Vision Serpent depicted on lintel 15 from Yaxchilan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatlupload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/London_176.jpgen.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:YaxchilanDivineSerpent.jpgQuetzalcoatl - feathered serpent
boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=492957whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered-serpent".
The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacanmarker in the Late Preclassic through the Early Classic period (400 BCE– 600CE) of Mesoamerican chronology - "Teotihuacan arose as a new religious center in the Mexican Highland, around the time of Christ..." -- whereafter it appears to have spread throughout Mesoamerica by the Late Classic (600 –- 900 CE) (Ringle et al.). In the Postclassic period (900 – 1519 CE) the worship of the feathered serpent deity was centered in the central Mexican religious center of Cholula. It is in this period that the deity is known to have been named "Quetzalcoatl" by his Nahua followers. In the Maya area he was known as Kukulcan or Ququmatz, names that also translate as "feathered serpent" in different Mayan languages. In the era following the 16th-century Spanish Conquest a number of sources were written that describe the god "Quetzalcoatl" and relates him to a ruler of the mythico-historic city of Tollan called by the names "Ce Acatl", "Topiltzin", "Nacxitl" or "Quetzalcoatl". It is a matter of much debate among historians to which degree, or whether at all, these narratives about this legendary Toltec ruler Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl describe actual historical events . Furthermore early Spanish sources written by clerics tend to identify the god-ruler "Quetzalcoatl" of these narratives with either Hernán Cortés or St. Thomas—an identification which is also a source of diversity of opinions about the nature of "Quetzalcoatl".
Among the Aztecs, whose beliefs are the best-documented in the historical sources, Quetzalcoatl was related to gods of the wind, of Venus, of the dawn, of merchants and of arts, crafts and knowledge. He was also the patron god of the Aztec priesthood, of learning and knowledge. Quetzalcoatl was one of several important gods in the Aztec pantheon along with the gods Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli.
Feathered Serpent deity in Mesoamerica
A feathered Serpent deity has been worshipped by many different ethno-political groups in Mesoamerican history. The existence of such worship can be seen through studies of iconography of different mesoamerican cultures, in which serpent motifs are frequent. Based on the different symbolic systems used in portrayals of the feathered serpent deity in different cultures and periods scholars have interpreted the religious and symbolic meaning of the feathered serpent deity in Mesoamerican cultures.
spacecollective.org/NeilkQuetzalcoatl (pronounced ke.ʦal.ˈko.waːtɬ) is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and means "feather-serpent". To the Mayans, the feathered serpent was known as Kukulcan or Ququmatz. To the Aztecs, Quetzalcoatl was related to gods of the wind (!), of Venus and of the dawn. He was also the patron god of learning and knowledge, this being reflected in his significance to the priesthood.
The first depictions of the feathered serpent can be seen on Stela 19 at the Olmec site of La Venta (Tabasco, Mexico), showing a serpent rising up behind a person. Though the customary explanation suggests a symbolic shamanic ritual, it has always looked to me like a pilot in a cockpit, with various instrumentation.
A consistent narrative of the mighty cosmic figure of Quetzalcoatl weaves its way through much of Mesoamerican history. All notions of unpleasant snakes and negative Christian satanic emblems can be discarded. The serpent form radiated knowledge, erudition, flight and transcendence.
In Summer 2007, chemist and researcher Dr. Horace Drew proposed a connection between crop circles and Quetzalcoatl. He demonstrated how many crop formations frequently depict the serpent motif or signature, together with striking star maps laid down in the fields that indicate a possible home star location in close proximity to Epsilon Herculis (near the head of the Hercules constellation of stars). Drew feels that Quetzalcoatl is potentially a galactic traveller who visited ancient central America, but intriguingly, was perhaps based at that time in England or Europe. Drew also gave mention of Daniel Pinchbeck, who in turn had focused his attention on the feathered deity a few years ago, even indicating a personal connection with him.
spacecollective.org/NeilkPatanjali:
www.squidoo.com/patanjali-statues?utm_source=google&utm_medium=imgres&utm_campaign=framebusterNaga Figure Gasa Dzong, Bhutan Hoysala sculpture of a Naga couple, Halebidu.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpent_%28symbolism%29upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Naga182.JPGen.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81gaNingizzida,
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ningizzida.jpgThe Sumerian deity, Ningizzida, is accompanied by two gryphons; it is the oldest known image of two snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE.
Jesus as a serpent-god from bas-relief in Egypt. This drawing was made by a member of Napoleon's army in 1798, one hundred years before the same face appeared to the world `for the first time ever' on the photograph of the Shroud of Turin.
www.redicecreations.com/winterwonderland/serpentman.html