One of the most notable aspects of Calleman's theories is that he disagrees with the established end date of the Mayan calendar of December 21, 2012. Working out what dates the Long Count inscriptions correspond to was the subject of extensive research throughout the twentieth century. It was a search that occupied the professional lives of many dozens of researchers.

Finding the Right Date

The process of finding the right date involved looking at many different astronomical factors to find the best possible fit. Joseph Goodman suggested a correlation at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 1927, the great Mayan scholar Eric Thompson proposed another correlation that was two days different. In 1950, after further research, he reverted to his original correlation. Opinion then swung back to this original number, which has finally been agreed upon by the vast majority of academics.

The accepted correlation has become known by the rather awkward name of the Goodman-Martinez-Thompson correlation. This is a combination of the names of the researchers who made the most significant contributions to its discovery. This is now widely adopted and fairly uncontroversial. It is also very significant that this correlation corresponds exactly to the date kept by the traditional indigenous Maya. There has never been any substantial debate about the correlation between the Tzolkin and the Long Count, which is what Calleman questions. There are hundreds of inscriptions and monuments that confirm the established dates.

A complaint about Dreamspell has been that it changes the calendar used by the Maya. Calleman has been very vocal in his criticism of Dreamspell for this reason. It is ironic that his system does exactly the same thing by changing the end date of the Long Count. Altering this critical point means all of the predicted shifts that he forecasts are tied into an idiosyncratic timetable. Calleman's system ends on October 28, 2011, because it falls on the “auspicious” Tzolkin date of thirteen Ahau, a day that Calleman claims represents completion. This is out of sync with the accepted end date of December 21, which is agreed upon by the consensus of academic experts on Mayan calendrics.

Another reason for picking thirteen Ahau as the end of the calendar is that it represents the energy of enlightenment. It is also the last date in the 260-day cycle in the most commonly used convention. This is important to Calleman, as he believes the calendar is nonphysical. Therefore, the fact that the usual end date falls on a winter solstice in 2012 is not regarded as being particularly significant.

If Calleman had accepted the December 21, 2012, end date, each of the underworlds would have different start and end points. It is unfortunate that rather than increasing the appreciation for the significance of the last cycle of thirteen tuns we are now living in, his theory distracts attention from when they actually happen. The Maya most certainly would have thought they were significant.

It is also not unreasonable to speculate that they may have applied some of the katun prophecies found in the Books of Chilam Balam to these last few tuns, as they, too, finish on the auspicious day sign of Ahau.

An Alliance Between Modern and Traditional

Calleman's ideas do have one very significant backer: the Mayan elder Cirillo. The two men have met and spoken about the calendar, and in 2006 they traveled to India together to visit the Oneness University, the ashram and school of a guru called Sri Bhagavan or Kalki. The avatar of Kalki is a Hindu deity prophesized to return to help humanity achieve enlightenment, in a similar way to Quetzalcoatl. This particular Kalki candidate has a strong interest in 2012 and sees events happening in this year as presaging the enlightenment of humanity.

Cirillo has spoken about us living within the time of twelve baktun, thirteen Ahau. This seems to fit with Calleman's idea of the calendar ending on thirteen Ahau. Calleman and Cirillo have also filmed an interview in which they discuss a prophecy of thirteen Ahau. The prophecy talked about in the interview refers to a katun prophecy and is taken from one of the Books of Chilam Balam.

What Calleman and Cirillo have in common is that they are skeptical about the December 21, 2012, end date. This correspondence between a modern and traditional view of the calendar would seem to be significant. Unfortunately, neither presents any evidence that brings the date of December 21 seriously into question.