{The Winged Serpent}[18th August 1989]

[Redbook6:211-212][19890818:1554b]{The Winged Serpent}[18th August 1989]

19890818.1554

[continued]

Quetzalcóatl, the feathered (ie winged?) serpent, was* one of the major deities of the ancient Mexican pantheon: originally (as early as 3^rd C[entury] ad**) a vegetation, earth and water (ie fertility?) god; later god of the morning and evening star, patron of priests, inventor of the calendar and books, god of learning and writing, protector of goldsmiths and other craftsmen, identified with the planet Venus; also symbol of death and resurrection, who with his companion Xolotl, the dog-headed god, descended to the underground hell of Mictlan*** to gather the bones of the ancient dead, which he anointed with his own blood, giving birth to the Men who inhabit the present Universe.

He was a priest-king of Tula, and never offered Human sacrifice; but Tezcatlipoca, god of the night sky, expelled him by black magic, whereupon he wandered to the coast of the ‘divine water’ (interpreted as the Atlantic Ocean) and either immolated himself on a pyre, emerging as the planet Venus, or set sail eastwards on a raft of snakes (This may reflect the historical transfer of power, c10thC[entury], from peaceful priestly rulers to a military ruling class). He could appear as a plumed serpent; a bearded man; and as Ehécatl, the wind god, who had a preference for round buildings and monuments.

Most of the symbols are r~, but the link with a~ is, as one would expect, particularly strong. It was the Aztec sovereign Montezuma II’s belief that the Spanish conqueror Cortés and his men were divine envoys (of Quetzalcóatl) – because they landed in a One Reed year, Quetzalcóatl’s calendar name being Ce Acall, or One Reed, giving rise to the belief that he would return from the East in a One Reed year – which led to the downfall of the bloodthirsty Aztec culture.

*per E[ncylopaedia] B[ritannica] 23: 855-[85]6

**[ad = ce]

***{cf [[Redbook6:159-160][19890718:1601]{Deuteronomic Circles and Fertility Rites}[18th July 1989],fn****] 159 Astarte;

& Dionysus, Orpheus; Jesus}

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