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Showing posts with the label Axis Mundi

The Nahua Cross of Life: Mexican Hieroglyph of the Nagual or Personal Guardian Spirit

The Nahua Cross of Life: Mexican Hieroglyph of the Nagual or Personal Guardian Spirit Many Christian symbols and archetypes have been found around the world in pre-Christian contexts, resulting in fascinating syncretic connections and ideological overlaps. According to Prof. Daniel G. Brinton, A.M., M.D., LL.D., D.Sc. in his book Nagualism: A Study in Native American Folk-lore and History (1894), "The sign of the cross, either the form with equal arms known as the cross of St. Andrew, which is the oldest Christian form, or the Latin cross, with its arms of unequal length, came to be the ideogram for “life” in the Mexican hieroglyphic writing; and as such, with more or less variants, was employed to signify the tonalli or nagual, the sign of nativity, the natal day, the personal spirit. The ancient document called the Mappe Quinatzin offers examples, and its meaning is explained by various early writers. The peculiar character of the Mexican ritual calendar, by which nativities wer...

Cernunnos as Kundalini Yoga Master: The Celtic Shiva

Cernunnos as Kundalini Yoga Master: The Celtic Shiva In 1891, a great silver bowl or cauldron, elaborately crafted during the Iron Age, was found at Gundestrup in Denmark. The Gundestrup Cauldron contains a wealth of ancient spiritual motifs, a few of which will be briefly discussed in this article.  The exterior of the cauldron depicts the busts of seven different deities, male and female, as well as symbols associated with them. In Hinduism as well as various syncretic mystical paths, the number seven is also associated with the 7 major chakras or energy vortices of the human body, each with their own symbolism and deity (or facet of the One God).  The interior of the Gundestrup Cauldron features five scenes of religious or spiritual significance. One of these scenes depicts a horned god sitting in a typical yogic posture. Often identified as Cernunnos (the "Horned One"), he wears on his head a splendid crown of seven-tined stag antlers. One is reminded that in the shamanic...