2012: The End of Time
Or Just Time to End
One Phase of Your Life?
by Ann Plantier
There's lot of gloom, doom and dire predictions circulating these days. One of the most dramatic is the prediction that the world will end as we reach the final date of the Mayan calendar. Calendar researchers generally agree that the current cycle (long count) began in 3113 BC and will end in either 2011 or 2012. However, that's where the agreement ends. There are predictions of the world ending, the poles of the earth reversing with the earth flipping upside down, the dawn of a golden age or alternatively a major shift in consciousness.
Let me begin by saying that no Mayan book (codices) or stone engraving (stele) has ever been uncovered that indicates that the ancient Maya believed that the world would end in 2012. Actually there is evidence to the contrary. Mayan monuments exist that reference dates after 2012, implying a belief in the continuance of planet Earth.
If that's the case, should we just ignore all the talk regarding 2012?
I don't believe we should and here's why. I've studied the Mayan calendar for the past 20 years and have found its cycles incredibly accurate and revealing, especially when correlated with historical dates and shifts in consciousness. The world might not be ending but a major cycle is. And we are definitely feeling its effects.
Are you going through a major shift at this time? I'm seeing a huge upsurge in my astrological practice lately, which is why I decided to write this article. In addition to feeling the effects of this global end cycle, many people are facing transitions unique to their own birth charts. The combination of multiple cycles on a global and personal level ending simultaneously can feel overwhelming. One thing I've learned as an astrologer (and a human) is that endings are not always easy, especially when we do not understand what is happening.
Below are some of the more common indicators that people MAY experience as they navigate the end stages of any major cycle
Common Symptoms
1. Losses in your life. Friends, family, jobs, and activities fall away, often suddenly and in unexpected ways. You lose interest in things, activities, ideas and or people that were previously central to your life.
2. Unexplained physical, emotional and or mental states. Hard to diagnose illnesses, stress, fatigue, depression or anxiety
3. Unusual dream and/or sleep states or patterns
4. Altered states of consciousness. Feeling that things around you are dissolving and that it is difficult to concentrate and focus as you did previously. Memory lapses. Experiencing time differently.
5. Loneliness or a desire to be alone more of the time.
Times of Transition
Have you ever ended a long-term relationship? A career of many years? If you have, you know first hand what's involved in the ending of one cycle and the beginning of a new one. End times are often marked by feelings of loss, grief, and confusion. The current path has ended but you are unable to discern the new path ahead.
Like the caterpillar in the cocoon, you know instinctively that the old forms are dying without knowing what you will become. You want to end your anxiousness by moving forward quickly, yet you know instinctively that emerging from the transition state prematurely will stunt your growth.
The good news is that once you have successfully navigated the end of any cycle, you have learned strategies for working with all future transitions. My work with individuals is centered on helping them identify the cycle they're in and determining constructive ways to use it and ease the transition. Best of all, our work on one transition provides insights and techniques helpful with all future transitions.
The Nature of Cycles
Every cycle, no matter how short or long, has the same parts. There is a beginning, a gradual period of growth, a flowering, a gradual period of decay and an ending. (For a more detailed article on the stages of astrological cycles click here.)
As an astrologer, I deal with astrological cycles on a daily basis and I've developed a deep appreciation for the opportunity they give us to change our lives and our awareness. Understanding cycles allows us to be proactive in our lives, working with the flow of the energy instead reacting to events.
It gives us a new perception-the gift of seeing the larger picture. The details and drama overwhelming us in the present are given perspective and greater meaning when seen in terms of the whole. Instead of thousands of life events, we began to see a story. Archetypal patterns emerge and help us see meaning and purpose in our lives.
Once we have identified the current stage of the cycle, we know what strategies are appropriate for that particular phase. We can deal with the issues facing us faster and more effectively. Like the repairman who is most effective when he chooses the right tools and the right techniques for each job, the astrologer helps individuals with proven practices geared toward each person's unique situation.
And last but not least, through our understanding of cycles, we realize that this too will pass. We are just going through a phase (albeit a difficult one) and that phase has an end date. This is one of things that astrology does best. It clearly outlines each phase of a particular cycle, its purpose, themes and symbolism as well as giving us the timing of each part of the sequence.
Take one my clients. I'll call her Stephanie. Stephanie came for a reading after losing her job when her company unexpectedly downsized. Upon examining her birth chart, I noticed that several major cycles were ending. Although she had had a satisfying career there for over 20 years, in the year prior to losing her job, she had been increasingly dissatisfied. She wanted to leave but was unwilling to give up the financial security of her high tech position for her long time dream of a career in the arts. After her layoff, she spent many months looking for work in the same field.
She finally secured a job only to lose it after two months. This scenario actually repeated itself two more times with each job lasting only a few months. During her reading, Stephanie realized that her high tech career was coming to a close and that her efforts to find a similar job were just prolonging her time in a field she had outgrown. At this point, Stephanie made a decision to be consciously present to the end stages of her career cycle and to prepare her life for the new beginnings that lay ahead.
The end of a cycle is a time of transition. Our awareness shifts from the world of experience to our inner world. We withdraw to contemplate the meaning of the previous cycle, to rest and prepare for the cycle ahead.
Unfortunately, our western culture does not place a high value on these types of activities. Because of this, the earlier stages of a cycle, the times of growth and flowering are generally more comfortable for us. Many people try to delay the ending of a cycle as Stephanie did, or they try to hurry through it, rushing to find a new job, a new relationship, or a new identity, without allowing for the old cycle to fall completely away. When this occurs, we bring a lot of baggage into the new cycle with us. End times are times when the ground needs to lie fallow for a while, storing up the nutrients which will nourish the seeds of the coming cycle. When we hurry this process, we limit our future creations.
These times are also the times of our greatest freedom. Every choice that we make limits us in some ways. As we let go of old choices and open ourselves to new possibilities we enter into a time period of unparalleled freedom. This can be both scary and exhilarating and it's not uncommon to seesaw back and forth between these emotions during these shifts.
Tips For Navigating End Times
1. Let go. Resistance is futile and frustrating. I love the analogy of white water rafting. To successfully navigate a turbulent stream, you need to center yourself in the middle of the flow and head downstream. Trying to slow yourself down by grasping onto tree branches, turning around to head upstream or stopping on a sand bar are risky maneuvers. And so it is with life in times of rapid and dynamic change. Stop clinging to the parts of your life that no longer fit to fall away.
2. Distill life to its essence. Concentrate on the meaning of events rather than the outer manifestations. The time for achievement and attainment of your goals has passed.
3. Take time for reflection and extracting wisdom from the cycle that is just ending. What did you learn from this cycle? What gifts were you given? What things do you want to bring forward into the new cycle? What things do you want to let go? What things do you appreciate? What things do you need to grieve and let go?
4. Take good care of yourself. Rest, rejuvenate. Spend time alone and in nature.
In closing, I invite you to enter consciously into these end times. Feel the joy and the fear. Take the time to fully experience this period even when family and friends and your own anxiety is urging you to move forward. Most importantly, trust yourself.
You WILL know when the time is right to move forward and what direction you need to take when the time comes.
Copyright@starseed.com
