Quetzalcoatl expresses the core of the Mexica spiritual goal; the understanding and integration of opposites, or duality, in one’s being and throughout the natural world. This fusion between what flies (the quetzal) and what crawls (the serpent) is the basis for the Mexica’s concept of spiritual evolution. Quetzalcoatl is also representative of knowledge and the cardinal direction of the west, which honors women. Quetzalcoatl is associated with the energies of wind, Venus, the dawn, and of merchants, art, crafts and knowledge.