There is a rumour that in the year 2012, the Mayan calender ends, and with it the world. This is the type of sensation that inspires film-makers. Apocalyptic themes promise a good box office. I have another reason for discussing this theme, and that is to present a nifty tool that can be found at fourmilab.ch. This tool can also be downloaded and used off line. What does the calendar converter do? It simply converts any date of choice into different calender systems, including the Mayan system. I use it primarily to quickly find dates for time periods larger than a month, for example searching for the conception date when using the trutine of Hermes. An example:
Take say the 15th of February 2009. What was the date 289 days before this day?
- Enter the 15th of February 2009, 12:00 in the Gregorian calendar. Press calculate.
- note the Julian day: 2454878
- subtract 289 = 2454589
- enter 2454589 in the Julian day field. Press calculate
- Look up the day in the Gregorian calendar, May 2, 2008
And what day was May 2, 2008 in the Mayan Long Count calendar?
12 baktun 19 katun 15 tun 5 uinal 7 kin or 12.19.15.05.07.
The day that is getting so much media coverage is the 19th of December 2012 or 12.19.19.17.19. This is the end of the 12th baktun cycle that is 144.000 days long. But this isn’t the end of a pictun cycle. It takes 20 baktun to make up a pictun cycle. It is only at the end of a pictun cycle that the Mayan’s believed the universe was destroyed and remade. There are still 8 baktun cycles to go! So if you are waiting for the Mayan apocalypse you have a long wait. That will be on October 12, 4772.
Altair Astrology 
Great tool… but sorry the apocalipse will not get as promised (again!). I was looking forward the zombie invasion, the aliens, the new cosmic conscience, the time travel the earthquakes, etc, etc, etc
🙂
Hi Thomas, 🙂
AFAIK, “Maya” is not only the name of a “Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems.”, but also:
1. A Sanskrit word for illusion.
2. The Aramaic word for water.
3. “A high-end 3D computer graphics and 3D modeling software package originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation, but now owned by Autodesk as part of the Media and Entertainment division.”
So, after having become addicted to watching the unbelievable film “The Matrix”, I’ve come to the conclusion we all live inside the Holodeck, and “Our world is nothing but a giant hologram” (as even modern science suggests).
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20126911.300-our-world-may-be-a-giant-hologram.html?full=true&print=true
Therefore, on the due date (19th of December 2012,…who’s birthday is it, btw?) the Mayan Calendar ends, meaning the Holodeck stops working (power source is out) and the hologram collapses, leaving us face to face with REALITY (Saturn’s joy), just as Neptune enters Pisces to sleep with the fishes. o o o <<
Makes sense, doesn’t it? 😉
Hello Maggie!
Good of you to point this out. The Mayan apocalypse in 2012 is an illusion generated by a high-end computer graphic system that provides the flooding animation for film of same name? 🙂
A hologram is it? Seems like the modern day equivalent of the flat earth theory.
best regards,
Thomas
On the same topic
Hello Yuzuru,
The link has been noted and commented! 🙂
Th.
Bless your thinking- I find the whole 2012 scare thinking rather silly at times. Please check out my blog, I love to discuss Astrology in it!
Oh stupid link didn’t work- this one should!
Hello Nadia,
Quite often links are filtered out unless approved. If there are more than one in a comment, the comment is automatically are treated as spam.
Th.
Well pardon me good sir- I had no idea of this since I didn’t know I commented twice, must have been a weird Internet mistake. 😉 Happy Venus rx!
Hello Nadia,
🙂 Glad you find the article informative, and yes it is a bit silly (the hype). There are other celestial events of far more interest and I am afraid that there are far too many cashing in on this particular ‘event’–beginning with the film! Considering some of the responses at other sites it seems that the film will have a good audience and that the producer’s of the film have a good nose, it has potential for a few million dollars. I think I will read a good book instead.
Once we are into 2013 the next ‘event’ will be on the horizon…
Th.
Hi Thomas 🙂
Yes… Am looking forward to catch a glimpse of what another story is yet to come after 2012…. Ha ha ha…. !!!
Hello Sneha,
Oh, there will be one, don’t worry about that. Asteroids are popular, so are Black Holes. I am sure Hollywood will come up with something? 🙂
Ha ha ha….. 🙂 Yeah they are the ones who benefit from this, alarming people and spreading the vibe….
I know this is older but I have to reply. I know where the hysteria is coming from. Three words…
The… History… Channel.
The History Channel is KNOWN for spewing bull to encite fear and thus gather ratings.
The 2012 end of world documentaries on THC are basically the exact same documentaries they played in 1999 during Y2K… only replacing the year 2000 with 2012.
They mention Nostradamus a million times. Nostradamus said we were in for dire times in 2000, Nostradamus predicted a world wide catastrophe which has been named Y2K… Here’s the thing the History Channel doesn’t tell you…
HE DIDN’T predict any of that.
Like 9/11 and Y2K, Nostradamus predictions for 2012 are fake… modern mock ups of his quatrains. He never mentions 2012 specifically in any of his quatrains… and in fact one of the few dates he mentions specifically is in a letter to his son when he states his predictions are good till the year 3797… over 1,800 years away.
the history channel neglects to mention that proven fact.
Another thing they neglected to mention in the Maya 2012 hysteria…
not only are the Modern Maya disgusted by the constant 2012 questions… saying end of the world dooms day prophecies is a western thing, not a mayan thing…
also, as you stated, there is evidence on ancient Maya works, that can be roughly translated to the year 4772.
And also… the Maya found the end of cycles to be times of great celebration. They were not prophets, They didn’t care about the end of the world because they believed the world ended 4 other times before and was reborn stronger… so they didn’t bother looking for when they world was going to end, cause they knew it would end and begin again stronger… so they focused on natural and astronomical events like star alignments, lunar eclipses.
yes they were advanced when it came to understanding astronomy, and keeping calendars… but that’s because that’s what they cared about… not the end of the world.
not that the history channel will mention that.
Dear Mayu,
Thank you for your comment. Your description sounds like the equivalent to the travelling teller of tall tales!
Thomas
Hello, Thomas, thanks for posting this. I have a an argumentative research paper about doomsday and I’m on the anti side… your post will really help me, so as the other’s comments. 😀 If you have other details you know about “why is 2012 not the end of the world”. please email me so 😀 thanks!
Hello Anime,
I certainly shall. One major argument is common sense! Anyone with a minimum of philosophical schooling has learned that any theory – if one wants to consider the hype about 2012 as such – must be thouroughly examined before adopted. The plausibilty of this theory falls apart on first examination. That proponents of this theory haven’t even taken the time to consider the basics of the Mayan system ( only a baktun cycle ends not a pictun cycle) suggests that they should begin to exercise their reason. A good beginning would be “The Consolation of Philosophy” by Boethius.
best regards,
Thomas