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There are a lot of theories flying around out there about the Mayan calendar and 2012.  Of course, the Mayan's were expert astrologist as were most people before we invented all of these other forms of moving lights - TVs, computers, etc.

Modern man has been so in awe of these ancient people's ability to predict the movements of the moon and stars that we've created all of these preposterous theories regarding the cosmic importance of the Mayan Calendar.  It's no surprise that the End of Times would be included in that list.

The original Mayan calendar is represented in the ancient Mayan Pyramid Kukulkan, at Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico.  The pyramid, built around 1050 AD, was used as a calendar: four stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at the top, making a total of 365, equivalent to the number of days in a calendar year.

The Mayan calendar system was adopted by the other Mesoamerican nations, like the Aztecs who developed the round version of the calendar like the one shown on this page.  

And although the Mesoamerican people were brutal and barbaric, practiced human sacrifice and worshiped Jaguars, today many people are convinced that they hold some key to the divine truth of our universe.  (Have you ever seen Apocalypto??)

For more info on the actual history and "spirituality" of the calendar, try the Mayan Calendar Portal.

But for the CRAZY stuff:

THE END OF THE WORLD
compiled by Dee Finney

Excerpt:  "In the mythology of the Aztecs, the first age of mankind ended with the animals devouring humans. The second age was finished by wind, the third by fire, and the fourth by water. The present fifth epoch is called Nahui-Olin (Sun of Earthquake), which began in 3113 BC and will end on December 24, 2011. It will be the last destruction of human existence on Earth..."
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Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?

With humanity coming up fast on 2012, publishers are helping readers gear up and count down to this mysterious — some even call it apocalyptic — date that ancient Mayan societies were anticipating thousands of years ago. 

Since November, at least three new books on 2012 have arrived in mainstream bookstores. A fourth is due this fall. Each arrives in the wake of the 2006 success of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, which has been selling thousands of copies a month since its release in May and counts more than 40,000 in print. The books also build on popular interest in the Maya, fueled in part by Mel Gibson's December 2006 film about Mayan civilization, Apocalpyto.

Authors disagree about what humankind should expect on Dec. 21, 2012, when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar marks the end of a 5,126-year era.

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