MAIN Holidays & Observances Winter Solstice December 21, 2012

Fasten your seat belts.

According to a famous prognosticators and interpreters of ancient knowledge, it's the end of the world as we know it.

As 2012 draws near, watch for predictions of the apocalypse (or, alternatively, a new age of enlightenment) to be the subject of books, songs, and even movie blockbusters. Already come and gone is the hit film I Am Legend set in 2012 Manhattan, wherein a mysterious malady wipes out all human life on earth, save for a few fortunate souls who survive a deadly virus.

Also watch for other 2012 films and TV specials predicting cataclysmic events that will strike the planet specifically at the winter solstice on December 21.

These are all based on calculations in the ancient Mayan calendar charting an unusual planetary alignment as the solar system wends its way into the center of the Milky Way.

2012 and the Mayan Calendar

In ancient Mexico, the Mayan civilization was extraordinarily sophisticated in mathematics and astronomy. Today, they are best known for being obsessed with keeping time by creating a calendar containing not only months and years, but a "wheels-within-wheels" clockwork coordinating the movements of the sun, moon and cosmos.

The Mayans predicted these movements in a "long calendar" reaching 5,000 years into the future — which abruptly ends with the winter solstice in 2012 AD. Not everybody is in agreement on whether it means the end of time, or the end of a cycle. The Mayans may have simply decided to stop calculating beyond 2012.

Experts in ancient Mexican history say the Mayans usually saw the end of cosmic cycles as times of great celebration and new beginnings, which may explain why - in rather striking contrast - other modern prognosticators look forward to a mysterious spiritual awakening.

Others interpret it as the "end time," the Apocalypse, or Armageddon, fueled by a handful of polar shift theories and crystal ball predictions.

Nostradamus Predictions

The famous 16th century seer credited with predicting the terrorist attack on 9/11 also holds strong sway with 2012 adherents. His cryptic quatrains, they say, perfectly fit the events of World War III.

Nostradamus never mentions a specific date, but he appears to envision a global war that begins in the Middle East, accompanied by deadly chemical and nuclear attacks. The terrible upheaval will not only see the rise of the Antichrist, but will be coupled with an equally devastating "perfect storm' of plagues, earthquakes, volcanoes, and an asteroid falling to earth. The forces of good eventually prevail, but not before a long and devastating struggle finally ends World War III.

But the end of the world? Hardly.

Nostradamus saw the earth's destruction following an explosion of the sun in AD 3797.

And the story of humankind doesn't end there. The old seer predicted that humanity would have already moved to colonies on other planets by then...

Edgar Cayce Predictions

"America's greatest prophet," the 20th century psychic and spiritualist Edgar Cayce, also saw cataclysmic events occurring at the turn of the 21st century.

In particular, his visions of coastal flooding (when the notion of global warming could not have been imagined) are eerily reminiscent of today's news headlines. Foreseeing the northern Atlantic seaboard as the most hard-hit, he pinpointed New York City as almost completely engulfed by water. He also predicted related upheavals in the Arctic and Antarctica, and saw violent volcanic activity in northern Scandinavian countries, along with the utter destruction of Japan.

But ... what happens specifically on the fateful day of December 21, 2012?

He didn't say.

December 21, 2012 around the Web:

With still some time left to go, we'll have to stick around to find out whether 2012 is a real threat or this year's Y2K theory.

Meanwhile, around the Web check out additional resources offering scientific conjecture, psychic predictions, plus more heated discussion on the importance of December 21 2012, along with other interpretations on why you may not want to cash in just yet...

2012: Dire Gnosis - Scroll down the long homepage menu to find more on the Mayan calendar, links to discussion groups, articles and essays, related events, suggested reading.

2012 - Crystalinks - Nicely illustrated collection of resources explaining the sun's conjuction with the Milky Way, the significance of the event in Mayan and other cultures with related information on novel theory, the Venus transit, solar cycles and astrology.

The millennium and end-of-the-world prophecies - Good overview from ReligiousTolerance.org cataloging various end of the world theories through the ages, all with one thing in common (none came true).

History Channel - Armageddon - A ratings grabber guaranteed to scare the pants off believers with profiles on Nostradamus predictions, and more assorted acocalyptic visions of natural disasters that may end the world someday.

December 12 2002.com - "The official site for 12-21-12 information" featuring news videos, information on the Mayan calendar, prophecies of disaster, related predictions, and busy community forum. And don't miss the collection of 2012 survival supplies in the online store.

No Doomsday in 2012 - Join the fray featuring visitor comments on how the Mayan calendar has been misinterpreted, with related articles at UniverseToday.com

2012 News Reports - Featuring the latest media reports, news articles and opinion, related events.