"Due to the phenomenon known as precession, the background stars in the sky slowly shift relative to the equatorial coordinate system used to map their positions. But this slow drift, generally attributed to a long term “wobble” in the spin axis of Earth (although there are other explanations, such as the idea that our Sun has a companion star; see Cruttenden 2006), is very slow indeed, taking nearly twenty-six thousand years to complete a full cycle. Another way of saying this is that the position of the Sun on the December solstice (as well as on the June solstice and the equinoxes in March and September) slowly moves through the sky relative to the background stars, including the Milky Way. Thousands of years ago the December solstice Sun was well away from the Milky Way on one side, and thousands of years from now it will be well away on the other side of the Milky Way- again viewed from the prospective of an observer on earth. Jenkins (researcher who studied the ancient Mayan long count calendar) contends that the Mayan calendar was engineered to complete the thirteenth baktun, counting from the 3114 BCE beginning of the cycle, at the exact date of the December 2012 solstice galactic alignment. This certainly suggests some very sophisticated and precise astronomical observations and calculations.
"But what is the significance of the galactic alignment? According to Jenkins (2010), the Maya believed that the 2012 galactic alignment would correspond to a great transformation on Earth. But this transformation is not to be found in the outer physical world, but rather the inner world, the soul. Jenkins summarizes this view by writing “2012 bodes a challenge and an opportunity for humanity to rebirth itself. Such a transformational rebirth can only be accomplished through sacrifice, sacrificing the illusions that bind us to states of suffering and limitation. We can reconnect with the higher source, our true selves, the center and source of the world. This invitation is reflected in the galactic alignment, our Sun’s rare alignment with the cosmic heart and source (symbolised by the galactic centre)."
— Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D, Forgotten Civilization
