Important for those new to the Tradition, Tlatzolteotl/Peck lays out fundamental principles of the NAWI OLLIN TEOTL (Movement of the Four Energies) that are regularly used in teaching. Using illustrations and diagrams she explains how this foundational approach can be used for maintaining life, human health, nutrition, proper food intake, and more. She brings to light that the twenty amino acids are expressed in the calendar and manifested as the twenty great energies recognized by the Tradition.

She discusses quantum biology, positing: Ketzalxiuhteotl (beautiful brilliant energy), one of a number of healing modalities of the Tetzkaltlipoka Tradition, is an energy medicine that creates an entangled or coherent wave, a healing field. That’s quite a heady concept, and one that can lead to a wider understanding of the nature of energy medicine.

Because knowledge is passed via the oral tradition, the Mexhika culture, it’s wisdom and the Tetzkaltlipoka Tradition are marginally understood. Moreover, their science, wisdom and worldview have been polluted across the centuries with European interpretations. This is obvious in many books and scholarly papers about the Aztecs/Mexhika that talk about a pantheon of gods and a populace in fear of angry deities when, instead, the culture was oriented toward recognizing and interacting with multiple universal energies.

While it is possible to find books with good visual representations of Mexhika artifacts, writers of such texts often throw up their hands trying to interpret them, in one case calling the calendar a “puzzling sculpture.” Some have made valiant attempts to decipher the purpose and meaning of the iconography with limited success, yet end up presenting superficial descriptions without any grasp of what the images signify.

The Aztec Calendar, Nitrogen and Life moves beyond all those endeavors. Tlatzolteotl/Peck’s understanding has been informed by a melding of her work in microbiology together with years of study with co-author Tzenwaxolokwauhtli Tzatzoehetzin, a hereditary teacher of indigenous traditional knowledge. In addition to her interpretations, the book is well-footnoted, especially with regard to scientific references.

What is recorded here for the first time in print cannot be found in any other publication about the Mexhika calendar, the Tetzkaltlipoka Tradition, the deep meaning of the iconography, or the philosophy it represents. There is much to learn from this book and there is still much to be understood and written. This scientist’s analysis is only a single layer of deep knowing. Significantly, the text has been reviewed and authorized for publication by the four guiding councils of the Continuing Teztkatlipoka Tradition.

From the back cover:
“I have attempted to draw attention to stories held in common between the Continuing Tetzkatlipoka Tradition and contemporary science that may indicate shared perspectives about the origins of our cosmos and about life itself.”

– Vickie M. Peck, Ph.D. (Tlatzolteotl)