Card 32: Scarlet Macaw
Keywords: The Phoenix, Resurrection, Rebirth
In the canopies of the great rain forests of Central and South America, dwells a rare bird with an incredible wingspan and brilliant red feathers. The Scarlet Macaw has been considered sacred to every Mesoamerican civilization since the Olmec. The Aztec considered her a volatile of the goddess of Sacrifice, Chalmecateuctli. Since every sacrifice was an act of reciprocation, the Scarlet Macaw is associated with the completion of the circle, just as the legendary Phoenix returns from the ashes of its own destruction.
Text © 2003 Caelum Rainieri, Ivory Andersen. Artwork © 2003 Raphael Montoliu.