American psychedelic philosopher and researcher Terence McKenna and his brother Dennis conceived the Timewave Theory after experimenting with a combination of hallucinogenic plants in the Amazon in 1971. This theory formed a connection between the ancient Chinese divination system, the I Ching, and major events that have occurred throughout the history of the Earth.

The I Ching, or The Book of Changes, is a divination system that concentrates on the notions of the dynamic balance of opposites, events as a process, and change as inevitable. The I Ching is able to predict an unspecific pattern in events that have shaped the past and will in turn shape the future. This ancient method of fortune telling is comprised of 64 different hexagrams that each mean something different.

Terence McKenna was able to form a link between the ancient I Ching and modern computers and fractals to form a pattern of major events on Earth. This pattern begins with the Big Bang and ends on December 21, 2012, spanning across 25 billion years. The Timewave Theory suggests that on December 21 of this year, levels of planetary novelty will be amplified and an enormous event will occur. While the exact nature of the event is not revealed, there is speculation as to what might happen, including: a Hyperspatial breakthrough, planetesimal impact, alien contact, historical metamorphosis, metamorphosis of natural law, a solar explosion, etc.

Many people take this to believe that the world will end on December 21, 2012, because it is the same date pinpointed by the Mayans. However, before his death in 2000, McKenna said that he did not believe that December 21, 2012 would bring the end of the world. Instead, he believed it would usher in a time of great change and an “enormously reality-rearranging event” would occur.