Harmonic Convergence

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The Harmonic Convergence was a loosely-organized new age spiritual event that occurred on August 17, 1987, when groups of people gathered in various sacred sites and "mystical" places all over the world to usher in a new era, a date based primarily on the Maya calendar, but also on interpretations of European and Asian astrology.

The Harmonic Convergence was supposed to be a global awakening to love and unity through divine transformation. It was initiated in 1987 by Jose Arguelles. According to his interpretation of Mayan cosmology, this date was the end of twenty-two cycles of 52 years each, or 1144 years. The twenty-two cycles were divided into thirteen "heaven" cycles, which began in 843 A.D. The thirteen heaven cycles ended in 1519, which began the first of nine "hell" cycles. The Harmonic Convergence was to be the end of the "hell" cycles and the beginning of a new age of universal peace, as foretold in the Mayan Prophecies. All the signs clearly indicated a major energy shift, a turning point in Earth's collective karma and dharma. Believers said this energy was powerful enough to change the global perspective of man from one of conflict to one of co-operation. Actress and author Shirley MacLaine called it a "window of light," allowing access to higher realms of awareness. According to some, the Harmonic Convergence also began the final 26 year countdown to the end of the Maya Long Count in 2012, which would be the "end of history" and the beginning of a new 5,200 year cycle (not that there is any evidence at all to indicate that the ancient Maya believed the world would end at this point).

People began arriving on August 15, 1987 at sites such as Mount Shasta, Stonehenge and Crestone, Colorado, which were believed to be "focus locations". Events began on August 16, culminating on the convergence itself on the 17th with prayer, song, meditation, dance, and rituals. If nothing else, this highly publicized event brought the New Age religion to public awareness and popularized quartz crystals, channelling and theories about reincarnation and extraterrestrial life.

As it turned out, the late 1980s did indeed see a tremendous geopolitical shift, especially the fall of communism. As many esoteric prophecies had predicted, Harmonic Convergence would usher in a five-year period of Earth's "cleansing," where many of the planet's false structures of separation would collapse. Shortly after this event, the American stock market collapsed, followed by a significant standoff in China's Tieneman Square, the ending of apartheid in South Africa, and finally the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Many believers in new age philosophy point to these events as being indicative of a major cosmological shift.

Adapted from the Wikinfo article Harmonic Convergence, licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.