In 2006 I had an opportunity to journey across Mexico in search of the truth behind the infamous 2012 prophecy. I had the good fortune of meeting and traveling with one of the last great medicine men in the Aztec traditions.
This journey would impact and change my life forever. I was given a rare opportunity to learn how modern day Aztec descendants live and how their current and traditional beliefs are formed. I spent nearly six years documenting the Aztec people in Mexico. I was one of the few outsiders who were given unprecedented access to their inner workings. During the entirety of this journey, unless I brought it up, the concept of the "2012 prophecy" rarely came up. When it did it was met with an undertone of contempt.
After many years I firmly believe that the whole 2012 "end of the world" philosophy may be more hype than anything else. Thousands of websites, television shows, magazines and books feed on peoples' fear that the "end" is near. Just take one look on any online book retailer and you will see "2012" is hot property. It is a multimillion dollar industry that feeds fear into increasingly uncertain times. Very few people in the mainstream media question the assertions that somehow a pre-Columbian civilization predicted the end of times. It has always made me wonder: Is it possible that there may be more profit in spreading fear than truth?
Here are 4 key points to consider:
1. The ancient Mayans and Aztecs were advanced for their time, however given modern advancements of the last several hundred years their predictive sciences were a far cry from today's science and technology.
2. No one knows the future. Many have tried but nearly all have been debunked. Although ancient cultures did use oracles to predict life events and attempt to control their fates, these technologies were often used in the absence of science and no verifiable evidence exists of their effectiveness. There is nothing indicating that either the Mayans nor the Aztecs had any ability to track the future. If they did have such abilities wouldn't they have been able to predict and prevent the decline of their own civilizations and the occupation of their lands?
3. Predict doom enough times and eventually you will be right. The Mayan's calendar is a cyclical calendar. Each cycle begins and ends accordingly. Westerners are choosing to interpret it as the "end of time." Chances are that there will be major changes in our planet that will affect us in our lifetimes. There is some possibility that this may be some sort of cataclysmic event. There is also some evidence that it may be a gradual changing of our environment that may affect us. How exactly, remains to be seen. However, there is evidence that this change may happen over time with many warnings and not in a single Hollywood style cataclysmic event. All things are possible. Catastrophe is inevitable. The timing is unclear.
4. The date of Dec 21, 2012 that many argue marks the end of the Mayan calendar is arbitrary. It simply represents the approximate date in which a specific cycle ends on that specific calendar. Despite the Hollywood hype, there is nothing that I have seen that indicates that the Mayans or the Aztecs are predicting and end to the world.
The films show rare and never before seen interviews with Aztec and Mayan elders. These are the true unedited messages of these people.
For more on the true message of the Aztec people you can watch 2012 Prophecy or Serpent and The Sun : Tales Of An Aztec Apprentice. You may also want to check out Darkness: The Power of Illumination which also covers the Aztec traditions and their message.