One reliable source notes the cardinal-point nature of Quetzalcoatl as the wind, supporting once more the cosmic legitimacy for the layout of many Mesoamerican ceremonial centers. That which was known as the wind was addressed as Quetzalcoatl. From four directions it traveled.^[i]

Belief in the spiritual principle was the very basis of Quetzalcóatl’s religion by clearly showing that humans are the incarnation of a celestial particle (divine spark).^[ii] To visualize this, Quetzalcóatl’s original message was symbolized by the hieroglyph “burning water.” However various scholars have taken the “burning water” imagery to solely represent the Aztec’s “war of flowers” which had the purpose of capturing prisoners for sacrifice and not the internal struggle of uniting within the heart the opposing elements of fire and water— “burning water.” 

In our quest of the Four Winds, “the internal war in the human heart was resolved by reconciliation of the two opposite forces symbolized by water and fire, for only then could the body bud and flower from fleshly matter into spirit as man finally freed himself from duality.”^[iii]

In other words, the goal of our quest is to let our hearts blossom as a flower as we awaken and become a Quetzalcóatl—a feathered-plumed serpent. The quest is difficult and demanding. To assist us we need a spiritual compass that will help guide us on a path to enlightenment. Our compass will point us through the awakening knowledge of the Four Winds i.e., four directions. Since Quetzalcóatl was known as the Lord of the Winds, we need to master each direction before entering into the center of the medicine wheel to become a feathered serpent, in other words to awaken as an Hombre Dios – divine human.

According to Laurette Séjourné concerning Quetzalcoatl’s religion: belief, myths, hieroglyphs and rituals all point to the fact that the only true god is the Sun: the other entities all appear as simple aspects of this central figure.^[iv] This Sun, the only true god, is the Sun behind the sun; the Absolute, the Divine.

She goes on stating “that the vast poetic construction that expresses Nahuatl thought tirelessly repeats the adventure of the man who becomes the sun.”^[v] This refers to awakening the dormant divine spark within our heart–awakening and blossoming the flower of our inner sun. In other words, Quetzalcóatl’s religion is the antípodas of all theology in which God is of an essence different from his creature.^[vi]

It then stands to reason that Quetzalcóatl’s religion was one of transformation through direct experience and self-sacrifice and to finally awaken as a feathered-plumed serpent—a divine human being. Thus, our journey is one of personal transformation, awakening our inner sun—our deified heart, our flower heart.

At a certain point in our journey, we need to die—not physically but symbolically. By experiencing symbolic death, the fear of physical death has less of a hold on us. Thus, we need to die to our old self, our unhealthy dualistic ego, to be reborn in the West as an illuminous warrior. This then provides us with the extraordinary courage to be authentic and to open our heart so it will flower as our body buds and blossoms. Our heart becomes our face resulting in our personal liberation—freedom from dualism.

“The term Teotihuacán evokes the idea of human divinity and shows that the City of the Gods was the very place where the serpent learned to miraculously to fly; that is, where the individual, through inner growth, attained to the category of a celestial being.”^[vii] Furthermore, “the religion of Quetzalcóatl … was a highly inspired system of intuitive thought yielding insights about life, death, and rebirth that provided the basis for a culture—Teotihuacán—that ranks with those of ancient Egypt, and more recently Tibet, in the splendor and integrity of its spiritual purpose.”^[viii]

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[i] David Carrasco, Quetzalcoatl and the Irony of Empire, 98.

[ii] Laurette Séjourné, Burning Water, 55.

[iii] Frank Waters, Mexico Mystique, 183.

[iv] Laurette Séjourné, El Universo de Quetzalcóatl, 132.

[v] Ibid, 132.

[vi] Ibid, 132 – 133.

[vii] Laurette Séjourné, Burning Water, 85 – 86.

[viii] Ibid, Introduction.