As we go through intensified global change and energy shifts, this thought-provoking series – Darkness Before Dawn – could not have come at a better time. In it, Jacques explores the transition we’re going through and what it means to prepare for the hero’s journey into lighter days.
If you’d like to start from the beginning, read Part 1: Why has the World Become so Polarised? and Part 2: Maya Katun Prophecy is Unfolding in Real-Time.
Q: How long will the instability last?
Maya elders believe that during the beginning of every new Maya Great Cycle the polarities between yin and yang (left or right; dark and light; right or wrong) become highly accentuated.
Kenneth Johnson echoes this by stating in his book [1] that, during all his research, he could not find any evidence of previous Great Cycle transitions having been completed without being accompanied by great upheaval.
The transition turmoil
The last two Katuns in the current 256-year Maya Short Count Cycle overlap with the first 40 years of the Maya Great Cycle that started in 2012.
The energies of Katun 2 Ahau (2012 to 2032) and Katun 13 Ahau (2032 to 2052) are considered to be unstable and volatile. During Katun 13 Ahau, old systems and structures are expected to enter their final stages of collapse, paving the way for new systems and structures to rise from the ashes post-2052. (The Energy Shifts series has an in-depth discussion on this subject).
In 2052, during Katun 11 Ahau, a new 256-year Maya Short Count Cycle will start up and will bring with it a renewal of the world. The energy of that age should be highly conducive for new growth. Some instability will probably continue during that Katun because tone 11 is an unstable energy, but the worst of the transition turmoil should be over by then.
This is more or less the conclusion of both the writers Bruce Scofield [2] and Kenneth Johnson [3] in their analyses of the Katun’s cycle.
Fortunately, all dark ages also contain light (see: The Valley of Shadows in the Landscape of Light), and Katun 13 Ahau will energetically be very positive in some respects because the energy of tone 13 is one of the most spiritual energies in the Maya calendars (more on this subject later).
The ancient law of the universe
The Mayas, just like other ancient civilisations, believed that whatever happens on earth ‘below’ is tied in with celestial motions ‘above’.
The fact that we are experiencing ever-increasing abnormal levels of upheaval globally, along with unprecedented (and strange) events combined with a sense that things are increasingly ‘out of kilter’, would strongly indicate that humanity is going through an extended period of being challenged and tested.
The road ahead
“The way is full of traps, but they do well until they come to the Crossroads, where each of four roads has a different color corresponding to a different direction. They choose the Black Road, which means, at the terrestrial level, that their journey through the underworld will take them from east to west. At the celestial level, it means that they were last seen in the black cleft of the Milky Way when they descended below the eastern horizon; to this day the cleft is called the Road of Xibalba.”
Popol Vuh (Dennis Tedlock [4])
The above and below of Xibalba
The Maya underworld – known as Xibalba – is not only a place of symbolism and metaphor, it is a real place on earth… while it’s also a celestial place that is observable in the night sky.
Xibalba was considered to be inside some of the actual underground cave networks in the ancient Maya lands in today’s Yucatan, Belize and Guatemala [5], while the celestial Xibalba is thought to be in the Dark Rift of the Milky Way [4] [6]. The Milky Way is the celestial World Tree (also known as the sky-tree [6]).
The traversal midpoint
Modern-day astronomers are able to observe that the winter solstice sun in the Northern Hemisphere is traversing the Dark Rift of the Milky Way through the Cygnus Rift region and has been doing so since 1955. This annual crossing is a 145-year phenomenon that will run its course in the year 2100 [7]. The overall 145-year transit is such a rare event that it only happens once every 26,000 years (the importance and magnitude of this rare transition will be explored further in Part 5).
During its annual transit, the sun’s path is progressively moving closer to the centre of the Dark Rift (in the Cygnus Rift region) and will, according to accurate modern computer modelling [7], be most central – from a visual perspective – to it in the year 2030 as seen from earth (please note that this implies the centring of a transit path, rather than an alignment). According to a Maya astronomy source, that most-central transit position will actually take place in December 2031 [8].
Important Clarifications
If one divides the 145 years (the transit duration) in two and deduct half of it (which is 72.5 years) from the year 2100 (the end-date of the transit), the result is the year 2027 which is about four years prior to the end of 2031. The year 2027 is, in itself, a significant year and will be discussed in Part 5 in a segment about the Maya Venus Cycle.
It’s worth noting that prior to 2012 it was stated by some writers that the 2031 midpoint transit (described above) was going to occur in 2012 and that it would have something to do with the sun’s alignment with the galactic equator. That theory came mainly from the writer John Major Jenkins (but many other writers extrapolated upon it) who – prior to 2012 – was considered as one of the foremost experts on the subject of the Maya calendars. However, various astronomy sources [7] [12] have subsequently stated that our sun actually came closest to being in alignment with the galactic equator in 1998. It would seem that Mr Jenkins made use of ‘fuzzy astronomy’ – as some critics have put it [7] [8].
There is, however, a large amount of symbolism attached to the Cygnus constellation (which happens to contain the Northern Cross as its most visible feature) and this is to do with transformation and rebirth – and also death and resurrection [9] [10]. For many ancient cultures – as evidenced in their mythologies [10] – the Dark Rift and/or the Cygnus Rift were portals between this world and the Otherworld (the supernatural, ancestral or underworld), and this was also the case for the Mayas. In the Maya creation myth – the Popol Vuh – the journey of transformation and rebirth through the underworld after entering it through the ‘dark cleft’ (the Dark-Rift) is depicted in the story of the Hero Twins [4].
The transition milestone
The reason why the midpoint year of the winter solstice sun’s transit through the Dark Rift in 2031 is so noteworthy is because that position in time will be right in the centre of the Maya Short Count Cycle’s 40-year overlap with the Maya Great Cycle (mentioned at the beginning of this chapter). In addition, December 2031 will be just prior to the energy shift-point in September 2032 from Katun 2 Ahau to Katun 13 Ahau.
The years 2031 and 2032 could, therefore, be considered together as a time marker and midpoint milestone for when the deepest levels of darkness would be reached, and it will mark a turning point for when the energy will start shifting back again towards the light.
The dark night of the collective soul
The synchronicity of the above phenomena indicates strongly that humanity is currently entering its collective Dark Night of the Soul. That darkness is descending upon the world in relation to real-world events is not in dispute either and is more evident now (in the third quarter of 2020) than it was before the year started.
Although polarity and upheaval have been increasing since 2012, 2020 marks a significant change in circumstances in terms of the global economy due to the impacts of the worldwide Covid-19 lockdowns, which have been accompanied with growing levels of autocracy in some places.
Much of what is still to come remains in the dark, but events and trends in 2020 have been sufficiently ominous to expect worsening social, economic and political conditions worldwide in the coming years. However, being forewarned is being forearmed.
The hero twins lead the way
Fortunately, there’s not only light at the end of the tunnel but a lot of light along the way, and the following segments will concentrate on one of the most important sources of that light.
The Maya creation myth depicts a battle between the forces of dark and light in the story of the Hero Twins, two brothers who are summoned by the Lords of Xibalba for a ballgame with them in the underworld. What follows is a classic and rich example of The Hero’s Journey, which is a universal pattern of transformation and growth found in the myths and stories of all cultures as well as in the lives of all human beings. All humans understand this concept at a fundamental level, either consciously or unconsciously, since it’s an archetypal pattern in the human psyche.
The sequence and structure of The Hero’s Journey became popularised in Western culture to a large extent through the works of Jungian analyst and writer Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces [11]. Similarly, the epic journey of the Maya Hero Twins (who were Light Bearers and a force for good) through the Maya underworld of Xibalba ultimately results not only in the complete transformation of the protagonists (several times over and in different forms), but in the ordinary world being transformed, too. During the overall process, the forces of darkness are eventually defeated with their powers being greatly diminished in all spheres.
The most fundamental theme in the underlying structure of The Hero’s Journey – in all stories – is that the hero is compelled to face the darkness, often against their will; but only by doing so can they bring about positive change within themselves and within the world at large.
The light bearers illuminate the way
Individuals, cultures, nations and civilisations all go through their own Hero’s Journey at different stages of their existence, and from time to time –every 5,125 years or so – all of humanity goes through it collectively… and that’s what is happening right now. Humanity is currently passing through the ‘birth canal’ section of the Great Shift from the Maya Fourth to Fifth World.
The Light Bearers – each of them a Hero on the Hero’s Journey – who are presently traversing this earthly realm are here to illuminate the path as humanity transits the Dark Road so that those who are going through the Dark Night of the Soul (who are in many cases the Light Bearers themselves) can find their way.
The amount of light along the way will depend on the number of Light Bearers who keep their torches lit all the way. Their role is to successfully pass their torches down the line so that a New World influenced by light can form while the Old World falls away. (More sources of light along the way will be revealed in Part 5).
Written by J.J. Montagnier
Note: The views and opinions are those of the writer. Creative licence has been applied to make some concepts more accessible.
If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to read Part 1: Why has the World Become so Polarised? and Part 2: Maya Katun Prophecy is Unfolding in Real-Time.
Notes and References:
[1] Johnson, K. (2012): The Mayan Prophecies: The Renewal of the World 2012-2072. Pdf version. Published by Mystical Jaguar Productions, Taos, New Mexico, p.136
[2] Scofield, B. (1996): One Reed: The Maya Katun Prophecies. One Reed Publications. Retrieved July 17, 2020
[3] Johnson, K. (2012): The Mayan Prophecies: The Renewal of the World 2012-2072. Pdf version. Published by Mystical Jaguar Productions, Taos, New Mexico, p.138
[4] Tedlock, D. (2013): Popol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings, TaleBooks.com. Pdf. P. 16, line 41
[5] Vorhees, M., 2020. Journey Into The Maya Underworld. [online] BBC.com. [Accessed 2 October 2020].
[6] Freidel, D., Schele, L. and Parker, J. (2001): Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman’s Path. Published by Quill, New York. PP. 75 – 107
[7] Tonkin, S. (2006, February 15): The 2012 Winter Solstice Non-event. The Astronomical Unit. Retrieved August 12, 2020
[8] Villaseñor, M. A. (2020, July 13): A Diagnosis of John Jenkin’s Fuzzy Astronomy. MyMayanSign. Retrieved August 12, 2020
[9] Ridpath, I. (n.d.): Star Tales – Cygnus, The Swan. Ian Ridpath. Retrieved August 12, 2020
[10] Bhagwath, A. (2020, June 16): Understanding Origins of Ancient Mythologies and Human Religion. Star Myths. Retrieved August 12, 2020
[11] Campbell, J. (2004). The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Bollingen Foundation
[12] Pratt, D. (2011): 2012 and the Mayan Calendar: Facts and Fantasies. Exploring Theosophy – The Synthesis of Science, Religion and Philosophy. Retrieved: December 16, 2020 from https://davidpratt.info/2012.htm#m3
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Full Darkness Before Dawn Series:
Part 1: Why the World Has Become so Polarised
Part 2: Maya Katun Prophecy is Unfolding in Real-Time
Part 3: Preparing for The Hero’s Journey
Part 5: The Lights Along the Way
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