@druidtombraider.bsky.socialContrary to popular belief, the creators of the Ancient Maya Calendar viewed time as a repeating circle of creation and renewal, not a straight line heading toward an apocalypse on 21st December 2012. #WyrdWednesday @wyrdwednesday.bsky.social
@crystalponti.bsky.socialThe Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl rules alongside Mictlantecuhtli in Mictlan, the realm of the dead. Long before modern Día de Muertos traditions developed, death already occupied a complex and powerful place in the cosmology of central México. #WyrdWednesday
@godysseypodcast.comNagual are shapeshifters, human tricksters born with shamanic powers and familiars they can use for good or evil: the person must choose. Found across Mesoamerica with evidence stretching back millennias, modern Mexican naguals are often associated with brujería. #WyrdWednesday
@wyrdwednesday.bsky.socialThanks to wyrd madre @cwreeve.bsky.social we collected a lot of #wyrdwednesday storys old and new from Mexico already and old gringo @wunderkammertales.eurosky.social is here now to collect more!
And no stinting on Cs, Zs and Qs on my watch, you hear me, you Wyrdlings!
🎨 Shi-Gu "Iztlacoliuhqui"
@godysseypodcast.comFound in Mesoamerican art until the Spanish conquest, the Olmec werejaguar motif is found in all manner of art and may have represented rain, sovereignty, or priestly help. Said to be born of women and jaguar, their power was summoned by warriors to defeat foes. #WyrdWednesday
@coffinboffin.bsky.socialVAMPIRE WITCHES of MEXICO & PORTUGAL
BRUJAS are Witches of Mexico & Hispanic communities who are ascribed vampiric habits. A bloodsucking Portuguese Witch who preys on infants is known as a BRUXSA
#WyrdWednesday
Las Brujas, Witches' Sabbath, Goya, 1797
@godysseypodcast.comAncient Mesoamericans imagined the night's sky like that of a cave, with light glistening from each stalactite from far above. Rain is water rushing into our cave, and for that rain gods are given much prominence in Mayan and Aztec mythos. #WyrdWednesday
@godysseypodcast.comThe mythologies of the Aztec peoples come to us in two sources, in the same book: the Florentine Codex, the most complete work, is written on one side in Spanish, and one side in Nahuatl, recording indigenous life, but sometimes telling it differently. #WyrdWednesday
@pjrobichaud.bsky.socialThe English artist Leonora Carrington lived in Mexico and was inspired by Indigenous mythology. She painted her mural ‘The Magical World of the Maya’ (1963-4) for the Museo Nacional de Antropología. The painting depicts imagery from the Popol Vuh, the sacred text of the Maya. #WyrdWednesday
@coffinboffin.bsky.socialTHE VAMPIRE BATS of CHILE The Spanish supposedly came back from the New World with stories of blood-sucking bats; Buffon named them 'vampire bats' in 1774 & Charles Darwin popularised them in 1832, making several sketches of them in Chile #WyrdWednesday
Images: Goya 1799, Darwin 1832
@crystalponti.bsky.socialThe nahual is one of México's most enduring supernatural figures. Traditions vary, but stories tell of people with extraordinary connections to animal forms, sometimes transforming into them. Even today, tales of strange animals after dark can awaken very old suspicions. #WyrdWednesday
@wunderkammertales.eurosky.socialSeeing the elephant - in Chiapas?
Raconteur extraordinaire Comte de Waldeck did, in the ruins of Mayan Palenque, attributing Mesoamerican archaeological discoveries with Hellenistic trappings for European audiences, giving rise to the idea of pre-Columbian contact.
@raggamog.bsky.socialIn mythology, the Chihuahua's ancestors were psychopomps, or soul guides, in the afterlife. The Aztecs believed that when a person died, their soul had to navigate the nine perilous levels of the underworld. These small dogs would ferry the deceased across the final river to safety.
@crystalponti.bsky.socialThe alux belongs to Maya tradition, especially in the Yucatán. These small supernatural beings are associated with fields, forests and caves. Treat them respectfully and they may protect the land. Offend them and your day may become considerably more complicated. #WyrdWednesday
@21rosa.bsky.socialThe jaguar, symbol of the night & transformation, was central to Mayan myth. The moon goddess Ixchel was often depicted with jaguar ears or claws. Thrones in jaguar form still survive. The bicephalic Jaguar Throne of Uxmal has 2 eyes for regular vision & 2 for supernatural sight #WyrdWednesday
@warksfolklore.bsky.socialSome years ago the local Pound Shop was selling Day of the Dead-style items for Halloween. I got this skull and decorated it with butterflies to represent spirits of the dead.
#WyrdWednesday
@mccartneyjoe.bsky.socialIn the Mexican Spider-Man comics the story line broke from the death of Gwen Stacy and told its own story for 45 original issues after Spiderman #119.
#WyrdWednesday #70s
[🎨Jose Luis Duran]
@greatdetective.bsky.social