Page:Historia Verdadera del Mexico profundo.djvu/134

The Quetzalcoatl Cross.

There is a symbol that is constant from the Olmecs to the Aztecs in the Anahuac iconography. A cross or X which is present in most of the so-called "works of art" of ancient Mexico. This cross is generally located in the forehead, chest or in the solar plexus, if it's a human figure. If it is a geometric design, generally will be found on the fundamental points. This cross is formed by two lines that divide space and the human body through two lines that intersect at the "earth’s navel" or the human navel.

"This cross, called of Quetzalcoatl, has the value of a focal point and, symbolizes the meeting of heaven and Earth. Under this aspect, the quincunxe is abundantly represented". (Laurette Séjourné. 1957)

The first imaginary line divided the human body into two halves. From the navel to the head was the sky representation, symbolized with a bird. Had two symbolic organs representing the elevation aspiration, embodying the highest spiritual aspiration: the brain and heart. The second part goes from the navel to the feet, representing the land and symbolized by a snake. It had two organs that embodied the energy that unites the human being with the earth and the material world: the kidneys and genitals.

So the human being is the philosophical bridge linking the two complementing opposites. As the ancient grandparents poetically said, "where earth and sky kissed". The bird was generally represented by a quetzal, an eagle or a macaw. The animal representing Earth was symbolized with a snake, which in Nahuatl is named Cóatl. So that "Quetzal-cóatl", represents a spiritual philosophical figure, present in our being, and which we can embody through the balance of our spiritual self with our material self. The human being is the contact point between the divine and the mundane, between matter and spirit, between heaven and earth.