Show Notes
Nahual - Encyclopedia Britannica
The Nahual - The Upper Nexaca Totonec Project
The Wax Man - Olga Loya
Hummingbird Hill Ranch- Carlos Leonardo Baresh
Uncle Rabbit - Jonathan D. Amith
Transcript
Hello everyone! My name is L.M. Sypher, author of The Serpent’s Rise and this is my podcast: The Book, The Myth, The Legend. I’m kicking off this podcast as a bonus to my paid subscribers to take them through the mythology that inspired my series. In effect, the myths behind the mythos.
This first episode, however, like the first chapter of my book, is free and available to everyone. Today, we’ll be discussing nahuals, and The Wax Man, both of which appear in chapter one.
The Serpent’s Rise is slated for release on September 23rd, 2025, which also happens to be Jorden’s birthday. If you don’t want to wait that long, the book is being released chapter by chapter to paid subscribers on my Substack. It will be uploaded in its entirety a week before the official book launch, so if you want to say you read it first, now’s the time to act!
Before we begin, I want to take a minute to talk about myths more broadly. As I state in my author’s note, I could never hope to encompass the full breadth and depth of any individual mythology. The legends in my book have been synthesized from their source material and reformatted to fit my story-telling needs. I have put forth my best efforts and intentions to represent myths from around the world in a courteous way. All the work that’s gone into this project has been for the sake of cultural appreciation and accuracy of representation. While I am not above error, I do believe that the scope of my research is sufficient to share these tales with all of you. So sit back, relax, and let’s talk about monsters!
First and foremost, we have the story of the nahual. Naguals are prominent features of a few Mesoamerican traditions, including both Mayan and Azetc folklore.
To clarify some etymology, the term ‘nahual,’ meaning ‘double projection,’ can refer both to an animal spirit guide and the person who can transform into it. Some sources use ‘tonal animal’ and ‘nahual’ interchangeably. A human is usually referred to as a nahual only if they unlock their ability to embody that guide. In some traditions, only men can be nahuals. In others, only powerful leaders can embody the trait. In yet others, anyone–regardless of gender–can be included.
The mythology has differing accounts of how a person becomes a nahual, and how their tonal animal is chosen, but some of the most common tonal animals are big cats–particularly jaguars–wolves, birds–including eagles–and coyotes. Jorden, as we know, is a snake, the sign under which he was born.
Most closely related to the mythology of The Serpent’s Rise is an account recorded in a book by Carlos Leonardo Baresh by the name of Hummingbird Hill Ranch. It’s an autobiographical account of a Canadian couple who retired to become ranchers in Mexico, and gives some first-hand accounts of the myths and legends they learn about as they ingratiate themselves into the culture. Like The Serpent’s Rise, the nahual story of Hummingbird Hill Ranch presents an Aztec-meaning mythology, and suggests that a person’s nahual reflects their birthday.
Specifically, it states that a person is born under one of the twenty signs of the Aztec calendar which, it must be noted, are not actually all animals. This doesn’t break any mythological canons, however, because the idea of a nahual is not solely tied to animal transfiguration. In this version of the myth, when an infant is four days old, a ceremony is conducted and the baby is given their nahual. The parents don’t tell the child what their nahual is, however, until they’re old enough to be responsible for their own actions. At that time, they can even change their nahual, if they want to.
One facet of the story that is stressed here is the fact that the ‘double projection’ must be mutual. The nahual must want the person, and the person must want the nahual. That is, perhaps, the most striking deviation from The Serpent’s Rise. As it stands, Jorden didn’t ask to be a nahual, and has little to no control over his abilities or their onset. We might make some inferences based on this information, but whether or not his parents performed a ceremony when he was four days old is a question for a later book.
As a small aside, Hummingbird Hill ranch suggests that the gods of the Aztec pantheon had their own nahuals as well, noting particularly Tezcatlipoca, sometimes known as Black Tezcatlipoca, who was the god of nahuals–among other things–and took the form of a jaguar. He was a complicated figure in the mythos. Perhaps better known as the god of the night sky, obsidian, and conflict, he represented both positive and negative aspects of his domain.
Remember how I mentioned that the nahual myth is not Aztec alone? Well, without the signs to indicate which spirit guide a child will receive, you need an alternate method to divine one. One legend says to spread ashes in front of a house with a newborn baby in it. It’s said that the first animal to pass over the line of ash will become that infant’s tonal animal. Another method is to go off on one’s own and sleep in a secluded place. Whatever animal comes to the sleeper in their dreams will thereafter be that person’s tonal animal.
And here is where mythology deviates into a real-world spiritual practice. There is an active shammanic tradition around unlocking a nahual that involves a combination of meditation, energy work, and instructed practice. Some practitioners believe that by accessing alternate states of consciousness, they can connect with their tonal animals. Others believe that a nahual state is simply a state of intense focus and clarity.
And that, my friends, is where we bridge into the subject of brujería. Unlike shamanism, brujería is, in its brass tacks, witchcraft. There is quite a bit of nuance when it comes to the ins and outs of brujería that I will cover in later episodes, but today, what I’ll say about it is that it is mythologically related to the dark arts. In modern practice, brujería means something different to each and every person who considers themselves a bruja or brujo–in effect, a witch or wizard–and as an active spiritual practice, we respect and honor those beliefs. For our intents and purposes, we’ll be focusing purely on the superstitious connotations.
From a mythological standpoint, brujería has gotten a bad rap and is linked to a fair number of legends, including the nahual. Although they are distinct in folklore, there are some interpretations of the nahual legend that link nahuals to brujería, equating them to sorcerers. And if that sounds familiar to some of you, it should. Nagualism is not the only indigenous legend of shapeshifters, with perhaps the most famous coming out of Navajo culture in the American southwest. Using magic to turn into an animal and gain abilities that normal humans don’t have is a theme that repeats itself time and time again–with important regional and cultural distinctions.
Which is how we come to the question of whether nahuals are good or evil. At face value, there is little morality associated with the ability to embody one’s tonal animal. Of course, there might be a different connotation if the power was unlocked naturally, through shammanic meditation, or use of dark magic. In the book, I wrote that the power of a nahual could be used to uplift or work against a community. Whether a nahual is a positive or negative force is determined by a variety of factors, including the source myth, culture of origin, and regional superstitions. In effect, the interpretation is truly in the eye of the beholder.
I leaned into this ambiguity as a way to underscore the conflict between Jorden’s identities as both a human and a monster. Neither category is a moralistic imperative, there is no monolithic ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in either group. Instead, it comes down to individual actions and choices, and that leaves a whole lot of gray area to explore.
There are some stories, however, that paint nahuals as unambiguously evil. One folktale, shared by The Upper Nexaca Totonec Project, is such a story. Now, Upper Nexaca Totonec is an endangered language in Central Mexico, and the project serves to keep the traditions of this dialect and the people who speak it alive. To give you a bit more background, this language is spoken by the indigenous Totonac people and is distinct from both the Mayan and Aztec language families. Culturally, the Totonac people are distinct from these groups as well, though they were conquered by the Aztecs in the late 15th century, C.E. You can check the show notes for a link to the traditional Totonac story and its English translation, but I’ll give you the jist of it here.
The Nagual is a story about a malevolent shapeshifter that came to a town to devour children. After a man loses all of his children to the creature, he decided to confront the nahual, and lays down across its path, pretending to be dead. The nahual inspects the man, going so far as to lick his face to confirm whether or not he is alive before ultimately deciding to drag him somewhere else to eat.
When the nahual lays the man over its shoulder, the man produces a stick from under his arm and puts it in just about the most uncomfortable place you could imagine a stick to go. As a result, the nahual dies, the village is saved, and the man is heralded as a hero. Then, to ensure no other nahual comes to prowl after their children, they skin and eat the creature over a number of days, frightening any others of its kind.
Now, I should mentioned that in some traditions, the association between nahuals and jaguars is so inextricable that the word for ‘jaguar’ is nahual, but in this case, it’s probably more related to the shapechanger, because it’s supernaturally impenetrable and no one has figured out how to kill it, until our protagonist finds a weakness, that is.
And this is what I mean when I say that the myths in my book are synthesized. Although Jorden may not seem particularly evil and monstrous, the associations of the nahual myth certainly can be. But with those stories told, it’s time to shift to our second legend under discussion today, that of The Wax Man.
Not to be confused with a Creepy Pasta story of the same name, The Wax Man is a Latin American Folk tale that was put into print by Olga Loya in 1994, published by Scholastic. As far as regional specificity goes, it’s worth noting that Olga Loya is a Colombian author, but the tale of The Wax Man is not strictly Colombian, and retellings of it can be found across South America, Central American, and swaths of North America as well. While I lump the character of Gaspar into Jorden’s mythos, and specify that his first solid memories are of Tijuana, Mexico, in the 1940’s, we don’t know where Gaspar actually originated from, just that we walked a long time before arriving there.
In my mind, that adds an element of mystery to Gaspar’s character. Much like folk legends themselves, it’s impossible to determine exactly where he came from. In many ways, Gaspar is as much an orphan as Jorden is. Neither of them know which mythology they truly belong to. While Gaspar’s motivations are clearly self-serving, I like to believe there is some part of him that feels a genuine connection to Jorden. He–like Ernie–is an ill-equipped caretaker, but on some level, he truly wants Jorden as his protege.
Psychological revelations aside, let’s get into the story. Once upon a time, there was a fox who loved to eat chickens. Every night, she would sneak through a hole in a farmer’s fence and steal one. Then, one night, she found that the hole was blocked by a man. Believing it to be a real man, she asked for one of the chickens. When he did not respond, she asked again. When he was unyielding, she took to punching him, her fist sinking into his skin which was, in fact, made of wax. As a result, she was stuck there.
She screamed at him to let her go, and when he would not oblige, she hit him with her other paw. When that didn’t work, she took to kicking him until eventually, all her paws were stuck and she cried out for help.
Coyote came to answer her pleas, and the fox promised that if he helped her escape, she would catch the both of them a chicken. The coyote pushed with all his might until the wax man was off of her, but his own paws were stuck in the process. Instead of helping him, or even securing the chickens as she promised, the fox ran away. As it began to rain, the coyote howled and cried, but the warm rain–or in some versions, his tears–softened the wax, and he was able to escape. After that, it’s said that the fox and the coyote never bothered the chickens again.
I thought The Wax Man would make a compelling character. I have long been terrified of wax mannequins, and the story stuck with me as being particularly poignant. It’s short enough to leave plenty of room for interpretation, and I certainly interpreted away.
While the legend itself doesn’t give any indication of The Wax Man as a character beyond the iconic line, “the Wax Man smiled, but he did not say a word,” I decided it might be interesting to showcase the aspects of a ‘wanting’ personality. Simply put, a man made of wax isn’t fully-formed. Gaspar is missing something quintessential, and that’s what fuels his life of crime, even as other monsters in the Underside take up more reputable pursuits.
Before we close off today’s episode, I have one more wax man story for you, this one more specific to Mexico itself. Uncle Rabbit and the Wax Doll is a Nahautl story similar to Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby. Like Brer Rabbit, it speaks of a clever protagonist outsmarting his adversaries, in this case, Old Man Crocodile and Uncle Coyote.
To give you a bit more insight into what I’m talking about, let’s start with the Nahua people. They are an indigenous group from Central Mexico who speak Nahautl, a language in the Uto-Aztecan family. According to the University of Texas, it was the language of the Aztecs during the Postclassic period of Mesoamerican history.
Brer Rabbit, also known as Brother Rabbit, is the folk hero of many stories told in the American South and the Caribbean through an oral tradition passed down from enslaved people in those regions. Brer Rabbit teaches us that intelligence and cunning can overcome stronger opponents, even with brute force on their side.
The parallels between these tales, as well as Loya’s wax man are a testament to the fact that oral traditions are ever-evolving things. For some additional context, you’ll notice the ‘Brother’ in Brother Rabbit and ‘Uncle’ in Uncle Rabbit. These familial monikers are not literal, but point to a greater connectivity and sense of respect, especially towards older members of a community.
Alright, now on with the story. In many ways, it’s quite similar to the tale I just shared, with a few quite obvious deviations. I’m only summarizing here, so once again, check the show notes for a link to the source material.
Uncle Rabbit lived across from a beautiful garden that had all his favorite foods, sweet potatoes and squash leaves. The only problem was that a river separated him from it. Uncle Rabbit decided that to get across, he needed a ferryman, and who should have happened to be coming but Old Man Crocodile. Uncle Rabbit stopped Old Man Crocodile and told him that if he would only take Uncle Rabbit across the river, he could gobble him up on the limestone slab.
Old Man Crocodile agreed, eager for his meal, and let Uncle Rabbit climb up onto his back. When they were halfway across the river, Old Man Crocodile got it in his head to simply slip beneath the water, and eat Uncle Rabbit then and there. When Uncle Rabbit’s paws began to go under, he cried out to Old Man Crocodile, insisting that his blood and fat would all be lost if he tried to eat him in the water.
Old Man Crocodile wasn’t convinced, but when he turned his body parallel to the limestone slab, Uncle Rabbit leapt right off and ran away. Old Man Crocodile was livid, the rabbit had lied to him after all.
For an entire week, Uncle Rabbit stayed in that garden, coming out by night to munch on all the sweet potato and squash leaves. You can probably guess what the farmer did when he got wise. If you said ‘posted a man of wax by the entrance to the garden,’ you’re spot on.
The altercation between Uncle Rabbit and the wax man played out just the same way it did in our first tale until eventually, Uncle Rabbit was hanging off the wax man, with all his paws stuck inside. Then, along came Uncle Coyote. Uncle Rabbit stopped him, claiming that he was hanging off the wax man because the farmer had promised him one of his chickens. He said that because he didn’t eat chicken, Uncle Coyote could free him and take his place. Uncle Rabbit promised that the farmer would come and give him a chicken as soon as dawn came.
Well, Uncle Coyote pulled Uncle Rabbit out of the wax man. He even stuck his own paws where Uncle Rabbit’s had been. Once he was good and stuck, Uncle Rabbit ran away. Come dawn, the farmer didn’t give Uncle Coyote his chicken, but instead a thrashing so terrible, Uncle Coyote didn’t live to see the end of the tale.
There’s more to this story, including repeated attempts by Old Man Crocodile to lure Uncle Rabbit close enough to eat, but Uncle Rabbit sees through the clever ruses and in the end, lives for two years across the river eating the farmer’s crops and hopping about from place to place.
You can find the whole tale in the book Uncle Rabbit and the Wax Doll with translations in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl by Jonathan D. Amith. And while this is no paid advertisement, I do think there’s something remarkable about a story told in three languages. It proves just how transcendental myths can be, reaching across miles, centuries, and entire vocabularies to unite us in a shared humanity.
Well, that’s all for this episode, thanks for listening, and join me on September 24th for a deep-dive into Chapter Two, where we’ll be discussing chupacabras, chaneques, and the geology behind the fire opal necklace. Oh, and if you think I forgot about Ernie, don’t worry, we’ll be going over all things ogre in Episode 3. Remember to subscribe if you haven’t already. You can unlock the rest of this podcast for only $5 a month! Episodes will be posted Wednesday nights at 6pm est.
Catch you all in the Underside.
The Book, The Myth, The Legend is a production of The Cardinal Alliance. Script writing and episode research were both conducted by me, L. M. Sypher. Our theme song is Cataclysmic Molten Core by Jingle Punks and our score is by Lucas King.
