ALUNA TEMPLE MAGAZINE Edition No1 'THE POWER OF CIRCLES' | Page 14

FOOD CIRCLE Chocholate By Antonia Green & Fernando Itzcóatl (Melbourne, AU) ? Temazcal - Sweat Lodge Ceremonies ? Sacred Journeys to South America ? Cacao TONANTZIN Ceremonies [email protected] www.fifthsunjourneys.com Photo:: Fifth Sun Journeys; Antonia, Fernando & their daughter Sochi CACAO has been celebrated as the Food of the Gods. This magical bean Induces and celebrates love, creates a chemical euphoria that fosters a joyful relationship with all living things. It Helps to open the heart. Calls forth peace and compassion, lowers the stress and helps with the focus. It is naturally high in antioxidants. Has aphrodisiac qualities. Stimulates the imagination. Feeds the God-Spirit within You. The ancient Mesoamericans, the Maya and the Aztec, consumed chocolate as a liquid drink. This drink was a rich, strong, unsweetened or bittersweet and with sometimes added spicies – common was chilli. The cultivation and use of cacao and chocolate, believed to have began by the Olmec peoples of Mexico, dates back to approximately 1500 BC. Current genetic information dates the use of cacao to over 4000 years ago. The Mayan peoples historically loved hot chocolate and learned the use of cacao by the late Olmec peoples and their decedents. Many of their creation myths in the Popol Vuh refer to cacao. The Maya considered cacao to be a gift from the Gods and it was also the food of the Gods. There are carvings and paintings on ceramics that depict the sacred connections to the Gods. On many drinking and burial vessels are scenes and depiction's of cacao and chocolate being used. Strong associations between chocolate and human blood were common among the Mayan and Aztecs. Chocolate was considered to be the blood of the Earth and there was a sacred association with Human blood. 14