What are crop circles?

Crop circles are patterns that appear in fields. The pattern is created when certain areas of the crops are tamped down, but others are left intact. The edge is so clean that it looks like it was created with a machine. Even though the stalks are bent, they are not damaged. Most of the time, the crop continues to grow as normal. Sometimes, the patterns are simple circles. In other instances, they are elaborate designs consisting of several interconnecting, geometric shapes.

Farmers have reported finding strange circles in their fields for centuries. The earliest mention of a crop circle dates back to the 1500s. A 17th century English woodcut shows a devilish creature making a crop circle. People who lived in the area called the creature the "mowing devil."

In an 1880 issue of the journal Nature, amateur scientist John Rand Capron reported on a formation near Guildford, Surrey, in the south of England. He described his finding as "a field of standing wheat considerably knocked about, not as an entirety, but in patches forming, as viewed from a distance, circular spots." He went on to say, "... I could not trace locally any circumstances accounting for the peculiar forms of the patches in the field ... They were suggestive to me of some cyclonic wind action ..."

Mentions of crop circles were sporadic until the 20th century, when circles began appearing in the 1960s and '70s in England and the United States. But the phenomenon didn't gain attention until 1980, when a farmer in Wiltshire county, England, discovered three circles, about 60 feet (18 meters) across each, in his oat crops. UFO researchers and media descended on the farm, and the world first began to learn about crop circles.

By the 1990s, crop circles had become something of a tourist attraction. In 1990 alone, more than 500 circles emerged in Europe. Within the next few years, there were thousands. Visitors came from around the world to see them. Some farmers even charged admission to their mysterious attractions.

Crop Circles and 2012

Every year the crop circle formations that appear in England are eagerly anticipated, as they have grown increasingly complex and beautiful. A formation that appeared in July 2008 near Avebury Manor depicts our solar system, with the nine planets orbiting the large Sun in the center. The planets' positions correspond to an actual date, which is December 21, 2012 – the end of the Mayan calendar.

Astrologically, a horoscope set for the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012 (6:12 am; Washington D.C.) shows several important outer planet configurations, underscoring the momentous significance of that time. As described recently, the signature event for 2012 is the Uranus-Pluto square, which is exceptionally dynamic due to their placements in Aries and Capricorn. The last time Uranus and Pluto were in aspect was in the revolutionary 1960s.

Specific to December 21, 2012, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are all at 8º of their respective signs (Gemini, Scorpio, and Capricorn), so that they form an exceptionally tight configuration. This trio is all the more powerful since it's precisely in line with the U.S. Ascendant at 8º Scorpio and the U.S. Uranus at 8º Gemini. These kinds of precise, multi-planetary alignments create spectacular events.

The overlay indicates that the U.S. government will be a key player as it attempts to manage (Saturn) whatever crisis is unfolding at the time. Action is also evident, since Mars at 27º Capricorn is exactly conjunct the U.S. Pluto, representing the marshaling (Mars) of U.S. power (Pluto). While one could speculate endlessly about various scenarios depicted by these planets, more intriguing is what is the connection between the mysterious Circle Makers and 2012?