New Mexico State Seal
The American Bald Eagle, which has always represented bravery, skill and strength, clasped three arrows in its talons. The smaller, Mexican Brown (or Haroy) Eagle, grasped a snake in its beak and cactus in its talons. This portion of the seal is still the official symbol of the Mexican Republic and portrays the ancient Aztec myth that the gods had ordered the Aztec Indians to settle the site in which they saw an eagle poised upon a cactus devouring a serpent. The scroll below the eagles contained the phrase "Crescit Eundo", which translated from the Latin is: "It grows as it goes."
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Courtesy of State of New Mexico
Image by Art Explosion 600,000.
