I just finished reading 2012 – The Return of Quetzalcoatl, by Daniel Pinchbeck (Penguin Press © 2006). For the longest time I have been sensitive to the eminent arrival of this marker in time. I have discussed its meaning with people and attempted to decipher exactly what might happen to the world and human existence on the Winter Solstice of 21 December 2012 (21122012) – just looking at the numerical version of this date calls to mind some kind of higher ‘binary’ system where the ON/OFF code is replaced with a third alternative = NEITHER-ON-NOR-OFF….
Daniel Pinchbeck has compiled a vast amount of knowledge on the myth, fear, and spirituality of the apocalyptic year 2012. His book identifies this event as an archetype of the collective consciousness for all man. He searches the possible purpose for why various cultures and religions have prophesied of the inevitable destruction of mankind (including whether 2012 will be the time when extraterrestrial intelligences overtly reveal themselves to the population of Earth).
Many sects within the Christian religious Belief Systems (B.S.) warn of an Apocalypse from the Book of Revelation. During this prophesied time many terrible things will come to pass; earth quakes, famine, war, etc. These are all signs leading to the great conflict between Heaven and Hell known as Armageddon. At the end of this conflict Satan will be defeated and banished and the earth will be transformed into a utopian world as Heaven descends to earth.
Islam has its own prophesy of the end of times. Muslims also subscribe to the B.S. that Jesus will return (Didn’t know that, did you)? There will come a time marked by bizarre signs, some as disastrous as famine and some as strange as women dressing as men and men dressing as women (girlfriend, we are here already!). Prior to the Day of Judgment, around the Second Coming of Jesus, the ad-Dajjal ("The Impostor Messiah"), an evil figure who is blind in his right eye, shall gather an army of those he has deceived and will lead them in a war against Jesus, who shall be accompanied by an army of the righteous. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dajjal)
Daniel Pinchbeck, in his book, states that the Hindus consider the age we currently live in as Kali Yuga. This age is named for the destroyer goddess Kali. This period of time is considered the dark age of man and the end of this age will mark a total renovation of the world and mankind.
The Hopi nation of North America feels that we are all in the Fourth World or the fourth incarnation of this Earth. Their legends tell that there were three Earths before this one and that we are soon coming to the end of this world.
The Aztecs believed that the entire universe dissolved and regenerated itself from time to time. This current world was known to them as the Fifth Sun.
All of these prophesies seem to indicate that the end of the world is near. Only the Mayan culture gave a precise date in time. “According to their calculations, the Earth is approaching a cosmic conjunction that represented the conclusion of a vast evolutionary cycle, and the potential gateway to a higher manifestation … [which] also marks a rare astronomical event: the alignment of the Earth and the Sun with the “dark rift” at the center of the Milky Way on the winter solstice of December 21, 2012.” [page 12]
What will happen at that precise time? No one knows. Yet, the media is playing its usual role of over dramatizing the concept and preying on the fears of those who will believe anything anyone tells them. Go to a bookstore, search the internet, watch television and the movies. Everywhere you will find books on 2012, conspiracy theories, new age theories, religious ranting, and science fiction stories all based on this new gimmick.
Is there hope for mankind? I agree with Daniel Pinchbeck; the marker in time 2012 is not an end of the world but an end to our history, instead. 2012 is a marker for a new beginning; a process of new creation and a new integration of the mind, body and the spirit – mankind’s next step in evolution!
