QUETZALCOATL "The God of Wind"

The Creator God-The Feathered Serpent-The Founder of Agriculture- Precious Feather Snake- The Road Sweeper

Often portrayed with a black beard to represent age or as an old man. Covering his mouth there is often a red mask in the form of a bird's beak. His mask identifies him as the god of wind and he was worshiped under the name of Ehecatl, or wind. One of the greatest gods, god of wind, light, and Venus(*69).

God of twins and monsters. Legend has Quetzalcoatl and his twin brother Xolotl, descending to hell and retrieving human bones. By dripping his blood onto the bones, human resurrection began(*70). Men therefore, are the children of Quetzalcoatl. He is always presented as benevolent. He wears about his neck a "Wind Jewell" made from a conch and his head was adorned with a jaguar(*71) bonnet or sometimes a small cap. A sharp bone protrudes from the headgear which flows the blood that nourishes his nahualli, the Quetzal bird(*72) .

He taught men science and the calendar and devised ceremonies. He discovered corn, and all good aspects of civilization. Quetzalcoatl is a perfect representation of saintliness. His cult transformed into a type of nobility cult and only special sacrifices selected from the Nobel classes were made to him, and then only in secret.

Quetzalcoatl (*73) is a very ancient god known to the Mayas and ancient Teotihuacan ruins. Quetzalcoatl was said to be the son of Camaxtli and Chimalma and he was born in Michatlauhco, "Fish Deeps". His mother died during his birth and he was raised by his grandfathers. The multiplicity of Quetzalcoatl's roles attest to the antiquity of his cult following and his adoration. He is credited with allowing the Spanish and Cortes to march into the Aztec lands. The Aztec people thought Cortes was an incarnation of Quetzalcoatl returning from the East to retake his lands as told in legend. It was not uncommon for a hundred years after the conquest for merchants in smaller towns to work and save for twenty years just to throw a large banquet to this most revered god. Before the conquest slaves would have been bathed and sacrificed for this feast.

The "Ehecailacacozcatl" or the winds that proceed a rain downpour were associated with Quetzalcoatl. Lightning as it contains a serpentine shape was also associated with this god in the name xonecuilli.

Also considered to be worshiped under the names Tlilpotonqui, "Feathered in Black", and possibly as Ecacouayo Mixtli, "A Twister", in association with his capacity as God of the Wind. In the Codex Magliabechiano, pl. 34, Quetzalcoatl was refered to as Tlaloc(*74).

The Codex Cospi pls. 9-11 contain references to his association with the planet Venus and it's destructive powers as well as the Codex Borgia, pl. 53f.

In the Vienna Codex this god is depicted as an alert youth sitting at the feet of the "Old Ones", The dual divinity. Could also appear as "Yacateuctli, Lord of the Vanguard, or one who goes forth, Yacacoliuhqui, "He with the Aquiline Nose", and as Yacapitzahuac, "Pointed Nose"(*75). May have been worshiped under the name of "Our Reverend Prince", and Ocelocoatl in his black or night form.

In Boone's translation of the Magliabechiano Codex(*76), Quetzalcoatl is mentioned as being the son of Miclantecutli, Lord of the Place of the Dead. Boone relates in her translation an interesting story concerning Quetzalcoatl as having washed his hands and then touched his penis and caused semen to drop on a rock(*77). A bat grew from this union of semen and rock who other gods sent to bite the flower goddess Xochiquetzal. This bat bit off a piece of her vagina while she was sleeping and took it to the gods. They then washed it and from the water that was spilled came forth flowers that smelled bad. This same bat took the flesh to Mictlantecuhtli where he washed the piece of flesh and the water that he used brought forth sweet smelling flowers the indians called xochitrls.

Often depicted holding a thorn used to let blood. He created auto-sacrifice(*78), a forerunner to human sacrifice. He is said to have let blood in honor to Camaxtli (Mixcoatl), who the Aztec believed to be Quetzalcoatl's father(*79).

Quetzalcoatl's priests(*80) would bang a drum in the morning and in the evening in reverence to Quetzalcoatl. At that time merchants could leave the city and visitors could enter Tenochtitlan. The drum of Quetzalcoatl may be compared with the flute of Tezcatlipoca. The drum separated night from day. The flute was heard at night. The sound of the flute was shrill and anxiety followed it's music.

According to Sahagun, Quetzalcoatl's temple was high with a narrow staircase with steps so narrow that feet had a hard time holding. The image was covered with tapestries with an ugly and bearded face.

This deity is depicted on a statue, currently in the British Museum, with ocelot claw ear-rings. The roar of this animal(*81) was believed to help bring the sun into the sky. This statue also holds a studded club in the right hand and in the left a skull, the sign of his twin brother Xolotl. The statue venerates the rising from the jaws of the feathered serpent as the morning star Venus rises to announce the sunrise. The statue further bears a collar symbol of the sun. According to Burland's book, this statue commemorates a transit of Venus in the year 1508.

Lord of Healing and magical herbs, known as a symbol of thought and learning, of the arts, poetry, and all things good and beautiful. Lord of Hope and Lord of the Morning Star. He has been likened to England's King Arthur, both a real person and myth. According to the Vienna Codex a series of nine different Toltec kings succeeded the original man/god all calling themselves Quetzalcoatl. In the Codex Laud, Quetzalcoatl is seen as wind blowing in the waters. Sitting on the water, displaying her genitals, was a tempting Tlazoteotl. The wind of Quetzalcoatl is the breath of life and will fertilize her. Quetzalcoatl was the god of life and gave penitence, love, and exemption from rituals of sacrifice and Autosacrifice.

His association with the feathered serpent is an interesting story. The quetzal bird, native to the western area of Guatemala and Mexico, was regarded as the most beautiful bird and called Quetzaltotolin, meaning "most precious". The symbol of the feathered serpent was Quetzalcoatl, meaning not just feathered serpent, but "most precious serpent". Quetzalcoatl is not the feathered serpent but the one who emerges from the serpent as Venus rises from the morning horizon.

He has been depicted occasionally on statues showing him as a great priest, the Lord of Penitence, with a painted black stripe beside the eyes and a red ring surrounding the mouth and blue areas on the forehead. As Ehecatl, Lord of the Winds, he is depicted wearing a mask with a pointed snout covering his lower face. This is known as his "wind mask", and is usually painted bright red. According to Burland this was derived from the Mexican whistling toad, Rhinophryne dorsalis. It's shape suggested the earth monster, a cross between an alligator and a toad. Temples to Ehecatl were circular as the god of wind could blow or breath in any direction.

In the Vienna Codex, Quetzalcoatl is depicted holding the heavens with his hands, symbolic of holding the rain clouds and sky in place.

The Spanish missionaries early adopted the myth of Quetzalcoatl and thought that he was actually St. Thomas the Apostle, who had come to Mexico to help convert the Aztec Indians to Christianity and that the spirit of St. Thomas was in Cortes(*82). Today the figure of Quetzalcoatl can be seen in department store windows in Mexico City replacing a traditional Santa Claws figure. This figure wears a garland of feathers and a representational mask of the old venerated god and symbolizes the bringing of life and gifts.

According to the Treatise by Alarcon(*83), Quetzalcoatl was also known as "Matl", which meant "hand" in Nahuatl(*84).

Often depicted as a white skinned god with a black beard. Recent scholarly theories suggest that the man-god may have been a wandering Viking who had lost his way. See also TLOQUE NAHUAQUE listing with accompanying footnote for further information on this subject. See also TLILPOTONQUI.


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66 Flowers in general were thought to have been made by honey sucking bats descending into Mictlan, the land of the dead. Brundage, p. 243.

67 Brundage p. 243.

68 Quetzalcoatl translates to plumed serpent. The word quetzalli eventually came to mean "treasure, or precious". The word coatl came to mean "dragon" as well as "snake" and occasionally "twin", hence it could mean "Precious Twin". The Quetzal bird provided the beautiful green tail feathers for the plumes of this god.

69 Venus was an important astrological symbol for the Mexica and was called "Tlauixcalpantecuhtli", which means - Lord of the House of Dawn. The planet had two aspects and was shown and revered as two gods. One, as Morning Star, was kind, and was the Precious Twin, Quetzalcoatl. He held the sun in the sky in the morning. His dark twin Xolotl ruled Venus in the Evening and during the night. Xolotl pushed the sun into darkness. Of interest the only sacrifices to Quetzalcoatl was during the time that Xolotl ruled over Venus. The Mexica regarded travel under the night stars as dangerous where as to be under the morning star was good fortune.

70 This act probably begins the association and credited invention of auto-sacrifice, or self-letting of blood, to the Mexica.

71 The jaguar symbol was especially important to the priests, who carried an insence bag made form jaguar skin. This pouch may have carried their drugs and tobacco. Common drugs used by the priests were Obsidian-knife-water and "yauhtli", (powered Tagetes lucida?) which gave a sedative effect probably used in controlling captives on their way to the killing stones. Duran was convinced that Obsidian-knife-water was water used to wash the sacrificial killing knife mixed with chocolatl, which bewitched the user into a state of euphoria.

Some say this mysterious water was nothing more than pulque. The priests were also known to have experimented with hallucinogens. For more information consult the Florentine Codex in the "Book of Earthly Things". Related in detail are "ololiuqui", the morning glory whose seeds would derange the taker and "peyotl", which grows only in Mictlan, the land of the dead. There are many others listed.

72 Maslow's book describes a scene of a soaring Quetzal bird that may appear to look like a feathered serpent in flight as it soars over a man's head.

73 For a well written account of the Quetzalcoatl man/legend and his influence on the entire Mesoamerican region read THE LORD OF THE DAWN: THE LEGEND OF QUETZALCOATL, By Rudolfo A. Anaya.

74 There is a legend that when the man/god Quetzalcoatl left Tula he entered a mountain, which closed behind him. See Duran's works for some of the many legends of Quetzalcoatl.

75 See the God YACATECUHTLI as these names suggest his relationship with merchants.

76 p. 206.

77 This is the only reference to deities masturbating I have found.

78 Autosacrifice took many forms: Piercing lips, ears, legs or arms with maguey spines and putting the blood on paper which was then taken to a god. After use, the maguay spines were put in a special place to be seen by the gods. Drilling a hole through your tongue was considered a good Autosacrifice into which a cord with spines was pulled through. The Mexica thought of Autosacrifice as a service to the group rather than just for the individual letting blood and was revered for his service to his group.

79 In Aztec legend Iztacmixcoatl with his sacred knife engaged Chimalma, Shield Hand, "The Naked Goddess", and impregnated her. Her son was to become Quetzalcoatl, who later was ruler in Tula. Mercatante, p. 38 relates the spellings of these parents as "Chimamatl and Iztacmixcoatl".

80 C.A. Burland's book Moctezuma, p.45, references that the high priest to Quetzalcoatl wore a high helmet and a red, black, and blue costume.

81 Animals in general were looked to by the Mexica for delivering signs or omens. An owl hooting would signify sickness or death was approaching. A home that was entered by a rabbit would mean the house would suffer calamity. The chafer, a larger form of beetle , may cause shame to enter into the home. A wild weasel that crossed in front of a Mexica citizen could often bring bad fortune.

82 Mercatante, p. 38.

83 P. 230.

84 The Mexica revered a medicinal tree referred to as "macpalxochiquauhitl", meaning -hand flower. Known scientifically as Chiranthodendron pentadactylon. Emboden, pp. 16-18.