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Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date [Paperback]

John Major Jenkins , Terence McKenna
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 1, 1998
While researching the 2012 end-date of the Maya Calendar, John Major Jenkins decoded the Maya's galactic cosmology. The Maya discovered that the periodic alignment of the Sun with the center of the Milky Way galaxy is the formative influence on human evolution. These alignments also define a series of World Ages. The fourth age ends on December 21, 2012, when an epoch chapter in human history will come to an end. Maya Cosmogenisis 2012 reveals the Maya's insight into the cyclic nature of time, and prepares us for our own cosmogenesis--the birth of a new world.

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Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date + Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions + The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These two works press beyond the boundaries of conventional scholarship to explore the alternative world view offered by Maya culture. Brennan, an artist and longtime student of prehistoric rock inspirations throughout North America and Mexico, examines the hand signs shown in Maya glyphs and art work in search of an interpretation of the Maya system of writing, which has long interested interested and puzzled scholars He contends that the Maya used a sophisticated gesture language similar to that of the Plains Indian groups of North America. Many useful illustrations and compelling examples support Brennan's theory. While the conclusions drawn are equal parts scholarship and hypothesis, this thorough and detailed study of the relationships among writing, art, symbolism, and meaning fascinates. The Maya Long Count calendar, a complex system for measuring time, was developed around 2000 years ago, possibly at the pre-Maya site of Izapa in southern Mexico. Jenkins, an independent researcher, presents a wealth of information about Maya astronomy, mythology, and caledrics in support of his analysis of the Long Count calendar end-date, scheduled to occur on December 21, 2012. Providing evidence that the end-date corresponds with a rare alignment of our solar system, Jenkins contends that the Maya were aware of this celestial event and believed that it portended a dramatic rebirth for humanity. Good illustrations, maps, and an extensive bibliography complement this detailed work. Ultimately, however, Jenkins' well-researched and interesting interpretation remains speculative. [For more on Maya culture, see Linda Schele and Jorge Perez de Lara's Hidden Faces of the Maya, reviewed on p. 87.?Ed.]?Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westeville, P.L.
-?Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westeville, P.L.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The extensive research by John Major Jenkins into the Mayan astronomy and mysteries is very impressive indeed, and his book will no doubt become a classic in this field of study. Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 is a must-read for all those who feel that there is far more to our ancient past than meets the eye." (Robert G. Bauval, coauthor of The Orion Mystery)

"Jenkins presents a wealth of information about the Maya astronomy, mythology, and calendrics in support of his analysis of the Long Count Calendar end-date . . . illustrations, maps, and extensive bibliography complement this detailed work." (Library Journal)

"The steady pace of Jenkin's unveiling of his remarkable conclusions is a testament to his skill as a writer and his confidence in the way he has pieced together existing ethnohistoric data, archeoastronomy, his own fieldwork and an admirable empathy for the people who first articulated this monumental story, this key to understanding the nature of our place as humans in the galactic patterns of existence." (Curtis McCosco, CirclesofLight.com, May 2009)

“Readers will be impressed by Jenkins' scholarly yet interdisciplinary approach. He reaches beyond the confines of the ivory towers to break old paradigms and create several new ones. Primarily, he gives us insights into the nature of time and reality, how the larger cosmic cycles correlate to World Ages, which in turn shows us how to the world periodically renews itself.” (Chris Lorenz, Dell Horoscope, December 2010)

Product Details

  • Paperback: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Bear & Company; Original edition (August 1, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1879181487
  • ISBN-13: 978-1879181489
  • Product Dimensions: 7 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an independent researcher devoted to reconstructing ancient Mayan cosmology and philosophy. Since 1986, I've traveled to Mexico and Central America many times. In 1990 I helped build a school in San Pedro, near Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. In 1994 I delivered relief supplies to a Quich' Maya community in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Since beginning my work with the Maya, I've authored dozens of articles and many books.

I also facilitated the translation of The Key to the Kalevala by Pekka Ervast, editing and writing the introduction for it. This classic text on Finnish mythology was published with Blue Dolphin Publishers in 1999. In 1995 I was appointed literary executor for Eino Friberg, Finnish-American poet and translator of The Kalevala, the national epic of the Finnish people.

As a visiting scholar, I've taught classes at The Institute of Maya Studies in Miami, The Maya Calendar Congress in Mexico, The Esalen Institute, Naropa University and many other venues both nationally and abroad. I wrote the preface to Geoff Stray's book Beyond 2012, and have been interviewed on numerous radio and television shows, including the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and the recent documenary 2012: The Odyssey. Currently working on 2012 documentaries with Mystic Fire Video and Vision Quest Productions.


Customer Reviews

I highly recommend this book for anyone truely interested in learning more about the Maya. Carol Shimer (shimert@earthlink.net)  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
You will return to it during your "2012" study. Tomas Jakl  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
158 of 167 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 February 28, 2001
Format:Paperback
The Earth spins on an axis. Like everything else that spins, it wobbles. That wobble is technically called precession, and it explains why Earthlings have seen the sun rise against different constellations over the centuries. In his latest book, Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date, John Major Jenkins explains how the Maya mapped the movements of the Earth, including precession, and incorporated their measurements into their calendars.

Jenkins, who has researched Mesoamerican cosmology and calendrics since 1986, has written five other books and numerous articles about the Maya. In Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, he ties together Mayan mythology and astronomy in a scholarly discussion of the source and meaning of "end date" indicated by the Long Count calendar.

He supports his theories with nearly 200 line drawings, and provides extensive appendices, end notes, and a comprehensive bibliography.

Each "wobble" (or precessional cycle) lasts 25,800 years. Researchers believe that the current precessional cycle will end in the year 2012. This date is known as the "End-Date" in Maya calendrics. At that time, the Earth will begin a new cycle in the opposite direction.

Jenkins says his focus is "on how the precession of the equinoxes was mapped and calibrated among the ancient civilizations." He adds that his book "is devoted to exploring the Maya's understanding of the 2012 end-date and the philosophy and cosmology that go with it. This is a book about cosmogenesis, the creation of the world. The Maya believed that the world will be reborn, in a sense 're-created,' in the year we call 2012."

What does all that mean? Will humans survive cosmogenesis? Jenkins thinks we will. He says the end-date marks the beginning of a new and better world. He believes that "what looms before us is a great opportunity for spiritual growth, both individual and planetary." Others, of course, disagree, and foresee a time of cataclysmic destruction.

Regardless of whether they see the predicted end-date as a non-event, as destructive, or as an opportunity for growth, readers will find Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 a fascinating book. Astronomers and students of cosmology and mythology will especially appreciate Jenkin's research and thorough documentation.

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50 of 58 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Needs some TLC from a good editor August 8, 2006
Format:Paperback
This book seems to hold lots of promise when skimmed, but when I actually sat down to read it, I got bogged down in it very quickly. The first chapter seems like an extended foreword. The author makes some references to his travels in Central America, and some anecdotes from his travels might have livened things up quite and made the book more engaging, but no dice. The author seems to repeat himself a lot to no apparent end, and, most frustratingly, he does not provide a big picture before starting his slow slog through the details.

I think a readable book lurks between the covers of this title, but it needs a good editor to bring it out. Readers looking for something which engages the imagination like the works of Terence McKenna, Daniel Pinchbeck, and Jim DeKorne will probably come away disappointed.
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38 of 44 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars 2012: Celestial Cataclysm or Mayan Metaphor for Change? September 28, 2000
Format:Paperback
Are we linked in some way we do not understand to the greater cosmos?
Your daily horoscope is unlikely to tell you. Yet, the ancient Maya,
builders of stone monuments that intricately measured the movement of
the heavenly bodies and thus the passage of time, surely thought
so. Following the lead established in Giorgio de Santillana's HAMLET'S
MILL, Jenkins reaffirms the importance of the Precession of the
Equinoxes, the stately sliding and displacement of the morning risings
of the constellations of the zodiac -- each reigning for 2,160 years
-- until a "Great Year" of 25,920 has elapsed, and the
Precession has come full circle. Unlike Santillana, Jenkins
establishes the Maya, not the Sumerians, as the most ancient of
astronomers. And his hero is not Gilgamesh but the Hero Twins of the
POPOL VUH, the creation myth of the Maya. Jenkins believes that the
act of one of the twins, Hunahpu, in shooting the heavenly ruler,
Seven Macaw, from his throne, was in fact the removal of the reign of
the polar regions of the galaxy, and the reestablishment of the
galactic center. Jenkins views the falling from the sky of Seven Macaw
as a metaphor for a change in the way we view the cosmos, not as an
actual falling of a star, or a comet. Similarly, Jenkins views the
2012 end date for the current Mayan Age as a time when, "All the
values and assuptions of the previous World Age will expire, and a new
phase of human growth will commence." His vision of the
individual's connections to the galactic center owes much to Jose
Arguelles' THE MAYA FACTOR: PATH BEYOND TECHNOLOGY. It is a hopeful
look, but so, eventually, is the view of cyclical periods of
destruction and regeneration.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars NOT Garbage in Garbage out...
Although written quite a while ago, this book is comprehensive in addressing what the author sets out to do, and is as pertinent today as it was back then. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Anita M. Cassard, PhD
4.0 out of 5 stars Izapa Explained
A fine summary of the author's research. Great preparatory reading if one intends to visit the site on December 21. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Barbara Dickie
1.0 out of 5 stars Another failed doomsday
Well...now that it is Dec 22 2012,it looks like the people were once again decieved to believe a lie. Read more
Published 5 months ago by SideshowBob
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice recount of Maya and MesoAmerican myths and culture
This book deals with so much information about measurements and alignments it made my brain tingle, but it could have been shortened a little. Read more
Published 5 months ago by John T. Walker
4.0 out of 5 stars Regardless of what you think of the author's conclusions, the book...
In a nutshell, this book is about the author's discovery that on December 21, 2012 the winter solstice sun will align with the galactic center of our galaxy. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Gary C. Daniels
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, great work on Maya culture, astronomy, myth, and their...
John Major Jenkins stands out as the number one expert on Mayan cosmology, astronomy, and myth. He understands Mayan culture on a level few other scholars achieve, and when he... Read more
Published 7 months ago by David Montaigne
1.0 out of 5 stars Assumptions given as truth of the Maya
To me this book is frustrating, even when the majority of people would say how fantastic it would be what this and other thorough researchers and Mayan scholars discover. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Monika Müller
3.0 out of 5 stars A rational conclusion at least
I am currently reading two books on 2012, this one by Jenkins, and "The Order of Days..." by David Stuart. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Curtis Collins
5.0 out of 5 stars Revealing the Truth of Maya Cosmology
"The renowned Maya expert John Major Jenkins has written a seminal account of the Maya cosmology in a style that non-academicians can follow. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Akashik
4.0 out of 5 stars The message of the Mayans is simple...
After reading a lot about the Mayans and the "negative predictions" for this coming 2012 I ended with the conclusion that the message of the Mayans is simple: we all must live in... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Johannes
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