Wikimedia Commons ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Across New Mexico, the zia symbol is everywhere: On license plates, newspapers, flags, T-shirts, beer cans, jewelry - even skin. But many who sport the 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 flag features a red sun symbol, called the Zia, in the center. The Zia is a sacred symbol to the Zia Pueblo people and represents the four sacred obligations: the sun, the earth, life, and the cycle of life. Surrounding the sun symbol are four groups of rays, each consisting of four rays.
The simple, elegant center design is the ancient Zia sun symbol, representing the unique character of New Mexico.
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.

The Fire Society pot bore a Zia symbol—a round sun with stylized eyes and a mouth, surrounded by groups of three rays in each of the four directions. In 1923, when the Daughters of the American Revolution announced a contest for a state-flag design, physician Harry Mera recalled the symbol.

The official flag of New Mexico consists of a red sun symbol of the Zia people on a field of gold (yellow).

The Zia symbol represents the number four for the points in the compass, which are north, south, east, and west. The four seasons of summer, autumn, winter, and spring are also represented. The number four also corresponds to the periods within a day, which are the morning, noon, evening, and night. 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.
The exhibit, Ours|The Zia Sun, was a special collaboration between the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Zia Pueblo tribal council, and the citizens of New Mexico that showcased what the symbol means to so many New Mexicans, including the Zia Pueblo people who created it.
what does the zia symbol mean
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.
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The Zia sun symbol is one of the most recognizable symbols in New Mexico. It is a symbol of the Zia Pueblo, an indigenous tribe from the state. The symbol features a circle with four rays pointing in each of the cardinal directions. The four rays represent the four seasons, the four directions, the four times of day, and the four stages of life.
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 Zia Sun Symbol is a sacred emblem of the Zia Pueblo people, one of the 19 Native American Pueblos of New Mexico, USA. The symbol is a simple but powerful representation of the Zia worldview and its four sacred obligations. It has become an iconic symbol of the state of New Mexico and is recognized and revered by people around the world. .