There has been much speculation about the world coming to an end. The mention of the 21-12-12 being the date comes from the Mayan calendar.
On an ancient Mayan Calendar this is a very important date The Mayan Calendar runs out on December 21 2012 and it has been suggested that they knew something we don't. This is the basis of what has been called the Mayan calendar 2012 Prophecy. This "prophecy" has been referred to by many end of the world 2012 "prophets". However, because an ancient Mayan calendar ends on December 21 2012, does this mean 2012 is the end of the world? True, on the Mayan Calendar December 21, 2012 was an important date. But did the Mayans themselves really believe in an end of the world 2012 doomsday.
The abrupt ending of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21 2012 has been described as a prophecy of the end of an age and maybe the world. However in the Mayan Calendar 2012 is not presented as a prophecy of the end of the world. The Mayan Calendar 2012 prophecy is just some people's interpretation; an interpretation that many do not believe. It also needs to be said that Mayan scholars themselves say this idea misrepresents Mayan history. They say that in the long count Mayan Calendar 2012 is not an end of the world doomsday calendar.
However, while it is quite a jump in logic and hard to prove a December 21 2012 doomsday from this calendar, is it still possible that the Mayan understanding of the universe and how it effects life on earth, still has something to teach us. Can it still help us to predict, if not to the day and year, catastrophic events yet to happen on earth?
After all, Mayan beliefs about the universe reflect similar but more detailed discoveries which modern day scientists have made as they observe the known universe today.
In the Mayan Calendar 2012 may not be a doomsday but can we still learn something from Mayan's understanding of the cyclic nature of our solar system as we move through the milky way galaxy. The Mayans speak of a dark rift or galactic plain. They say that the end of an age, which can bring about world wide catastrophes (but not the end of the world) is caused by the world sitting on the what they call a dark rift. Modern scientists speak of the earth passing through this dark rift, or galactic equinox or central plain. This event refers to the cyclic and [according to some] destructive gravitational influence caused by the massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy [you will struggle to find a scientist who actually believe we are going to get sucked in by this black hole].
"What is the year 2012 Mayan prophecy?"
Answer: Meso-American star charting started around 680 B.C. by the Olmec civilization who were recording astrological patterns in the sky and eventually shared this information with the Mayans. The Mayans had a long history of tracking the winter solstice (probably for planting crops) and creating calendars (at least 17 that we know of). At some point, they developed the belief that our sun is a god and that the Milky Way, called the “Sacred Tree,” was a gateway to the afterlife. After learning from the Olmecs, they began keeping records of the stars’ patterns of movement and continued to do so for the next 200-300 years. The Mayans then developed their own calendar (The Long Count) ca. 355 B.C. They were able to use their observations and mathematical prowess to calculate the future movements of stars across the sky. The result was that the Mayans discovered the effect of the earth’s wobbling as it spins on its axis. This wobbling rotation causes the stars’ patterns of movement to drift gradually in the sky (called “precession”) in a 5,125-year cycle. The Mayans also discovered that once every cycle the dark band at the center of the Milky Way (called the Galactic Equator) intersects with the Elliptical (the plane of the sun’s movement across the sky).
[This image - enlarge - shows a view from the earth of the sun crossing the galactic equator]
During that year, the sun reaches its solstice (a brief moment when the sun’s position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane from the observer) on December 21 for the Northern Hemisphere and June 21 for the Southern Hemisphere. That year, the solstice occurs at the moment of the conjunction of the Galactic Equator with the Milky Way. The year this occurs (in relation to our Gregorian calendar) is A.D. 2012, and happened last on August 11, 3114 B.C. With Mayan mythology teaching that our sun is a god and the Milky Way is the gateway to life and death, the Mayans concluded that this intersection in the past must have been the moment of creation. Mayan hieroglyphs seem to indicate that they believed the next intersection in 2012 would be some sort of end and a new beginning of a cycle.
So what are we going to do about it?
"Keep Calm and Cache On"
Lets enjoy the world for what it gives us, lets face it life is just too short!
There will be food laid on for the evening in the form of a Curry, for those who don't fancy currry there will be a Lasagne and a Veggie Lasagne for those non Carnivores. The Bar will be open for drinks unfortunately as it is not a regular bar there will not be a vast selection of drinks, there will be beers/lagers canned and bottled the more popular spirits will be available and of course soft drinks. Please mention in your log how many will be attending and your food preference. There will obviously have to be a charge per head for the food but this will be kept to a minimum. The Chef for the evening will be Lock1uk
There will be limited edition 12-12-12 coins for sale at the price of £8.00 see below for the artwork, the colours for this coin will be exclusively available to this event. Additionally marmal will produce one of his excellent quizzes, and possibly some sort of raffle. Those wishing to donate items to the raffle please let me know all will be gratefully recieved. The proceeds of the coins and raffle will go to the Mega Scotland 2014 Committee. Again please mention in your will attend log how many coins you would like, these will be on a first come first served basis. The coins are in a limited quantity and will not be reminted.
Old version above new version below![]()
Unfortunately this event has to take place on a week night as a worldwide event I believe that there will be a souvenir designed for 12-12-12. There should be be ample parking in the compound for all if not most vehicles, I might even have the option of putting on a minibus to run between the event and Polmont railway station (TBC). For security reasons I will have to have a Nominal Role of all attending the event.