Incredibly, the Maya understood that our world turned, but they also knew that it was only a part of a larger solar system that moved independently through our galaxy. This end-date of the Long Count Calendar December 21, 2012 marks the coming of a truly rare cosmic event that will occur when this procession of the equinoxes positions our solar system in the very center of our galaxy when Earth will cross the ecliptic path of the sun.
The world is talking about what will happen on this date, however, not everyone is looking forward to it with the same set of expectations. For some, 2012 hints at a coming apocalypse but more optimistic views believe that, as the Maya claimed, we would begin to experience some form of spiritual awakening, perhaps initiated by some cosmic event or compelling miracle. But, we have no way of knowing for sure what effects these cosmic events will have on Earth, as the last time an alignment like this took place was over 150,000 years ago!
The notion of 2012 being the end of the world is actually fairly new, it was first suggested by New Age religionist José Argüelles in his 1987 book The Mayan Factor: 'Path Beyond Technology'. You can rest assured that when you wake up on Dec 22, 2012 there may have been a change in the cosmic universe but the earth as you know it will be intact!
