Were the Mayans Right?
According to some people, the Mayans predicted that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Being the winter solstice, this date could be highly significant. The source for this prediction is one of the calendars used by the Mayans appears to end on this date.
It makes sense to me that if the world is on the path toward some sort of cataclysmic end in a few weeks, there would be indications of it occurring now. Perhaps we would be facing one of the most massive storms ever to hit the East Coast of the U.S…
Currently, Hurricane Sandy is being called the “Frankenstorm” because it is joining with other unique weather patterns to be monstrous. If the computer forecasts are accurate, it will be moving on land on the morning of Monday, October 29, and disrupting the lives of millions of people. [By the way, if you are in the way of Hurricane Sandy, please act wisely and cooperate with orders from legal authorities. We want you to be safe!]
NOAA Satellite Photo of Hurricane Sandy and U.S. East Coast, Taken Sunday, October 28 at 10:25 Eastern Time
It doesn’t show the massive effects that will result when it mixes with
high tides, arctic storms from the north-west and more.
Perhaps, also, we would be facing an increase in the number and intensity of earthquakes.
There have been what seems to be an increase in quantity and intensity of earthquakes in the Pacific “Rim of Fire.” I was awakened from a sound sleep early Sunday morning by a 3.9 earthquake that had its epicenter right where I freakin’ live!
Perhaps global climate change would be causing massive problems in the world.
Whether you believe that global climate change is the result of natural forces or human actions (and unfortunately, the science has been politicized by people protecting their financial empires), the results are taking a toll on our environment that could be…challenging to our continued future.
So are these early signs of the end of the Earth?
NAAAAAAWWW!!!
I mean, even some Mayans are saying the prediction is based on a misunderstanding of the ancient calendar. As Felipe Gomez, leader of the Maya alliance Oxlaljuj Ajpop, said,
We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit. They are not telling the truth about time cycles.
Even so, what with climate change and increasingly extreme weather such as Hurricane Sandy and the apparent increases in earthquake quantity and intensity, could the world end this coming December 21?
Well, I can definitely say that…either it will or it won’t.
Options for December 21
So if the world ends on December 21, what should you do? Well, uh, what can you do? If it’s over, it’s over. Maybe have a the-end-of-the-world party?
And what should you do if the world doesn’t end on December 21? Well, uh, since nothing special happens there is nothing to do. Maybe have a not-the-end-of-the-world party?
Meanwhile, as Oxlaljuj Ajpop stated in a document they released, what the end of the calendar’s cycle actually means is not the end of the world, but rather that “there will be big changes on the personal, family and community level, so that there is harmony and balance between mankind and nature.” This is similar to what some new agers and occultists are saying about the meaning of the end of the Mayan calendar’s cycle.
Maybe I’m getting a bit cynical, but as far as I can tell there are always “changes on the personal, family and community level,” and when they effect us personally we consider them to be “big.” As to the changes resulting in “harmony and balance between mankind and nature,” again I’m a bit cynical, but time will reveal if this will occur.
Responsibility and Change
As magicians, it’s important to realize that we each have the ability of change our lives. This realization is far more important than worrying about some fictional global Mayan apocalypse. It means that no matter the situation or external events, you have the ability to change what happens in your life!
How? You can do this with magick. If you’re not going to improve your life with the magick you study and practice, why do all that work?
But aren’t magicians just normal people? Yes, but with training and practice, ordinary magicians can become extraordinary people. Even the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn stated that their goal wasn’t just to make people magicians, it was to help people become “more than human.” Too many people think that becoming a magician and doing magick should be a goal when, in fact, real magicians know that magick is just a means to the real goal of being able to control our lives by becoming “more that human.”
Isn’t this just some magicians trying to put themselves up on a holier-than-thou magickal pedestal? In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. This is shown in two ways.
First, anyone who wants to study and do the work can achieve this goal. You’re not in any way superior if anyone who studies and does the work can be just like you. You’re just more dedicated.
Second, when you use the technology of magick to control your future, you increase your personal responsibility. This isn’t elitism. It only means that you’re responsible for all of your failures and you can’t blame them on karma or fate or the Mayan calendar. It also means that you’re responsible for all of your successes, and if you in some way harm another on your path you’re responsible for that, too.
It comes down to the old Spiderman quote:
With great power comes great responsibility.
It’s up to each magician to wield that power responsibly. And that needs to be done not just on December 21, but on each and every day of the year.
And this, of course, leads up to the …
Inevitable Political Rant
Most of the people reading this blog live in countries that have greater or lesser degrees of democracy. Here in the U.S., we will shortly be having a major election. As part of being responsible for yourself, your family, your friends, and your community, it is your responsibility to vote.
Years ago, when I only thought I was more radical and political, I wouldn’t vote. People would say, “Well, if you don’t vote, you have no right to complain about politics.” In some instances, I now think that’s true. If you don’t have the time or desire to help determine your future, you don’t understand the role of real magick.
When I didn’t vote, however, it wasn’t because I was disinterested. Rather, it was because I felt my vote was meaningless and by specifically choosing not to vote I was making my dissatisfaction with the political parties clear. I used to have a poster that I put up on a side window of my VW Bus that read, “Why Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils? Cthulhu for President.”
Now, as a Master Practitioner of NLP, I find myself in agreement with the presupposition that the meaning of any communication is the response you get. Although years ago I didn’t know that, I recognized that by not voting nobody heard my cry of frustration. Instead I was equated with the know-nothings who just didn’t care about voting.
So I started voting. And when I didn’t like any of the major candidates I voted for a minor party candidate. The number of votes that such candidates are getting is increasing, especially when the media actually includes them in their so-called journalism, an event which is all too rare.
Whether you are a magician or not I would urge you do examine the issues, check into candidates’ positions both today and in the past, and vote for whom you most agree with. If you don’t like any of them write in Cthulhu, or Elvis or your own name. Be sure to find out the correct way to do this so that your ballot isn’t invalidated. Check into the measures being voted on. Whatever you do, don’t believe the ads! No matter the side, they all misrepresent and lie. How can they get away with this? Because the rules are that the media must run political ads without checking them for accuracy, and considering the hundreds of millions they make from political advertising, they’re not going to check too closely anyway.
Where I live there’s early voting and I’ve voted already. Here’s the stub to my ballot:
