PLATE IX
Figures from the Codex Borgia, representing cosmic tutelaries.
The upper figure represents the tree of the Middle Place rising from the body of the Earth Goddess, recumbent upon the spines of the crocodile from which Earth was made. The tree is encircled by the world sea and is surmounted by the Quetzal, whose plumage typifies vegetation; two ears of maize spring up at its roots. The attendant deities are Quetzalcoatl and Macuilxochitl, both symbols of fertility. In the figure they are apparently nourishing themselves on the upflowing blood, or vital saps, of the body of Earth. The figure should be compared with the Palenque Cross and Foliate Cross tablets (Plate XVIII a, b). See, also, pages 57, 68, 77.
The lower figure represents one of the four caryatid-like supporters of the heavens, Huitzilopochtli, as the Atlas of the southern quarter. See page 57.
