March/April 2003 Cosmic
Divine Plan and Galactic Alignment

by John Major Jenkins

For billions of years the earth has lived its life in an ocean of many different cosmic cycles, some large and some small. The basic metaphor for all cyclic processes is the day-night cycle of 24 hours. Midnight is the moment of greatest darkness and is the nexus that divides the death of the previous day from the birth of the new day. From this moment, the light begins to increase. At midnight, maximum darkness is reached and the new day begins to dawn. But it will take ¼ of the full day-night cycle before the light of the sun breaks free from the horizon, corresponding to 6 a.m. At that moment night has ended and the period of daylight commences. Noon occurs another ¼ cycle later, and is the moment of maximum daylight. After 12 noon, the darkness principle then begins to take over. Another quarter cycle later, at 6 p.m., the sun descends below the horizon and becomes hidden. Darkness rules and consciousness sleeps. At midnight the cycle begins again. This metaphor helps us understand the manifestation of the Divine Plan on earth, but human spiritual unfolding occurs in a cycle that is much larger than the day. The largest earth-cycle that human beings can become aware of is the precession of the equinoxes, a period of 26,000 years. Caused by the slow wobbling of the earth on its axis, this is the Platonic Year, and like the day it also has its dark and light sides.

According to traditional doctrines, the earth experiences periods of increasing spiritual darkness and periods of increasing spiritual light. The two doorways into these different phases are called the "solstice gateways." The two solstices of the year are like noon and midnight. The doctrine of the World Ages is found in many traditions, including cosmologies found in the ancient Vedic and Mayan civilizations. In the yuga doctrine of ancient India, humanity experienced a Golden Age of light over 12,000 years ago. But the spiritual light began to fade and humanity moved through successive World Ages, each one darker than the last. Today, we are now at the end of Kali Yuga, the darkest age. In the day metaphor, this period from the Golden Age to the end of the Darkest Age corresponds to the period from noon to midnight. It is the period when darkness is increasing. The key to understanding the larger light-dark cycle is this: the ancient World Age doctrine is based upon the precession of the equinoxes. There are approximately 13,000 years of increasing darkness and 13,000 years of increasing light.

The Mayan civilization decided to end a great period of time on December 21, 2012. This will be the end of the "13th baktun" in their Long Count calendar. The solution to the enigma involves the precession of the equinoxes. In the years around 2012, the December solstice sun will be aligned with the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This Galactic Center is located between Sagittarius and Scorpio, and was thought of by the ancient Maya as the Creation Place in the Sky, the Womb of the Great Mother. This alignment of the solstice sun with Galactic Center occurs once every 13,000 years. It is equivalent to the moments of noon and midnight. The alignment of 13,000 years ago that was responsible for the Golden Age of light involved the June solstice sun and the Galactic Center. However, the alignment that culminates in the years around 2012 involves the December solstice sun, the solstice of death and rebirth. Thus, we are experiencing galactic midnight. For human beings on earth, the period of increasing spiritual darkness is about to end. We are going to "turn the corner" and enter a phase of ascension toward the next Golden Age, when spiritual light and consciousness will dawn into the world again. The coming galactic alignment is a cosmic event that invites us to grow spiritually. It is built into the Divine Plan and identifies the time we live in as a time of rare opportunity for our growth.

We can identify this period of shift, the Global Shift, as stretching between 1980 and 2016. It is fascinating how the Maya insightfully encoded knowledge of this future alignment into their calendar. They also encoded this galactic alignment into their basic institutions. For example, the Mayan ballgame is a metaphor for the sun (the game-ball) moving into Galactic Center (the goal-ring). My new book, Galactic Alignment: Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions (Inner Traditions, 2002) shows how this galactic knowledge is a hidden layer of wisdom that can be found in many traditions around the world. It can be identified in Islamic astrology, Greek sacred topography, South American traditions, Christian religious architecture, Mithraism, Neoplatonic thought, as well as Vedic and Egyptian cosmology. It seems that as we become immersed in the galactic alignment, the ancient wisdom itself is returning, is being rediscovered, to initiate a new era of ascension toward the light.

Human beings living today have a special destiny, as Divine Plan works through the cycles of nature. But the renewal of humanity is not determined by the stars, for free will is an essential component of the spiritual evolution of consciousness. Our willing participation in these great energy shifts is required. To open up to the galactic energy of change is difficult and will transform us. But we have an opportunity to move into closer relationship with the source and center of life. The astronomical alignment does not "cause" us to grow; rather, it corresponds to a process of awakening happening in the depths of our inner being. It is the outer symbol of an essentially spiritual revolution. Nevertheless, the galactic alignment of era-2012 is an open door, inviting us to grow spiritually. To do so we must sacrifice the illusions that keep us bound to dark and limited realms of existence. Let us open to the light within and stretch our souls to the stars!

John Major Jenkins is an independent researcher who has devoted himself to reconstructing ancient Mayan cosmology and philosophy. He is the author of eight books on Mayan traditions, ancient cosmology, and metaphysics, and has appeared in numerous documentaries. His recent books are Galactic Alignment: Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions (Inner Traditions, 2002) and Maya Cosmogenesis 2012 (Bear & Company, 1998; Ankh-Hermes, Holland).