Mayan Calender: The Re-Emergence of Matrifocal Cultures

With December 21, 2012 one week from today, you are likely to hear different ideas of what this significant date in the Mayan calender might mean. Some believe the world may end, but I don't think so.

Here is my take on what kind of shift this date may usher in.

The Mayan calender consisted of three parts, the longest of which measures 5,000 year cycles. It is this appropriately named "long count" calender that resets in seven days.

So what was happening in the world 5,000 years ago? By looking at any shifts that occurred at that time in history, perhaps we can understand what might be happening now.

One significant event 5 eons ago was the beginning of the end of cultures where womyn were in charge. That's right, cultures where womyn wielded power beyond the hearth, know as matrifocal cultures. At this time small, thriving cities led by females had no fortifications because peace ruled the day.

Then the boys took over, and haven't looked back since.

Actor Jada Pinkett-Smith wrote recently on the present unbalanced state of power. "I am sure the men, who restructured our societies from cultures that honored woman, had no idea of the outcome. They had no idea that eventually, even men would render themselves empty and longing for meaning, depth and connection."

All the male-perpetrated destruction has not spared anyone or anything. Look at the results of 5,000 years of male domination. Womyn are unhappy, men are unhappy, and the environment lays in waste.

When you live under a violence and exploitation-based patriarchy, what needs to happen to return to balance? The pendulum needs to swing back toward matriarchy. But it means more than grrl power. It means grrl power, matron power, and crone power. It means helping men heal so they can participate without hitting everything with a club and dragging it away.

One week from today is not only Winter Solstice, but is also the end of the Mayan long calender. This day will bring with it not only a return to increased light and warmth, but also a return to the increased participation of womyn around the world.

Some men may prefer that the world ends, but when it doesn't, they will see that an equitable and meaningful sharing of decision making will restore men, womyn, and the planet, back to health.

Or maybe not.