Garden of Fire
Watercolor by Pedro N. Sacristán © 2017.
This watercolor is an aztec symbolist landscape, a cosmogram, which is a small representation of the universe according to the ancient mexican cosmovision.
The whole garden is contained within the body of the earth goddess Tlaltecuhtli, from her waist up are the heavens and stars, from below her waist the earth and sea. Her claws indicate the four universal corners: red claw - east where light arises Tlapcopa, black claw - north place of death and origin Mictlampa, blue claw - south place of thorns Huitztlampa and the white claw - west place of women Cihuatlampa. At the center and below the goddess face is the jewel of the wind Ehecaicózcatl which is spinning once it is touched by blood, the sacred liquid of life. Tlaltecuhtli´s face features are the ones of life and death: the mother who gives birth and sustenance also the devourer of all that has died to perpetuate life´s cycle.
Tlaltecuhtli - detail
In the lower part of the painting are eleven different flower species from México which aztecs used as medicine, ornament and religious rituals, from left to right and top to bottom: Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus), Corpus flower (Laelia speciosa), Pericón (Tagetes lucida), Box flower (Philodendron mexicanum), Jasmine (Philadelphus mexicanus), May flower (Plumeria rubra), Hand flower (Chiranthodendron pentadactylon), Nard (Polianthes tuherosa), Cempasúchil (Tagetes erecta), Alcatraz - hunter flower (Arisaema macrospathum) and Serpent flower (Aporocactus flagelliformis); among the flowers are other symbolic elements: the serpent - earth, the seashell and the hippocampus - water, the black claw in the left corner holds a jade stone (the living stone) - fire. Above the amaranth flowers a hummingbird arises furiously in flames, it is the corporeal form of the sun god Hutizilopochtli the aztec god of war.
Uchilobus - detail
A winged chameleon flies among the flowers as a symbol of spring but also a poetic figure: a beautiful monster which brings the light of day, that is why it is devouring the moon rabbit Meztli to indicate the succession of night and day.
Meztli - detail
Two fire serpents, the Xiuhcoatl bite the goddess hair in the sky, fire serpents are symbols of time and also lightning, the one in the left is daytime and the one in the right is nightime. Around the moon are the eyes of the sky Ixtli - the stars and below is the volcano Popocatépetl - the smoky mountain, still active to these days.
Near the hand flowers flies a winged Técpatl a sacrificial aztec stone knife which represents the human presence in México the Garden of Fire.
Técpatl - detail
Pedro N. Sacristán
September 2021.
México City
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