A 2012 memorial in the House of Representatives acknowledges the zia sun as a sacred Zia Pueblo emblem, and a 2014 Senate memorial states New Mexico's state flag represents Zia culture. The Zia Sun Symbol symbol originated with the Native Americans of Zia [pronounce it "tSEE-ah"] Pueblo (Indian village) in ancient times. The symbol has a sacred meaning to the Zia. Four is a sacred number that symbolizes the Circle of Life: four winds, four seasons, four directions, and four sacred obligations. The Zia symbol is a sacred symbol in Native American culture, specifically in the Zia Pueblo tribe of New Mexico. It represents their belief in the four sacred obligations: the duty to the Creator, the duty to the Earth, the duty to oneself, and the duty to one's fellow human beings. Pino says the 16 rays of the zia sun — four in every direction — symbolize various aspects of life: those pointing to the north represent the four directions; the rays to the west represent the four seasons; the rays to the south represent "mountains we as individuals must climb" — infancy, adolescence, adulthood, elderhood; the rays to the east The centre of the sun symbol stands for life itself, Delgarito explained. The general public is using the Zia sun symbol without knowing its history or the religious significance behind it, he said. Zia at least want respect for the symbol and that it is not desecrated. The Zia sun Symbol is featured on the New Mexico flag. The Zia regard the Sun as sacred. Their solar symbol , a red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions, is painted on ceremonial vases, drawn on the ground around campfires, and used to introduce newborns to the Sun. .

what does the zia symbol mean