Acuecucyoticihuati
(Acuecueyotl) The Aztec goddess of the ocean, running water, and rivers,
closely associated with Chalchiuhtlicue of whom she is another appearance.
She is invoked by Aztec women in labor.
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Ahuic
She is the goddess of the running water in rivers, streams, and waves
on the beach; and is a manifestation of Chalchiuhtlicue.
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Apozanolotl
Another avatar of Chalchiuhtlicue, she is represented by foam, suds, or
white-capped waves on the water surface. It is said this suggests the
virtue of purity.
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Atlacamani
The Aztec goddess of storms which occur on the ocean.
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Atlacoya
An Aztec goddess of drought.
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Atlatonin
One of the names of the Aztec mother-goddess.
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Ayauhteotl
The Aztec goddess of the haze and mist which can be seen at dawn and during
the night. She is associated with vanity and fame.
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Chalchihuitlcue
("she of the robe of green jewels", "lady precious green")
She is the goddess of rain and of the flowing fater. She carried the sun
during the fourth age of Aztec pre-history, and created a bridge in the
Fifth World for those she favoured; while drowning the others in a fifty-two
year deluge. It was she who calmed the waters, and she is remembered during
the month of Etzaqualitzl when rain is needed for the crops. She is the
personification of youthful beauty, vitality and violence; the whirlpool,
the wind on the waters, all young and growing things, the beginning of
life and creation. She is sometimes depicted with the head of Tlazolteotl
(goddess of witches) between her legs.
Chalmecacihuilt
An Aztec goddess of the underworld.
Chantico
("she who dwells in the house") The goddess of hearth and volcanic
fires. She was turned into a dog by Tonacatecuhtli (the maize god) after
eating roasted fish with paprika on an appointed day of fasting.
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Chicomecoatl
(Xilonen) ("seven snakes) The Aztec goddess of maize who is sometimes
referred to as the "goddess of nourishment", the female aspect
of corn and a goddess of plenty. Each September a young girl representing
Chicomecoatl was decapitated, and her blood collected and poured over
an idol of the goddess. The corpse was then flayed, and the skin worn
by a priest. Chicomecoatl can be represented as a girl with waterflowers,
a woman whose embrace means certain death or as a mother who carries
the sun as a sheild. Her symbol is an ear of corn.
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Chiconahui
The Aztec hearth-goddess, and guardian of the household
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Cihuacoatl
(Chihucoatl) ("snake woman") She is an earth and mother goddess,
the patroness of women who die while giving birth. Using the ground bones
of people of the preceding era and the blood of the self-sacrificed old
gods, she assisted Quetzalcoatl in creating the first humans of this era.
She is usually portrayed holding a child in her arms, and she is the mother
of Mixcoatl. Her roars are a signal of war, and the centre of her cult
was at Colhuacan, near Lake Texcoco in Mexico.
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Citlalicue
("star garment") An Aztec creator goddess. She is the consort
of Citlalatonac, and together they created the stars.
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Cihuateteo
These Mexican vampires date back to the of the days of the Aztec and are
believed to be the servants of the gods. Thus, they have the magical powers
of a priest. All civateteo are noblewomen who died during childbirth and
have now returned to earth. These creatures stalk travelers at crossroads
and lurk in temples or churches. They are terrible to look upon, shriveled
and as white as chalk. Often a death's head or other glyph is painted
on their clothes or tattooed on their flesh.
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Coatlicue
{coh-ah-tlee'-cooeh} ("skirt of serpents", "mother of the
gods") The Aztec goddess of earth and fire, mother of the gods, the
stars of the southern sky and the goddess Coyolxauhqui. She has an endless,
ravenous appetite for human hearts and will not bear fruit unless given
human blood.
Coatlicue conceived her son Huitzilopochtli, after keeping in her bosom
a ball of hummingbird feathers (the soul of fallen warrior) that dropped
from the sky. She gradually grew in size until her sons, the Centzon Huitznahua,
noticed that she was with child . Enraged, they furiously demanded to
know the identity of the father; their elder sister, Coyolxauhqui, decided
that they must slay their mother. Her children's intentions terrified
the pregnant goddess, but the child within her womb consoled Coatlicue,
assuring her that he was aware and ready.
Dressed in warrior garb, the Centzon Huitznahua follow Coyolxauhqui to
Coatepec. When her raging children reach the crest of the mountain, Coatlicue
gives birth to Huitzilopochtli, already fully armed. Wielding his burning
weapon, known as the Xiuhcoatl or Turquoise Serpent, he slays Coyolxauhqui
and her body tumbled in pieces to the base of Coatepec. It is said that
Quetzalcoatl, with Tezcatlipoca, pulled Coatlicue down from the heavens,
and in the form of great serpents, ripped her into two pieces to form
the earth and sky.
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Coyolxauhqui
{coh-yohl-shau'-kee} ("golden bells") The earth and moon-goddess
of the Aztec. She is related to the four hundred star-deities Huitznauna,
who are under her control, and she possesses magical powers which with
she can do great harm. Coyolxauhqui decapitated her own mother Coatlicue
when she became pregnant in what her children deemed unseemly circumstances.
According to one tradition, Huitzilopochtli tossed Coyalxauhqui's head
into the sky where it became the moon. He hoped that his mother would
find comfort at night by seeing the face of her daughter in the sky.
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Huixtocihuatl
(Uixtochihuatl) An Aztec or pre-Aztec fertility goddess. She was connected
particularly with salt and salt water. She was generally considered to
have been the elder sister of Tlaloc. |
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Ilamatecuhtli
An Aztec fertility and death goddess known as 'the Old Princess', she
is linked with the Milky Way. |
Ixcuiname
("four sisters", "four faces") The goddess of the
four ages of womankind. Some tales connect Her with the four creator divinities
Alom, Bitol, Qaholom, and Tzacol - in these relations she is referred
to as Chirakan-Ixmucane.
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Itzpapalotl
("obsidian butterfly") She is the goddess of healing; beautiful,
demonic and armed with the claws of a jaguar. She is the female counterpart
of Itzcoliuhqui.
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Iztaccihuatl
She was the daughter of an Aztec emperor in the Valley of Mexico. She
had the misfortune of falling in love with one of her father's warriors,
when their relationship was discovered her lover was sent away to fight
in Oaxaca. He told the young man that if he survived and returned, he
would be given Iztaccihuatl as his wife. The emperor never intended for
the young warrior to return,for he planned to marry Iztaccihuatl to another
man. She was told that her lover was dead, and she died of grief. Upon
the young warrior's return, he took Iztaccihuatl's body in his arms and
carried her to the mountains. He placed her down on the ground and knelt
beside her, himself dying of grief. The gods took pity on them, covering
them with a blanket of snow and transforming them into mountains. Iztaccihuatl
today is known as the "Sleeping Woman", as the mountain appears
to be a woman laying on her side. He became Popocatepetl, or "Smoking
Mountain", the volcano that still rains down his revenge for the
death of his lover.
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Malinalxochi
(Malinalxochitl) A sister of Huitzilopochtli, she was a sorceress with
special powers over scorpions, snakes and other stinging, biting insects
of the desert.
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Mayahuel
The goddess of the maguey plant and of fertility. She has many breasts
with which to feed the Centzon Tochen (the 400 Rabbits), though to be
responsible for causing drunkenness. The maguey plant was used in the
brewing of pulque (an alcholic beverage) and the Aztec priests
used its spines for auto-sacrifice.
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Mictlantecuhtl
Creator and ruler of the underworld and its nine rivers (Mictlan) with
her consort Mictlantecihuatli; she wore a skirt of snakes and had clawed
feet for digging her way beneath the earth.
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Omecihuatl
An Aztec creator goddess. She is the wife of Ometecuhtli.
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Teteoinnan
The Aztec mother of the gods.
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Tlazolteotl
(Tlazolteotl Ixcuiname) The Aztec earth and mother-goddess, and goddess
of sex. Tlazolteotl was also called "the eater of filth", this
name comes from the legend that at the end of a man's life, she comes
to him and he confesses his sins, she then cleanses his soul, eating its
filth.
She was also the mother of childbirth, the devourer of sins, the goddess
of witches and witchcraft. Tlazolteotl has power over all forms of unclean
behavior, usually sexual. Confessing sins to Tlazolteotl, one is cleansed.
The goddess has four forms or aspects, corresponding to the phases of
the moon: a young and carefree temptress, the lover of Quetzalcoatl; the
Goddess of gambling and uncertainty; the Great Priestess who consumes
and destroys the sins of mankind; and frightful old crone, persecutor
and destroyer of youth.
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Tonacacihuatl
An Aztec goddess. She is the wife of the creator god Tonacatecuhtli. She
is the female principle.
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Tonantzin
An Aztec mother-goddess.
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Tozi
The goddess of sweat baths.
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Xilonen
The Aztec maize-goddess, called "the hairy-one" referring to
the hair-like tassels of the corn. In midsummer, humans were sacrificed
to her to secure a good harvest. She is the wife of Tezcatlipoca. |
Xochiquetzal
("flower feather", "beautiful flower") The Aztec goddess
of the earth, flowers, plants, games and dance, but mainly she is a goddess
of love. She is also the patroness of artisans, prostitutes, pregnant
women and birth. She was originally associated with the moon. This goddess
is the most charming of the Aztec pantheon and her retinue consists of
butterflies and birds. Every eight years a feast was held in her honor
where the celebrants wore animal and flowers masks. She is the twin sister
of the flower prince Xochipilli and sometimes mentioned as the wife of
the rain god Tlaloc. |
