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VENUS-QUETZALCOATL
This
is the teaching within the name Quetzalcoatl, the teacher/savior deity to the
Mayan and other Mexican peoples. According to Mayan tradition, this deity
returns at specific times to again instruct humanity. According to the Mayan
calendar, we are again in the time when Quetzalcoatl will return, and many
people are expecting a savior to rescue us from all our problems. …the
symbol that will herald the coming of this deity, the morning star or the
planet Venus. The Mayans say that the savior will come from the East like the
shining star. I feel since Venus is the Goddess of love, that “love” will
proclaim the coming of the balanced, awakened teacher.” (Sacred Art Sacred
Earth, Heyoka Merrifield, 1993 pg. 95)
Mexico
is a land full of mystery and enchantment but sad to say, also sustains a
social-economic system of poverty. There is a great gulf between the haves and
the have-nots. Accordingly when you travel away from the tourist areas and the
major cities, you will discover a land full of proud people, which in their own
way are living out a legacy of the white invaders and the narrow-minded
dogmatic Christian zealots who destroyed their culture and lifeblood many centuries
before. To these people and this land of the feathered serpent, this place of
magic, I came once again. Many times have I journeyed to these jungles and to
the highlands of this enigmatic nation, experiencing the wonder and hidden
gifts of the people and the land. This time Sherry and I were bringing a group to
learn, heal and awaken to their own love and power. Some
of the ones on this trip were with us last year in Hawaii, where I experienced
my vision, and are now here to experience the primal energy and the surreal
beauty of the Yucatan. Mexico and Hawaii are two of my favorite pilgrimage
destinations. The transformational energy of each is distinct, and thus, both
lands provide a different gateway and access point to the healing of one’s
soul. Over the previous year (1993) I researched the symbolic and mythological
knowledge of the Morning Star. Having spent many years of spiritual seeking
within the mystical traditions of Mexico, I was familiar with the mythology of
Quetzalcoatl as the Morning Star but never really paid much attention to
it. Since last year (1993) Venus, and its
aspect as the Morning Star, became a constant in my consciousness. Thus I
awoke to the fact that many of the sites around the world that I had visited
were connected with Venus. However, one important historical site linked with
the religion of Quetzalcoatl, that I had not visited, was Teotihuacan. I
determined that, sooner than later, I needed to visit this “City of the Gods."
But for now the beaches and the jungles of the Yucatan were my focus. Since
the 80’s we have been bringing groups to a wonderful, and most importantly, isolated resort about 45 minutes south of Cancun. Over the years I’ve
observed the changes in this part of Mexico. When I first came here there were
few tourists and very little resort development. Of course that has changed,
but still there is never an absence of enchantment. Magic lingers in the air, a
pristine aura that is suspended over these spirit filled lands. Jaguars, and
their spiritual essence, move just beyond the consciousness, always dwelling in
a space between fear and fascination. This is a land of death, and all the
fears connected with it. But it is as well a realm of re-birth and all the joys
that are connected with it. Our group will get an opportunity to experience
this first hand. However not just with the mind, but also with the body. There
are many ways to experientially experience the process of death and re-birth.
One of the oldest forms of this transcended wisdom is either through submersion
in water or burial in the earth. Each form has a similar but different focus
and purpose. Both allow us to come face to face with our greatest enemy—fear.
It is dusk and our dear students have been fasting since breakfast. We have not
told them what we will be doing, since we did not want to seed their minds with
worry and dread. They trusted Sherry and I, but they also knew that every
experience and activity was optional. Standing
in the near darkness on an isolated stretch of beach, the lush jungle to our
backs and the bluish-green crystal clear waters to our front, we explained the
spiritual exercise: ·
Each
person had a partner who was going to witness the experience as well as acting in the role of a
guardian angel. As I handed each person a straw and a small cloth to cover their
eyes, I sensed their level of fear and observed their eyes—the windows to
the soul, and remembering the ones that I would need to keep more of an eye on.
For some this was one of the worst things that I could ask them to do—be buried
alive! ·
One
would dig their own grave; keeping in mind the impermanence of the body while
letting go of a quality of self that no longer served them. As they let go of
this quality they would also need to replace it with a positive one, such as
increased patience. Meanwhile their partner-their guardian angel-would silently
witness this courageous act of digging one’s own tomb of spirit. ·
When
they were ready they would lay in the “arms of the mothering earth” while their
guardian angel covered them completely—except for the straw that they would breathe
through. Now if you have ever tried to breath through a straw you know the
limitation. This added the additional fear of not getting enough air. And of
course, the more tense that you are, the less air that you can breathe. ·
The
graves were deep enough that when covered, a person would need assistance in getting
out! So there was, if you will, an angel line. The person buried keeps one hand
out of the grave and their angel holds their hand. When they have completed the
exercise to the best of their ability, they would squeeze their angel’s hand and the angel
would dig them out. There was no time limit or required depth of the grave; it was up
to the individual. Over the years, I have seen many shallow graves and a few
very deep ones. And the time spent covered from a few seconds to upwards of a
half an hour. We never judge the people we work with—how they accomplish the
exercises or if they choose not to even participate in a certain one—they know
best; we are only teachers and guides that offer support and encouragement. As
the exercise began, all were in silence with one partner digging and the other
witnessing. As I walked up and down the beach offering encouragement through my
smile, I never took my focus or awareness off of the one student who was the
most terrified. She had been in our program a few years, and in that time, she
had healed many of her past woundings; but I knew this activity was bringing to
the surface an old deep wounding, one from the core of her soul. The
grave was dug and she slowly crawled in and began to lie back, but suddenly, she bolted right
back up into a sitting position, fear and terror etched on her face. With a
deep breath and a courageous spirit, she tried again, and again until finally,
she stayed lying down. As her guardian angel began to cover her, I stood right
by her side knowing that Sherry would be watching the rest of our group. I was
needed here. She
was only under a few seconds, which probably felt like an eternity to her. As
she kicked her way out of the sand, I saw an old, an ancient serpent wrapped
around her right leg! This was a spirit serpent, an old energy that had probably
been attached to her leg for years. Her right leg has caused her pain and
problems for years. No physician or alternative health practitioner had been
able to diagnosis the cause of her limping and painful leg, nor had anyone been
able to heal it. I positioned myself at the foot of her leg and begin an
extraction healing. It is a shamanic practice that has been skillful utilized
for thousands of years. As I prayed and began the extraction, I knew that no one
else, except for Sherry, saw the serpent. The sweat built as I worked on this
serpent energy, which did not want to be released. This type of extraction can
be dangerous to me; if doubt or fear entered my mind, then the serpent could have
attached to me. I needed to be one with the heavens and the earth, virgin in
spirit, fully focused in the moment and with total confidence. The struggle reflected the
cosmic dance of dark and light, and then, my voice erupted into my spirit song. I
know that I am never alone, my heavenly “buddies” are always available and my
earthly other half, Sherry is always there. With the power of the heavens, the
earth, my soul and my song, I extracted the serpent with my hands and cast it
away! In
the aftermath of this type of spirit healing, the person that has been healed
needs to rest and be quiet. Without any explanation, Sherry helped her back to
her cabana to rest and sleep. No food was needed, just pure water. It was not
necessary to explain any details on what happened. It is always best to keep in
mind that the greatest spiritual lessons are not found in books, but are
learned by observing, doing spirit work and having spirit work done on you and then,
asking questions. The
next morning at breakfast, she came over to thank us. As she and her roommate
approached the table, I noticed how strong and confident she was walking, in
fact, much stronger than I had ever seen her walk before. We asked her how she
was feeling and if she had slept okay. At that moment a strange look crossed
both of their faces. “I’m feeling much better, just a little weak,” she replied.
“Both of us, however, could not sleep. We both swear that there was a gigantic
snake in our room and many smaller one’s. We heard them moving in the dark
and sensed them. But each time we turned on the light, we searched the complete
cabana and there were no snakes!”
Teotihuacan,
“the city where one becomes a god,” is the birthplace of the Fifth Sun and the
home of the prophet Quetzalcoatl and his religion. According to legend it is
here where wisdom flourished and the arts and sacred science originated two
thousand years ago. It was a ceremonial and spiritual/religious center as well
as a city where all the people were extremely religious.
Looking South from the Pyramid of the Moon Today
the ruins of this theocratic city lie in a semiarid valley on a plateau 30
miles north of Mexico City. The enormous four-step pyramid—the Pyramid of the
Sun, dominates this magical place, 2000 meters above sea level. This pyramid
was situated so that the sun set exactly in front of it on the day of the
summer solstice. As a spiritual city, Teotihuacan’s main avenue, and the axis
of the city, the “Street of the Dead” runs for almost two miles South to North
beginning at the Citadel housing the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and ending at the
Complex of the Plaza of the Moon. Along it’s entire length it is lined with
palaces, pyramids and temples. Walking this throughway, as was done before by
the Initiates of Teotihuacan, you carry out a symbolic and mythological journey
of death and re-birth. As part of this process, you pass through and complete the ceremonies first at
the Temple of Water, then the Temple of Fire, the Temple of Air and finally the
Temple of the Earth. For the thousands of casual tourists that tread this path, they
know little of these very ancient and ageless ceremonial acts of death and
re-birth. Quetzalcoatl,
Plumed Serpent and Priest—King of Teotihuacan, is mythical in a legendary sense
but in reality refers to an actual person who was a prophet,
teacher and messenger to the people. To the Mayans, he was Kukulcan, the double-headed
serpent. According to Frank Waters in his Mexico Mystique: “Quetzalcoatl
was a uniting symbol achieving union of opposites: heaven and earth, morning
and evening star, matter and spirit….the transcendental meaning of this great
myth is clear. It is an expression of the universal doctrine of sin and
redemption, of death and resurrection, the transfiguration of man into
god….this myth, in the broadest possible terms, enunciates the principle of all
Creation: the incarnation of divine light, purity, and spirituality into gross
matter; and then the agonizing redemption of matter by spirituality—the
immortal theme of all world religions.”
Many
people have a problem falling asleep at night, which for various reasons is
very often connected with the stress and the worry in their life. Falling asleep is
usually not a problem for me. But tonight, I was excited and my "land of dreams"
was far away. As I’m lying focusing on letting the chatter in my mind
disappear, a voice comes to me –go for a run! I’ve been a runner and a martial
artist for thirty years and in that time I have always preferred late afternoon for
my runs, never late at night. And after all those years of training and
running, and of course the injuries (not to mention being in my late 40’s), when the sun
sets my body determines it’s time to rest not run. I looked at the clock—close to
midnight. I was in Mexico in an area that I’d never seen before—a white man
running down a dark moon-less Mexican road at midnight. If you can imagine, this
could possibly be the opening scene for a George Lucas movie. Hey, but the
voice said—“go for a run” and I couldn’t sleep. Being who I am, I also thought that
maybe I could find a way in through the fence and explore the ruins at night.
I’ve done this before at other sacred sites such as Machupicchu in Peru and
Tulum in the Yucatan. As
I walked outside the hotel the quiet and the aromatic scents triggered memories of
times long lost to my genetic being and soul.
In the years of my travels, many of the ancient sites that I have
journeyed to have resonated deep within my soul’s memory. As I walked through the darkness, feeling
without seeing, the soul memories of Teotihuacan began to vibrate within the
core of my being. I came to the road
surrounding the fenced ruins. Very
little light was casted by the few overworked street lamps. As I began my run, off to the left in the distance, the illuminated
Pyramid of the Sun glowed as a welcoming beacon to all who dare travel in these
lands by night. Little time was needed to determine that it would not be a good
idea to try and get through the fence. I figured I would just enjoy the run and wait for the
morning. Over
the years I’ve been involved in some frightful situations and little did I know
that this run was going to be very unique. People run for a variety of
reasons—for exercise, as an escape from the stresses of their life and for
competition, either against themselves or others. In my case, I run to connect
with the heavens; various ideas, insights and knowledge come to me while I’m
putting in the sweat-riddled miles. Tonight is no different; as I explored
with my mind the symbology of Teotihuacan, I rounded a corner and out of the
darkness came a pack of wild dogs, snarling and snapping. Stopping suddenly, I
had a choice to be made very quickly—keep running towards them and engage them
in battle (but the last thing I needed tonight was to kill someone’s pet and end
up in a Mexican jail) or to get bit or scratched and worry about an infection
or worse! My final option was to slowly back away, turn and retrace my steps.
What would you do? Of
course as I slowly backed up and turned to run. Suddenly, out of the darkness and seemingly
out of the void, a figure came running towards me. I wondered if it was the owner
of the dogs. But the dogs had come from the other direction. No more time than it
took for this thought to enter my mind and then disappear, there was a young man
standing in front of me. As I looked back on this experience, later the next
day, I realized that the dogs had suddenly disappeared.
This
young man seemed to be agitated or maybe scared; he was speaking a language
that I had not heard before, except for a short phrase in English. Pointing at
me he said, “Quetzalcoatl—the Sixth Sun.” Then other words, which I could not
understand, then repeatedly again and again “Quetzalcoatl—the Sixth Sun!” Time
seemed to have stood still as he was now pointing to my feet. Did he want my running
shoes—but his shoes looked brand new! More strange words and then once again, “Quetzalcoatl—the
Sixth Sun”. I'd just run into a pack of vicious dogs that seemed to have disappeared;
now this strange person was calling me “Quetzalcoatl—the Sixth Sun”. Next
he removed his non-descript baseball cap, which also appeared brand new, and
offered it to me. In my many travels I have learned that in many cultures it is
impolite and dis-respectful to refuse a gift. I took the cap even though I
didn’t want it. Then deciding that this interchange was not getting us anywhere,
I handed back the cap. Then a strange thing happened. As I placed the cap in his
hands I looked closely into his eyes. The eyes are the windows into the soul to
the depths of creation; I felt rather than saw an endless timeless space
reflected in his eyes. This feeling is very difficult to put into words—It’s
sadness but not sadness, it’s compassion but not compassion, it’s reality but
not reality, it’s the meeting point of chaos and order and order and chaos! As
he accepted the hat back, I had this overwhelming urge to hug him. There were no
words exchanged as I broke the hug. Realizing this
would be a good time to leave I smiled slightly, bowed (my Japanese Martial Art
training) turned and started running back the way I came. After a few steps,
I looked back—he was not there/he had disappeared. Well,
so much for an uneventful run! After what happened, the mere act of
running seemed boring; a few more minutes passed and then the sound—a rifle shot
in the distance and the undeniable ricochet near me! In times of danger our
mind and our body can respond to the threat in a variety of ways; fear may
freeze us or courage may move us and sometimes we just react without any
conscious though at all. It wasn’t fear or courage just reaction as my legs
moved the fastest that they moved in many years. But at that moment, my
mind, being the wondrous thing that it is, remembered a scene from a movie
starring Peter Falk. As the characters are running and being shot at (I believe on
an airstrip in Central America), Peter Falk yells “serpentine.” Guess what,
that’s what I did—zigzag…another shot, no ricochet and finally safety, not in
the light but in the dark! Experience the magic of Teotihuacan and join us on an exciting adventure: Initiatory Journey into the Myth and Mystery of the Feathered Serpents, Yucatan and Teotihuacan, Mexico |
“Coatl
is the sacred snake whose movements mirror the way that Kundalini energy moves
up the spinal column awakening the wheels of light that surround each of the
major body centers. When this serpentine energy reaches the crown chakra at the
top of the head, we are one with the Universal. Quetzal is the sacred bird that
connects Earthly power with the Heavenly realms of the universe. Together the
Quetzal and the Coatl are the creatures that are closest to the earth and
heaven as well as representing the sacred balance of female and male.
Spiritual Growth
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