From the pioneering author who helped introduce the question of 2012 into the global spiritual community comes an epic exploration of the authentic origins and meaning of this portentous date. Drawing from his own groundbreaking research (including his involvement in the modern reconstruction of Mayan 2012 cosmology); John Major Jenkins has created the crucial guide to 2012; surveying its roots in Mayan cosmology; modern astronomy; ancient prophecy; and metaphysical philosophy and exploring why it has become a focal point for millions today.
#4599298 in Books Frog Books 1999-12 2000-03-07Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.96 x .48 x 7.32l; #File Name: 158394009X160 pages
Review
8 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Petroglyphic Playboy?By Stephen A. HainesIt is interesting to consider which of the many available chemical compounds some "observers" might use when assessing Britain's famous megaliths. Aubrey Burl; leading scholar in the field; contends the local pubs have sufficiently potent solutions. Clearly; something more than simple daylight is required to inspire some of the novel insights published over the years. Meaden's source of inspiration remains obscure. What is vividly clear from this book is that Meaden's imagination far exceeds his vision - or data.His thesis is that the stone monuments at Avebury are the symbols of an intense Neolithic fertility cult. The shapes of the stones; their various surface irregularities and their "orientation" all represent devotion to a goddess cult. Filled with speculation; vivid photographs; even more vividly interpreted; the book is a testament to what imagination can produce. Meaden states that "left-facing" stones represent Neolithic "femininity;" while the "right-facing" ones are "male." There are breasts; vulvas; various orifices; phallic stones and their shadows. It's a provocative parade of lithic seduction. Evidence for his interpretations relies on his own; earlier; work. No other supportive material is provided - except for his portfolio of carefully situated photographs.While the maps and diagrams are useful; the photographs belie Meaden's attempts to show us something any geologist can explain. The profile of the human face is not a complex shape. A long curve; broken only by a couple of protrusions - the eyebrow; nose and lips. In stone profiles; the chin is nearly universally absent. A face of rock; irregular to start with; is subject to many forms of weathering. A little water; winter-frozen in a cleft; breaks off; leaving a recess with outcrops above and below. Voila! We now have the eyebrow and nose of a "face" seen from the side. Usually; the form can be detected only during certain times of the day when the shadows are longer; leaving the shapes more distinct. Meaden's collection of photographs beautifully depict how this erosion is revealed.One should always be cautious opening a book with the words "the secrets" in the title. The implication is almost always that the author has made a revolutionary discovery the rest of us dullards have not. This book is an excellent example. While it would be delightful to learn someone has truly revealed a major aspect of Neolithic society; that breakthrough hasn't been achieved here. Perhaps this book stands as a major contribution to the idea of Neolithic "political correctness." It is certainly not a work of scholarship.
