QUETZALCOATL (TOPLITZIN QUETZALCQATL) Literally, green-feather snake. Legendary king and nature deity of the Aztecs and Toltecs. Said to be the son of lztacmixcoatl and his virginwife Chimamatl; son or twin brother of Tezcatlipoca; one of the four divine sons of Tonacatecutli and Tzinteotl, or of the chaos deity Tonacatecutli by breath alone, who sent his white son forth to reform the world. With his brothers he made Cipactonal, the first man, and Oxomuco, the first woman. From the hair of their divine mother (earth) they created Xochiquetzel as wife for the son of the first mortal couple. With Tezcatlipoca he made fire, the heavens, and Cipactli, a great fish, from whose flesh they made earth. He welcomed the sun, introduced the calendar and taught agriculture, the art of government, engraving, and stone cutting, and the crafts of gem setting, goldsmith, and silversmith. He lived a chaste life, did penance, and drew blood from his ears and tongue because of sinful things he heard and uttered. He opposed war and human sacrifice and offered the gods bread, flowers, incense, and perfume. He was ruler of the ninth hour of the day, deity of fire, protector of the reproductive principle, giver of children.
His evil brother Tezcatlipoca made him intoxicated with the pulque, and he wandered into the eastern ocean, whence he came, promising to return. Cortez was accepted as the returned white Quetzalcoatl, and thus triumphed over the Mexicans. In another account he died from a foot wound, thus a crucified or mutilated deity; and in a third account his followers cremated his body when he reached the sea (sun setting in flames), and his heart, which escaped the fire, rose to become the Morning Star, thus a resurrected deity. Also known as Ceacatl, one reed, a name also given to his birthday; Citlallatonac, the morning; Nanihehecatli, ruler of the east, rain bringer; Papachtic, the day or surfs rays; Yahuallieheccatl, lord of the four winds whose abode was in the west and whose emblem was an equi-armed cross or a yoel, wheel inscribed with five angles (four directions and the center). His temple was divided into four apartments, one[colors] toward the east, yellow with gold; west, blue with turquoise and jade; south, white with pearls and shells; north, red with bloodstones. Portrayed as a plumed serpent, a bearded white man, or as a butterfly. He left his handprint in stone; reminiscent of the footprints of Adam and Buddha. Equates with Gucumatz, Kukulcan, Saramayas.
The ancient Maya attributed the invention of their calendar to the bird-serpent deity, Quetzlcoatl.
The Scientific Basis of Astrology, p 38.
Quetzalcoatl was the feathered serpent god of the Aztec and Toltec cultures. His life, like that of the Buddha and of Herakles, ends in fire, and he, too, is taken off to the heavens, perhaps as a star. Like King Arthur and Jesus, he is a "once and future king" whose return to earth is expected."
The World of Mythology p. 307.
"It ended on the beach It ended with a hulk of serpents formed into a boat & when he'd made it, sat in it & sailed away A boat that glided on those burning waters, no one knowing when he reached the country of Red Daylight It ended on the rim of some great sea It ended with his face reflected in the mirror of its waves The beauty of his face returned to him & he was dressed in garments like the sun It ended with a bonfire on the beach where he would hurl himself & burn, his ashes rising & the cries of birds. It ended with the linnet, with the birds of turquoise color, birds the color of wild sunflowers, red & blue birds It ended with the birds of yellow feathers in a riot of bright gold Circling till the fire had died out Circling while his heart rose through the sky It ended with his heart transformed into a star It ended with the morning star with dawn & evening It ended with his journey to Death's Kingdom with seven days of darkness With his body changed to light A star that burns forever in that sky."From "The light of Quetzlcoatl," trans. Jerome Rothernberg, in Shaking the Pumpkin: Traditional Poetry of the Indian of North Americas, ed Jerome Rothenberg (New York, 1972), pp. 122-23.