Mesoamerican Resonance

Mesoamerican Resonance

By Michael A. Starsheen

Speaking of resonances between the Goddesses and their followers, I encountered a story among my recent readings that I just had to share with you. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the Egyptian Gods. I read a lot.
The particular book I was reading was Stolen Continents by Ronald Wright, which is a first-person account of the taking of the Americas from the perspectives of the natives. It covers the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas, Cherokees, and Iroquois, in three segments: Invasion, Resistance, and Rebirth. Needless to say, the experience for each of these tribal groups was substantially different and, hearing it in their own voices is transformative.
The Goddess story that jumped out at me happened to one of the Aztec indios during the period of Resistance, and involves an ancient statue of the Aztec earth Goddess Coatlicue, also known as Tonantzin. This statue depicts the Goddess as having two rattlesnakes facing one another forming Her head, (see below, figure 1) a necklace of hands and hearts around Her neck ending in a dependent skull, Her body is entwined with rattler’s rattles, and Her feet lizard’s faces. Needless to say, the Catholic clergy and invaders were horrified beyond hope, even though She was the wife of the benign God, Quetzalcoatl.
Her main shrine stood on the hill of Tepeyacac, at the end of the northern causeway leading out of Mexico City. The Catholic hierarchy destroyed Her shrine, but was unable to destroy Her statue. Despite their preaching against Her, hundreds came “from hundreds of leagues around to celebrate the feast days of this goddess.” (p. 151, Stolen Continents) In 1531, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, a baptized Aztec was haunting the ruin on this very spot, and received a visit from the Virgin Mary. (The date coincides with the second great plague to sweep through Mexico.) “The Virgin told Juan that She had cured his uncle of smallpox; She then caused a painting of Herself to appear miraculously on his cloak. Years later, the miracle was accepted by Church authorities all too eager to believe in it.” (P.152, Stolen Continents)
This vision before the statue of Tonantzin became known widely as the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patroness of Mexico. She is still called Tonantzin in Nahuatl by the descendants of the Aztecs who recognize her as Coatlicue behind her Catholic trappings. The early Spanish friars tried desperately to teach their flocks that the Virgin could not be the same as Tonantzin, but were unable to convince them of the truth they knew in their hearts.
So when you see all those candles on the grocery store shelf that display the Virgin of Guadalupe, picture Coatlicue in all her glory standing behind the sanitized Christian image, and remember that the Earth is stronger than the priests who try to take away Her power because they are afraid to let Her be free!
There is more information on the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Wikipedia, although it tends to downplay the more flavorful of Her Aztec predecessor’s trappings. Here is the URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe