Gerald Benedict’s Mayan Prophecies is the latest in a long list of modern takes on ancient prophecies. The current climate we live in is full of fear-mongers and paranoids who claim that the world is coming to an end, either through global warming (man made or not), war, terrorism, disease, poverty, nukes, zombies, natural disasters, Giant Wasps, aliens, NWO, Jeremy Beadle’s ghost, the return of Christ, etc etc. A perfect time then to release a book of ‘eerily accurate’ prophecies which all point to the world going through a potentially catastophic change in 2012. The book does point out that, according to the prophecies the change will more likely be for the good of humanity (psychic powers..)but that it won’t be without great stress and trouble.
Benedict gives a long, though mostly interesting introduction of Mayan culture- incredibly talented star gazers, builders, and mathmaticians, and explains a little about their society- how their every day life and yearly routines were decided by prophecies guided by the movement of stars. Eventually he gets to the prophecies themselves, a few early ones to show how supposedly accurate they could be- predicting the fall of their own civilisation, and the eventual rise of others. Soon we read about the predictions for 2012- The Winter Solstice when….something may happen. The return of a God, or the embodiment of Godly wisdom in each of us starting with this date. The problem of course with prophecies is that anyone can make them at any time, and anyone can interpret them any way they please. The prophecies of a wise man or people are only marginally more acceptable than those of a drunk on the street at night.
This should not suggest though that the book isn’t a good read. For those, including myself, with an interest in ancient cultures, the supernatural, or anything remotely apocalyptic, this is interesting and accessible. You don’t need to know too much about the Mayans to understand it, and it is written in a simple fashion. Some of you may even find affinity with some of the prophecies and change your life. Taking the book another way, it can simply be read as another warning that we are hurting the planet and ourselves with our ignorance, passivity, and hatred, and that a few simple changes to our own lifestyle and thoughts could go a long way to making the world a better place. Lovely.
The Spac Hole 