I suppose I will sign off tonight with a talk about Naguals. The poor forum is quiet with one down, and still, I still hold the old adage "never leave a man behind," so I certainly havent forgotten that one. However, Im going to still keep going, in the meantime, because I dont believe this will be this way for the long haul. If it is, then I may cease writing here and move on, I feel like a vital part of the forum has been blockaded from expression, and I may cease my own very shortly.
So before I decide or watch things as they go, Ill write my own deal on Naguals.
Ive been seeing this issue go back and forth, primarily on chats, last week even, at yaw again, and once that Nagual word comes forth, there's judgments if someone should 'call' themselves a nagual or not. Then, the descriptions, of what they are or not. The compartments of energy (and really if anyone says they 'know' they have four compartments, full of it, unless you've had some qualifying experiences). I can 'see' energy bodies, I have met doubles in dreamstate, Im not too big on the whole compartments, and to be honest, I dont believe that the compartments are a big shit deal. Three pronged nagual, four compartments. A "Nagual" back in the days of Toltec, was an ally. A critter, an animal spirit.
Another definition from the Aztecs was Nahual, who was one who did 'harmful magic.' Tonalli, or Tonal meant "day sign." It was day, or light. In the Tonal we speak of, we speak of Tonal like the island, the world we're 'aware' of. The Nahaul then, could also be seen as 'night,' and that we're not aware of. Sorcerer, witch, brujo/bruja, etc. But harmful magic is one of the definitions of a Nagual.
The books by CC are pretty dark, of magick, and hardly, 'light stuff,' or fluff. However, we do see 'fluff' coming forth, such as Ruiz with his nicey-nice version of Tezcalipoca. Tez, according to Ruiz, is a cute and happy deity who really just wants to gently tug away at the fog of the mirror, and show you your 'true self' and pull away your ego. Tez, deity wise, could give two shits about anyone's ego or not. He uses the mirror to intentionally 'confuse' who he whilsts, and is like a tempter deity who will test and lead folks to evil at will. Not much different than satan in the New Testament. His aim is screwing up creation, and I personally have a theory that CC meddled too much with the Aztec gods and they got him, and took the witches on a ride, but that's just me. Tez probably ate the lot of them, and DJ, probaby shrugged, said he did his best, and will be born again as a bodhisattva or maybe a writer of Toltec legends the next go round and get it right.
A Nagual/ or Nahual, in Meso history, is someone or a creature, who was typically feared. Why? Its not necessarily that they were 'bad' people. There is no real 'good or bad' naguals. There is no 'good or bad' anything, actually. But most people do, define things as good or bad. Good or bad for moi? That may be another justification. Can a Nagual hold life or death over another? Probably, and that is one of the features. Of course, others in Meso America did know many defenses. Like Africa and some of the talks on that, the veil was thin, but still, superstition took over just like it can anywhere. The best way to get people to fear is to get them to believe in superstition. That weakens them right off the bat. A Nagual doesn't even need to utilize energy if a bunch of banditos are superstitious to begin with.
Another cute and fluffy thing is we have this whole 'jaguar' thing going around in the 'light toltec' which you can meet some folks who are of the jaguar clan, with smokey mirror as their own personal savior who they do affirmations to in the mirror, at the TACO forum, or you can do a little history homework and say 'hey, this doesn't jibe....' Jaguars were connected to Tez and Naguals just the same, though certainly not exclusive to Naguals, but the clan was. So, a Nagual, or Nahual, is most likely going to have a jaguar running along side with. You can get to know a lot of the mystique about a Nagual by learning about the jaguar.
A little from the wiki savior:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguars_in ... an_culture
"The jaguar played an important role in the culture and religion of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Quick, agile, and powerful enough to take down the largest prey in the jungle, the jaguar is the largest of the big cats in the Americas, and one of the most efficient and aggressive predators. Endowed with a spotted coat and well adapted for the jungle, hunting either in the trees or water, making it one of the few felines tolerant of water, the jaguar was, and remains, revered among the indigenous Americans who reside closely with the jaguar. For the ancient Olmec, Maya, and Aztec (Mexicas), the jaguar was a symbol of authority and one's prowess in hunting and battle, as well as an integral part of mythology and a powerful spirit companion for shamans."
The jaguar also is important for shamans who often associate the jaguar as a spirit companion or nagual, which will protect the shamans from evil spirits and while they move between the earth and the spirit realm. In order for the shamans to combat whatever evil forces may be threatening, or for those who rely on the shamans for protection, it is necessary for the shamans to make a transformation and cross over to the spirit realm. The jaguar often is chosen as a nagual because of its strength, for it is necessary that the shamans "dominate the spirits, in the same way as a predator dominates its prey" (Saunders 1998:30). The jaguar is said to possess the transient ability of moving between worlds because of its comfort both in the trees and the water, the ability to hunt as well in the nighttime as in the daytime, and the habit of sleeping in caves, places often associated with the deceased ancestors. The concept of the transformation of the shaman is well documented in Mesoamerica and South America and is demonstrated in the context of the Olmec through the prominence of the were-jaguar and other sculpture illustrating jaguar transformations.
So in other words, the Nahual is a Jaguar, and the Jaguar is a Nahual. If someone is saying "Im a nahual" they're going to be, like a jaguar. No different.
The jaguar hunts day or not, sleeps in caves, and the nagual, can shapeshift between either creature, and can travel either realm....
The nagual, as above, is basically a were-jaguar like stated. The Meso's worshiped jaguars (of those clans, to specify) and jaguars could be great allys and protectors, but could eat them too.
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Discussing what we talk about, CC def's of Nagual, 'four compartments,' lala, Nagual is a 'spirit companion,' but CC identified with a person. There was also the 'nagual man and nagual woman' and the nagual woman was the 'beacon' who would lead the party to freedom. However, per the numbers and intricacies, there's nothing documented prior to cc about warrior parties, or nagual men or women, or even the woman standing at the beacon. And for all intents and purposes, the 'eagle' didnt even show til much later, as one of the major creatures of the Meos, til much later on, even post jaguar worship.
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But wait! All cry out, doesnt the Nagual mean something more than some history of jaguar worshipers, or spirit creatures, or naughty men or women who did 'harmful magic?' Maybe, but you're not going to figure that out for paying $49.95 per month doing any courses on the internet, or spending $2000 on a trip to Teo, to sit your ass on a pyramid waiting for a spiritual 'break' either.
Nagual is spirit, but so is tonal. Tonal is still part of the grand play, kind of like the screwy magic act from my other dream. Course I cut the assistant in half from top bottom, not side/side tonal nagual, heh. Tonal is a trick to the eyes, and Nagual is what is hidden 'within' the tonal. It is not 'separate' it is 'hidden within.' Additionally, Nagual can only be 'known' shooting through the tonal, when they can align, because you cannot separate them from each other, or there is a gap and a gap is not a good thing either. Tonal - even if its a 'dream' or even if its a bogus trick because our minds are very tricky and run rampant, in trying to define, sort, and even we, make careless 'moves' like carlos did with the snail, its still necessary because we have to have some form of grounding, even if its impermanent, even if its not, completely, totally real. Its still 'almost real' but not quite it. Almost real, just missing a little piece of the nagual.
Nagual is spirit, and an individual, can be nagual personified. That is what can make the nagual person, or even creature/ally rather creepy. But even creepier is those who are not afraid of them, in some unnatural, off-kilter, way. But some have to be a little off, or else nagual people, or creatures, wouldn't have anyone to mess with in the first place.
Ive met very few, who Ive felt were, naguals, like, authentic naguals, they didnt really 'live in the world' or even belong to it. The werent space headed fluffs, but they had this intenseness which energetically, Id feel in the throat (everyone watches the solar chakra, watch the throat chakras around naguals, they seem to aim for that naturally, I dont know why). Im still figuring that out. Probably cause of sacred sounds, etc. Anyway, the veil is thin with them so near them, the veil feels thin and all around. The only thing encountering naguals really does for me, is validate that that veil is thin. Every day is samhain for them. Not just once a year. They're dead to the world but alive to something else.
I dont know if I could define naguals as 'happy people.' I havent met a whole lot of happy type naguals. I suppose because they were formerly jaguars who couldnt stand humans in a past life, and now have to be what they hate, human, they still dont really care for how ignorant people are. So perhaps they want to get vengence on people, by aiding some others to 'freedom.' Then less humans go through the recycling bin, and they can go back to being jaguar spirits as they like to be. I think they miss that.
So nagual and four compartments. You're a jaguar, or you're not a jaguar. You walk with it, or you can shapeshift into it. If the jaguar is missing = so is the nagual.
Second attention is "nagual awareness." Nagual, additionally, has to have the ability to do the 'blow' do the 'mark' and shift the assemblage point of another individual at will. If someone cannot shift another's assemblage point, either they're not a nagual, or they just cant slap that AP hard enough. Or dont have the strength to do it. But you'd have to be pretty fixed in the AP to be able to hold your AP if a real nagual hit it.
A Nagual also has to have the ability to access any attention, yes the third, at will, can be in two places at once (the naguals in cc books did that), or more.
"For the purpose of guiding living things to that opening, the Eagle created the nagual. The Nagual is a double being to whom the rule has been revealed. Whether it be in the form of a human being, an animal, a plant, or anything else that lives, the Nagual by virtue of its doubleness is drawn to seek that hidden passageway.
The Nagual comes in pairs, male and female. A double man and a double woman become the Nagual only after the rule has been told to each of them, and each of them has understood it and accepted it in full. To the eye of the seer, a Nagual man or Nagual woman appears as a luminous egg with four compartments. Unlike the average human being who has two sides only, a left and a right, the Nagual has a left side divided into two long sections, and a right side equally divided in two."
TEG
I suppose one could split hairs on this one, and say 'I read the book so I heard the rule.' Good point, you did!
They have to both have heard the rule, they have to have accepted the rule, they are double beings with four compartments.
"Naguals are very misleading... they always give the impression of something they are not, and they do it so completely that everybody, including those who know them best, believe their masquerade. " ~PoS
"What a nagual aims at with his apprentices is the shattering of their mirror of self reflection." ~PoS
"When one is dealing with the Nagual, one should never look into it directly." ~Tales of Power
The above is true - that's why like a jaguar, side or peripherally seems to work better.
"The actions of the nagual are deadly... if you don't have enough power to parry the naguals onslaughts, you're dead." ~Tales of Power
"We make sense in talking only because we stay within certain boundaries, and those boundaries are not applicable to the nagual. " ~Tales of Power
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From Tales of Power, In Nagual's Time
"When one is dealing with the nagual, one should never look into it directly," he said. "You were peering at it this morning, and therefore you were sapped. The only way to look at the nagual is as if it were a common affair. One must blink in order to break the fixation. Our eyes are the eyes of the tonal; or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that our eyes have been trained by the tonal. Therefore the tonal claims them.
"One of the sources of your bafflement and discomfort is that your tonal doesn't let go of your eyes. The day it does your nagual will have won a great battle. Your obsession or, better yet, everyone's obsession is to arrange the world according to the tonal's rules. So every time we are confronted with the nagual, we go out of our way to make our eyes stiff and intransigent. I must appeal to the part of your tonal which understands this dilemma and you must make an effort to free your eyes."
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The Eagle's Gift, The Nagual Woman
"The Nagual woman herself told me that up to that point she had been very intrigued with the possibility of witnessing a genuine Indian dancer, but when the old Indian drew a line on the dirt and called it a boundary, she began to hesitate. Then she became outright alarmed when he told her that the boundary was for her alone, and that once she stepped over it there was no way of returning.
The Indian apparently saw her consternation and tried to put her at ease. He politely patted her on the arm and gave her his guarantee that no harm would come to her while he was around. The boundary could be explained, he told her, as a form of symbolic payment to the dancer because he did not want money. Ritual was in lieu of money, and ritual required that she step over the boundary of her own accord.
The old Indian gleefully stepped over the line and told her that to him all of it was sheer Indian nonsense, but that the dancer, who was watching them from inside the house, had to be humored if she wanted to see him dance.
The Nagual woman said that she suddenly became so afraid that she could not move to cross the line. The old Indian made an effort to persuade her, saying that stepping over that boundary was beneficial to the entire body. Crossing it had not only made him feel younger, it had actually made him younger, such power did that boundary have. To demonstrate his point, he crossed back again and immediately his shoulders slouched, the corners of his mouth drooped, his eyes lost their shine. The Nagual woman could not deny the differences the crossings had made.
Don Juan recrossed the line a third time. He breathed deeply, expanding his chest, his movements brisk and bold. The Nagual woman said that the thought crossed her mind that he might even make sexual advances. Her car was too far away to make a run for it. The only thing she could do was to tell herself that it was stupid to fear that old Indian.
Then the old man made another appeal to her reason and to her sense of humor. In a conspiratorial tone, as if he were revealing a secret with some reluctance, he told her that he was just pretending to be young to please the dancer, and that if she did not help him by crossing the line, he was going to faint at any moment from the stress of walking without slouching. He walked back and forth across the line to show her the immense strain involved in his pantomime.
The Nagual woman said that his pleading eyes revealed the pain his old body was going through to mimic youth. She crossed the line to help him and be done with it: She wanted to go home.
The moment she crossed the line, don Juan took a prodigious jump and glided over the roof of the house. The Nagual woman said that he flew like a huge boomerang. When he landed next to her she fell on her back. Her fright was beyond anything she had ever experienced, but so was her excitement at having witnessed such a marvel. She did not even ask how he had accomplished such a magnificent feat. She wanted to run back to her car and head for home.
The old man helped her up and apologized for having tricked her. In fact, he said, he himself was the dancer and his flight over the house had been his dance. He asked her if she had paid attention to the direction of his flight. The Nagual woman circled her hand counterclockwise.
He patted her head paternally and told her that it was very auspicious that she had been attentive. Then he said that she may have injured her back in her fall, and that he could not just let her go without making sure she was all right. Boldly, he straightened her shoulders, and lifted her chin and the back of her head, as if he were directing her to extend her spine. He then gave her a sound smack between her shoulder blades, literally knocking all the air out of her lungs. For a moment she was unable to breathe and she fainted.
When she regained consciousness, she was inside his house. Her nose was bleeding, her ears were buzzing, her breathing was accelerated, and she could not focus her eyes. He instructed her to take deep breaths to a count of eight. The more she breathed, the clearer everything became. At one point, she told me, the whole room became incandescent: Everything glowed with an amber light.
She became stupefied and could not breathe deeply any more. The amber light by then was so thick it resembled fog. Then the fog turned into amber cobwebs. It finally dissipated, but the world remained uniformly amber for a while longer.
Don Juan began to talk to her then. He took her outside the house and showed her that the world was divided into two halves. The left side was clear but the right side was veiled in amber fog. He told her that it is monstrous to think that the world is understandable or that we ourselves are understandable. He said that what she was perceiving was an enigma; a mystery that one could only accept in humbleness and awe.
He then revealed the rule to her. Her clarity of mind was so intense that she understood everything he said. The rule seemed to her appropriate and self-evident.
He explained to her that the two sides of a human being are totally separate and that it takes great discipline and determination to break that seal and go from one side to the other. A double being has a great advantage: The condition of being double permits relatively easy movement between the compartments on the right side. The great disadvantage of double beings is that by virtue of having two compartments they are sedentary, conservative, afraid of change. "
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So another clue someone is a nagual, they're afraid of change...
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Of nagual, nahualli in Aztec meant 'disguise.' This was in reference to the gods, or beings who had the ability to shapeshift, or transform, or duplicate, as critters and so forth. Huitzilopochtli's nahualli was the eagle or hummingbird. Quetzacoatl's nahualli would be the plumed serpent, or serpent or quetzal bird, Tezcatlipoca nahualli was the jaguar. Does this mean, per the above, that all naguals are jaguars, thus connected to tez? No, but it does mean they do possess abilities like tez.
Tez, could use the smoky mirror to 'confuse,' and this is one of the nagual's abilities, to confuse. They can create smoke, they can even become, smoke, at will. Mirrors can be very effective and even on his counterpart/twin/alter, Quetzacoatl, even Quetzacoatl couldn't escape the effects of the mirror.
The other thing which is interesting is even more ferocious, is Huitzilopochtli. Now, could 'he' be somewhat the 'eagle' who eats awareness? Possibly - cause we do try to 'pass' the eagle. Huitzilopochtli was also a solar deity, and the eagle has connections to the sun, yet everything else. So darting past the eagle, is similar to darting past Huitzilopochtli, too. Huitzilopochtli also possesses a mirror as a weapon as well. Huitz was a bloodthirsty wargod.
But the main thing in this, "disguise," or mask (cause of nagual masks such as jaguar masks), were a symbol. Night, as well as all that surrounded, was nagual. the unknown, the unmanifest, was nagual. Nagual would 'hide' behind the faces of jaguars, or eagles, or hummingbirds, or serpents, et al. So if we can get the opportunity to 'unmask' a jaguar, or a hummingbird, what can we find?