On a square base of onyx rose a pyramid and obelisk of prismatic glass at each side of the northern niche. The pyramid was composed of glass squares, ingeniously piled up, and the obelisk was of round balls of glass, beginning with twelve, and ending with one. Several lighted lamps placed behind them gave a bewildering effect of color through the crystal.
The niche itself ended in a sharp triangle, and contained a blue enamel swastika, familiarly known to-day as the Keys of Saint Peter.
Astronomically, it is the sign Aquarius, which is Janus, or Saint Peter, while Pisces is the swastika in his hand. It is correlated to the spiral movements in nature everywhere, and its hieroglyph is a dragon, serpent meander, or two rivers of fire.
Three marble steps led to this altar, and there was a constant stream of people praying before it. They entered barefooted, and silently threw themselves on the floor before the altars. The swastika not only indicated the time, but also the unsettled condition, and they implored continually:
“O Thou who art master of all motion, hold Thou the earth fast in the hollow of Thy hand! Grant that it may no longer be swayed in its orbit, but may go in peace, freed from evil influence. Hear and answer, we beseech Thee!”
Rising at daybreak, the whole populace made their ablutions with scrupulous care, and dressed themselves in spotless white.
They waited in vain for a glimpse of the rising sun, and then betook themselves to the housetops.
Turning with infinite yearning to the north, they cried out:
“Spirits of the lost ones, come quickly, since thou art expected!”
This curious practice was kept up at this yearly festival until the time of the conquest of Mexico. All the native races of America believed with the Norsemen that hell was situated in the north doubtless in memory of the overwhelming destruction of the great Ice Age.