The mural is located in the Palace of the Jaguars in Teotihuacan and depicts a jaguar blowing into a feathered conch shell that is dripping blood. This is believed to symbolize war, with the conch used to signal troops. The mural also contains imagery connecting it to celestial events like those depicted in Venus. Elsewhere in the palace is a mural of a netted jaguar sitting on a red serpent, which may symbolize a constellation and other celestial body. The murals in the palace largely appear to depict themes of astrology, transcendence, and conquests, suggesting this was an area where elite warrior-priests planned rituals and military campaigns

1. OCTOBER 30, 2014 ROBIN HEYWORTH LEAVE A
COMMENT
W2-0019: Jaguar blowing a conchThe Palace of
the Jaguars is located immediately to the west of
the Plaza of the Moon at Teotihuacan. The most
prominent mural is that of a jaguar blowing a
feathered conch shell that drips with blood
(fig. W2-0019). Whilst it equally looks as though
the jaguar is drinking from the shell, the scroll
forms that emanate from the end of the shell like
musical notes are indications of sound. The
mural is presumed to be symbolic of war,
because conch shells were trumpeted before
armies were led into battle. It has also been
suggested that the bleeding conch symbolises
an extracted heart, which is also symbolic of
conquest and echoes the images found amongst
the murals of Tetitla (fig. W3-0005). Also in
keeping with the murals of Tetitla is the
headdress that the jaguar wears, which appears
to be
W3-0005: Jaguar Mural of Tetitla comprised of a
snake headband with plumes of feathers
emanating from it – thus providing the imagery

2. of the famed feathered-serpent. There are
distinct differences between the two murals
though, with the Palace of the Jaguars featuring
upright ears, a shorter muzzle, a row of unusual
orbs along its back that are thought to be shells,
and a band of feathers above the eye that may
symbolise the Teotihuacano owl. The Mural of
Tetitla has the ear at the side of the head and
features a much longer snout. It seems likely
that these are different animals, with the smaller
snout and upright ears being familiar to the
Puma and the lower ears and longer snout being
that of the Jaguar.
W2-0019T: Tlaloc Above and around the mural in
the Palace of the Jaguar are alternating motifs,
one of which is probably a state-crown with
plumes of feathers, obsidian mirrors and the
icon of a mountain peak in the top-centre (this is
very similar to the headdress worn by the Sower
Priest of Techinantitla). The other features a face
mounted within a star, which in turn is mounted
within a golden circle (fig. W2-0019T). The face
is unmistakably that of Tlaloc, with goggle-eyes,
goofy fangs and serpents seeping from his
mouth. The golden band is reminiscent of the
two serpents found on the Aztec calendar stone
and the bicephalic sky-band of the Maya, both of
which are thought to relate to either the ecliptic

3. path or the milky way. The common belief is that
the five-pointed star represents Venus.
Therefore, the glyph most likely represents an
association between Tlaloc, the bringer of water
maize, and a Venusian event. The glyph may
also correspond to a date, or possibly an event,
such as the beginning of a political era or the
beginning of the fifth sun – which is thought to
have followed an event that took place at
Teotihuacan.
W2-0020: Puma MuralElsewhere in the Palace of
the Jaguars, the imagery becomes even more
perplexing with the introduction of the “netted
jaguar” who sits upon a red serpent monster
with a large curling red fang (fig. W2-0020). The
outlined shape of this feline is clearly that of a
puma or jaguar, but the body is made up of
interlinking loops that represent a net. The
netted jaguar wears the same headdress that is
worn by the other jaguars, as well as the Great
Goddess and her attendant priests (as portrayed
at Tetitla and Tepantitla), which marries a snake-
skin patterned headband with plumes of
feathers. The netted-jaguar also has this snake-
skin pattern running down its back, limbs, and
tail, as though it is a serpentine monster wearing
a jaguar shaped net – and this monster appears

4. to be visible beneath the undercarriage of the
jaguar. Images of priests wearing nets are found
elsewhere in Mesoamerica and are thought to
symbolise a transcendent state, where the priest
is taking on the persona or form of the creature
portrayed by the net. Accordingly, this unusual
image at Teotihuacan could relate to the fire-
serpent, who seemingly wears the netted jaguar
on his head, taking on the state of the
jaguar/puma that is clearly central to the
Teotihuacano identity. However, nets were also
mounted upon observatories and pyramidal
structures to enable the observers to create star
maps and track celestial movements. Observers
would look through the net and use it to provide
a grid for them to record coordinates against. So
this image of a netted jaguar may actually
describe an event that involved a constellation
symbolised by the jaguar/puma and another
celestial body that was symbolised by the red
fanged monster on which the netted jaguar
rests. This would be in keeping with other
murals in the Palace of the Jaguars, which
feature iconography that relate to celestial
events.

5. The Palace of the Jaguars’ proximity to the
Pyramid of the Moon suggests that it was of
supreme importance, but, as often is the case,
the Teotihuacano artwork found painted on the
walls is so cryptic it presents more questions
than answers. With themes of transcendence,
astrology and conquests, and with the Palace of
Quetzalpapapotl immediately next-door, it
seems likely that this was a place where elite
warrior-priests convened and planned rituals
that were carried out in the Plaza of the Moon
and conquests far beyond.
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6. Above is a close up view of a mural
painting from Teotihuacan (200-650 C.E)
depicting the goggled eyed Tlaloc as a
five pointed star, that scholars
identify as a symbol of Venus.
In my examination of pre-Columbian art
I have discovered that the gods that
appear to be linked to esoteric
mushroom imagery are clearly linked to
the planet Venus as both a Morning Star

7. and Evening Star. The name Quetzalcoatl
has been interpreted to mean "Precious
twin," indicating that the Morning Star
and Evening Star are one and the same
(Caso, 1958:.24; Duran:325).
My study of pre-Columbian art was
inspired by a theory first proposed
over fifty years ago by my father, the
late Maya archaeologist Dr. Stephan F.
de Borhegyi, (better known as
Borhegyi) that hallucinogenic mushroom
rituals were a central aspect of Maya
religion. He based this theory on his
identification of a mushroom stone cult
that came into existence in the
Guatemala Highlands and Pacific coastal
areaaround 1000 B.C. along with a
trophy head cult associated with human
sacrifice and the Mesoamerican
ballgame.
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