Mitla...Temple of the Devil and backdoor to Hell.

In continuation of my recent offerings regarding portals/'stargates' of the Andes and Near East i'd like to draw attention to the Meso-American site of Zapotec/Mixtec Mitla, which as seen in the header was understood by the first Spanish explorers as the very Temple of the Devil;






That referanced quote and all subsequent from this work;


Visiting the Calvario at Mitla



Of course it should be pointed out that this was a Christian interpretation, the zapotec themselves understood Lord Bezelao as ruler of the Underworld and Mitla.








In my studies regarding the tradition of portals it has been apparant that these were seen in terms of connectivity between the Underworld, terrestial plane, and the upperworld, here we need only concern ourselves with the entrance into the Underworld from the terrestial realm.


The architecture of Mitla is considered unique for that culture, and indeed Meso-America as a whole;



















The zapotec themselves considered that those who built the first Temples lived before the first sunrise;







A most stricking aspect of the architecture are the patterns created, without usage of mortar, in brickwork, known as 'grecas'. These patterns were the basis of my initial interest, in that the motif is that of the cosmological model seen elsewhere in the world of the mountains of the horizon seen in symetrical opposition, this associate with portals of the horizon.





















Whilst this is seen a standardized form, it is also seen taken to the extreme limits of variation, becoming increasingly confused to the extent of haphazard, this in my opinion probably associate with increasing disorientation the deeper one would enter into the underworld.















The basic cosmological model however is what is generally seen represented in zapotec weaving tradition.














The architectural motifs then will be concerning themselves with entrance into the underworld through various stages of progression, all deceased were considered to travel to Mitla after death, also from there they could obtain temporary release;







It's considered the Mixtecs depict in their ancient codices a disc shape to symbolize a portal to the underworld set in the center of a ballcourt.








The relationship of the ballcourt was recently considered in terms of a newly found zapotec tomb, whilst aspects of the iconography do seemingly suggest the ballcourt, it's important to recognise that the iconography also is very much concerned with the portals into the underworld, and the stages of transition through these, as in the same context, of tombs this was also seen employed;






























It is considered that the zapotec considered Mitla as an actual entrance into the underworld in a very real sense, not symbolic, that this was a point of arrival and departure for those ancestors that had constructed the site.

Passageway deep into underground realms were recorded by early European visitors, and subsequently sealed off;








The subterranean world was described in terms of a confusing labyrinth , which would correspond with what i suggested could be the interpretation for the ever more confused geometric patterns, the deeper one gets.










I would consider that at Mitla such reports of extensive underground passageways are not without foundation, given the premise of the site itself and its traditions.

Very interesting. Portals to the land of the dead is something many ancient cultures believed in. It is a strange concept. This is the first I have heard of a structure built at such a site.

This a fantastic thread, very informative and something I have never heard of before! Great pictures to boot! Some of these doorways and glyphs remind me of a thread about "stargates" from the Middle East. I wonder how many civilizations have similar gateways rooted in their culture?

reply to post by poet1b




There was almost certainly passageway into an underground realm at Mitla, someone who has recently considered were the entrance was located concluded that the Spanish probably built the church of San Pablo over this, as their intention was to neutralize this site and its traditions.



it seems clear to me where the tomb is. It is where the Indians had traditionally focused their piety and where, in consequence thereof, and in keeping with its almost universal practice, the Church it had appropriated a pagan holy place to the use of the new faith. It is the only significant area of the ancient site that may not be examined as it was in pre-Hispanic times. Its entrance, first sealed by the agitated friars “con cal y cantos” was later sealed up definitively and is now utterly beyond our reach because it has a very heavy 18th Century church sitting on top of it. The entrance to the Tomb of the Zapotec Kings, the great entrance to the Underworld at Mitla, is underneath the church of San Pablo on the patio of the northern-most ruins, the Group of the Catholic Establishment


elsewhereandelsewhen.blogspot.co.uk...




reply to post by MmmPie




That would have been mine, i'm considering this iconography of the potial through various cultures;


www.abovetopsecret.com...


www.abovetopsecret.com...

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nice interesting thread with some good photo`s and info on Mitla.
I would have thought that if there was anything at the site. They would have looted it first, before building a church on top of it. They totally destroyed and sacked the entire place. In their search for El dorado. I often thought that there was some thing under ground in that place or there abouts. I recall reading about some very long underground tunnels. That were used by the aztecs to escape from the conquistadors? Thanks for thread Op. Star gates? Is there not one there? On the face of a cliff?

reply to post by Kantzveldt


HA! Nice.


Keep of the wonderful research, I think you're on to something man. A lot of similarities between all these cultures, sooner or later a connection will be made!

reply to post by illuminnaughty




A 'stargate' would be more likely associated with the 'Temple of Heaven' in Mixtec culture, the sign for which is;






The stepped pattern i draw attention to they used as a linguistic substantive called a nuu frieze, meaning 'Place of establishment', seen beneath the Temple of Heaven motif, and again here;







www.mesolore.net...


The language of pattern then at Mitla probably owing much to the Mixtec.








reply to post by MmmPie






Yes, it's about identifying certain cultures with a shared marker motif regarding their establishment, and the implications of what that marker represents...in terms of 'give us a sign'






whp.uoregon.edu...

reply to post by Kantzveldt


Thanks for that link it was worth the read.
I find it strange that all these `unconnected` cultures of old. Seem to be talking about the same things, in regards to portals and stargates. Of course I regret that so much of our past history, has been either destroyed or hidden. Which is a shame, as we could have learnt so much more from studying them. I guess there are still a lot of sites to be found. So lets hope that in the future, more care is taken of these sites. So that we dont lose any more of our history.
So many mysterys yet to be solved.

Am I imagining things?

Is he holding an Ankh?

Originally posted by Kantzveldt

one thing a lot of cultures have in common is tobacco & shamanism from russia to peru or mushrooms a good read on the subject is the cosmic serpent by j narby , Good thread bud s&f

thanks that was a very interesting post and i was a bit sad when it ended, makes me wanna go buy that book you were quoting. also kinda wanna get an expedition team and see how far we can venture into the underworld lol.

Great post!!!! I enjoyed the pictures that went along with it.These ancient testaments to the power of human thought and imagination never cease to amaze me.

reply to post by illuminnaughty



Another fun coincidence is that the Mixtec refered to themselves as 'the cloud people', which is also of course how the aborigines of Australia named the Wandinja...perhaps visiting Mixtecs




reply to post by LightAssassin



He isn't so much holding it, rather wearing it, so in all probability that depicts a glove that was worn for hitting the ball with;


Ball game




reply to post by Corporate Providence




The full text is available through the link provided in the OP, a very good work.

There is no such thing as hell. Medieval scare tactics.

thanks for sharing!
many of those building still contain mysteries that defy all logical interpretation, we can only guess what truly did they mean.
But even after all the years, the doorways are still open for those that know what and where to look.

As the ancients used to say, the world is a mystery, and so are we, great read Op!

I'm fascinated with Mexico. And have read about various cave entrances in the past that claimed to be entrances to hell in Mexico or diablo's grotto etc. all the witch and humanoid sightings side by side with the death cults in mexico's modern society really make me wonder about the place. Also between the name of Milta meaning land of the dead and the lava tubes running through the town I would wonder how it got its name from practice or some historical tagedy.

Back to the witches and humanoids sightings in mexico and on texas border ..I know you can practice cloning and stem cell research in Mexico and i can't help but to think of the movie splice.

I was watching a show on Bermuda triangle and they made the point that if you ran a pin through a globe it pops out at the dragon's triangle in Japan which has same history. Anyone have a globe or a way to do it on google earth to check what's on the opposing side of Milta? Would love to know.

elsewhereandelsewhen.blogspot.com...

What of that first story I heard, that there was an underground passageway from Monte Alban to Mitla? No one knows where it is, of course, but ought that discourage us? Unfortunately, there seems to be a pervasive tradition of underground passageways connecting sacred Indian sites. In the Yucatán I was told the same thing about their sacred sites and also that, unfortunately, no such passageway had ever been found. Of course that was a few years ago, and since then extensive natural underground passageways have been found in the limestone bedrock of the Yucatán. It is true that they do not actually connect any sacred sites, but they are down there and are far from fully explored.

reply to post by Johnathanandheather




I think Mitla is certainly the oldest cult centre in Meso-America for the Lord of the Underworld, and the one with the strongest literal basis, in terms of actual underworld realms. There were considered eight stages into the Underworld, or the Heavens, which one sees represented here in connection with the ballcourt, again the motif for 'place of establishment' is seen.







I didn't mention Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec equivalent of Bezelao, but he is one scary figure and not surprisingly was associated with the Devil by the Europeans;

Mictlantecuhtli (Nahuatl pronunciation: [miktɬaːnˈtekʷtɬi], meaning "Lord of Mictlan"), in Aztec mythology, was a god of the dead and the king of Mictlan (Chicunauhmictlan), the lowest and northernmost section of the underworld. He was one of the principal gods of the Aztecs and was the most prominent of several gods and goddesses of death and the underworld The worship of Mictlantecuhtli sometimes involved ritual cannibalism, with human flesh being consumed in and around the temple


Mictlantecuhtli was depicted as a blood-spattered skeleton or a person wearing a toothy skull.[4] Although his head was typically a skull, his eye sockets did contain eyeballs.[5] His headdress was shown decorated with owl feathers and paper banners, and he wore a necklace of human eyeballs,[4] while his earspools were made from human bones

One of the more interesting aspects of the cult though is that he was considered to hold the bones of previous generations within his realm, and that these could be reconstituted to make a subsequent generation;

In Aztec mythology, after Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca created the world, they put their creation in order and placed Mictlantecuhtli and his wife in the underworld.[11]

According to Aztec legend, the twin gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl were sent by the other gods to steal the bones of the previous generation of gods from Mictlantecuhtli. The god of the underworld sought to block Quetzalcoatl's escape with the bones and, although he failed, he forced Quetzalcoatl to drop the bones, which were scattered and broken by the fall. The shattered bones were collected by Quetzalcoatl and carried back to the land of the living, where the gods transformed them into the various races of mortals.[12]

When a person died, they were interred with grave goods, which they carried with them on the long and dangerous journey to the underworld. Upon arrival in Mictlan these goods were offered to Mictlantecuhtli and his wife

Another aspect that might interest some is the association with owls, this has become an aspect of Alien abduction mythos, but formerly would have been recognised in terms of the Lord of the Underworld;

This teponaztli is the only known example that represents a horned owl, here carved on the front of the drum. Owls were considered to be creatures of ill omen. Their presence and nocturnal calls were believed to foretell death or misfortune. Owls were also associated with Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of the Underworld, and with the powers of darkness. Since the owl was supposed to serve as a messenger to Mictlantecuhtli, it has been suggested that this particular teponaztli could have been use in funerary ceremonies.

reply to post by TheOneEyedProphet






Would you really want to go into the depths of this doorway....

An aspect of the Lord of the Underworlds cult was the chill wind of knives, as soon as those Friars felt it they were out of there.

Both this thread and the last one are great, thanks for the amazing work op. Just joined, this is my first post, hi and much love to all.

I've always been facinated by gateways to other dimensions. Recently watched the new Titans movie which is reminding me of this, Perseus had to find a "back door to hell". As partial answer to theoneeyedprophet the Emerald Tablets warn that only the enlightened should take the dark gate, the Greek myths similar, I guess you would want to have powers of some kind to go down there.

The descriptions of entities such as Mictlantecuhtli are similar to what is reported as being in the lower astral realms by obe's. People like David Icke have postulated that some of the underground alien bases might connect to controlling entities in the lower astral, could this be the same "myth" repeating?

I'll leave you with some pictures of a cool cave stargate I found in my research. Its called Mt Monument in Wyandotte caves, there is a local indian legend of a brave who journeyed to the land of the dead from it. It's also claimed as the worlds biggest underground mountain.

reply to post by Kantzveldt


I wouldn't dismiss the ankh idea so quickly - interesting observation.

reply to post by primalfractal




Hi and welcome, in my opinion we inhabit a sort of twilight zone (especialy at ATS...) between the realms of light and darkness, were the light is concerned with energy and existance, governed by laws of physics, pattern and relationships, whereas the realm of Darkness concerns itself with none of these, thus phenomena that have no existance or rationale, yet in metaphysical terms these phenomena balance the realm of Light.


Attempts at defining the nature and rationale of night-time ghouls and ghosties invariably fail, they have no existential form and thus neither can their image be captured, it would be rather like trying to capture the wind in a box, or the tide in a glass, one can only observe their effect in transitory passing...one should never underestimate though such phenomena.