#aztecs
LAST DAY OF MY PRIDE SALE
Click here to see my Etsy store! There is a special 20% discount ending today!
The metztli or veintena of Huey Tozoztli is coming to an end. During its 20 days we celebrated the deities of maize, which begins to grow with the coming of the rains. Huey Tozoztli is dedicated to Cintéotl, Lord Maize, patron divinity of the fields, and Xilonen, Lady Tender Maize, who is the sprout that breaks the hardness of the Earth’s crust and grows towards the Heavens.
You can find elote or corn cob earrings of different colors in my Etsy store! Click here!
In this scene, Mayahuel, Our Lady Maguey, appears breastfeeding a plumed fish. It is a profoundly symbolic image which shows Her role as mother and nurturer. The plumed fish is a visual metaphor that alludes to Mimich, one of the most ancient divine ancestors of the Mexica. Lord Mimich was a chichimeca, part of a nomad group, and His death represents the foundation of the first villages and cities. The symbol of the plumed fish refers to preciousness, which can be found in the wisdom of our ancestors. The scene, thus, presents Mayahuel, the plant of maguey, as nurturer of humankind from the most ancient of times.
You can find prints of Chichimayahuel in my Etsy store! Click here!
Today is the first Zenith Passage of the Sun over Mexico City, an event in which no shadow is casted on the ground. On this date the Sun defeats His enemies, the creatures of darkness, and devours obscurity to give light, wisdom and justice.
Tonatiuh is Our Father the Sun, the Celestial Lord who gives solidity, warmth and life to the world. Every night He must travel through the dangers of the Underworld to gloriously rise again in the East.
You can find prints of Tonatiuh in my Etsy store! Click here!
Yesterday was Teachers Day in Mexico, a date to celebrate and thank the work of educators.
The Nahuatl word that refers to teachers is temachtiani, “who teaches someone”, while the word momachtiani, “who teaches themself”, is used to talk about students.
Another word associated with education is tlamatini, “who knows something”, or “who perceives something”
The Underworld is a place of cold and darkness, which the spirits of the dead travel in order to be reborn. However, it is also a place of fertility, where new life is created from dead beings. Most of the animals of the Land of the Fleshless are swimming or flying beings, which connect this place with the Earth and act as messengers between the dead and the living.
You can see different animals of the fertile Underworld in my painting The Death in Mictlan of Quetzalcoatl. Click here for prints in my Etsy store!
Chichihuacuauhco, Tree of Breasts, also called Tonacacuauhco, Tree of Flesh, is one of the places where human spirits dwell after death. To this tree go the children who pass away before they can eat maize, the divine fruit which gives matter and strength to our bodies. The flowers of Chichihuacuauhco are breasts, which eternally feed the spirits of these babies with milk, while they await the moment of their return to the Earth. Tonacacihuatl and Tonacatecuhtli, Lady and Lord of Our Flesh, are in charge of keeping this tree alive, nurturing the spirits that depend on it.
You can find prints of Tonacacuauhco in my Etsy store! Click here!
Today’s card is Nahui Topilli, the Four of Staffs, a card of celebration and retribution.
In it appears a scene of tlamacehualiztli, of offerings to the Teteo in gratitude for all Their gifts. A man and a woman, as well as a group of dancers, celebrate victory and success with songs and flowers.
This card reminds us that everything we own and achieve has been granted to us by the Teteo, and we must retribute Their love and generosity through ceremony, communitary actions and selfless everyday activities.
You can find the Tarot Yohualli Ehécatl in my Etsy store! Click here!
