Maya 2012 prophesies

The significance the Maya gave the December 21, 2012 date remains controversial.  Part of the problem is the lack of more material that corroborates or expands upon the subject.  Indeed, what we know about the Maya 2012 prophesies and the Maya and their history in general is greatly limited because all but four Maya Codices (books made from bark) were destroyed by the Spanish priests and conquistadores.  Bishop Diego de Landa, wrote, ‘These people used certain letters with which they wrote in their books about ancient subjects.  We found many books written with these letters and since they held nothing that was not falsehood and the work of the evil one, we burned them all'.

The 2012 phenomenon comprises a range of interpretations of Maya records stemming from mainly two sources:  One of the four surviving Maya Codices (the Dresden Codex) and Monument 6 from Tortuguero, a ruin in southernmost Tabasco, Mexico.

Scholars have recently discovered the amazing advances the ancient Maya made in astronomy and mathematics.  As an indigenous society, it is unknown how they discovered celestial alignments and incorporated them into their pyramids and calendars.  Their accuracy is so precise that Maya calendars are 1/10,000 of a day more accurate than even the Gregorian calendar we currently use. 

Monument Six from Tortuguero

This monument was found in the 1960's during a highway construction project.  The stone tablet almost didn't survive; as the site was largely paved over, and parts of the tablet were looted.  Worse, a cement factory was constructed immediately above the site.  The surviving part of the inscriptions on the tablet seems to acknowledge the date December 21, 2012 as the completion of the Maya calendar's 13th b'ak'tun cycle from the calendar's starting point of August 11, 3114 BCE.  The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.  Erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible but the inscription seem to read: "He will descend from the sky."   

Dresden Codex         view image of last page of Dresden Codex

The second reference to the Maya 2012 prophesies refer to the last page of the Dresden Codex.  The page seems to show the destruction of the world via water.  Unfortunately, many of the 15 glyphs have been destroyed, but a few of the remaining ones refer to "Black Earth".  The page depicts waves of water gushing from the mouth of a celestial entity.  Flood waters also pour from symbols representing the sun and moon. A gigantic aged goddess is depicted also pouring water onto the Earth and a ruler of the underworld crouches underneath. 

Here is what we believe the Maya are saying

Following is the overlying message we believe the Maya left behind.  These are best guesses based on Maya creation stories and the very few surviving records.  It is acknowledged that erosion of material possibly leaving intended messages undecipherable and the many possible interpretations could dramatically alter the intended meaning. 

We are now living in the "fifth sun" world.  Earth entered the fifth sun on August 11, 3114 CE.  The four previous worlds were destroyed by natural disasters. The fourth sun was destroyed by a great flood and left little survivors. According to the Maya we are the surviving descendants of the fourth sun.

Incredibly the ancient Maya were able to predict an astrological alignment that only occurs every 26,000 years. The Great Cycle of the Mayan Long Count Calendar (the fifth sun) ends on the winter solstice of December 21, 2012. This date happens to coincide exactly with our Sun's alignment with the intersection point of what modern astronomers call the Great Rift. This Great Rift is a band of dark dust clouds located around the center of the Milky Way from our vantage point on Earth. The ancient Maya were well aware of this Great Rift and even named it. They knew it as Xibalba-be or "Black Road". According to the Maya, this "Black Road" was the entrance to the underworld, a place of evil and misfortune. And, even more interesting, present day astronomers believe this Great Rift is located around a massive Black Hole Star located at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

The Mayans believed that our sun, or Kinich-Ahau, every so often synchronizes with the center of our galaxy. And, from this center receives a spark of light which causes the Sun to shine more intensely, hence the referral to "solar flares" from those describing possible apocalyptic scenarios.

According to the Maya, this process allows our galaxy to "breathe" and is part of ongoing cycles that never change. From these predictions stem the endless possible outcomes that are quoted on articles and television programs. It is very probable that other codices explained these predictions further, but unfortunately we will never know because of the complete destruction of Maya writing books.