Book: The Secret Teachings of the Popol Vuh

CHAPTER 7

THE LOUSE, THE FROG, THE SNAKE, AND THE HAWK

There are two types of teaching: the teaching for the eye and the teaching for the heart.  We have followed the teaching of the eye (intellect, theories, reasoning, etc.) and only a few have followed the doctrine of the heart (comprehension, meditation, and internal knowledge).

“Soon after the Twins, Master-Magi (Hunahpu) and Little-Solar-Priest (Ixbalanque), went to play ball; they cleaned the fields on which their fathers used to play and soon enough, they started their game.  It did not take long for the commotion to reach the ears of the Lords of Xibalba, and annoyed, they once again sent their messengers to notify them they should present themselves for a game of ball in the underworld, seven days after”

To walk back into the path is the most rewarding action we can take.  Returning to enjoy of the lost teachings is what our essence longs-for and this, obviously, annoys our psychological aggregates.  They immediately see their existence endangered and they will seek, as we could expect, to derail our efforts.

“The messengers of Xibalba arrived at the Grandmother’s house and because the Twins were away enjoying their game, they left the message with her.  The Grandmother was devastated as this was the very same way her sons were called… and now her grandchildren were the ones invited to play.  She sat down and cried, when a louse fell on her lap.  The Grandmother asked the louse to deliver to her grandchildren, Master-Magi (Hunahpu) and Little-Solar-Priest (Ixbalanque) the message from the Lords of Xibalba”

The louse is a symbol of any of our many divine elements that attempts to catch our attention to help guide us.  The louse is small, and so is the influence we have been allowing from our divine elements as we put ourselves so far away from them.  These are the “gut feelings”, the calls from the consciousness, or “intuits” as the philosopher Emmanuel Kant referred to them.  These come to us as attempts from our Divine Mother and our Being for us to receive guidance.

“The louse started walking towards the ball field to deliver the message, but he was not making much progress and on his way, it met a frog called Tzamul.  The frog asked where he was going, to which the louse answered he had inside a message he had to deliver to the Twins.  ‘You don’t seem to be making much progress’ – said the frog – ‘let me swallow you and once in my belly, I will take you there much faster’… and the frog Tzamul swallowed the louse and started running to go deliver the message”

The frog lives within the waters of life within us.  These are the waters that carry the energy that brought us into existence and gave us life, and this water can be transmuted through the love of classical music, art, the wise use of the word, balanced exercise, taking walks in the forest, and by specific systems of transmutation for both singles, and married couples.  These systems are a cornerstone of the Gnostic teachings.

When energies are transmuted it becomes then possible to increase our awareness to receive these messages from the Being and the possibility of these to reach the consciousness, increases.

“On his way, the frog Tzamul met the serpent Saquicaz and when the serpent asked where was he going, the frog answered he was carrying a louse in its belly that in turn, had a message for the Twins.  ‘Allow me to swallow you… I can get there much faster’… and it swallowed the frog and from that moment-on, and not before, serpents started eating frogs”

The Maya, Aztec and Egyptians consistently allegorized the occult knowledge and for all of them, the serpent is a symbol of occult wisdom.  Anyone who penetrates into the wisdom of the Being will develop a higher capacity to receive the Divine teachings.

Esoteric wisdom is not made of candles and tarot cards; the authentic occult knowledge is based on self-knowledge, which is the experiential knowledge we must discover as the only way become capable of receiving what our internal Mother and Father try to show us.

“On her way, the serpent met the Hawk Voc, and when the hawk asked where she was going, the serpent answered that on her belly she carried a frog that in turn, carried a louse, and the louse had a message for the Twins.  ‘Allow me to swallow you.  I can fly and I can get there much faster’, and thus the hawk swallowed the snake.  And it was from that moment forward, and not an instant before, that hawks started swallowing the snakes they find on their ways”

The hawk Voc is a majestic creature and is representative of spirituality and transcendental mysticism.

Reuniting our transmuted energies (symbolized by the frog Tzamul), the occult wisdom (the serpent Tzaquicaz) and transcendental spirituality (the hawk Voc), is how the messages from the Spirit can start becoming one in us.

“And it came to be that the hawk Voc arrived at the ball field, where the Twins, Master-Magi (Hunahpu) and Little-Solar-Priest (Ixbalanque), were playing and yelled: ‘Voc Co!’ (here is the hawk!) and one of the Twins grabbed his blowpipe, and fired, causing an injury to one of the eyes of the hawk.  The hawk fell, and as they approached to catch him they asked: ‘Why are you here?’  The hawk told them he had a message in his belly for them, but he needed to be healed first… to which the Twins took a bit of the resin that made up their ball, applied it to the hawk, and it was instantly healed”

Many times we receive messages from our consciousness in the form of hunches and we simply disregard them, underestimating the wisdom of the silent voice of the heart; as the mind intervenes we become blind to the signals from the Spirit.

The healing of the hawk’s eye is akin to us paying the necessary attention as we look within and listen to the wise voice of silence.  When we do so we can steer our ship through the stormy waters of our existence.

“And it came to happen that the hawk Voc spat the serpent Tzaquicaz, and in turn she spat the frog Tzamul, and as much as the frog tried, he was unable to spit the louse.  Crossed, the Twins kicked the frog, causing the hipbones of the frog to be displaced, and that is why frogs can no longer run but only leap, because of the Twins… and this was from that moment-on, and not before.  Then they opened its mouth and noticed it had not eaten the louse, but that the louse was sitting at the corner of its mouth, and because of this is why frogs do not eat lice”

If the human being allowed themselves to be guided by the Voice of the Silence, from those messages that come from the higher planes of consciousness, we for certain would not live surrounded by so much misfortune.  This is why the Popol-Vuh emphasizes so many allegories as a means for the teachings to reach deep into the consciousness.

“And the louse delivered the message and the youngsters returned home to find their afflicted mother and Grandmother, but they arrived only to part from, leaving behind two canes planted, one for each one of them… and these were not planted on fertile or humid ground, but at the center of the house, as an evidence of their existence.  ‘If they dry then you can say: ‘They have died’, but if they turn green, then you will know we are still alive’ – said the Twins, Master-Magi (Hunahpu) and Little-Solar-Priest (Ixbalanque), as they parted to Xibalba”

The cane is a symbol of the spinal column of man.  It is there where the spiritual grades are measured, and when it “dries”, it means we have become dead (lost all superior senses) for the matters of the spirit; and when it “turns green” is an indication that we are working on the vertical path, towards the conquering of our own Being.