Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that popular mythology says that the Mayan long count calendar will end on December 21, 2012 and therefore the world will probably end too.  

Many cultures break the aeons of time into smaller and more manageable cycles.  The ancient Hindus described these cycles as Yugas, of which there are four, each with its own qualities.  We are currently in the Kali Yuga which began somewhere around 3102 bce, and which will last for another 400,000 years or so.  The current Mayan calendar period of 5126 years, or B’ak’tun, began in 3114 bce. The synchronicity of these beginning dates is especially interesting when we consider that this is around the time of the surge of more sophisticated civilizations around the world.  But the Mayans believed there were 20 B’ak’tun cycles, so we have a ways to go before the entire cycle ends according to the Mayans.  That date is the end of the 20th B’ak’tun, which occurs on October 12, 4772.  

At any rate, the 13th B’ak’tun is set to end in December of 2012 and then resets itself to the 14th B’ak’tun.  The commonly used date of December 21, corresponding to the Winter Solstice, is somewhat coincidental and depends upon the correlations used to adapt the Mayan calendar to the Western calendar.  Some scholars believe that the 13th B’ak’tun will end on December 20th and the 14th will begin on December 21.  Some New Agers want the end of the calendar to coincide 12/12/12 for the numerological effect. 

I am often asked what the astrological correlations are between the Mayan calendar and our Western astrology, and the answer is truly – there are none.  While we are going to be experiencing some major cycles of change over the next few years as Uranus and Pluto face off in a square formation, that cycle is not in any kind of orb on December 21st.  The alignment of Uranus and Pluto will begin to tighten in the Spring of 2011, but by November of 2011 they will have moved apart without ever reaching the climax of the square formation. The exact Uranus/Pluto square occurs in September of 2012 and is waning by the time of the Solstice. I have certainly hypothesized that the Uranus/Pluto square could bring earth changes such as earthquakes and the eruption of volcanoes, but this has no real correlation to the Mayan calendar date of December 21, 2012.

The Solstice chart for December 21, 2012 is relatively uneventful and there are no major planetary cycles occurring at that time.  

That said, there are some interesting details in the chart including a numerological correlation with the Solstice (as marked by the Sun entering the sign of Capricorn) occurring at exactly 11:11 am GMT.  11:11 is said to be an angelic frequency that opens doorways of higher consciousness although humans generally have to be at a fairly high frequency themselves to be able to really experience these subtle shifts in energetics.

The chart for the solstice includes an exact Yod (finger of Fate) involving a harmonious sextile of Saturn to Pluto that both quincunx Jupiter, making the shape of a Y with Jupiter at the apex.  The Yod in the Kaballah represents god as the father, and Jupiter is the king of the gods so there is perhaps an element of transformation (Pluto) through focus (Saturn) that challenge the ideas that establish our philosophy and understanding (Jupiter).  

There are some interesting astronomical correlations to the December 21 2012 phenomenon, although some were tied to the expected peak of the solar cycle which due to the extended Solar Minimum which may still be in effect.  The Solar Minimum was expected to end in 2006 which would put the midpoint of the eleven year cycle at the 2012 point, but since we may still be in the Solar Minimum that seems a bit soon.

So relax everyone – no need to build the bunkers yet.  If you want to read more about the non-links between astrology and 2012 (thank you Chris for the links and your pointed article) read through astrologer Bruce Scofield’s collection