Quetzalcoatl - The Feathered Serpent
(kel-sal-koh-AHT-ul)

© GENZOMAN

This amazing mythical creature was worshiped by the Aztec people of Mexico. Another civilization that also venerated to Quetzalcoatl was the Mayan. Instead of scales, Quetzalcoatl was covered with feathers. His mother was a serpent and his father a beautiful and majestic bird.

Fron some accounts, Quetzalcoatl was a shape shifter and was able to change into human form. He would disguise himself as a young man wearing a feathered cloak and would talk and walk among people.

Quetzalcoatl was a god of such importance and power that nearly no aspect of everyday life seemed to go untouched by him. The plumed serpent was a symbol of political power, and wherever he appeared carved in stone, signs of ritual human sacrifice would be found nearby. Many researchers who had believed in a more peaceful, mercantile-based society at Teotihuacan were startled by the discovery of over 200 sacrificial victims buried at the corners of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl in 1988, most warriors with their hands tied behind their backs. It is clear that by this time (c. 250 AD), Quetzalcoatl had assumed major importance and a military cast, being the god of warriors rather than priests. It appears that Quetzalcoatl continued to be the focus of religious worship until the fall of the city sometime in the 8th century.