Working with our emotional waters, it is important to listen to the messages surfacing up for air. Hueyollotl, translating into “the great heart”, invites us on a journey of emotional rebirth. This card reminds us that Teyollia, a spiritual force that animates the cosmos and life, is stored deep within our hearts.
Mesoamerican discourse has associated this knowing as essential and one of the three vital forces that encompass the soul. Not to be viewed as the Western-Christian concept of the soul, Teyollia is much more autonomous, in that its essence is stored in our heart, providing us sustenance. This essence, in our heart, holds profound depth and guides our thoughts, affections, and health.
The great heart is home to all things love, feelings, and memories. At the center, yollotl, “the heart”, is depicted as a fountain of spewing blood, symbolizing sacrifice, the flowing of Teyollia.
Enduring difficult moments in life will often make us feel helpless and fearful of these internal waters that hold hidden truths and depths of feeling. Like the energy of “the great heart”, offer yourself sanctuary and emotional-physical nourishment during your journey of concentrated heart work.
In the traditional tarot, Hueyollotl is the “Ace of Cups”, symbolizing love, new relationships, and compassion. Usually depicted as a chalice overflowing with water, the ace of cups is known to also represent the vessel of our subconscious mind.
What both illustrations highlight is the action of opening up one’s heart/mind. This first card of the yollotls (hearts)/suit of cups is an invitation to embark on a journey of deeper self-discovery. The potential of this new beginning is guided by the four directions and the union of time and space, highlighted in the blood streams painted, yellow (East), black (North), red (West), and blue (South) and four glyphs (Reed, Flint, House, and Rabbit).
Furthermore, the Hueyollotl represents revitalizing connection with our creativity, intuition, and opportunity to open ourselves to new experiences that benefit our well-being and holistic growth.
The Yohualli Ehécatl tarot offers a reminder that love, compassion, sacrifice, and new beginnings all get processed through our heart before our headspace (intellectualizing). It is in our best interest to know that that issues live within our tissue, thoughts are created by energy, and that whatever is revealed amongst this journey, can be healed. This ancient wisdom reminds us that breath and the beating of the heart are connected, dependent of one another to sustain life.
Allow your heart space to speak to you, and with a warm embrace, without judgement, allow yourself to overflow~