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By Root 1470 0

the Dreamspell calendar claims to synchronize with the Calendar round. If you remember from Chapters 5 and 6, the Calendar round synchronizes the Tzolk’in and Haab calendars. You may remember that the Haab does not adjust for leap year. This means the Haab calendar deviates from the Gregorian calendar by one day every four years. Every four years, the Haab calendar’s New Year happens on a different Gregorian date. However, the Dreamspell calendar is fixed to July 26 as the Mayan New Year. This means two things: Dreamspell is not synchronized to the Mayan Calendar round and it doesn’t reflect the true cycles of nature. In addition, the 28-day month of his calendar doesn’t reflect the cycle of the moon. The lunar cycle is 29.5 days.

Channeling Pacal Votan

Argüelles originally published his work claiming it was based on Mayan scholarship. Under criticism, he admitted that Mayan scholarship played an important role but direct inspiration was the major component. He says he channels an ancient Mayan, Pacal Votan (see Chapters 3 and 7), and claims to be the “heir of his legacy and instrument of his prophecy.” He also states that the Dreamspell calendar is “correct and biologically accurate.” Argüelles refers to himself as the reincarnation of Pacal Votan.

Mayan Support

Mayan Elders today don’t support Argüelles or the Dreamspell calendar. Some, such as Carlos Barrios, actively speak out against him. Argüelles’s predictions about the significance of and expected social changes after the Harmonic Convergence are largely thought to have been wrong. However, Argüelles does have a large following of non-Mayan supporters who point out many social changes in the years since the Harmonic Convergence. The collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is one example. These supporters claim that nine Mayan Elders have recognized Argüelles as the “Closer of the Cycle” awarding him a staff in honor of his efforts to “wake up humanity to the meaning of 2012.”

Critique of Jenkins

John Major Jenkins is author of the theory that the Maya were aware of the precession of the Equinox, a time span of almost 26,000 years; that the ages of the creation story are each one fifth of the precession cycle; and that the Long Count calendar is one age within the precession. In addition, he correlates the end date of the Long Count to the alignment of December 21, 2012, with the solar system crossing the galactic equator and eclipsing the center of the galaxy.

Celestial Connection

Jenkins is extremely well researched. He draws from the research of notable Mayan authorities such as Barbara Tedlock, Anthony Aveni, Michael Coe, Gordon Brotherston, and Linda and David Schele. In addition, he applies fresh insight into the steles, murals, and astroarcheology of the Izapa site where the Long Count calendar was established. Combining archeology, mythology, and astronomy, he has developed a theory whose scope is truly stunning.

Criticism of Jenkins focuses on the following topics.

Precession of the Equinox

Many people don’t think the Maya were aware of the precession cycle and believe Jenkins overstates their astronomical ability. Jenkins supplies evidence from the University of Essex researcher Gordon Brotherston, who found the connection between the Mesoamerican sunstone and the precession cycle. Jenkins provides extensive evidence in his book Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (see Resources appendix).

Celestial Anchor

Some people doubt that the end date of the Long Count was tied to a celestial event. The Mayan Long Count was established in about 200 B.C.E. The Day Keepers counted backward to a start date of August 11, 3114 B.C.E., and forward to an end date of December 21, 2012 C.E. Two things are true: the 5,126-year time span of the calendar was chosen for a reason; and the calendar was either fixed to the start date or to the end date.

Jenkins demonstrates a celestial anchor by relating the time span of the Long Count to a “creation age” which is one fifth of the precession cycle. He also claims the Mayans fixed the cycle to the end date. He chose the