This is an image of a stylized skull representing death (Miquiztli) with the symbol of water and fire (duality) coming out of its mouth. On its head is a symbol representing a "smoking mirror", which represent critical self-reflection. Veronica painted this image to honor the Mexica traditional ceremonies and rituals that take place during Miccailhuit (day of the dead), an Indigenous-based tradition that honors the memories of past loved ones.
The symbol "atl-tlachinolli" means ‘water, burnt (or scorched) earth’. The metaphor, typically in Náhuatl, consists of two opposite elements (literally) - water and fire, forming two streams (in all likelihood one blue and one red) that join together to form one key idea (war). Each element is a source of energy and life-force but can also be one of destruction.
Like the paired shrines to (rain deity) Tlaloc and (war deity) Huitzilopochtli atop the main temple of the Mexica and the reality of two ‘opposite’ seasons in the Aztec year (farming season and war season) they are classic examples of the importance of the concept of duality in Mexica thought and approach to life.
Some scholars believe the fire-and-water concept of war may be as old as the Early Classic Teotihuacán period, hundreds of years before the Aztec empire was built.
The symbol "atl-tlachinolli" means ‘water, burnt (or scorched) earth’. The metaphor, typically in Náhuatl, consists of two opposite elements (literally) - water and fire, forming two streams (in all likelihood one blue and one red) that join together to form one key idea (war). Each element is a source of energy and life-force but can also be one of destruction.
Like the paired shrines to (rain deity) Tlaloc and (war deity) Huitzilopochtli atop the main temple of the Mexica and the reality of two ‘opposite’ seasons in the Aztec year (farming season and war season) they are classic examples of the importance of the concept of duality in Mexica thought and approach to life.
Some scholars believe the fire-and-water concept of war may be as old as the Early Classic Teotihuacán period, hundreds of years before the Aztec empire was built.