TOLTEC THEOLOGY

The theological proposal of the Toltecs is as follows:

1. The existence of a Unique God called Téotl, divine or the divine one, also conceived as Téotl-Quetzalcóatl.
2. Téotl, who is the Totality or the Absolute, manifests existence through a dual activity called Ometéotl.
3. Ometéotl, to manifest existence, emanates five creative aspects called the Tezcatlipocas.
4. These creative aspects or Tezcatlipocas manifest themselves simultaneously as five human messengers of the Plumed Serpent or Quetzalcóatl.

The meaning of the word Quetzalcóatl for the native inhabitants of Anáhuac

The first starting point of Toltec theology is that there is only one Unique God called Téotl, divine or the divine one, also conceived as Téotl-Quetzalcóatl.

First and foremost, it is important to understand that the word Quetzalcóatl is the Nahuatl name for the Absolute Being. It comes from cóatl, serpent, and quetzal, feather: Plumed Serpent. From a cosmic point of view, the word cóatl, serpent, refers to existence in general, while the word quetzal refers to transcendence. From a human point of view, cóatl then refers to our human material nature, while quetzal refers to our spiritual and divine nature.

However, the word Quetzalcóatl carried a wealth of conceptual content for the Nahua people, and due to this, it is important to separate all these conceptual contents to analyze them one by one:

1. First and foremost, from a cosmic point of view, the word cóatl refers to existence in general, while the word quetzal refers to divine transcendence. When the two words are combined, Quetzalcóatl implies Totality or the Absolute; that is, existence and transcendence simultaneously fused into one.
2. Secondly, as already mentioned, from a human point of view, cóatl refers to our human material nature, while quetzal refers to our spiritual and divine nature. This implies that when a human being manages to merge their human material nature with their spiritual nature, they become a “human Quetzalcóatl,” thereby achieving lesser illumination. On the other hand, when they merge their human nature with their divine nature, they become a “cosmic Quetzalcóatl,” thereby achieving greater and final illumination.
3. On the other hand, the word quetzal also carries the sense of something precious, due to the beautiful green plumage of the quetzal bird and the bluish-green stones of jade or turquoise. This sense of the preciousness of the quetzal feather clarifies the metaphor according to which the birth of the messengers of Quetzalcóatl occurred when E’ekateotl, the divine spirit, penetrated the womb of a virgin girl or ascetic in the form of jade or a feather, impregnating her.
4. The word quetzal also signifies femininity, as it was a common name among Mexica girls, suggesting that Quetzalcóatl was an androgynous or hermaphroditic deity. This is demonstrated when we observe that when praying to Quetzalcóatl, the Mexicas referred to him as Teteoinan Teteoitta, mother and father of the gods. In other words, the word Quetzalcóatl contained within it the idea of the fusion of the masculine and feminine into one that transcended duality or opposing poles.
5. The word Quetzalcóatl also alludes to the birth and recurrence of cycles. For example, the words quetzil and quetza, both mean to step, take a step, stand up, pause on the path, leave a trace, indicating the birth and recurrence of cycles.
6. Then, as a verb, quetza has two meanings: to fertilize and to abort. Implying that Quetzalcóatl, the Plumed Serpent, had the power to create and destroy life, a concept intertwined with giving birth and ending the cycles of time. It should be noted that by doubling the root quetza, the verb quequetza is formed, which means the dilation of time, the succession of ages, implying the appearance and disappearance of cycles of recurring manifestation.
7. Other meanings of the quetz root are to announce and advise. This is why the conch shell messenger alluded to the recurring manifestations of the Plumed Serpent, one of whose titles was Tloa’toani, those of the word, those worthy of speaking and advising. It should be noted that by combining quetz with the particle tla, we get the word tlaquetza, which means to tell stories, for example, to sustain the identity of the people through the word.
8. Another sense of tlaquetza was a column, support, and it alluded to Quetzalcóatl as the axis of the Cosmos: as the upholder of the laws of nature and, through its messengers, as the ideological bulwark of their civilization. It should be noted that the Maya name for the messengers or heralds of Quetzalcóatl was bacab, which means columns, staffs. On the other hand, in the tlaquetza code, it was the spinal column, the main channel through which the forces of life flow in the individual. This is why Quetzalcóatl was often depicted as a spine or a serpent emerging from the spinal cord.
9. Finally, the quetz root and its variant quech referred to the mane and beard, distinctive physical attributes of the messengers of Quetzalcóatl. It should be noted that the mane and beard represented the rays of the sun and the illuminated or “solar” state of the messengers of Quetzalcóatl.

After analyzing the conceptual meanings related to the word quetzal, let us now examine the conceptual meanings related to the word cóatl.

10. The direct meaning of cóatl is serpent. The serpent, one of the most prominent icons in Mexican art, implies wisdom due to the subtlety of its movements. Furthermore, its elongated form resembled the human spinal column and also served as a symbol of the axis of the Cosmos.
11. Then, the second meaning used for cóatl is double, twin. This is why one of the most commonly used translations of Quetzalcóatl was precious twin. This is related to the Nahuatl teaching that all living beings possess a “double” or counterpart of the physical body called Nagual, which, philosophically, could be understood as the unique being from which all Tonals or manifest beings emanate. Psychologically, it could be understood as the state that the human being must achieve, the potential for self-realization and a state of consciousness that must be obtained through Toltec practices. From a social standpoint, the nagual was the wise person or shaman of Anahuac society.
12. In Nahuatl tradition, the serpent also represents the male sexual member and, with it, the possibility of creating life. Consider the words yecóatl, sexual act, and cóatlaca, human generation. This term, cóatl, combined with the previously mentioned feminine attributes of quetzal, implies Quetzalcóatl’s capacity to be the mother and father of all existence.
13. Finally, another meaning of the word cóatl is navel. It is through this point that the fetus is nourished from its conception, and the Toltecs affirmed that energy was concentrated at this point. Hence, another one of its meanings is center. It should be noted that the term cóatl could be written in two ways: pictographically, using the image of a serpent, and phonetically, combining two hieroglyphs, co, vessel, womb, and atl, water. This could be understood as the place (the womb) where energy is found in the form of sexual fluids of both men and women (the water) and which must be transmuted upward in the body (burnt water) for the human being (serpent) to achieve the awakening and spiritual realization that turns them into a Quetzalcóatl.

As we can see, the breadth of images evoked by the word Quetzalcóatl for the native inhabitants of Anahuac was enormous. It implied concepts such as the Absolute Being, the cause of spiritual enlightenment, the plumed serpent, precious twin, bird of the ages, gem of cycles, precious navel or center, the one with serpent beards, the precious advisor, divine duality, feminine-masculine, and more.

Teotl and Ometeotl

Teotl:

The second point of Toltec theology explains that Teotl, which is the Totality or the Absolute, manifests existence through a dual activity called Ometeotl.

In reality, the belief that the native inhabitants of Mesoamerica were polytheistic and not monotheistic stems from the common use in religious language of the term “teteo,” gods. Without fully understanding that all these “gods” only represented aspects or powers of a single and unique Absolute Being called Teotl or Teotl-Quetzalcoatl. In other words, although each of the aspects or powers of the Feathered Serpent behaved like an independent deity, they were not more than that: an aspect or power born from the same essence. That is why the informants of Tlatelolco reported to Father Sahagún that their ancestors believed in a single god:

“They had only one god, the One God, whom they invoked: His name was Quetzalcoatl… The priest of their god used to tell them: God is One. Quetzalcoatl is His name. He asks for nothing. Only serpents, butterflies (body and soul) you shall offer him.” (Florentine Codex)

Now let’s see how Teotl, the divine or the divine one, transforms into Ometeotl:

For Toltec wisdom, Ometeotl was conceived as a transcendent principle that reconciled all polarities. In fact, popular books often translate the name Ometeotl as “dual god” or “Lord and Lady of duality.” And the existence manifested by Ometeotl was then understood as an integrated field of harmonious forces where opposing poles were reconciled.

Ometeōtl (Nahuatl, “Two gods”) is a name used to refer to the pair of Aztec deities Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl. Ome translates as “two” or “dual” in Nahuatl and teotl translates as “god”. The existence of such a concept and its significance is a matter of dispute among scholars of Mesoamerican religion. Ometeotl was one as the first divinity, and Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl when the being became two to be able to reproduce all creation.

Ometeotl, the divine uni-dual-trinity

(What is written below about Ometeotl is a hypothesis yet to be corroborated by the official Anthropology).

However, to fully understand the complete meaning of the word Ometeotl, it is prudent to break it down into its parts. It is formed by Teotl, divine, plus the roots Om and E, synthesized in the number Ome, two. Therefore, the initial impression is that the name Ometeotl should be translated and understood as divine duality alone. In other words, the polarities that, by interacting, give shape to existence, to the Universe.

But Nahuatl rules imply that when two terms are combined, the first one loses its final syllable. This happens to the term Ome, which, when compounded with another word, only remains as Om or On. Thus, a concept like “dual god” by itself would properly be called Onteotl, unless one wants to emphasize the meaning of the syllable E.

On the other hand, the root E, pronounced ye, ei, or yei, depending on whether it is preceded by a vowel, ends the word, or appears in isolation, means three. Therefore, the complete meaning of Ometeotl is essentially trinitarian since it contains Om (two), E (three), and Teotl (divine or the divine one). Thus, the essential and complete sense of Ometeotl is not just dual god alone, but the divine uni-dual-trinity. And this is demonstrated when we see that the Mesoamericans preferred to represent Ometeotl with a triangle (with three small circles drawn inside the triangle) and the glyph for “binding,” which expresses the integration of three into one.

Proof of this can be found in the only definition preserved in a direct source of the term Ometeotl, which describes the trinity in a schematic form and leaves no doubt that the Mexicas understood Ometeotl in a trine sense:

“Omeyacan: this is as if we said the first cause, by another name called Ometeotl, which is the same as Lord of Three Dignities… (Whose aspects are) Olombris (from whom existence flows), Hivenavi (the dispenser of bliss), and Nipaniuhca (the one who mediates or synthesizes).” (Vatican Codex 3738)

Other references to Ometeotl as a trine deity include, for example:

“When the gods wanted to create the Sun, they did penance to deserve it, offering the Three Great precious pearls, incense, and other very rich things.” (Teogonía e Historia de los Mexicanos)

“The time is measured in which we can praise the magnificence of the Three, and measured is the time in which we find the protection of the Sun.” (Chilam Balam de Chumayel)

The Popol Vuh also calls the three essences of Ometeotl the “heart of heaven”:

“Behold how the Sky and the Heart of Heaven existed, which is the name of God. It was covered with green and blue feathers, that is why it is called the Feathered Serpent… Its first name is Lightning, the second Subtle Footprint of Lightning, and the third Ray that Strikes. The Three are the Heart of Heaven.” (Popol Vuh I. 1,2)

This vision of a trine god, Ometeotl, also influenced the conception of the messianic phenomenon, understood as the triple manifestation of the same power. For example, in the Nuttall Codex, the descent of the Quetzalcoatl Consciousness into the world is represented as three warrior messengers falling from the sky of Venus, each carrying a shield and three arrows in their right hand, symbols of unity and trinity, while with their left hand, they release their respective attributes towards the earth: stone (earth), lightning (fire), and water, the elements through which creation was accomplished.

A similar idea appears in a Maya document, the Title of Totonicapan, which narrates how the Feathered Serpent took the form of three youths who played an important role in establishing the predominance of the Quiche over the southeastern Maya.

Similarly, the Chilam Balam recounts a similar event, explaining that three important historical figures arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula in the 10th century AD: “The (Lord) of the Palace came, the priest who came to measure these lands. Then came the (Lord) of the Tree of Depth and stirred the earth. But the one who swept it clean was the Lord Sweeper. Then it dawned for them. A new lord, a new awakening for the earth.”

With what has been said here it is clear that for the native inhabitants of Anahuac, Ometeotl represented not only a dual god (the Lord and Lady of duality) who generated the material universe, but also a trine deity or three essences that were one.

The Five Emanations of Ometeotl: The Tezcatlipocas

Previous articles discussed the first two of the four points of Toltec theology. This article focuses on the third point, which explains how Ometeotl unfolds into five aspects, powers, or creative energies to give birth to existence or the manifested universe.

The Nahuatl legend explains that at the beginning of time, Ometeotl projected a duality called Omecíhuatl and Ometecuhtli, the lady and lord of duality. They are also known as Tonacacíhuatl and Tonacatecuhtli, the lady and lord of our sustenance. This primordial couple cohabited in the darkness and gave birth to four children called Tezcatlipocas, the smoke of the mirror. Here is the account of their birth:

“They had a god named Tonacatecuhtli, who took Tonacacíhuatl as his wife, and they always dwelled in the sky thirteen times, and their origin was never known. This god and goddess gave birth to four children. The eldest was named Tlatlauhqui (red). The second was Yayauhqui (black). The third was Quetzalcoatl. The fourth and youngest was Huitzilopochtli (left-handed hummingbird) because he was left-handed, and the people of Mexico considered him their principal god.” (Teogonía e Historia de los Mexicanos)

In other documents, such as the Borgia Codex, the four Tezcatlipocas, in turn, projected themselves from a ball of incense as emanations of a fifth Tezcatlipoca, who remains above the other four, holding two scepters in the shape of dragon jaws, indicating that he is the creator and destroyer of cycles. Because they were five, they were depicted as a five-pointed star, symbolizing the unity of the quinary and the cycle of Venus.

Therefore, in the Fejervary Codex, the five Tezcatlipocas are depicted as follows: the initiator or fifth (depending on whether he initiates a cycle or destroys or ends a cycle) is drawn in the center, and the remaining four are drawn surrounding the central one: one in the north (Tezcatlipoca, the black one), another in the east (Quetzalcoatl, the white one), another in the south (Huitzilopochtli, the green one), and another in the west (Xipe Tótek, the red one).

But what do these beings, the Tezcatlipocas, represent? The Nahuatl word “poca” or “popoca” means smoking and also reflection or radiance. In other words, they represent the five aspects and powers, or the five rays or vibrational energy tones, whose combination produces all existence, the manifested universe in its entirety. The equivalent of these five powers or emanations in humans are the five senses that connect them to the perceived existence. That’s why they were depicted with the basic colors of existence (white, black, green-blue, yellow, and red), nicknamed the “Tonaleque,” the luminous ones. This is explained in the following text:

“The Mexicans believed that there were thirteen heavens… In the fifth (dwelled) five gods, each of different color, and for that reason (they were called) Tonaleque.” (Teogonía e Historia III.99)

In this view, these Tonaleques can be considered not as personal gods but rather as the executive powers of the Supreme Being, Teotl-Quetzalcóatl, emanated in turn from the first emanation of the Supreme Being called Ometeotl. In other words, for existence to be Teotl-Quetzalcóatl, it initially emanates Ometeotl from itself, and then Ometeotl, in turn, emanates the five Tezcatlipocas, which then generate or emanate the entire universe or existence through their interaction.

According to the myth, each of them manifested during the dominance of a cosmic age:

1. The first to appear was Yayau’ki, the black or spotted Tezcatlipoca, who contained in potential the attributes that his brothers would later display.
2. The second was Shoshou’ki, the green or liberated Tezcatlipoca, adored as Tláloc, the lord of rain and fertility.
3. The third was Chichiltic, the red Tezcatlipoca, also known as Xipe Tótek, our flayed lord.
4. The fourth was Istac, the white Tezcatlipoca, better known as Quetzalcoatl.
5. The fifth in the series, whose spokesperson is awaited precisely in this era, as we have seen in other articles (the return or Fifth Step of the Feathered Serpent), is, due to its capacity to summarize the series, the Tezcatlipoca nicknamed Macuilxóchitl, the five-flower, and was represented by a flower with four petals in which all colors merge.

Regarding the fourth point of Toltec theology, namely the five human spokespersons of the Feathered Serpent, manifestations of the five Tezcatlipocas, this will be addressed in a future article.

But before we conclude, a final comment on the name Tezcatlipoca (smoke of the mirror): one part of the name is a mirror that, regardless of the objects reflected in it, remains unaltered. Therefore, this part of the name refers to what never changes, to the immutability and eternity of transcendence. On the other hand, the word “smoke” and also “reflection” or “radiance” indicates that these Tezcatlipocas, by generating existence, can obscure and confuse humans and make them believe that the countless reflections in the mirror, that is, the countless objects and beings that appear and disappear in manifested existence, are the only truth, although mutable, temporal, and ephemeral. They fail to perceive the mirror itself, which in this context equates to the Indivisible One, to Teotl-Quetzalcóatl, which is the Totality or the Absolute. In other words, transcendence (the mirror) and existence (reflections of the mirror) fused as an indivisible unity.

The Five Manifestations of the Tezcatlipocas: The Five Human Messengers of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent

This article discusses the fourth point of Toltec theology, which focuses on the five human messengers of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. But before delving into that, let’s briefly touch upon the first three of the four points of Toltec theology:

The first point teaches that there is only one God, Teotl, divine or the divine one, also conceived as Teotl-Quetzalcoatl. It is important to note that the term Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, primarily represents the Supreme Being in Toltec belief, symbolizing the One, the Wholeness, and the Absolute. It signifies the fusion and unity of existence (serpent) and transcendence (the quetzal feathers). In this view, Quetzalcoatl is considered the creator of the world through cycles of gradual development, imprinting his evolutionary intent progressively. This process unfolds as follows: first, creating the mineral realm, then the plant realm, followed by the animal realm, and subsequently the emergence of early human civilizations. Finally, the cultural human beings appeared. At this point, the Consciousness of Quetzalcoatl incarnated in a human physical body and subsequently in others, initiating a lineage of messengers who kept alive the flame of his message within civilization. To better understand the entire process, let’s explore the next two points of Toltec theology.

The second point explains that Teotl or Teotl-Quetzalcoatl, in order to manifest existence and create the universe, initially unfolds a dual called Ometeotl. Ometeotl can be understood as the lord of the universe, the creator of all existence. Furthermore, to manifest existence, Toltec theology explains that Ometeotl projects five aspects, powers, or creative energies from itself, known as the five Tezcatlipocas. The third point of Toltec theology focuses precisely on these five Tezcatlipocas.

Finally, the fourth point of Toltec theology explains that these five creative aspects, the five Tezcatlipocas that have manifested existence, manifest in the human realm as five human messengers of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. Each of them carries the intention of delivering their message to civilization. However, it is important to understand that these five human messengers of the Feathered Serpent, which we are referring to here, appear within a great cycle of time known as the “Fifth Sun,” lasting 5,125 years. The process unfolds as follows:

The initiator of the cycle, or Fifth Sun, 5,125 years ago (3113 BCE), was called Hunnalye, the Unique Corn Seed. This initiator is considered an emanation of the fifth Tezcatlipoca, Macuilxochitl, the Five Flower. As we will see later, this initiator and the fifth messenger who concludes the cycle of the Fifth Sun are one and the same. This is why in the image from the Codex Borgia, the four Tezcatlipocas project from an incense ball as emanations of the fifth Tezcatlipoca, who remains above them all, holding two scepters resembling dragon jaws, indicating that he is the creator and destroyer of cycles.

1. Next, around the 21st century BCE, Huracán, the Sky Stirrer, appeared as the first messenger or First Step of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. This messenger is considered an emanation of the first black Tezcatlipoca, Yayau’ki.
2. Approximately a millennium later, Cabracán, the Earth Stirrer, emerged as the second messenger or Second Step of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. This messenger is considered an emanation of the second green Tezcatlipoca, Shoshou’ki.
3. Subsequently, around the 1st century BCE, Yekshitl, the Third Step, appeared as the third messenger or Third Step of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent. This messenger is considered an emanation of the third red Tezcatlipoca, Chichiltik.
4. Later, around a thousand years later, in the second half of the 10th century CE, Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl, the Fourth Messenger or Fourth Step of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, emerged. This messenger is considered an emanation of the fourth white Tezcatlipoca, known as Quetzalcoatl.
5. Finally, the fifth messenger or Fifth Step of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, who is expected precisely in this era, is named Xochipilli, Prince of Flowers or Precious Flower. His mission is to close the cycle of the Fifth Sun and inaugurate the future Sixth Sun. This messenger is considered (like the initiator of the cycle or Fifth Sun) an emanation of the fifth Tezcatlipoca, called Macuilxochitl, the Five Flower, from whom the original four Tezcatlipocas also emanated. Finally, they merge with him to bring an end to the great cycle of time known as the Fifth Sun.

The Return of Quetzalcoatl and the Humanity of the New Sun

“Forever will my voice proclaim the word of truth!” (Chilam Balam, Jaculatories)

“The time has come, the hour has arrived, the Humanity of the New Sun is born.

Behold its sign now! The world will dawn for those who understand.”

(Chilam Balam, “book of the priest-interpreter,” Mayan sacred text)