Happy Year of the Dragon!

Dear staff, students and friends of LUC,

2011 was an exciting and busy time for LUC – so much was accomplished and so many plans were laid for 2012. It seems particularly auspicious, then, that 2012 is the year of the dragon.  In the Chinese zodiac, the mythical dragon is a sign of power, happiness and success, and its year is held to bring a form of celestial luck to all our endeavours.  Unlike the fearsome, gold-hoarders of European legends, Chinese dragons are emblems of wisdom, wit, and innovation, bringing flamboyance, beauty and energy into our realm.

Of course, the cosmology of the ancient Mayans suggests that 2012 could have a rather different character.  According to their ‘Long Count’ calendar, a 5,125-year cosmic cycle will come to an end on 21 December 2012 (in the northern hemisphere) when the solstice occurs at the same moment as the conjunction of the galactic equator and the Milky Way.  So, that’s something to wary of just after exams before Christmas, since, for some, this marks the moment of the end of the world.

Of course, the last time this conjunction occurred, on 11 August 3114BC, the world didn’t end, so I’m hopeful that we’ll be ok this time too.  Instead, we might suppose that Mayan cosmology predicts the start of new cycle in 2012.  Perhaps the coincidence with the year of the dragon will make this a particularly auspicious year to carry LUC through to its first ever graduations in 2013.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2012,
Chris
Dean, LUC The Hague