#nahual

[thesorceresstemple]

by Karel Thole

[sammroo167]

"Holding my world together with a boot string."

[coyotestudio13]

The Sixth Sun is a project that reimagines Aztec cosmology through the lens of modern humanity’s search for meaning. Set in present-day Mexico City, the story follows two musicians whose lives are changed when they encounter Huehuecóyotl, the ancient trickster god of music, fate, and rebellion. Through him, they discover that the myths of the past were never just stories...  And now, as the world teeters towards collapse, Huehuecoyotl must help humans define their own future using the gifts he gave them, and hope it is enough to awaken ancient Gods to change the fate of the world. 

The Sixth Sun is a story about creation as resistance-  about how, even when the world feels beyond repair, the act of creating becomes an act of survival.

The Sixth Sun reminds us that to create is to defy extinction.  Imagination is what keeps us human, and connects us to the ideas that came before us while dreaming of what will come after us. 

If you're interested in an audio drama accompanied by tons of original artwork and animation, and a talented group of musicians and voice actors, please give us a shot!

We are a queer led and disabled led studio.

The Sixth Sun is a project produced by Coyote Studio, featuring the music of Canadian Indie icon Rich Aucoin, and created by Abigail Roscoe, a disabled Canadian Mexican artist who's own story of resilience is one she hopes to share with other creatives. This project is a celebration of creativity and resilience, and what it means to be a creative in this world. 

[pintobeanconnoisseur]

uhhhhhh flambae and my dispatch oc GO!!!!

inspired by this of course

[stormofthesea]

Hiiii! I was wondering if you have any resources for Mesoamerican mythology that’s good? Can be a website or book or anything really. Trying (desperately) to reconnect with my culture.

Hi!! So, so sorry for not answering sooner, but life happened lol. I’m struggling finding resources myself, considering that many were destroyed (thanks to colonization), or they were traditionally shared orally within our cultures. Some of the best resources I’ve found are often anthropology and history books, but I highly recommend doing research into the authors as well, and determine for yourself whether you trust them or not. From my own personal list here some:

Books:

Aztec & Maya: The Complete Illustrated History by Charles Phillips

The Oxford World Mythology by David Leeming

Mythology: Myths and Legends of the World by Dr. Alice Mills

Goddess Stories: Discover their mythology by Alison Davies (Has some Aztec and Native American goddesses, a Brazilian one too!)

Deck:

The Nahualli Animal Oracle Deck by Caelum Raineri and Ivory Andersen

YouTube:

Eye of the Serpent

Native American author Edgar Martin del Campo shares lessons from the indigenous religions, cultures, and languages of North to South Americ

Websites:

Mexicolore

AztecCalendar.com provides a reading of the significance of any given day and presents the relevant gods or protectors according to the Azte

Mayan Astrology Calculator for Understanding Yourself

Discover your destiny with the Mayan astrology calculator. Unlock insights about your personality and life path.

It’s a small list, but I hope it helps! I’ll also be doing some more digging and try making more posts about the gods of the Mexica :)

[glimpse-of-gaia]

Kukulkan (Gukumatz)

Kukulkan is often regarded as a creator and civilizing god. As the Plumed Serpent, he embodies the union of earth and sky, water and wind – essentially a cosmic mediator. Quiché Maya lore (Popol Vuh) describes Gukumatz as one of the gods who spoke the world into existence, working alongside Huracan (Heart of Sky) to create humanity. He was counted among the thirteen deities who shaped the world.

After creation, Kukulkan/Gucumatz took on the role of culture hero: he is said to have taught humans the arts of civilization – law, agriculture, writing, medicine, fishing, etc., essentially all aspects of cultured life. This mirrors Itzamna’s portfolio, and indeed some traditions merge the two or consider Kukulkan an incarnation of Itzamna.

In Yucatec Maya history, Kukulkan was also the name of a legendary hero or group of people who arrived at Chichén Itzá, suggesting the god was a patron of certain Maya lineages or rulerships.

Astronomically, Kukulkan is strongly tied to Venus (the morning star). The feathered serpent has an evident presence in the Venus tables of the Dresden Codex – for example, Venus was often associated with warfare and upheaval, and the serpent could represent the sky omens. One could interpret the descending Kukulkan at equinox as Venus descending at dusk. Furthermore, as a wind god (by analogy to Quetzalcoatl-Ehecatl of the Aztecs), Kukulkan had sway over the breath of life and winds that bring rains or carry storms.

In Postclassic times, Kukulkan was at the center of a priesthood and oracles (like those at Mayapan) and became one of the most “universal” Maya gods, respected across many sites.

Kukulkan’s influence can be seen in the political and ceremonial life of the Postclassic Maya. Cities like Chichén Itzá and Mayapán dedicated major temples to him; worship of Kukulkan helped unite people, as he was a deity that transcended local city-gods and had pan-Maya appeal. This feathered serpent was invoked in royal ceremonies – rulers liked to trace connections to Kukulkan to bolster their authority, claiming to uphold the law and order that Kukulkan established.

For ordinary people, Kukulkan represented the promise of prosperity and knowledge. Farmers could see him in the timely wind that brought rain clouds; craftsmen and scribes might honor him when practicing their arts, since those arts were his gift. The equinox festival, when the shadow-serpent slithers down the pyramid, would draw crowds a time when the populace witnessed their god manifest in nature and architecture, renewing the covenant that planting season was to begin with divine favor.

Kukulkan was also believed to be a protector: stories tell that he ruled wisely and then departed with a promise to return. This gave hope in times of hardship that the Plumed Serpent’s return would restore order. In daily moral life, Kukulkan’s example as a lawgiver meant that codes of conduct and community laws were seen as sanctioned by the gods. Even after the Spanish conquest, the concept of a returning great lord persisted (some saw Cortés as a possible fulfillment), showing how deeply Kukulkan’s myth influenced the Maya mindset.

In essence, Kukulkan touched the Maya world by providing the foundations of their society and the reassurance that the cosmos was orderly and benevolent, as long as his teachings were honored.

.

.

.

#tulum #quanjobal #azteca #mayancalendar #ruins #visitmexico #olmec #travelgram #native #huehuetenango #ancestralknowledge #love #cancun #kukulkan #language #rivieramaya #ancient #chuj #mayacalendar #astronomy #amaya #mayanastronomy #uinal #tzolkin #culturamaya #baktun #katun #tun #winal #kin #eclipse #pottery #nahual #nahuales #acanceh #yucatan #ceramicart #lord #mayan #mexico #maya #aztec #mesoamerica #indigenous #travel #guatemala #yucatan #mexica #art #mayanruins #mayanculture #history #mayas #chichenitza #cemanahuac #anahuac #culture #photography #nativeamerican #nature #travelphotography #chujmaya #mexican #kanjobal #nativelanguage #inca #teotihuacan #history #precolumbia #toltec #culture #indigenousamerican #xico #aztecmythology #huitzilopochtli #travelphotography #olmecs #mythology #olmec #pyramid #tlaloc #teotihuacanpyramids #kukulkan

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played NAHUAL ?

by Miguel Angel Espinoza

Playing as Mexican shapeshifting angel hunters.

A Powered by the Apocalypse game

Have you played ?

Yes I have played it

No but I've read it

No but I've heard of it

Never heard of it

Voting ended onMar 10, 2025

[alpaca-clouds]

So, some theories about Coyote and/or Mephistopheles

Alright, I will throw my proverbial hat into the ring in terms of trying to come up with a theory about this. Because I am not exactly sold on the most popular theory right now that old man Coyote and/or Mephistopheles is a new manifestation of Death. The main reason for that is, that Coyote is a bit too important in regards to indigenous mythologies. So having Coyote be Death, who is a fairly one-note villain, would definitely feel quite a bit disrespectful.

Well, y'all know where you are. So of course we will talk about some history. Duh.

Mephistopheles

I think most of us will know that Mephistopheles originates with the Faustus myth. So let me talk shortly about Johann Georg Faust, who was a real person, who lived in Germany around the change from the 15th to the 16th century. (From all we know, he lived from 1466 to 1540, though the dates are not fully certain, as it often is the case with older dates.) Details about his life are really hard to construct, because he became such a popular character in fiction very shortly after his death, that it is just super hard to differentiate fiction from reality. We know, however, that he was an alchemist, astrologist and magician - whatever the latter is supposed to mean at the time. Later people also claimed he was a con man. From all we know (though again, this is not certain) he died by blowing himself up with an alchemical experiment, which definitely is on brand.

If it was just that, we would probably not really remember the guy. Sure, he might have a Wikipedia article still, but hist name would not be recognized by thousands if not millions of people. No, this happened because in 1587 a book was printed, called "Historia von D. Johann Fausten". We don't know the author, just the publisher (Johann Spies). And this story then caught the attention of the Englishman Christopher Marlowe, who made something of a rewrite and translation of it a few years later as the play "Doctor Faustus", which a long while later would then serve as inspiration for Goethe and his interpretation of the story.

The rough outline however is always the same: Faust is a theologist, who wants to acquire knowledge and finds himself limited by the at the time slow advance of science. A devil Mephistopheles shows up, who serves Lucifer, and offers Faust a lot of knowledge and magic in exchange for his soul. Faust accepts. Depending on which version you read, what follows is either tragedy or a lot of magic hijinks, though the moral of the story is always: "Do not be too greedy with knowledge."

Since we do not have any sources referencing Mephistopheles prior to the printing of the Historia, we are fairly certain that whoever wrote that book made Mephistopheles up. Meaning: This figure was not based in prior myths or historical believes. Or to put it differently: Mephistopheles goes back to 1587. He did not "exist" in the real world - not even as an idea - prior to this date.

After the Faust story got so popular, though, other stories definitely picked up on Mephistopheles and put him into a variety of other stories as a trickster demon, who would often seduce good men into doing back things - often with the goal of gaining power or knowledge or both.

Old Man Coyote

Meanwhile, Coyote is a character who shows up throughout indigenous North American mythology, and - as someone has rightfully pointed out - somewhat also in Nahua mythology (Nahua = Aztec, I am trying to use the endonym rather than the exonym).

See, in Nahua mythology there is a god called Huehuecoyotl, and as you might guess: Coyotl indeed means coyote. To be exact the name translates to "Old Coyote", which indeed is quite close to "Old Man Coyote". ;)

Huehuecoyotl is (according to Wikipedia, because I still have not found a good book on Nahua mythology - please, someone, recommend me something) the Nahua song of song, dance, mischief and also of uninhibited sexuality. Because of this, he was - like so many trickster gods - also technically genderfluid, as he could take whatever form he liked. He would often play tricks on other gods and on humans too, at times even cause wars. But like with other Coyote stories, these often would fall back on him.

Which brings me to all those other versions of Coyote.

While Coyote does not show up in every North American indigenous culture, he certainly shows up in many of them. The most well known Coyote myths are obviously of Navajo origin, bout the Navajo are not the only culture featuring Coyote.

Coyote is pretty much always a trickster, and like many tricksters he is generally a positive figure, but also morally grey. While in many myths he is responsible for some creations of the world, he will usually also often cause misery to others and also himself. He also often dies gruesome deaths, but finds then ways to come back from them.

In some myths he will also take up the role of a culture hero, meaning that he will be responsible for bringing the human certain things, like fire or language. Even as Coyote he does at times appear as a shapeshifter of sorts, though this is not always a given.

Coyote shows up in more than 20 different mythologies that we know off. While his general role as a trickster is often the same, the finer details will definitely differ a lot.

So, the Theory

So, the Spanish conquest of the Nahua happened in 1519. And we also know that in general around the turn of the century the genocide in the Americas was so bad that it possibly created a fucking climate change! (It got colder because so much CO2 got sucked from the atmosphere.)

And so my suspicion here is, that Coyote, the trickster (I am not fully sure if it is specifically Huehuecoyotl, or a generic Coyote), went over to Europe after the indigenous cultures were genocided, to exact revenge. And when he went over to Europe, he took up an identity that worked better with the believes of the people in Europe: Mephistopheles.

He might also have taken some other identities in some other cultures.

The reason I do not really think it is Death (even though timeline wise it could obviously also match up, given that the entire Faust thing mainly happened just after the events of the first four seasons) is really that Death was a very one-note villain. And it just would not feel right to me to make Coyote - who is definitely not one-note - as Death.