Tag: Mesoamerica

The double spiral and the double movement of emanation and reabsorption of the cosmos

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Esotericism, History of Religions

di Marco Maculotti
cover: phases of the moon, taken from "Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae" by Athanasius Kircher, 1646

In the first essay of this column on the theme of the symbolism of the spiral and the "cosmic rebirth" [cf. The symbolism of the Spiral: the Milky Way, the shell, the "rebirth"] we dwelt on the esoteric meanings of the spiral symbol and the closely related ones of the Milky Way and the shell. In this second appointment we aim to analyze the symbol of the double spiral from an even more 'cosmic' perspective, with regard to the traditions that convey this symbol to concepts concerning the creation (or rather, the emanation) of the cosmos and its reabsorption. We will begin our discourse by examining the Indian Brahmin tradition and comparing it with the Tantric Ε›ivaist one of Kashmir, and then analyzing the points of contact, from a religious syncretism point of view, with thatΒ β€” distant in terms of time and spaceΒ β€” pre-Columbian of the Nahua-Aztec peoples.

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A cosmogonic reading of the pantheon of the Mexica tradition, in a perspective of religious syncretism

Published on: Last updated on: Written by: Categorized into: Astrotheology, Mito, History of Religions
According to mexica mythology, each star embodies a certain character: the deities have so to speak "sacrificed" themselves in illo tempore to reincarnate in the stars. Thus, for example, Quetzalcoatl transformed himself into the planet Venus, the morning star, which therefore can be worshiped in the triple symbolic form of dynamic energy, of star and personified, as a cultural hero. In turn, the Sun, the main source of the tona or vital heat, arises from the immolation of Nanahuatzin.

The Aztec religion is a Mesoamerican religion that combines elements of polytheism, shamanism and animism, as well as aspects related to astronomy and the calendar. Aztec cosmology divided the world into three levels: an upper one, seat of the celestial gods, a lower one, seat of the underworld powers, and a middle one, in which the human consortium lives, equidistant from the gods and demons of nature and the subsoil. The concept of TheotlΒ it is fundamental in the Aztec religion. In language Nahuatl it is often considered synonymous with "God", even if, to be more precise, it refers to a more general concept, which refers to the immaterial dynamic energy of divinity (tona), similar to the Polynesian concept of mana. As the Tapas of the Indo-Aryans, this tona it is not always beneficial, since an overabundance of it brings death and destruction [Torres 2004, p.14].

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