Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods & Mushroom Goddesses
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| Popul Vuh Story of Creation “There is not yet one person, one animal, bird, fish, crab, tree, rock, hollow, canyon, meadow, forest. Only the sky alone is there; the face of the earth is not clear. Only the sea alone is pooled under all the sky; there is nothing whatever gathered together. It is at rest; not a single thing stirs. (64) It is held back, (65) kept at rest under the sky. “Whatever might be is simply not there: only murmurs, ripples, in the dark, in the night. Only the Maker, Modeler alone, Sovereign Plumed Serpent, the Bearers, Begetters are in the water, a glittering light. (66) They are there, they are enclosed in quetzal feathers, in blue-green. Thus, the name, “Plumed Serpent.” They are great knowers, great thinkers in their very being. (67) And then came his word, he came here to the Sovereign Plumed Serpent, here in the blackness, in the early dawn. (69) He spoke with the Sovereign Plumed Serpent, and they talked, then they thought, then they worried. They agreed with each other, they joined their words, their thoughts. (70) Then it was clear, then they reached accord in the light, and then humanity was clear, when they conceived the growth, the generation (71) of trees, of bushes, and the growth of life, of humankind, in the blackness, in the early dawn, all because of the Heart of Sky, named Hurricane. Thunderbolt Hurricane comes first, the second is Newborn Thunderbolt, and the third is Raw Thunderbolt.” (72) “It is well that there be your manikins, woodcarvings, (97) talking, speaking, there on the face of the earth.” “So be it,” they replied. The moment they spoke it was done: the manikins, woodcarvings, human in looks and human in speech. This was the peopling of the face of the earth: They came into being, they multiplied, they had daughters, they had sons, these manikins, woodcarvings. But there was nothing in their hearts and nothing in their minds, no memory of their mason and builder. They just went and walked wherever they wanted. (98) Now they did not remember the Heart of Sky.” And so, they fell, just an experiment and just a cutout for humankind. They were talking at first, but their faces were dry. They were not yet developed in the legs and arms. They had no blood, no lymph. They had no sweat, no fat. Their complexions were dry, their faces were crusty. They flailed their legs and arms, their bodies were deformed.” (I have to wonder if these manikins are the giant trees mentioned in the Bible.) “AGAIN THERE COMES A HUMILIATION, destruction, and demolition. The manikins, woodcarvings were killed when the Heart of Sky devised a flood for them. A great flood was made; it came down on the heads of the manikins, woodcarvings. The man's body was carved from the wood of the coral tree.” Huracan is the Mayan deity of wind, storm and fire and one of the chief deities who restored humanity to the earth after the Great Deluge. One of his epithets is the “Heart of the Sky.” His name means “one-legged.” |
What this story tells us is very similar to Genesis in some ways, and other creation stories before it such as Enuma Elish. Humanity was at first, not endowed with spirit or life and had to be replaced. This is the story of the flood, and pretty much all there is to it, in my opinion. It’s about replacing an early form of man who was not capable of thinking or acting on those thoughts. It is noteworthy too, that Huracan’s epithet is the “Heart of the Sky” and his name means the “one-legged.” K'awiil is a sky deity in the Mayan pantheon associated with lightning, serpents, fertility and maize. He is depicted with large eyes, a long snout, and reptile teeth (75d). (23) (75d) Illustrated katun cycle of the Paris Codex Possibly Ka'will c. 900-1500 AD In Aztec myth, Xiuhtecuhtli is the “Lord of Fire” who sits at the center of the earth. He is the personification of life after death. He is also, along with his female companion Cahntico, the creator of all life and the light in the darkness. He was represented by the serpent of fire as his insignia, with a horned nose and seven stars. One of the duties of the Aztec priesthood was the maintenance of the sacred fires, making sure they would continue to burn, just like the Vestal Virgins and the fires of Kildare. At the end of every 52-year Aztec cycle the fire would be ceremonially shared from temple to temple then from the temple to the homes. (24) Chicomoztoc is the name for the mythical origin place of the Aztec Mexicas, Tepanecs, Acolhuas, and other Nahuatl-speaking peoples (or Nahuas) of the central Mexico region of Mesoamerica. It was said to contain seven caves. An image of it has what appears to be a tree, but could be a mushroom as well (75f). (23) Persephone’s Quest, p. 53; Stone, Andrea; Mark M. Zender (2011). Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture. London: Thames and Hudson (24) https://www.britannica.com/topic/Xiuhtecuhtli |
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