eover, it is certain that among the Nagualists, one of their most
revered symbols was the _serpent_; in Chiapas, one of their highest
orders of the initiated was that of the _chanes_, or serpents. Not only
is this in Christian symbolism the form and sign of the Prince of Evil
and the enemy of God, but the missionaries were aware that in the
astrological symbols of ancient Mexico the serpent represented the
_phallus_; that it was regarded as the most potent of all the
signs;[49-[++]] and modern research has shown, contrary to the opinion
long held, that there was among these nations an extraordinary and
extensive worship of the reciprocal principle of nature, associated with
numerous phallic emblems.[49-Sec.]

Huge phalli of stone have been discovered, one, for instance, on the
Cerro de las Navajas, not far from the city of Mexico, and another in
the State of Hidalgo.[50-*] Probably they were used in some such
ceremonies as Oviedo describes among the Nahuas of Nicaragua, where the
same symbol was represented by conical mounds of earth, around which at
certain seasons the women danced with libidinous actions. Although as a
general rule the pottery of ancient Mexico avoids obscenity, Brasseur
stated that he had seen many specimens of a contrary character from
certain regions,[50-[+]] and Dr. Berendt has copied several striking
examples, showing curious _yoni_ symbols, which are now in my
possession.

We may explain these as in some way connected with the worship of
Pantecatl, the male divinity who presided over profligate love, and of
Tlazolteotl, the _Venus Impudica_ of the Aztec pantheon; and it is not
without significance that the cave-temple of Votan, whose contents were
destroyed by the Bishop of Chiapas, in 1691 (see above, p. 39), was
located at _Tlazoaloyan_, both names being derived from a root
signifying sexual action.[50-[++]] The other name of the divinity,
called "the Heart of the Hills," is in Quiche, Alom, "he who begets,"
and the Zapotec Cozaana, another analogue of the same deity, is
translated by Seler, "the Begetter." Such facts indicate how intimately
the esoteric doctrines of Nagualism were related to the worship of the
reproductive powers of nature.

=35.= It will readily be understood from what has been said that Nagualism
was neither a pure descendant of the ancient cults, nor yet a derivative
from Christian doctrines and European superstitions. It was a strange
commingling of both, often in gr