Card 0: Xiuhteuctli, God of Fire
Keywords: Motivation, Craftsmanship, The Forge
When a child was born, a fire was lit in the room where the birth took place. The fire was fed continuously for four days so that it didn’t go out, and no embers were removed from it. On the fourth day, a priest came to visit the infant. He lit a torch from the sacred fire, and circled the little one’s head four times. He then named the child and assigned the nahualli. Thus did the God of Fire sanctify every Aztec boy and girl, and the forging of a new life would begin.
Text © 2003 Caelum Rainieri, Ivory Andersen. Artwork © 2003 Raphael Montoliu.