Google marks 13th Baktun 21 December 2012

Google has marked the end of the '13th Baktun' as calculated by the Mayans, by replacing its usual logo with an image of a stone carving.

 

 Clicking on the image directs visitors to search results  for "End of the 13th Baktun".

The 13th Baktun is a measurement of time on the Long Count calendar.

Descendants of the Mayans have insisted the calendar continues to the 14th baktun and rather than being doom-laden, heralds a time of hope, renewal and change.
 

The event has attracted crowds to several sacred sites including Mayan ruins, the Egyptian pyramids and the sphinx, and Stonehenge.

Winter solstice at Chichen Itza

Twice a year, on the winter and summer solstices, as the sun sets over Chichen-Itza, the ensuing pattern of light and shade and light projects the likeness of the Plumed Serpent (Quetzalcoatl) onto the steps of the pyramid.

Carved illustration of the celestial serpent by Achim Frederic Kiel

On the winter solstice, It takes 34 minutes for the shadow to move from top to bottom along the north west edge of the pyramid, giving the appearance of a serpent slithering down the steps.  On 21 December 2012, the tail of the serpent is expected to point towards the Pleiades star cluster.

Movie premiere on 21 December 2012

The London premiere of the metaphysical movie 3 Magic Words will be held at the Odeon, Leicester Square on 21st December.

This date coincides with the winter solstice and is also associated with the end of an era in the Mayan Long Count calendar: as the calculations of this ancient culture were based on cycles, with each ending comes a new beginning.

The evening will feature a performance by Lucinda Drayton (“A Hundred Thousand Angels”) and the film screening will be followed by a panel discussion with filmmaker Michael Perlin, co-producer Maura Hoffman, Theresa Ibis, founder of Indigo Bridge In Service (IBIS), Siddhar Yogi and musician Nandhi.

The event will also include a Global Meditation led by Sonya Sophia (Sophia School Of Living Arts), a World Peace Prayer conducted by Gudni Gudnason (Modern Mystery School) and the signing of the Declaration of Consciousness, which heralds a hoped-for global shift in consciousness.

Tickets and further information are available from: http://www.3magicwordslondonpremiere.com/

One Day on Earth 12 December 2012

Film-makers around the globe have been recording the human experience on 12.12.2012 to add their voices to the creative media project One Day on Earth.

 

Founded in 2008, the first event took place on 10.10.10. and the second on 11.11.11. The 10.10.10 collaboration was the first ever event to film simultaneous in every country of the world. The diversity, conflict, tragedy, and triumph that occurs in one day is gathered together in a unique global mosaic. https://twitter.com/onedayonearth

Australian PM jokes about "end of world"

Australian PM Julia Gillard has appeared on a broadcast for a radio breakfast show, joking about the "end of the world". The Mayan Long Count calendar points to a major world cycle drawing to a close on 21 December 2012, but the PM's tongue-in-cheek remarks met with mixed reactions.

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/12/06/australia-prime-minister-end-of-world_n_2250649.html

12.12.12.

For over 500 years, December 12th has been celebrated in Mexico and throughout central and South America as the Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This aspect of Mother Mary symbolizes the Divine Feminine. This is a time to reconnect with the energy of Gaia, Mother Earth.  

In numerology, the digits of the date 12.12.2012 add up to the master number, 11.  

Jupiter comes closer

Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, will come closer to earth on December 1.

It will be 378 million miles (609 million kilometers) away from us – still very distant – but closer than it will be again until the year 2021.

Jupiter is at its closest to us once a year, when our planet passes between Jupiter and the sun. At the beginning of December, Jupiter will be rising in the east as the sun is setting in the west.

 

Axe head art at Stonehenge

 

Prehistoric carvings dating from the Bronze Age have been found at Stonehenge, adding to the intrigue surrounding this mysterious, ancient monument.

Weathering over the ages means the carvings are no longer visible to the naked eye – and this “invisible art” only came to light during a laser-scan survey of the surfaces of the stones. Results of the survey, carried out on behalf of English Heritage, which runs the site, showed that most of the images had been engraved a few millimetres into the surface of the rock.

Data analysis revealed 71 new images of Bronze Age axe-heads, and one image of a Bronze Age dagger. Some images of axe heads had previously been reported in the 1950s, but the 72 new  discoveries make this the largest single collection of prehistoric rock carvings in southern Britain.

It’s thought that when Stonehenge was constructed in the third millennium BC, its main purpose was as a solar temple, marking the winter and summer solstices. It was probably used for ritual ceremonies and worship.

A large number of tombs dating from 1800-1500BC have been found in the area, underlining the importance of the site during this era. The carved axe-heads and daggers also date from this period, and may provide further clues to the purpose of the site.

Stonehenge is open to the public all year round apart from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

International Day of Peace

On the International Day of Peace, Friday 21 September, hundreds of organisations and individuals worldwide are joining together in a mass meditation and prayers for peace.

BeThePeace features public events in over 380 cities, starting at 6:00 pm in local time zones, with the aim of generating “a profound wave of peace around the planet”.

Three virtual Global Attunements for Peace will be held via teleconference/audio webcast at 12am, 12 noon and again at 12 midnight EDT (4am,4pm,4am GMT Sept. 21-22)

BeThePeace welcomes people from every culture, every spiritual tradition, and every political perspective to come together in an experience of Global Oneness.

www.bethepeace.com

Crop Circle Art

 

 

The last of this summer's crop circle season. Check out Crop Circle Connector for some excellent aerial views.  

 

Paralymics open with a Big Bang

The London 2012 Paralympic Games began  with a big bang as science and spectacle combined in the opening ceremony.

Professor Stephen Hawking, one of the world's leading scientists, was the narrator for the evening on the theme of "enlightenment".

There was a slight hitch in the proceedings when the torch procession to the Olympic park was delayed due to bad weather (in typical British fashion - in fact umbrellas featured prominently in the ceremony) but the lighting of the cauldron went ahead as planned.

Athletes from 164 teams are taking part in the events.

Olympic Finale

Tower Bridge and the Olympic rings were illuminated on the night of the closing ceremony of the games, which saw 10,500 athletes competing in 302 medal events across 26 sports.

The London 2012 games generated an atmosphere of enormous positive energy and goodwill as nations came together to celebrate the peak of performance in sport. The closing ceremony was themed around 50 years of British music, and there was a carnival-style taste of what is to come at the next Olympic games in Rio 2016.  

Blue Moon

August ends with a Blue Moon - the second full moon of the month.

Most years have 12 full moons that occur approximately once a month. In addition to these 12 full lunar cycles, each year contains about 11 extra days. The accumulation of these extra days means that an extra full moon is generated every two to three years.

The month begins with a full moon on 1 August and ends with the Blue Moon on 31 August.

Crop circles

This crop circle at Windmill Hill, not far from the ancient stone circle at Avebury, Wiltshire,  was first reported on 25 July. The lay-down was still fresh and the weather fine during the "field trip"  organised in conjunction with the Glastonbury Symposium. The formation, which has been variously described as resembling a sword, spear, wand or trident, displays the typical swirled pattern in a wheat crop, with a pathway of overlaid circles (see picture one) leading to a line of circles of decreasing size. Aerial views and further information can be found on the Crop Circle Connector website.

Day Out of Time

For followers of the 13 Moon calendar, 25 July is termed a "Day Out of Time".

The calendar breaks the 365-day annual cycle of the earth's orbit around the sun into 13 months of 28 days. This totals 364,  leaving one day spare, belonging to no week or month, between the end of one year and the beginning of the next. 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/shortcuts/2012/jul/24/its-day-out-of-time?CMP=twt_gu

Third Friday 13th of 2012

If it seems like Friday 13^th is coming round more often than usual, that’s because 2012 has three of them altogether – and these three days are 13 weeks apart.

When a leap year starts with a Sunday, that year will have a combination of three Friday 13ths, spaced exactly 13 weeks apart, in January, April and July.

This happens three or four times a century, following a 28 year cycle. The last such year was 1984 and the next one will be 2040.

Fire Garden at Stonehenge

Cascades of candles, balls of fire and glowing coals crackled into life at the Stonehenge Fire garden, created by French outdoor alchemists Compagnie Carabosse. Visitors who made the 20 minute trek across muddy fields to the site were rewarded with the rare opportunity to wander among the stones, which are usually cordoned off from the public during opening hours. (Although private visits may be arranged.) The event was organised by Salisbury International Arts Festival as part of the London 2012 programme of nationwide arts events centred around the Olympic games. This vibrant nocturnal spectacle was a fitting way to celebrate this World Heritage site, not as an archaic monument, but as a living temple to Nature and an enduring example of outstanding architecture. Built as a place of worship to honour the sun and celebrate the summer solstice, this stone circle is still standing tall, as impressive as ever, within a beautiful natural setting.

Higgs Boson breakthrough

Scientists believe they have isolated the so-called “God Particle” in their search to discover what holds the physical fabric of the universe together. The announcement came in a progress report from the Large Hadron Collider, the £2.6 billion particle accelerator, which subjects atomic particles to high levels of energy. Scientists announced they had found new evidence of the elusive Higgs boson, which they regard as an essential connection between the mathematical theory of the universe and the everyday world.

Green theme to open Olympics

The opening ceremony of the Olympic games will feature verdant pastures, cricket on the green, a flock of sheep and a shower of rain – all in the great British tradition. Artistic director Danny Boyle has chosen the theme “Isles of Wonder” and opens with a scene inspired by the description of “England’s green and pleasant land” in William Blake’s Jerusalem. The pastoral scene will also feature a recreation of Glastonbury Tor, a well-known beauty spot in the town in the heart of England, home to an ancient Abbey, Chalice Well and the Glastonbury Festival.

Venus Transit

The Venus transit takes place on 5-6 June, when the planet will be seen silhouetted against the face of the sun.

This is a rare astronomical event, with transits occurring in a pattern of a 'pair of pairs' that repeats every 243 years. First, two transits take place in December, eight years apart. After a gap of 121 years, six months, two transits occur in June, again eight years apart. After a further 105 years, six months, the pattern repeats.

The last transit was on 8 June 2004, and the previous one was in December 1882. The transit will be visible from eastern Asia and Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and north-western parts of North America. Only the last hour or so will be visible in the UK, in the early hours of the morning, from around 4.45am.

To observe the transit, precautions need to be taken to protect the eyes from the sun’s glare, for instance by using a solar filter, eclipse spectacles or viewing a projected image.  

The following transit of Venus will not take place until 2117, making the 5-6 June transit the last one this century and a chance in a lifetime opportunity to witness this unusual event.

Lunar Eclipse

The second eclipse of 2012 will be a partial lunar eclipse on June 4, visible from the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, New Zealand, and central and eastern Australia. 
Observers in western United States and Canada will have a limited view.

 

Ring of Fire

An annular eclipse of the sun will be visible from May 20 – 21 along part of the Northern hemisphere, starting in Eastern Asia, crossing the North Pacific ocean and ending in the western United States. A partial eclipse will be visible from a larger area covering East Asia, North Pacific, North America and Greenland. During an annular eclipse, the moon does not block out the entire sun but leaves a bright “ring of fire” around the edges. An eclipse has always been regarded as one of the great wonders of the cosmos: many ancient civilisations saw the sun as a bringer of light and life, so the blocking out of the sun’s light was not considered a good omen. This annular eclipse (from the Latin “annulus” meaning ring) takes place shortly before another significant astronomical event, the Venus transit, with this planet due to cross the face of the sun on 5/6June.

Poll reveals end of world fears

Nearly 15 percent of people responding to an international poll said they believed the world would end during their lifetime and 10 percent thought the Mayan calendar could signify it would happen in 2012.

Responses to an international poll of 16,262 people in more than 20 countries varied widely with only six percent of French residents believing in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime, compared to 22 percent in Turkey and the United States and slightly less in South Africa.

Only seven percent in Belgium and eight percent in Great Britain feared an end to the world during their lives.

About one in 10 people globally also said they were experiencing fear or anxiety about the impending end of the world in 2012. The greatest numbers were in Russia and Poland, the fewest in Great Britain

Ipsos Global Public Affairs conducted the poll for Reuters.
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Super Moon

On 5 May, the moon will be full at the same time as it passes relatively close the earth, making it appear particularly bright. Astronomers call this a perigee or Super Moon, in this case the closest the moon will be until 2014, making it appear about a third brighter than average.

Extreme tides are likely while the moon is closer to the earth.

Maya secrets to be revealed?

The Mexican government could be set to release state-held secrets about the Mayan calendar to the makers of a documentary, "Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and Beyond." The information, which has been protected for the past 80 years, is expected to reveal ancient wisdom and Mayan beliefs about future events, according to producer Raul Julia-Levy, son of actor Raul Julia. The English-language documentary will be directed by Juan Carlos Ruflo (whose films include the 2006 Sundance winner "In the Pit"), and will begin shooting later this year. Filmmakers are currently in talks with investors and waiting for the government to grant them access to the sensitive material. http://www.thewrap.com

21 December 2012

The winter solstice on 21 December 2012 marks the end of a cycle of around 26,000 years in the Mayan Long Count calendar. When the calendar was created, the Maya were envisioning a future so distant that they could have had no concrete concept of what it would actually be like. So how could they possibly hope to predict what was to come? Their world view was a cyclical one - spring follows winter, sunrise gives way to sunset, civilisations rise and fall. They believed that the timing of the major cycles could be calculated in advance, and each one would end in some sort of natural disaster. However, throughout all the previous cycles, mankind somehow managed to survive - and entered the next phase of existence. If the current cycle is drawing to a close, this is not the end of the world, but the end of an era - and with it, a new beginning.