012.
The forecast is based primarily on what is claimed to be the end-date
of the
Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, which is presented as lasting
5,125 years and as terminating on December 21 or 23, 2012, along with
interpretations of assorted legends, scriptures,
numerological constructions and prophecies.
A
New Age
interpretation of this transition posits that, during this time, the
planet and its inhabitants may undergo a positive physical or
spiritual transformation, and that 2012 may mark the beginning of a
newer sociopolitical age for the global community.
Conversely, many believers in 2012 millenarianism believe that it
marks the beginning of
Armageddon. The 2012 doomsday prediction idea has been
disseminated in numerous books and TV documentaries, and has spread
around the world as an
Internet meme through websites and discussion groups.
Halexandria
Assorted legends, Ancient Civilizations,
Scriptures,
Numerological constructions,
Science and Prophecies listed below.
Many believe that the ending of this cycle will correspond with a
global "consciousness shift" and the beginning of a
new age. The date became the subject of speculation by
Frank Waters, who devotes two chapters to its interpretation,
including discussion of an astrological chart for this date and its
association with Hopi prophecies in Mexico Mystique: The Coming
Sixth Age of Consciousness(1975).
The significance of the year 2012 (but not a specific day) was
mentioned briefly by
José Argüelles in The Transformative Vision, (1975)
and later in The Mayan Factor (1987),
promoted at the 1987
Harmonic Convergence.
Author
Daniel Pinchbeck popularized
New Age
concepts about this date, linking it to beliefs about
crop circles,
alien abduction, and personal revelations based on the use of
entheogens and
mediumship in his 2006 book 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.
Pinchbeck argues for a shift in consciousness rather than an
apocalypse, suggesting that
materialistic attitudes, rather than the material world, are in
jeopardy.
Semir Osmanagić, the archaeologist responsible for promoting the
Bosnian pyramids, referred to 2012 in the conclusion of his book
The World of the Maya.
He suggests that "Advancement of DNA may raise us to a higher level"
and concludes, "When the 'heavens open' and cosmic energy is allowed
to flow throughout our tiny Planet, will we be raised to a higher
level by the vibrations".
Galactic alignment
Frank Waters' book inspired further speculation by
John Major Jenkins in the mid-1980s, noting the correspondence of
the December 21 date with the winter
solstice in 2012. This date was in line with an idea he terms the
Galactic Alignment.
In the
Solar System, the planets and the Sun share roughly the same plane
of orbit, known as the
plane of the ecliptic. From our perspective on Earth, the
Zodiacal
constellations move along or near the ecliptic, and over time, appear
to recede counterclockwise by one degree every 72 years. This movement
is attributed to a slight wobble in the Earth's axis as it spins. As a
result, approximately every 2160 years, the constellation visible on
the early morning of the spring
equinox
changes. In Western astrological traditions, this signals the end of
one
astrological age (currently the Age of Pisces) and the beginning
of another (Age
of Aquarius). Over the course of 26,000 years, the
precession of the equinoxes makes one full circuit around the
ecliptic.
Just as the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere is currently
in the constellation of
Pisces, so the winter solstice is currently in the constellation
of
Sagittarius, which happens to be the constellation intersected by
the
galactic equator.
Every year for the last 2000 years or so, on the
winter solstice, the Earth, Sun and the galactic equator come into
alignment, and every year, precession pushes the Sun's position a
little way further through the
Milky Way's band.
Jenkins suggests that the Maya based their calendar on observations
of the "dark
rift", a band of black dust clouds in the Milky Way, which the
Maya called the Xibalba be or Black Road.
Jenkins claims that the Maya were aware of where the
ecliptic intersected the Black Road and gave this position in the
sky a special significance in their cosmology.
According to the hypothesis, the Sun precisely aligns with this
intersection point at the winter solstice of 2012.
Jenkins claimed that the classical Mayans anticipated this conjunction
and celebrated it as the harbinger of a profound spiritual transition
for mankind.
New Age proponents of the galactic alignment hypothesis argue that,
just as
astrology uses the positions of stars and planets to make claims
of future events, the Mayans plotted their calendars with the
objective of preparing for significant world events.
Critics suggest that the alignment in question takes place over a
36-year period, corresponding to the diameter of the Sun, with the
most precise convergence having already occurred without incident in
1998.
Also, Jenkins himself notes that there is no concrete evidence that
the Maya were aware of precession.
Timewave Zero
Timewave Zero, which is part of Novelty theory, is a
pseudoscientific
numerological formula that purports to calculate the ebb and flow
of "novelty", defined as increase in the
universe's interconnectedness, or
organized complexity,
over
time.
According to
Terence McKenna, who conceived the idea in the early 1970s, the
universe has a
teleological attractor at the
end of time that increases interconnectedness, eventually reaching
a
singularity of infinite complexity on December 21, 2012, at which
point anything and everything imaginable will occur instantaneously.
This idea has failed to gain any scientific credibility or
recognition. McKenna expressed "novelty" in a computer program, which
purportedly produces a waveform known as timewave zero or the
timewave.
I Ching
Based on McKenna's interpretation of the
King Wen sequence of the
I Ching,
the graph appears to show great periods of novelty corresponding with
major shifts in humanity's biological and cultural evolution. He
believed the events of any given time are
recursively related to the events of other times, and chose the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima as the basis for calculating his end
date of November, 2012. When he discovered this date's proximity to
the end of the 13th baktun, he adjusted it so that the two dates
matched.
End of the world
Various ideas have been advanced giving reasons why the
end of the world might happen suddenly in 2012, although none
resemble scientific predictions. One idea involves a
geomagnetic reversal (often incorrectly referred to as a
polar shift by proponents of this hypothesis), which could be
triggered by a massive
solar flare, one with energy equal to 100 billion
atomic bombs.
2012: The Polar Shift
Explained
This belief is supposedly supported by observations that the Earth's
magnetic field is weakening,
which indicates an impending reversal of the north and south magnetic
poles. Scientists believe the Earth is overdue for a geomagnetic
reversal, and has been for a long time, even since the time of the
Mayans, because the last reversal was 780,000 years ago.
Critics, however, claim geomagnetic reversals take up to 5,000 years
to complete, and do not start on any particular date. Also, while NASA
expects a particularly strong solar maximum sometime between 2010 and
2012,
there is no scientific evidence linking a solar maximum to a
geomagnetic reversal.
A solar maximum would be mostly notable for its effects on satellite
and cellular phone communications. See Also
Solar
Maximum.
Another apocalyptic idea circulating about 2012, which has existed
in various forms since 1995 and has changed dates at least twice since
then, is that a large planet, called
Nibiru, will collide with or pass by Earth in that year. This idea
has been ridiculed by astronomers, who point out that such an object
so close to Earth would be visible to anyone looking up at the night
sky.
A radical alternative to apocalyptic doom and
gloom. A new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal
cultures with the scientific method. As conscious agents of evolution,
we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to
make a world that works for all. Rather than breakdown and barbarism,
2012 will herald the birth of a regenerative planetary culture, where
collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and
spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism
that has pushed our world to the brink. A new start, a new age will be
assuring in.
Fact
or fiction, we'll see
in a short time. The clock is ticking down below.
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