The other day I found myself in SG chat and somehow ended up in a conversation about indigenous America (or, more rightly, Abya Yala). While some of you were indulging my Derrida-and-booze inspired pontifications about Mesoamerican writing, I was asked in particular about the theory that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012 and that this somehow foretells the end of the world. Its apparently so popular that even that bellwether of journalism USA Today is concerned.

For those of you with canned goods and duct tape at the ready, Im sorry to disappoint. Although the oft-mentioned principle of Fluxys Razor states that I should be in favor of this interpretation, my piddling background in Mesoamerican studies insists that I protest, despite how awesomely hilarious I might find websites like Survive 2012 (warning: serious tinfoil hat zone).

The calendar in question is the Long Count, a record of specific days about which entire books are written (I know this because I spent a lot of time in the UNC librarys Maya section for this article (you people are so spoiled) and whose complicated and fascinating particularities are frankly too much for the scope of this article. Wiki that business or pick up Prudence M. Rices Maya Calendar Origins. The part that gets the doomsdayers so excited is the cycle of 13 baktuns (one baktun being 144,000 days) which happens to end in 2012. They have interpreted the Mayan Bible Popol Wujs tale of the destruction of human races prior to our own (and similar Aztec cyclical creation traditions) to mean that at the end of this Great Cycle, shits going down.

Well, see, those crafty Maya happened to record dates that were to follow 2012. If dates are recorded that fall after the end of the 13th (actually the 12th, but this is another one of those complexities I mentioned) baktun, doesnt it follow that this creation will persevere past that date? The Long Count isnt evidence of some long-held Mesoamerican prophecy so much as it is evidence that the Maya were simply obsessed with dividing time cyclically. And if the Mayan Bible were so intent on the apocalypse, you would think that the Popol Wuj would have something akin to the book of Revelation (hint: it doesnt (but you should read it anyway; it is a goddamned masterpiece).

In short, almost anybody who has more than a cursory understanding of both the Mesoamerican sense of reality and of the foundations of its worldview would say that this whole 2012 freak-out thing is a great, big misunderstanding.

No, the 2012 Apocalypse and its cousin, the 2012 Consciousness Shift, are creations of new agers and journalists who seem to find the complex civilization of Mesoamerica so improbable that they must assign some unusual spiritual significance to it; if those backward Indians could be so smart as to figure out the concept of zero and the solar year, they had to have some sort of magical knowledge gifted them by Kukúlcan. Its no surprise that these books are filled with personal anecdotes, drug-induced visions, and extrapolations into non-Mesoamerican history and the current world situation (and crappy astronomy or that others try to tack their own ideas (novelty theory, the peak oil catastrophe) onto the Long Count framework. Theres not enough actual meat to support their ideas.

So why do these people who are neither Mayanists nor Mayan themselves continue to champion this great change on the winter solstice of 2012? Methinks its the same reason people were wrapping their pets in bubble wrap at the end of 1999. We are obsessed with the end. Figuring these dates allows us to relax our responsibility; our actions dont matter because in four years, things are going to change. Its actually quite Western eschatology: Christ is coming, so weve just got to chill. God gave us the world to turn into our own personal living room, as it were.

One of the things that fascinates, repels, and compels about the Mesoamerican cultures is their emphasis on sacrifice. The Mexica (Aztec) pantheon held gods who required quite individualized forms of human sacrifice; the Mayan kings pierced their bodies with spines. Bloodletting and human and animal sacrifice were nearly ubiquitous in ancient Mesoamerica. The gods and the earth required blood and flesh to continue. Creation was precarious; humans must sacrifice to preserve it.

We are not inclined to sacrifice. Sure, you might switch to a hybrid automobile and remember to bring a cloth bag to the supermarket, but these arent really sacrifices. And whether we like to admit it or not, the world cannot go on at this brisk pace. Unless we start colonizing other planets, like space conquistadors ready to plunder a truly New World, we must eventually learn to really sacrifice ourselves, albeit without obsidian blades and maguey spines. That is the real legacy of the Maya; thats the 2012 consciousness shift. We arent any more likely to be struck by an asteroid or have the feathered serpent come sodomize our minds. We will however, learn to make sacrifice.

Anyway, with Valentines Day coming up, give thanks to the Mesoamericans while enjoying their other great legacy: fucking chocolate, dudes.

Flux will totally cyber-punch anyone who tries to get on her for misspelling the Popol Wuj. Bitches.

Bev_Antain

Italy

February 2004

FEB 11, 2008 06:13 AM

Quite a good article, the whole end of the world thing reminds a whole lot the Y2K craze that ended up with actually nothing (even if because of it I spent new years eve of 2000 in a stopped metro cart due to a blackout, but I'm still alive so fuck it).
It's about time someone wrote an article that actually analyzes the thing objectively instead of looking just for confirmation clues.

shapeshifter23

San Francisco, CA

September 2005

FEB 11, 2008 06:55 AM

So why do these people who are neither Mayanists nor Mayan themselves continue to champion this great change on the winter solstice of 2012? Methinks it's the same reason people were wrapping their pets in bubble wrap at the end of 1999. We are obsessed with the end. Figuring these dates allows us to relax our responsibility; our actions don't matter because in four years, things are going to change. It's actually quite Western eschatology: Christ is coming, so we've just got to chill. God gave us the world to turn into our own personal living room, as it were.

There are many, to be sure, who hold such a simplistic view of the 2012 'thing' (it's a really expansive concept which can't be reduced to a single attitude or set of carved-in-stone 'predictions'... try having a look at the Beyond 2012 site for starters). 2012 is many things to many people, but if you think it is something that is going to 'happen' to us, then you're missing the point big-time. It's everything to do with a collective and unitary consciousness engagement. To me it is a window of opportunity corresponding with an energy threshold of cosmic proportions. 12/21/2012 is not the end of time, but the end of a cycle (and therefore the beginning of a new one, as you point out). One author, John Major Jenkins, has theorized (backing it up with intensive studies in archeo-astronomy in several books) that it corresponds with a point in the ecliptic (the 26,000 year cycle of the heavens through the twelve signs of the zodiac) where the earth and the sun line up with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. I tend to view the date as more of a 'tipping point'. But in order to experience and take advantage of this opportunity, we have to open our minds (way beyond the materialist limitations and prejudices of our empirical scientific Western mindset) and engage with the unknown and inconceivable. The wave of human civilization is cresting, people, and what comes next is anyone's guess. These are exciting times,.Prepare to be surprised (or disappointed if you're expecting to have a fairytale/comic book paradise or doomsday scenario served up to you on a plate).

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

FEB 11, 2008 07:21 AM

shapeshifter23 said:
and engage with the unknown and inconceivable.

Don't forget dreaming the impossible dream and fighting the unstoppable foe.

tzeench

Long Beach, CA

OLD SKOOL

FEB 11, 2008 07:22 AM

While I was never worried about anything happening to the Earth or any of the rest of this Universe, I have always been concerned with humanity and it's psycho-social role in it including spiritual/psychosomatic abilities, including a concept I have heard of called 'faith' technology'.

The basic premise of 'faith technology' is this, you believe it will happen, have faith that it will happen and in some way it will happen.

So with that in mind I have always thought that the end was near for some of us, and not because some diefic entity, or some prophesy, but because people wanted and or needed it to happen.

Agreeing with Flux about the world not going on at this brisk pace, there is an argument for the majority of humanity realizing this and taking steps, albeit subconsciously and wholly based in spiritual pursuits, to help the world of man. This may be a misplaced paradigm but to a small degree it is humanity (mainly westerners) attempting to seek a counterbalance, with the only way out being a mass-extinction event caused by god or some other supernatural event,

After all who wants to pull the trigger themselves and who is non-biased enough to say who lives, who dies to save the rest of humanity when an Apocalypse takes those decisions out of our 'human' hands and places them outside of our jurisdiction or our fault.

Sorry for rambling on there, first comment added here, and just woke up, though it is what was on my mind.

Though take heart, as with all things, life will find a way, next might be the era of insecto-sapiens. Something to look forward to.

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

FEB 11, 2008 07:28 AM

tzeench said:
life will find a way,

Says who? Dr. Malcolm?

tzeench

Long Beach, CA

OLD SKOOL

FEB 11, 2008 07:50 AM

Yes that was the quote but is also backed up by lichen on mars.

MrCrisp

I'm lost

August 2004

FEB 11, 2008 08:18 AM

sinking ship!

bluevalentine

San Antonio, TX

December 2003

FEB 11, 2008 08:29 AM

from Survive 2012 website:

Survive 2012 is a non-fiction book I am working on. Progress is currently slow as need to work hard in the corporate world to build the necessary funds. My thoughts & plans are constantly evolving in line with my continual research. Survive 2012 is also the name of this website which is an online version of the completed chapters, some half-finished chapters and some other bits and pieces. A brief explanation of my theory is here.

Future chapters will look into:

* Global Grids
* Evolution
* Unicorns

How bad can it be??? Mutha fuckin UNICORNS!

MrCrisp

I'm lost

August 2004

FEB 11, 2008 08:45 AM

bluevalentine said:
from Survive 2012 website:

How bad can it be??? Mutha fuckin UNICORNS!

i know which side i'm on.

Nihilum

United Kingdom

November 2007

FEB 11, 2008 10:26 AM

Well, assuming Western civilization survives the next few decades somewhat intact, cultural and/or technological Singularity seems pretty probable. The old biological paradigm of sex, and the ineffectual dichotomous thinking that stems from the gender divide, is becoming obsolete as psychic exploration and advanced computation help to blow old conceptions of life out of the water. New systems of language, novelty as Terence McKenna would call it, are becoming a reality, and the 2012 date has a bizarre resonance with the observation of accelerating returns in the modern world.

That said, it's probably just a coincidence ;P.

xfinitex

East Lansing, MI

August 2005

FEB 11, 2008 10:48 AM

Great article, particularly for someone who works at a bookstore and has to help people find Sylvia Browne books at least twice a day.

If you looked like this, would you put your photo on EVERY book cover you've ever published?

RanusStudios

Boston, MA

July 2007

FEB 11, 2008 11:26 AM

I enjoyed this article.

ZPO

Roy, WA

July 2004

FEB 11, 2008 11:32 AM

Why no obsidian blades? I can think of a few people who should be sacrificed.

britp0p

Chandler, AZ

November 2007

FEB 11, 2008 11:37 AM

bluevalentine said:
from Survive 2012 website:

How bad can it be??? Mutha fuckin UNICORNS!

again, from the survive 2012 site:

Mass extinctions and rapid evolution occur at the same time as cataclysms. Rapid evolutionary change can only be achieved via extremely high rates of mutations, and by mutations that are not random. Unicorns and dragons once actually existed, they were random mutant strains that didn't survive very long.

interesting.

ericwine

Charlotte Hall, MD

January 2007

FEB 11, 2008 12:07 PM

Excellent article, Flux.

comrade

Portland, OR

April 2004

FEB 11, 2008 12:19 PM

shapeshifter23 said:
blah blah blah if we can move beyond petty empirical evidence then we can believe whatever we blah blah zodiac blah astrology blah blah magical alignment of the blah blah consciousness

Fascinating.

Cigarette

Cleveland, OH

April 2004

FEB 11, 2008 12:31 PM

tzeench said:
Yes that was the quote but is also backed up by lichen on mars.

Potential lichen on Mars.

cexiceci

San Diego, CA

October 2007

FEB 11, 2008 12:31 PM

Unicorns may seem to be the most outrageous aspect of the research, but I think they would undoubtedly be the most intriguing topic of interest from a marketing perspective. I want to read a book about unicorns.... <=:-)

sorry my unicorn emoticon looks like a penis hahaha

bluevalentine said:
from Survive 2012 website:

How bad can it be??? Mutha fuckin UNICORNS!