Quetzalcoatl, Aztec Dragon

"....I shall leave my song-image on Earth. My heart shall live, it will come back..."

Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec dragon-being who, through self-sacrifice, organized the cosmos and formed a world nourishing both man's physical and spiritual life. He created the fifth cycle of mankind by using the ancestor's ashes and bones to give their bodies form. Knowing humans must be connected to Heaven and the essence of the Divine for their survival, he used his own blood to animate them and thus became humanity's protector.

Also known as the "Feathered Serpent," Quetzalcoatl is the ancient cultural hero among the Aztec, the Toltec and other Middle American peoples. Legends attribute him with being the son of the virgin goddess Coatlicue and is often described as having light hair and skin. As the father of culture, Quetzalcoatl introduced agriculture (ie. the growing of maize), the calendar, monotheism, music and dance, arts and crafts. Varying stories show him to be a gentle deity who requested the end of human sacrifice, accepting butterflies and serpents instead. In his dragon form he ruled the wind, the rain and the fertility of the Earth, the cycles of human sustenance. As a celestial and terrestrial being he was man's magical connection to the mysteries of Heaven and the sacred earthly realm.

When he was driven away by war he promised to return to his people one day. Some accounts have him leaving in a dragon boat or on a raft of serpents. Some believe he sacrificed his human body and flew off into the sky to become the bright planet we know as Venus. By sacrificing himself and empowering mankind, Quetzalcoatl left behind a legacy of knowledge, culture, and the secrets of creation and rebirth, gifting man with the potential for greater enlightenment.