Maya 2012 Revealed

If you do a Google search for “Dec. 21, 2012” you will see about 169,000,000 results. Not since the months leading up to “Y2K” has there been such speculation about what might happen on a certain date. For the remaining 2012 editions of Yucatan Today, we will attempt to enlighten you, and shatter the myths. The Mayas did not believe the world would end on that date.

In an effort to get to the bottom of it, we read a book which we highly recommend as a way to clarify what the Mayas believed about 2012. At the same time you will learn about their culture and about their prophecy. The book is called “Maya 2012 Revealed: Demystifying the Prophecy,” written by Jeanine Kitchel. In a straightforward, easy style, the author has shared the results of her years of research and fascination with the Mayan people and their history.

The book is divided into eight chapters, as follows:

1.   Who Were the Maya

2.   Breaking the Code

3.   The Calendars

4.   Gone Viral: Maya Stellae and the 2012 Debate

5.   2012ologists: Who, What, Why?

6.   The Milky Way and the Precession of the Equinoxes

7.   Collapse of the Maya

8.   Prophecy

Kitchel shares what she knows about the Mayas and helps us to understand why we have been fascinated by their culture ever since explorers John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood came across the site of Copán in Honduras and later published their book “Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan.” She explores the mystery surrounding their abandonment of many of their sites. She explains how important it has been to be able to decipher the Mayan code, and helps us to understand their calendar system. You may already know that the date of Dec. 21, 2012 is the end date of a specific unit of time which lasts 5125 years, but do you know what that really means?

You will finally be able to grasp the Mayas’ phenomenal understanding of astronomy. Their concepts of time and space were linked together in a remarkable way, which helps to explain almost everything they did and believed. If you are seeking true understanding of the 2012 prophecy, you will want to read this book.

Jeanine Kitchel lived in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, for 15 years, and during that time she devoted herself to learning everything she could about the Mayas. She has written for newspapers and travel guides, and is also the author of her travel memoir: “Where the Sky is Born: Living in the Land of the Maya.” She has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, CA, on December 21, 2012.

Both books are available in paperback and e-format through iTunes, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. From $4.99 USD.

And you can request a free copy of her Maya calendar glossary "Maya for the Masses" here. 

www.jeaninekitchel.com