Spiral meaning3/19/2023 Indeed, further research confirmed that the motif behind these geometric patterns was Quetzalcoatl, a deity which the inhabitants of Mitla believed they were descended from. My tour guide told me that the spiral signified both the wind and the feathered serpent deity known as Quetzalcoatl, an important deity in all Mesoamerican cultures. I went to visit Mitla on a trip to Mexico and I found the intricate geometric patterns carved into the palace building to be absolutely fascinating. Mitla (or the place of the dead) was a site of great religious significance in the Zapotec civilisation. At the archaeological site of Mitla in Oaxaca, Mexico you can see this. ![]() Perhaps because of their prevalence in nature, and because of the sacred quality that humans attribute to nature, spirals have been used in a range of religious and sacred architecture. Spirals seem to permeate many diverse natural formations: inorganic and organic, lifeless and alive, non-conscious and conscious. Even the shape of your hair at the crown of your head…a spiral. ![]() Look at your fingertip, where you would make a fingerprint, and you will see a spiral. Look at a cross-section of red cabbage and you will see spirals. In the natural world, we find spirals in the DNA double helix, sunflowers, the path of draining water, weather patterns (including hurricanes), vine tendrils, phyllotaxis (the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem), galaxies, the horns of various animals, mollusc shells, the nautilus shell, snail shells, whirlpools, ferns and algae. Spirals are a common shape found in nature, as well as in sacred architecture.
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