“Winds of Time”

These wonderfully etched images and symbols seem to tell an ancient story of a dramatic weather event. It is the coiled spiral symbols and the etched image of Tlaloc, the goggle-eyed Mesoamerican rain deity that sets the stage for this dramatic event. The sapphire patina of the rocks darken, as the storm approaches. A pair of maidens seem to pause and lean into the gale as the wind blows back her braided hair. The hunter also seems to hesitate with caution. While some animals are alert with heads up, others scurry and fly for cover.

The deity Tlaloc brings the rain, and the tightly wound spirals symbolizes the Ho-bo-bo. Also known as the great Whirlwind. An ancient tale tells of this great whirlwind that proceeded the rain, and it blew the plants from the soil, and altered the course of streams and rivers. From the swirling dust and sand emerged a stranger. This stranger told the people he was the keeper of the breath. The clans then saw that the whirlwind and the air men breathe came from this stranger’s mouth.

All of these images and symbols create a sacred place in this sapphire colored landscape of rock and lichen, but it is the handprints that hold the magic and keep the doorway open between our world and that of the spirits. When a reverent shaman puts mineral or animal pigment on their hands and presses them to the rock surface, they have created more than just an impression of their own hands, they have personally identified their self forever, to the spirits that reside there, and to the Ho-bo-bo.