shapeshifter said:
A friend of mine has done a lot of reading and research on this subject even travelled to the ruins because he was so interested in Mayan culture.
He says the Maya were out by 15 yrs and that it already happened on Dec 21, 1997
Apparently there is no need to worry about 2012 and an end date
I find it hard to believe that the most accurate and knowledgable keepers of time who have ever lived on this planet were "out by 15 years" on their calculations for what they believed would be an event that ended time as we know it.
They kept a short count (260 day) ritual calendar (consisting of 13 months of 20 days each) for religious and ceremonial purposes as well as a long count calendar of 365 days. The latter was comprised of 18 months of 20 days each (360 days) plus five "nameless" days at the end of the calendar which were believed to be a very dangerous period during which disasters of all kinds were possible. Thus every day of the year was actually two different dates, one for the short count and one for the long count. Every 52 years, these two calendars would each complete a full cycle and a new cycle would commence, providing their gods deemed them worthy of another cycle. Such were their unparalleled skills in the area of astonomy that the Mayans also kept a daily calendar for Venus.
I've been aware of the date December 21, 2012 for a decade now and as we draw closer and closer to the day, there is considerable speculation about what may happen then. Much of the current speculation points towards the Mayans possibly having predicted a pole shift. There have been documented pole shifts in earth's history but they are exceedingly rare events. One type of pole shift entails a shift of the magnetic poles only and is why the true North Pole and the Magnetic North Pole are not exactly the same. The effects of such a pole shift, depending upon the speed with which it happens, would likely not be very disruptive to life on earth. However the other type of pole shift, known as a geological or axial shift, is a different kettle of fish altogether.
"A geological or axial shift in which the Earth’s crust literally slips around its molten core – like a loose peel on an orange – altering the positions of land masses with respect to the planet’s rotation on its axis. This could happen by a few degrees or by many degrees. Antarctica could wind up at the equator and Miami could be the new North Pole. The effects on our civilization could be devastating."
Other speculation about what the Mayan end of time portends is that December 21, 2012 will be the date when mankind masters time travel, rendering the very concept of time meaningless and thus "ending time".
There is a lot of fascinating reading material on the internet on the Mayan civilization, by googling either "Mayan civilization" or "Mayan calendar". The release of Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto", about the Mayans, will also increase public awareness of their predictions, I'm sure.
