The end of everything?

Brian Lee

Some say the Mayan calendar predicts it. Nostradamus apparently predicted it. According to
Terence McKenna, the I Ching predicts it. And Hollywood has made a movie about it. So what
about you, Mr Astrologer, what have you got to say about 2012 and the end of the world?

Well, normally I wouldn’t bother with this. It sounds too much like Chicken Licken rushing
around telling everyone that the sky is falling. But people have been asking me my opinion so
here goes.
Fact: there is no great planetary alignment on 21 December 2012. There are a number of
other astrological factors over the next 12 years or so that indicate big changes, but nothing
that could mean global annihilation.

So maybe Western Astrology has got it wrong or doesn’t give the whole picture. Possibly. But
the same could be said of Nostradamus, the Mayan Calendar and Terence McKenna. Who
can claim to have the whole story?

First of all, when it comes to prediction, our understanding of how time works is woefully
inadequate. You can say if you like that the future is fixed and we move inexorably towards it
– it is all maktoub (written/predestined) as they say in Islam. Then there are those free-will
astrologers who say after Ptolemy, “The stars incline but do not compel.” And that’s a nice
get-out that suggests that even given planetary influence we can still choose to act as we will.
Then there are the scientists who look at the future as degrees of probability. You get this in
the weather forecasts. The closer we get to a future moment, the more certain we can be
about it. But this only applies to events with a lead in – we predict rain from the movements of
clouds and wind and the temperature of the air for example. It does not apply to maverick
events of which we don’t know the cause and which are unheralded by any known
phenomenon. Science for example has no way of predicting earthquakes, volcanic eruptions
or exploding oil rigs apart from stating a probability that something may or may not happen.

The problem is that the future is not fixed but is always changing as the karmic conditions
change. Next month I will have a different future from the future I have now. That’s what
makes event prediction so tricky and that’s why, in my astrological work, I prefer to work with
inner attitudes and beliefs and how I create my reality. That way I have a choice. Rather than
thinking “What will happen to me?” which speaks to me of a victim mentality that I choose not
to encourage in myself or in others.

Nostradamus is probably the best known astrologer in the west but his language is
notoriously slippery and open to interpretation. He was writing in 16th century France for the
people of his place and time and their karmic situation. All we can do is guess at his
meanings. And that’s all they are is guesses.

When it comes to the Mayans and their calendar, the 5125 year long count does in fact come
to an end on 21 December 2012. And there have been books written by European and
American authors explaining its significance. But the Maya themselves (yes there are still
Mayan peoples living in Mexico) don’t seem to be too worried about it. Maybe they know how
tenuous the data is that these massive predictions are based on (it all rests on the
assumption that the earth was created on August 11, 3114 BCE). Or maybe they’re not trying
to sell books.

And I wouldn’t put too much faith in Terence McKenna’s theories, (I heard him speak once
and remained unimpressed). McKenna was so convinced that 2012 marked the end of the
world that he used to give his dates as 1946 to 2012. In fact he died of brain cancer in April
2000. I reckon his body just couldn’t take all the chemicals he was pumping into himself in the
search for “God within”.

A lot of it comes down to marketing. If I, as an astrologer, were to go on about disasters and

such, I’d be plugging in to people’s fears and I’d sell books. I’d be like the life assurance
salesman creating fear and false beliefs in people in order to make a buck. I’d go round telling
you the sky is falling or the world is going to end or the millennium bug is going to cause all
computers to fail and send planes crashing down out of the sky. Remember that one?

So what does belief in the end of the world mean? Well if you’re right, it’s a great chance to
say “I told you so!” But when you’ve sold your house and moved to the top of a mountain with
enough food and guns to keep off the starving hordes from the cities and the appointed day
comes and er... nothing happens, you could always sell your story to the papers. In fact
history recounts a number of false alarms about the apocalypse and the subsequent
embarrassment if it doesn’t show up on time.

For me the right approach is to deal with these predictions as if I had been diagnosed with a
terminal illness. Maybe some of you have thought about this as you wait for the test results.
What if it comes back positive? Even if it does, I’m going to get on with my life and use
whatever time and powers I am given to create something to make the lives of others more
bearable. In fact whether I only have two years or 10 years or 30 years, that’s what I shall do.
I shall live my life to the full.

And if December 2012 really is the end, I give you permission to say “I told you so”. But if it
turns out to be a dud, I reserve the right to watch with amusement as you come down from
your mountain.

© Brian Lee 2010

moonletter@nakedlight.co.uk