The Mesoamerican civilizations represent a long continuum of complex societies that emerged independently in Central America and southern Mexico from roughly 1500 BCE to the early 16th century CE, prior to Spanish conquest. Rather than a single empire or linear progression, Mesoamerica was shaped by successive cultural horizons in which shared ideas, such as maize agriculture, ritual calendars, urban ceremonial centers, and sacred kingship, were continually adapted to local environments and political structures. These societies developed without large domesticated animals or metal tools, relying instead on intensive agriculture, labor organization, and sophisticated knowledge systems.
Communicates cosmic balance, the interaction of humans, deities, and natural forces, and the importance of ritual in sustaining harmony between realms.
The jaguar and serpent, celestial offerings, and shamanic figures all reinforce the Olmec worldview of a universe alive with spiritual forces.
I designed one of my favourite trans and fem characters in culture. she is a true artist to me!
The Tenant
(appeared in The Art of Dreaming by Carlos Castaneda, 1993, chapters 11-13)
I believe that artist can only draw what they understand (intentionally or not) and what they can recreate in their mind. The Tenant can recreate an entire town in her mind, with every detail - even a church, inside and outside!
want to note, that she has had more than one human lifetime to practice this art.
here is a description of her visualisation technique, if you’re curious:
Her story was that the sorcerers of her line practiced the art of projecting their thoughts in dreaming in order to accomplish the truthful reproduction of any object or structure or landmark or scenery of their choice.
She said that the sorcerers of her line used to start by gazing at a simple object and memorizing every detail of it. They would then close their eyes and visualize the object and correct their visualization against the true object until they could see it, in its completeness, with their eyes shut. The next thing in their developing scheme was to dream with the object and create in the dream, from the point of view of their own perception, a total materialization of the object. This act, the woman said, was called the first step to total perception.
From a simple object, those sorcerers went on to take more and more complex items. Their final aim was for all of them together to visualize a total world, then dream that world and thus re-create a totally veritable realm where they could exist.
"When any of the sorcerers of my line were able to do that," the woman went on, "they could easily pull anyone into their intent, into their dream. This is what I am doing to you now, and what I did to all the naguals of your line."
one thing I'd like to add is that nevertheless she is a final mentor in magic for the main character, she can easily become his enemy. also she tends to create struggles even for her allies just because that’s how she is. it's quite intriguing and funny to me.
