Quetzalcoatl was also the patron of the priests and the title of the twin Aztec high priests.
Aztec priests had a panentheistic view of religion but the popular Aztec religion maintained polytheism.
This is a copy," he said, "of a very ancient Aztec statue, and it's an Aztec priest doing some sort of dance.
The Aztec priests defended themselves as follows:
What the Aztec priests were referring to was a central Mesoamerican belief: that a great, on-going sacrifice sustains the Universe.
Aztec priests would use the plant in sacrificial rituals.
Aztec priests in Mexico were also known to use the plant's hallucinogenic properties.
An Aztec priest, with only a flint knife, would have problems using such an approach.
At the specific moment when the Pleiades crossed the meridian, the Aztec priests would start a small fire on the slashed chest of the victim.
For a terrifying instant Schmidt loomed over him like an Aztec priest ready to rip the heart out of his chest.