The year 2012 is one we will hear a lot about in the next six years. What does it mean? What does it say about our existence and future as individuals, communities and as a planet?

When we see so many metaphysical papers and books mentioning 2012, these are the just the first of our questions.

In this large work John Major Jenkins gives us a masterclass on ancient Mesoamerican thought, including cosmology, astronomy, mythology, ritual and shamanism. Mesoamerica is the anthropological term for the region from central Mexico to northern Honduras that contained advanced civilisations before the arrival of Europeans.

At the time this book was published, Mr Jenkins’ ideas and theories were somewhat controversial, but currently they have gained more credibility due to his meticulous scholarship and research.

The main point is no less than this: There is an important and rarely occurring alignment of the equinox Sun with the galactic centre of the Milky Way galaxy due in December 2012 at latitude 20n. The ancient Maya knew of this and measured the precession of the equinoxes from at least 2200 BCE with their Long Count Calendar which ends at the equinox of December 2012.

Author John Major Jenkins is ideally situated to explain all this and more.

An independent researcher, Jenkins has been studying Mesoamerican cosmology since 1986, with travels, study, research, publications, and theorising. He was requested to present his synthesis to the prestigious Indigenous Council of the Americas at their 1997 conference. This book presents the material, reduced from voluminous notes and texts to a readable textbook on the subject. Both laypersons and academics will be amply rewarded.

The book is divided into five parts supported with six Appendices, End Notes, bibliography and index. All sections are replete with diagrams, sky charts and drawings of Maya carvings.

Part 1 gives an overview of Precession Astronomy. This includes a timeline of Mesoamerican culture, Calendrics, Cosmology, Mythology, and Astronomy. Those familiar with astrology or astronomy will be at home in this section. I found the mythology of Mesoamerica to be fascinating and illuminating.

In Part II, Jenkins examines mythological messages in the design, placement and decoration of monuments in Mesoamerica. He looks at the cosmic symbolism and imagery in the buildings, and the nature of activities which reveal the Maya preoccupation with calendrics and the importance of what is measured in the skies.

Part III explains the Maya Cosmogenesis and the unique way in which the development of a people, a planet and a galaxy are encoded in the mythology, the arts, and the very mind set of the people, facilitated by the shamans/priests/skywatchers.

The Maya city of Izapan features in Part IV. Its ceremonies and deep knowledge are revealed by the decorations in stone and the placement of buildings in a symbolic way. Everything (including the structure, rules and players on the ballcourt) has a deeper significance.

Jenkins proves by scholarship and minute attention to detail that the skywatchers of the Classic Maya period knew and lived by the precession information laid out for them in the form of the Sun, stars and Milky Way.

He uses Part V to outline what he calls a ‘forgotten Galactic Paradigm’, and what the Maya End-Date could mean for us. In classic Maya thought the implications are quite different to the usual modern Western anxiety over the future. Here there are many parallels drawn with other ancient cultures which seem to have known and recorded the same thing.

If I have been less than precise outlining the chapters it is because I do not want to spoil the enjoyment of the reader who is keen to discover what this book offers. The style is reasoned and scholarly, with excellent End Notes, into which the wise reader will put a separate bookmark.

The material gets quite complex, but is worth the reader’s persistence. To this reviewer’s Western visual perspective, the glyphs, even though simplified, may occasionally put a strain on the understanding of their meanings.

Although this is a metaphysical text, there is no lack of focus or vagueness of any sort. There exists tangible evidence within these pages. Jenkins proceeds along a logical path to the synthesis of the information. Not only will this book be a revelation to many readers, but it will also continue as a treasured reference work.

This work will have an overwhelming appeal to scholars. It will also attract those desiring detailed knowledge on what so many other works mention, but do not accurately explain regarding the significant event predicted for 2012.

For those readers who want to know the answer, who must know the answer, they will be compelled to full understanding after reading this book. It will answer many of your questions. What you actually do in 2012 will then be up to you.

I learned much from this extensive and valuable work. I need to go and think about it some more.

– Reviewed by Jennifer Hoskins in New Dawn No. 95