by Paula Stahl

Created on: December 12, 2008   Last Updated: April 08, 2009

Discussions about the Mayan Calender always seem to get bogged down with technicalities. The complicated calenders used in unison with each other boggle our mind today in dominate societies that are used to a simple direct Roman calendar. So, I would like to talk about it from a simple level.

The first thing to look at is the definition of words. The prophets of dooms say the "World" will end in 2012.

Well, that may be what the prophecy says, but it does not mean the "world" as in our planet earth. The "World" is a time phase. In the Mayan culture, time is gaged by the planets and star's movement in the universe, which moves in cycles. A "World" is roughly 26 thousand years, or a cycle of movement in the universe. Strangely, this corresponds with modern astrology, that is also divided into time phases. In both cases, we are approaching the change from one phase into the next. In astrology, entering the Age of Aquarius, and in the Mayan culture, one world is ending and another will begin.

This can be the same as the Industrial Age coming and going, or, as horrific as the Middle Ages, or even the Ice Age. There have been many ages, or time phases this planet has gone through . They do not always mean the planet will end, they simply mean it changes. Some of these changes are physical changes for the planet, and some are changes in our societies and cultures.

Consider also, that we do not have the complete set of writings from the Mayan culture. When the Spanish invaders came and conquered Indians of Central America, they raided the temples and destroyed tablet after tablet. The Round, and the Long Count calendar are what is left for us today to try to understand, and, only trained and taught Mayan Elders can even hope to read and comprehend them. Like the age of the coming and spreading of Christianity.

Another thing to consider is the date. Dates on calenders are not exact, especially when dealing with this amount of time. Our own Roman calender is off by a whole day every four years, which is why we have Leap Year. Even though the Maya calendar is the most accurate, when you deal with time spans of 26 thousand years...it gets a little difficult to be exact. Another interesting thing is that many cultures the world over hold the same date as a time of something of great consequence happening. Some African tribes, Ancient Chinese, Edgar Casey and Nostradamus predicted this same date also. For that matter we may see something spectacular happen at Stonehenge on Dec. 21, in the year 2012. Perhaps the prophecy is a warning, that if human kind does not make some major changes in how we live on this planet that major destruction can take place?

We can only really hope to guess now what these calenders really predict. But one thing is sure that it seems to me no one can deny....our world is headed for changes. Big changes that will alter how we deal with each other across the globe, and changes in out we all live our daily lives.

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