Beliefwatch: 12/21/12 - Newsweek Sept. 25, 2006 issue

[Guest guest]

Beliefwatch: 12/21/12

Newsweek - Sept. 25, 2006 issue

 

Followers of New Age spirituality have long turned to indigenous

religions for wisdom and inspiration, so it has not escaped their

notice that something big happens in 2012: the ancient and complex

Mayan calendar—studied by astrology, spirituality and history buffs

alike—has chugged along for 1,872,000 days, and its cycle stops (and

restarts) on Dec. 21, 2012.

 

Speculation over the 2012 cycle change has spurred a growing cottage

industry. Amazon.com shows more than 100 books on the subject, with

titles like " Doomsday 2012 " and " 2012: You Have a Choice! " A number

of spirituality conferences are already convening. This month in New

Mexico, spiritual seekers will gather for a " 2012 Ascension

Symposium, " which promises to " offer humanity global reassurance and

change the Consciousness of the world " ; metaphysics author Geoff

Stray is giving a series of lectures on 2012 throughout 2006 and

2007, including at the UFO Conference in Nevada in February and

a " Healing Conference " in Jericho, Israel, in May.

 

To add to the frenzy, it just so happens that the years building up

to 2012 mark an unusual astronomical alignment, one so rare it

occurs only in 30 out of every 26,000 years. During this period, the

Sun will make its annual crossing of the galactic equator—the plane

that bisects the Milky Way as it appears in the sky—on the same day

as the winter solstice. So what does all this mean? A small group of

doomsayers believe a life-ending cataclysm is on the horizon.

Patrick Geryl, a Belgian researcher, says he believes the alignment

will trigger a reversal in the magnetic fields of the Sun, causing

it to get 10 or 20 times hotter, which will reverse the Earth's

rotation on its axis and flood its inhabitants (mainstream

astronomers don't agree).

 

Meso-American scholars are far less concerned. In Mayan cosmology,

time proceeds in cycles—not in a straight line. " The world

collapses, but then it gets reborn, " says Davíd Carrasco, professor

of Latin American religions at Harvard University. (The Maya believe

the same thing happens when the Sun rises and sets each day.)

Literary-magazine editor Daniel Pinchbeck, author of " 2012: The

Return of Quetzalcoatl, " sees the new cycle as an opportunity for

personal and spiritual growth. Instead of looking at the completion

of the 5,125-year cycle as " the end, " Pinchbeck suggests that

2012 " could be more like the birth of the world. "

 

Holly Lebowitz Rossi

Beliefwatch: 12/21/12 - Newsweek Sept. 25, 2006 issue