The 2012 End of the World View attempts to reconcile two conflicting beliefs: Lorenzo DiTommaso

Lorenzo DiTommaso, professor of religion at Concordia University in Montreal, says that the worldview of expecting an end of the world, whether on December 21, 2012, or at some other time, is a very persistent and powerful way of understanding the world.

He says that when people feel as if the world is out of control and beyond their comprehension, a belief in the end of the world returns order to the world.

“Problems have become so big, with no solutions in sight, that we no longer see ourselves able as human beings to solve these problems,” DiTommaso said. “From a biblical point of view, God is going to solve them. From other points of view, there has to be some sort of catastrophe.”

The apocalyptic worldview springs from a desire to reconcile two conflicting beliefs.

“The first is that there is something dreadfully wrong with the world of human existence today,” he said. “On the other hand, there is a sense that there is a higher good or some purpose for existence, a hope for a better future.”

Viewing the world as a flawed place headed toward some sort of cosmic correction reconciles these two beliefs, DiTommaso said.

The Draw of Doomsday: Why people look forward to the end

Mayan end of the world prophecies influenced by Spanish conquerers

Interestingly, Europeans feared the end of the world as long ago as the 1500s, during the time the Spanish were exploring and conquering the Americas. The 2012 end of the world mania is not new.

Notably, Hoopes said, Mayan end-of-the-world prophecies don’t appear in the historical record until after the group made contact with Christian missionaries — a bunch of people with their own strong beliefs about the end of days.
In fact, astrological end-time predictions were popular in the 1500s, when Franciscan missionaries began voyaging to the New World. In 1524, Hoopes said, an astrological conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter spurred fears of a second Great Flood, touching off panic.
“They were actually preparing for this catastrophe by buying real estate on high places and by stocking up on whatever the 16th-century equivalent of duct tape and bottled water was,” Hoopes said.
Biblical doomsday predictions would have certainly made it to Mayan ears, Hoopes said. In other words, Mayan prophecies simply appropriated Christian theology.
“The world for the Mayas really did end in the Spanish conquest,” Hoopes said. “So they incorporated that into their explanation of what was happening to them.”
11/11/11 How Friday is Tied to the Mayan Apolocalypse

2012 Mythology thought up by people on drugs

John Hoopes, a Mayan history scholar from the University of Kansas says that:

“If it seems like the 2012 mythology was thought up by people on drugs, it’s because it was.”
~ 11/11/11 How Friday is Tied to the Mayan Apocalypse

An interesting concept, in my humble opinion.

2012 discussion with friends

Yesterday I enjoyed visiting with friends and discussing the 2012 end of the world prophecies as well as their research into Edgar Cayce’s psychic predictions for earth changes in 2012.

Carol Chapman’s Seminar Topics

For a list of my seminar topics, please click here. I can talk about these topics for an afternoon or evening lecture, an all-day event, or be the keynote speaker for a weekend retreat.

The significance of the Mayan god Bolon Yok-te in the 2012 Prediction

John Major Jenkins writes about the significance of the god Bolon Yok-te in the December 21, 2012 prophecy on Monument 6 at the Tortuguero Mayan ruins. As I understand it, Jenkins is saying that simply translating the decipherable text on Monument 6 is not enough. You have to also consider what the significance of Bolon Yok-te’s presence:

One thing about Bolon Yokte’s presence in the 2012 text should be emphasized. Apart from symbolizing war, conflict, and the underworld, Bolon Yokte is a god that is often present during Creation events, often referring to the Creation event of 13.0.0.0.0 in 3114 BC, and most notably on the Vase of the Seven Lords. So, what does it mean that a Creation Lord is present on the next 13.0.0.0.0, the one that falls in 2012 AD? Although some scholars have commented that the incomplete text on Tortuguero Monument 6 doesn’t tell us much, they have overlooked the obvious: Bolon Yokte’s mere presence suggests that 2012 was thought of as a Creation, a worldrenewal that, after all, makes perfect sense in the context of a World Age doctrine that sequences forward in intervals of 13 baktuns. This may seem to go without saying, but in fact my work has been criticized for characterizing 2012 as a “cosmogenesis.” Here the scholars are one step closer to understanding 2012 for what the Maya knew it to a be: a rebirth and the beginning of a new World Age.
Comments on the 2012 text on Tortuguero Monument 6 and Bolon Yokte K’u

Evidence for 2012/Galactic Alignment found at Izapa Mayan Ruins

In an article called In the Roots of the Milky Way Tree: The Mayan Lord of Creation and 2012, John Major Jenkins says that:

The belief that we don’t have “direct statements” about 2012 in the archaeological record ignores the plethora of pictographic images at Izapa that portray a rare celestial alignment that appears in the skies in the years around 2012.7 This galactic alignment is the key to understanding 2012, and it involves the rebirth of the December solstice Sun Lord through the Dark Rift “cleft” in the Milky Way, located between Sagittarius and Scorpio.
The Mayan Lord of Creation and 2012

Jenkins refers to Mayan ruins in Izapa, Mexico, which is very close to the Guatemala border. He says the Izapa were an intermediate step between the earlier Olmecs and the classic-period Mayans. They, like the Olmecs, used and understood the Long Count Calendar. According to Jenkins, they also understood the alignment between the start/end point of a 5,125 year cycle in the Long Count Calendar and the solar system with the Milky Way’s center.

2012 Movie Plans

I am happy, because today we (me and my editor-in-chief) decided to make a movie of the information I presented during Wednesday’s presentation: Do Mayan Shamans believe the world will end in 2012?

2012 and the Mayan Shamans

I enjoyed speaking at the Edgar Cayce Forum last night. As usual, I met many wonderful people both those I had met before and also those I met for the first time. I am also happy because of all the fantastic feedback I received for my presentation, Do Mayan Shamans believe the world will end in 2012?

Do Mayan Shamans believe the world will end in 2012?

I am excited about my presentation tonight at Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. in Virginia Beach, Virginia, sponsored by the Edgar Cayce Forum. I will be speaking on, “Do Mayan Shamans believe the world will end in 2012?” which will include a dynamic PowerPoint Presentation that includes videotaped interviews of Mayan shamans and Dr. Robert K. Sitler, an expert on the Maya. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. See you there!