Quetzalcoatl: The Mesoamerican Myth of the Feathered Serpent

It’s a hard name to pronounce, but hey, it’s been the legend of Native American peoples for centuries.

Was it a man? Was it a god? Was it a white person? Or was it some animal or strange thing?

Quetzalcoatl is an Aztec divine being whose name originates from the Nahuatl language and meaning 'valuable snake' or 'Quetzal-feathered Snake.'

'Quetzalcoatl, in its actual sense, means'snake of valuable plumes,' but in the allegorical sense, 'best of men,'' said Ixtlilxóchitl, a descendant of Aztec royalty and history expert of the Nahua people, in the 17th century.


Quetzalcoatl was related to gods of the wind, the world Venus, the early morning, merchants, and arts, crafts, and knowledge amongst the Aztecs, whose beliefs are the best recorded in historic sources.

He was also the Aztec priesthood's client god, and also the god of research study and knowledge.

In addition to the gods Tlaloc, Tezcatlipoca, and Huitzilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl was just one of the most considerable gods in the Aztec temple. Quetzalcoatl's ally Tlaloc (the divine being of rain) and Quetzalcoatl's twin and psychopomp, Xolotl, the dog-headed soul-guide for the dead, are 2 other gods represented by the world Venus.

Apart from that, many people in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are convinced that Quetzalcoatl was the name for Jesus, who, according to their record, the Book of Mormon, came to the American continent.

In this brief book, we will discuss all those convictions, myths, and background stories, so you can be informed and make up your own mind.