It’s the end of the world as we know it ... or maybe not

December 21, 2012 is cited as doomsday in the Mayan calendar, but should be seen as a new beginning, not the end, says Margaret Neylon

DON’T worry about your savings or your pension. You won’t need them. According to the Mayan calendar, the world is coming to an end on December 21, 2012.

The Mayan civilisation was developed in meso-America, in countries we know now as Guatemala and Mexico. They were advanced in mathematics, spirituality, astronomy and astrology and developed their own calendars based on cycles.

They had a 260-day count known as the Tzolkin, but of more importance to us is their long count. This tracked longer periods of time from the start of their civilisation (3113 BC), and one great cycle would be completed after 5,125 years, ie December 21, 2012 — this is the date on which their calendar ends.

There have been predictions of major disasters and calamities, solar flares, polar shifts and a comet hitting the Earth. Truth or fiction?

Fiction, according to Sandra Noble, of the Foundation for the Advancement of Meso-American Studies in Florida who says creating a doomsday, or day of cosmic shifting of December 21, 2012, “is a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in”.

Yet the Mayans believed their cycles coincided with growth in spiritual and collective consciousness. Apparently, they prophesied that we had 13 years from 1999 to move from self-destructive behaviour to integrated consciousness and so pass through the doorway to the new era, The Golden Age.

Could they be right? Looking back over the past decade or so, we’ve had the madness of the Celtic Tiger, the global financial downturn that shook the western world, and scandals that stripped bare the patina of any organisation which thought it was above criticism. We’ve had tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, nuclear accidents, fires. How many more lessons do we need before we accept that we have responsibility for each other, that we need to integrate rather than individuate?

If you think the world as you know it is falling apart, you’re right. The old, reliable structures, the Church, politicians, State bodies, the banking community, all those in whom we put our trust, have been unseated.

This is because since 2008 the planet Pluto has moved into the sign of Capricorn. Pluto symbolises forced transformation, Capricorn symbolises patriarchal organisations and structure.

Don’t believe me? Take a look around. This year alone we’ve seen the Arab spring of Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria and Yemen breaking free of the yoke of oppression.

Who’s next? Any organisation which believes itself to be above scrutiny is next in line. There’s the pharmaceutical industry, the media, the medical and legal professions, perhaps? Anyone who says ‘do as I say’, not ‘do as I do’. More corrupt leaders will be uncloaked, no doubt.

If you’ve placed your unquestioning trust in any organisation, it may be time to think again. The message is similar to the death card of the tarot deck, which shows the picture of a king fallen to the ground with his symbol of power, his crown, now worthless, and a religious leader with his symbol of power, the crozier, fallen to the ground and powerless. The death card says that all the human priorities are made of mortal belief and fall, powerless, in the face of our spiritual needs. The transformative Pluto will be in Capricorn till 2024, so there’s no way we can sidestep its lessons. The quicker we embrace the changes the better.

I don’t believe that the Mayan calendar portends the end of the world. But what I do accept is that this will be a time when the world as we know it will change considerably. The moment you give your power away to someone or something else, beware. The astrological influences of this time are giving us the opportunity to empower ourselves and our communities for the betterment of all.

It’s time to re-evaluate our values and priorities. However, those who unquestioningly believe the Mayans knew something we didn’t should remember that, with all their talents, they didn’t manage to predict the coming of the Conquistadors who virtually wiped them out.

Interestingly, this happened at a time when Pluto was in Capricorn, in the early 16th century.

So should we spend the next 15 months having sleepless nights as we fear what might happen on December 21, 2012?

Perhaps not, says Gerardo Aldan, associate professor at University College, Santa Barbara, who has published on the topic of Mayan astronomy. Aldan says the dates could be out by 50 or 100 years. So maybe you should hold onto your savings for the moment.

* Margaret Neylon is an astrologer and numerologist