Note: The views expressed on the page do necessarily not reflect the views or opinions of Faithology. The following information constitutes a collection of the most widely held opinions, various hypotheses, and scientific findings surrounding the 2012 phenomenon. It is the goal of Faithology to provide accurate and un-biased information regarding the 2012 phenomenon and all topics published on this site in order that those who are seeking answers have the tools to do so.

Introduction

Theories regarding the end of the world in the Gregorian year 2012 CE have received widespread attention in recent years. The issue has been a topic of speculation, debate, controversy, and even purported prophecy. With the arrival of 2012, opinions and rumors about the fate of world have reached an all-time high.

A great deal of the debate surrounding the year 2012 stems from analysis of the ancient Mayan calendar. The ancient Maya were a Mesoamerican people with a highly advanced civilization; they are known to history for their intricate written language, and mathematical, scientific, and astronomical genius. The Maya, who practiced a cosmological and ritualistic religion, had strong religious beliefs in the cycles of life, death, creation and destruction. Part of the Mayan religion revolved around blood sacrifices offered to the gods and goddesses that they worshiped. Another facet of their belief system was their well thought-out concepts of space and time. These concepts were made famous in their elaborate calendar system.

The Mayan calendar dates back to August 11, 3114 BCE¹Although this dating system is named for the Maya, who developed it fully, it was used widely throughout Mesoamerica by a variety of civilizations. in Gregorian reckoning²The Gregorian calendar, which was proclaimed in 1582 by Pope Gregory XII, was a revision of the Julian calendar, which was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BCE. The Julian calendar was discovered to be off by ten days due to a miscalculation of the length of the solar year. and entails two separate calendar cycles. The shorter of the two cycles lasts for fifty-two years and is called the Calendar Round. The longer cycle, called the Long Count Calendar, lasts for 5,100 years. The Long Count Calendar ends on the corresponding Gregorian calendar date of December 21, 2012, which has left speculation on what this means for the fate of planet Earth and all of civilization. Some suggest the end of the world will occur in the year 2012, while others suggest that a newfound peace between people will be reached. Still others speculate a cosmological change will occur within the year 2012, with a potentially catastrophic outcome.

The Mayan Religion

"The Maya" refers to a large group of people who live in ancient Mesoamerica³The area of Mesoamerica that is considered to be part of the Mayan civilization is the modern-day eastern Mexican region, consisting of the states Tabasco and Chiapas as well as all the states of Uucatan, Campheche, and Quintana Roo. The Mayan region also included present-day Guatemala, Belize, the western parts of El Salvador and Honduras, and a small population that was located in northern Veracruz. and once shared common beliefs about religion and culture. The ancient Mayan civilization is thought to have begun around 2000 BCE, reaching its peak during the Classic Period of 250-900 CE. After 900 CE, the Mayan civilization began to decline rapidly. Mayan historians generally believe the decline was due to a number of wars fought against other rising powers over lands and rivers, exhaustion of agriculture, deforestation and drought. While this area is still occupied by Mayans, it is the beliefs of the ancient civilization of Mayans that is the basis for the speculations surrounding the 2012 phenomenon.

The religion of the ancient Mayan civilization consisted of a belief in three realms: the upper world, the middle word and the underworld. The upper world was believed to be the realm of the heavens, the middle world the realm of humans and the underworld was inhabited by what were thought to be horrifying supernatural beings. Many gods and goddesses were worshiped in the ancient Mayan religion, and the Maya believed strongly in a continuous cycle of creation and destruction. Of the many gods that were worshiped by the Mayan people, Quetzalcóatl was the universal deity of Mesoamerica. He was said to be the god of creation and civilization, agriculture, and the arts. The Maya also believed that he served as a bridge between humanity and the divine, humanity and animals, and humanity and the cosmos.⁵The word "cosmos" in this context refers specifically to the sphere of the created order as a whole, which entails planets, stars, moons, and lunar cycles. When used in discussion with the Mayan belief system, the word “cosmos” also refers to any deities that the Maya associated with the planets, stars, moons, or cosmological cycles.

The Mayan Calendar

The religious belief system of the ancient Maya, which included cycles of creation and destruction, informed their concept of time. Many historians who have studied the Mayan calendar believe that it most likely began as a type of Farmers' Almanac or divinatory tool. The Maya saw time as both linear and cyclical and had two main calendar-like systems to map these different timeframes. Like the months and the year of the Gregorian calendar, the Mayan calendar was based upon the repetition of seasons and events in the cosmos. The Maya calculated time in two cycles, a short, cyclical cycle called the "Calendar Round," and a long, linear cycle called the "Long Count."

The shorter measure of time was calculated by a calendar cycle of fifty-two years, or 18,980 days, and was called the Calendar Round. The Calendar Round was a combination of two smaller calendar measurements called the Sacred Round and Haab’ cycles, which were used for the measurements of one’s birthday as well as communal celebrations, religious festivals and agricultural cycles.

The longer phases of time were measured by the Long Count calendar. The Long Count calendar is said to record the world’s creation, even though the Mayans did not consider this to be the beginning of time. Each day of the Long Count has a unique number, commonly represented as five digits separated by periods, such as 1.2.4.9.11. Each number represents specific units of chronological measurement, largest to smallest, from left to right. The units are named baktun, katun, tun, winal, and kin. A baktun is equal to 144,000 days, a katun is 7,200 days, a tun is 360 days, a winal is 20 days, and a kin is equal to a single day. The number of days indicated by the five digits is equal to the number of days since the Mayans believed the world was created.

The Maya also recorded celestial movements, such as lunar phases, the rising and setting of the sun, and lunar cycles.⁶A “Lunar phase” refers to the portion of the moon that is visible to an individual on earth who is observing it. A lunar cycle is the appearance of the moon over the time that it takes the moon to orbit the earth. This cycle takes approximately 29 days. The Maya believed that all planets, the moon, and the sun were divine. In addition, the cycles of the planet Venus were recorded, as this planet was thought to be the bearer of bad luck and war. They also watched and recorded the thirteen constellations of the zodiac.⁷The "zodiac" refers to a path, or belt, that is about eight degrees on either side of the yearly path of the sun, as well as all other planets and the moon. This path is divided into twelve divisions, and in English, these divisions are named Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces, The Mayan calendar and other Mayan cosmic recording systems are extremely intricate.

Through mathematical calculations, astronomers and scholars have been able to convert the dates of the Long Count calendar to those of the Gregorian calendar. Scholars generally agree that the beginning date of the Mayan calendar is August 11, 3114 BCE; according to Mayan belief, this date marks the creation of the world. In Mayan inscription, this date is represented as 13.0.0.0.0, where the thirteen serves as a zero. According to the Mayan mathematical system, the calendar covers a span of time that is 13 baktun, or 187,200 days. At the end of the time span of 187,200 days, the calendar dating system will once again read 13.0.0.0.0. According to Mayan belief, this date will be the anniversary of the creation of the world, and a cycle of creation and destruction will have been completed. The parallel Gregorian calendar date is December 21, 2012, which also represents the winter solstice. However, unlike the popular beliefs of the end of the world surrounding the 2012 phenomenon, the Mayans never had an explicit prophecy regarding what would happen when the calendar ended.

It is thought by many Mesoamerican historians that the Aztec adoption of the Mayan calendar and mythology created an association of the events at the end of the Long Cycle with notions of the end of the world. Historians who specialize in Mesoamerican studies assert that the Aztecs adapted and changed the Mayan calendar and philosophies associated with it according to the political needs of the time. The Aztecs believed in an end of the world scenario, mostly likely ending in an earthquake that would destroy the world and all that is in it. However, there is other evidence that the Aztecs believed that the world would end in 2012. The Long Count calendar stops at this point, yet there is reference in ancient Mayan writings to a belief that their civilization would continue beyond this date, to 4227. As these scholars point out, this was probably an adaption of the Mayan calendar for their political needs.

The Events of 2012

Those who find significance in the end of the current long-count cycle hold numerous theories and predictions regarding the date December 21, 2012. Speculations today include the end of the world, extraordinary cosmic events,⁸In this context, the phrase "cosmic events" refers to incidents involving the planets and the cosmos as previously defined in this article. world peace, and more. Others have interpreted the end of the long-count cycle of the Mayan calendar through the lens of their own religious belief system. Still others have made speculations regarding astronomical occurrences including a rare alignment of all the planets which will be the cause of numerous, destructive, outcomes, though astronomers have confirmed that the alignment of such planets on December 21, 2012 will not happen. Among the numerous speculations, there are a few that are the most popular and each also has an opposing view:

Theories based upon the Mayan religion and Mayan Gods:

Planet Nibiru

A planet called Nibiru (commonly referred to as "Planet X"), purportedly discovered by the Sumerians, is believed by some to be headed on a collision course towards Earth. Those who hold this belief fear that it will hit the planet Earth, causing catastrophic destruction and death of all living things.

NASA’s official website declares that Nibiru is a fictitious planet and, therefore, no collision will be taking place. Instead, NASA insists that there is no threat to earth on December 21, 2012.10http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html

The Pole Shift Theory

Solar Storms

The Black Hole Theory

CONCLUSION

The ancient Mayan calendar, very advanced for its time, holds an extensive amount of mystery. Today, scientists, religious lay people and clergy, as well as end-of-the-world theorists seek to sort out and make sense of all the factors that have contributed to the 2012 phenomenon. The Mayan emphasis on the cosmos and their concept of time, as well as cycles of creation and destruction, informed their belief system. Did the Mayan really believe that the world would end in 2012? How does their belief in cycles of creation and destruction inform speculative scientific theories concerning planets, magnetic pole reversals, solar storms or black holes? What concepts of space and time does each world religion hold that may or may not coincide with Mayan belief?