When we speak of “the feminine” in the traditions of ancient Mexico, we tend to imagine goddesses or mythical figures separate from everyday experience. However, the vision preserved in codices, oral histories and ceremonial practices suggests something much broader and deeper. For these cultures, the feminine is not a distant entity or a fixed object of worship; it is, above all, an internal quality that summons, gestates and sustains life.
Beyond the Abstract: The Power of the Observable
In Western culture, we tend to divide the divine into gods and goddesses, figures often difficult to grasp with our five senses. In contrast, the cultures of the Anahuac remind us that knowledge begins in the direct observation of nature and one's own body. The growth of a seed, the apparent movements of the sun or the way in which we transform ourselves from gestation to maturity illustrate, in a tangible way, the essence of the original feminine: the dark and receptive space in which life is gestated and then flourishes.
The summoning principle
The original feminine - sometimes —called SIWAYOTL— is understood as a principle that first creates itself and then calls or attracts all that exists to its center. Just as a mother gestates the child in her womb before allowing it to be born, the feminine creates a fertile void in which form matures. This quality can also be seen in the way we build relationships, projects or even artistic spaces: there is a stage of interiorization, silence and deep vision before
Itzpapalotl: the obsidian butterfly
A clear example of the original feminine images is found in the figure of Itzpapalotl, the obsidian butterfly. With a skirt, arms and an anthropomorphic face, it does not represent a specific goddess, but a degree of knowledge about the ability to transform us “into the dark” and then let the light pass through. The obsidian -volcanic stone and natural mirror- symbolizes the introspection that women (and men) can cultivate in their psyche, achieving cuts of insight and deep findings that combine shadow and radiance. The butterfly, meanwhile, alludes to metamorphosis and the innate memory that guides us through life cycles.
More than roles: the creative force
Much of this approach to Siwayotl dismantles the idea that the feminine has to stick to traditional roles (mother, wife, etc.). Instead of being associated with a stereotype, the feminine is conceived as a creative force that all of us can embody by entering cyclical processes of inner renewal. As with the caterpillar, each person requires pauses and spaces of silence to reconfigure her identity and emerge renewed.
The importance of memory and imagination
The transcript mentions women's connection to “very deep memory.” As children, many experience “psychic awakenings” that are not usually channeled by formal education. There is talk of the “memory” hormone (follicle stimulating and luteinizing hormone) awakening around the age of seven or eight, reminding the girl of who she is. This potential, instead of being accepted and channeled, is often overlooked. However, in the original tradition, memory and imagination - such as weaving, weaving, weaving, dancing or spinning stories - are part of the spiritual and creative development of the feminine.
Smoke, heat and weaving as representations of the feminine
The practices of smoking with copal (or *saumar*), maintaining the ceremonial fire, and weaving the petate symbolize essential qualities:
- Transmutation (smoke), where the boundaries between the visible and the invisible are blurred.
- The nourishing heat (comal, fogón), which gives cooking to what is being gestated - be it ideas, food or bonds.
- The weaving (petate florido), expression of the ability to interweave dualities and create a support for daily life.
Far from being mere archetypes or deities separated from reality, the feminine images -Coatlicue, Chalchiuhtlicue, Xochiquetzal, among others- are shown as dimensions that each person experiences at different times. They are not venerated as idols; they are embodied as principles that activate our existence.
Essential multiplicity
Finally, recognizing the multiplicity of the feminine means assuming that this principle does not fit into a single form or name. The figures described in the codices (called in different ways depending on the region) are only visual references of a living knowledge that continues to beat in the collective memory. With this, it is emphasized that women can and should inhabit their creative force beyond pre-established patterns or representations alien to their reality.
Conclusion
The rescue of original feminism is not about exalting a series of goddesses or romanticizing a mythical past. Rather, it is about remembering and experiencing the diverse feminine qualities that sustain and renew life: the capacity to summon, to transform oneself in the darkness, to weave relationships and to root creativity in one's own body. The butterfly, the smoke, the comal, the broom, the weaving and other expressions speak to us of a femininity rooted in concrete experience, rather than in distant archetypes.
For those who seek to go deeper, the encounter with these teachings - linked to psychology, pedagogy or dance - does not require submitting to unattainable rituals, but rather recovering the notion that knowledge is part of the fabric of life. The true purpose is to expand consciousness and rediscover in each daily gesture a creative spark that comes from deep within, animating body, mind and spirit in a spiral of constant evolution.
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