In his remarkable work Ancient Mexicans, Miguel Angel Portillo expresses the depth and complexity of Aztec thought and demonstrates how there is an entire philosophy within their codes, oral tradition, and sacred buildings. Their ideas encompass a whole magical-rational conception of the divine and the abstract. This includes the causes of natural events (metaphysics), the problems of human beings in grasping ultimate reality (theory of knowledge), the values and elements that shape a person as a being and inspire them to encounter themselves (anthropology and moral philosophy), etc.
Coatlicue, “She with the Skirt of Serpents,” Mother of the Gods, goddess of the earth, life, and death. Through the concept of Coatlicue, the Aztec sages connected the maternal principle of nurturing life with the warrior principle of continuous struggle of opposites. Thanks to this, new things can always arise through the sacrifice of what is old. Anthropological Museum, Mexico City.
Another symbol that contains great depth is the first light, ceipal, which creates all things. Its
The divine name is Tloque Nahuaque or Ipalnemohuani. He is called the “Master of closeness and unity” (Tloque Nahuaque). He is the “One by whom one lives” (Ipalnemohuani), “Night and Wind” (because as the supreme god, he is invisible like the night and intangible like the wind), and “One who shapes himself with thought” (Moyocoyatzin).
Like everything in nature, he manifests himself in connection with his opposite, and since the human mind cannot perceive one without two, he is called Ometeotl, the god of duality, who manifests as the male principle – Ometecutli (Lord of two) and the female principle – Omecihuatl (Lady of two). He is the father and mother of all living beings who live in the realm of duality, in the “place of nine divisions” (nine planes of consciousness into which manifested existence is divided).
This refers to the multitude and matter, typically represented by the number 4). They need to be defeated with a magical weapon, scattered and destroyed, and the weapon of the defeated should be incorporated into one’s decorations.
In the end, the winner is enthroned on the Mountain of Snakes and proclaims their cult there. It symbolizes a person who needs to overcome themselves and transcend numerous internal enemies that try to take away their consciousness and divine state.
Quetzalcoatl is the mythical king of Tula, who in the legendary golden age ruled justly over his subjects from his palace-temple with serpent-shaped columns. He was never seen in public, but lived in the silence of his temple’s shadows. However, one day he was enchanted by the magician Tezcatlipoca through a double mirror. He made Quetzalcoatl see his material reflection or his female counterpart (Quetzalpetatl – a butterfly with colorful feathers) in him, and fell in love with them, and intoxicated, engaged in a physical relationship. Having lost his innocence, he must regain purity through a series of actions. of difficult tasks, including descending into hell. Finally, he sacrifices himself on the bonfire that he himself built, and his soul transforms into Venus – the “beautiful twin of the Earth.”
Quetzalcoatl in the form of a snake shedding its old skin symbolizes the path through which man, by shedding all the material filth that he has accumulated, renews his original and enlightened wisdom.
For the Aztecs, the search for truth is a search for the Self, for the ultimate root, for that which brings inner peace. The word “truth” in the Nahuatl language has the same etymology as the word “root” or “foundation.”
Man is like a fleeting image of a dream on this earth. He is imprisoned in a prison of blood and flesh that prevents him from fully grasping the truth. Aztec poets say: Nobody, nobody, nobody truly lives on earth. Because life on earth is like a dream from which we wake up with death. Earthly existence is fragile and transient. Life on earth is not complete; it is only a place of trial and a Teachings say that, according to Aztec texts, the wind blows like sharp obsidian knives. The Earth is a house of images, and the human heart is a treasury of life scenes that pass through human consciousness like pictures. Man lives and suffers like an actor, and learns like a spectator.
But for the Aztecs, man still has real value: he is the place through which the souls return to God: Are people still real? Because if they are not, then our song is not real either.
Aztec sages say that man is the incarnation of a particle of the Heavenly Spirit. Man’s soul originates from the Sun and should return to it through numerous incarnations and trials. That is why the Sun is called the “king of those who return”. Its house is the sky, surrounded by turquoise and the feathers of the quetzal, souls that have returned to their original state of unity.