The Mayan civilization flourished in Central America for thousands of years. This advanced civilization was renown for its culture, art, architecture and astronomy. What were most important to the Maya, however, were astronomy and their understanding of the great ‘destructive cycles’ of Earth. In fact, the Maya were literally ‘obsessed’ with astronomy and the movements of planetary bodies. The famed/sacred ‘Mayan Codex Calendar’ for example, has astonished modern astronomers with its incredible celestial accuracy/sophistication of design.

In their book, The Mayan Prophecies, authors Adrian Gilbert and Maurice Cotterell, unlock many of the secrets of this lost civilization including their ‘obsession’ with astronomy and celestial mechanics.

Gilbert and Maurice go on to write:

”The Maya …. of Central America were very aware of the heavens around them and the movements of the planets. Often doorways or roof-combs, which are a particular feature of classic Maya temples, were placed in such a way that they could mark the rising, culmination or setting of particular stars. They were especially interested in the movements of the Pleiades star-cluster as well as those wandering planets Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. Needless to say they made close observations of the Sun and Moon, and this enabled them to predict eclipses (incredibly) accurate.”

Did their flawless astronomy predict December 12 2012?

The Popul Vuh, one of the most sacred texts of the Maya, also recalls the sophistication of ancient Mayan astronomy. The Popul Vuh states:

”They (the ancient Maya) saw, and could see instantly far, they succeeded in knowing all that there is in the world (and in the heavens).When they looked, instantly they saw all around them and they contemplated in turn the ‘arch of heaven’ and the ’round face of the Earth.’ The things hidden (in the distance) they saw all, without first having to move; at once they saw the world … great was their wisdom/”

In other words, Mayan astronomers were so advanced, that even thousands of years ago they knew the “arch of heaven” (the curvature of space) and the “round face of the Earth.

Why were the ancient Maya so ‘obsessed’ with astronomy and the motions of the heavens? What information were they seeking–and why? Like the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the Maya also recorded a cyclical cataclysm that revisits our planet on a ‘regular’ and ‘predictable’ timetable. By studying and keeping careful track of the celestial order of things, the Maya believed they could anticipate the next great global cataclysm. The Popul Vuh, the sacred text of the Mayan, also records a great disaster that struck the ancient Maya and involved a thick dust that fell night and day from heaven-darkening the Earth. This event was accompanied by great fires and tremendous earthquakes, from which only a few (men) escaped to tell about. These events subsequently prompted a ‘great flood’ that consumed the Earth.

The Popul Vuh goes on to say:

”They (the Maya) were inundated by a thick resin/dust that fell from the sky The face of the Earth was obscured and a rain of darkness began, raining day and night and there was a great din of fire above their heads. The men were seen running about, pushing themselves, full of despair; they tried to climb on top of their houses but the houses would collapse making them fall to the Earth; they tried to climb the trees but the trees would shake them far away, then they tried to enter the caves but the caves would close before them.”

According to the Maya, their civilization recorded not ‘one,’ but ‘four’ of these great global cataclysms. Each one of these global catastrophes virtually ‘wiped-out’ the Mayan civilization, leaving only a tattered remnant to carry on and rebuild their society.

The Maya believed that each of these global cataclysms took place approximately four thousand years apart. As an interesting side note, the Maya also believed that the last world-ending catastrophe took place about four thousand years ago-and today, it appears we may be very close to yet another catastrophic event in 20l2! Hopefully, this global happening won’t repeat itself in our lifetime-but if it does we owe it to ourselves to be ready/aware/prepared to cope!

In the conclusion of their book, Gilbert and Maurice summarized that the Maya believed Earth undergoes a periodic shifting in its geophysical poles, commonly known as a ‘pole shift.’ A ‘pole shift’ is a phenomenon wherein the planet tilts on its axis of rotation-like a spinning top that falls onto its side. These ‘pole shifts’ are accompanied by violent tectonic activity (earthquakes), volcanic eruptions, windstorms, global fires, floods and great hurricanes.

As the ‘poles’ of the Earth shift, the normal movement of the heavens also becomes completely altered. Keep in mind, it’s not the heavens that change, it’s the way in which the Earth is rotating, making it only look as if the Moon, Sun and stars are moving strangely.

The Maya retain an ancient legend that talks about the survivors of the last ‘pole shift,’ and how they tried to guess the ‘new direction’ in which the Sun would rise once the dust (thrown up by this catastrophe), began to settle and the sky could once again be seen.

The Maya state:

”It was not known from where the new Sun would appear. They looked in all directions, but they were unable to say where the Sun would rise. Some thought … the north … others … the south. Some, however, fixed their attention on the orient (east), and maintained that the Sun would come from there. It was their opinion that proved to be correct.”

Like the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the Maya also seem to have associated ‘pole shifts’ with abnormal celestial phenomena. And like the Egyptians, the ‘sky-serpent’ played a key role in Mayan culture and was tied into their concepts of planetary destruction and cataclysmic celestial events.

The Maya were not the only ancient civilization of South and Central America to have recorded past global catastrophes involving ‘pole shifts’ and strange ‘sky serpents.’ As we shall see the Inca, Aztec, Toltec, Hopi, Zuni and many other Native American Indian cultures all recorded similar stories of how planet Earth has been violently destroyed numerous times in the past.

All of these remaining civilizations today displayed a strong ‘doomsday anxiety,’ believing that these catastrophic events will take place once again in ‘our’ near future.. A clear example of this doomsday anxiety can be observed in the behavior of the Aztecs.