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Coatlicue (female) - The Aztec earth goddess of life and death, mother of the
moon, stars and the god of sun and war. Coatlicue became pregnant when she
stuffed a ball of feathers that had fallen from the sky in her bosom. Her
outraged children sought to slay her, but the god Huitzilopochtli emerged fully
armed from his mother's womb and slew many of his brothers and sisters.
Coatlicue was a serpent goddess, depicted wearing a skirt of snakes.
Quetzalcoatl (male) - "Feathered Snake". One of the major deities of the Aztec,
Toltecs, and other Middle American peoples. He is the creator sky-god and wise
legislator. He organized the original cosmos and participated in the creation and
destruction of various world periods. Quetzalcoatl ruled the fifth world cycle and
created the humans of that cycle. The story goes that he descended to Mictlan,
the underworld, and gathered the bones of the human beings of the previous
epochs. Upon his return, he sprinkled his own blood upon these bones and
fashioned thus the humans of the new era. He is also a god of the wind (the
wind-god Ehecatl is one of his forms), as well as a water-god and fertility-god.
He is regarded as a son of the virgin goddess Coatlicue and as the twin brother
of Xolotl. As the bringer of culture he introduced agriculture (maize) and the
calendar and is the patron of the arts and the crafts. In one myth the god
allowed himself to be seduced by Tezcatlipoca, but threw himself on a funeral
pyre out of remorse. After his death his heart became the morning-star, and is as
such identified with the god Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli. In dualistic Toltec religion, the
opposing deity, Tezcatlipoca ("Smoking Mirror"), a god of the night, had
reputedly driven Quetzalcoatl into exile. According to yet another tradition he left
on a raft of snakes over the sea. In any case, Quetzalcoatl, described as light-
skinned and bearded, would return in a certain year. Thus, when the Spanish
conqueror Hernán Cortés appeared in 1519, the Aztec king, Montezuma II, was
easily convinced that Cortés was in fact the returning god.
The Aztec later made him a symbol of death and resurrection and a patron of
priests. The higher priests were called Quetzalcoatl too. The god has a great
affinity with the priest-king Topiltzin Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl, who ruled the Toltecs
in Tula in the 10th century. The cult of Quetzalcoatl was widespread in
Teotihuacan (ca. 50km northeast of Mexico City), Tula (or Tullán, capitol of the
Toltecs in middle Mexico), Xochilco, Cholula, Tenochtitlan (the current Mexico
City), and Chichen Itza.
Xolotl (male) - In Aztec and Toltec mythology, Xolotl is the god of lightning who
guides the dead to the Mictlan. The Aztec regards him as the twin brother of
Quetzalcoatl. As lord of the evening star and personification of Venus, he pushes
the sun at sunset towards the ocean and guards her during the night on her
dangerous journey through the underworld. Xolotl is represented as a skeleton,
or as a man with the head of a dog.
Coyolxauhqui (female) - The earth and moon-goddess of the Aztec. She is
related to the four hundred star-deities Huitznauna, who are under her control.
She possesses magical powers which with she can do great harm. When her
mother Coatlicue became pregnant in what her children deemed unseemly
circumstances, Coyolxauhqui and her 400 brothers and sisters sought to slay
her. Immediately the sun-god Huitzilopochtli sprang fully armed from Coatlicue's
womb and slew Coyalxauhqui and many of her kin. 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.
Huitznauna (male) - The Aztec gods of the southern stars, rebel brothers of the
sun-god Huitzilopochtli.
Huitzilopochtli (male) - The Aztec god of war and of the sun, chief god of the
great Aztec city Tenochtitlan. He is a son of Coatlicue. He slew his sister
Coyolxauhqui and tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon.
Huitzilopochtli was represented as a hummingbird, or with the feathers of a
hummingbird on his head and his left leg, with a black face and holding a snake,
and a mirror. His name means "Hummingbird of the South", "He of the South", or
"Hummingbird on the Left".
Centeotl (male) - The Aztec maize god, who appears to have been a maize
goddess at an earlier time. He was a son of Tlazolteotl and sometimes mentioned
as the husband of Xochiquetzal.
Mixcoatl (male) - The Aztec god of the hunt and war, and god of the polar star.
He sometimes is another form of the god Tezcatlipoca, as when he made the first
fire by using the firmament (revolving around its axes) as a drill. He is the son of
Cihuacoatl.
Patecatl (male) - The Aztec god of healing and fertility. He is also 'lord of the
pulque root'. With his wife Mayahuel he is the father of the Centzon Totochtin
(the 'four hundred rabbits').
Mayahuel (female) - The goddess of the maguey plant in Aztec mythology. Her
breasts with which she fed the Centzon Totochtin were thought to be the cause
of drunkenness.
Centzon Totochtin (male) - The 'four hundred rabbits'. A group of drunken and
immoral Aztec deities who meet frequently to enjoy themselves.
Ometecuhtli (male) - "Two Lord". The creator god, god of fire and the highest
god of the Aztec pantheon. He is the lord (or androgynous master) of duality and
of the unity of the opposites. He had no formal cult and no cult center, but he
was deemed to be present in every ritual and in all things in this world.
Tlaloc (male) - The Aztec god of rain, agriculture, fire, and the south. In his
kingdom he receives those killed by thunderbolts, water, leprosy, and contagious
diseases. He is the consort of the water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue and sometimes
regarded as the father of the moon-god Tecciztecatl. Each year a large number
of children were sacrified by drowning. He is of pre-Aztec origin and known from
the time of the Toltecs. His image figures prominently in their art. He presided
over the third of the five Aztec world ages.
Chalchiuhtlicue (female) - This Aztec Goddess, whose name means "jade skirt"
or "lady precious green", was matron of lakes and streams. A personification of
youthful beauty and ardour, Chalchiuhtlicue was represented as a river from
which grew a prickly pear tree laden with fruit, symbolising the human heart. She
ruled over all the waters of the earth; oceans, rivers, rain, etc., but was also
associated with marriage. Her husband is Tlaloc, the god of rain. She unleashed
the flood (to punish the wicked) that the destroyed the fourth world (according to
the Aztec, we are in the fifth world).
Tecciztecatl (male) - 'Old moon god'. An Aztec moon god who represents the
male form on the planet, even it’s rising from the ocean. He is called "he who
comes from the land of the sea-slug shell" because of the similarity between the
moon and the slug. Tecciztecatl portrayed as an old man who carries a large
white seashell on his back.
Tonacacihuatl (female) - An Aztec goddess. She is the wife of the creator god
Tonacatecuhtli. She is the female principle.
Tezcatlipoca (male) - Tezcatlipoca was the Aztec god of night and all material
things. He carried a magic mirror that gave off smoke and killed enemies, and so
he was called "god of smoking mirror." He was god of the north. As lord of the
world and the natural forces, he was the opponent of the spiritual Quetzalcoatl,
and sometimes appeared as a tempter, urging men to evil. Punishing evil and
rewarding goodness, he tested men's minds with temptations, rather than trying
to lead them into wickedness. He was also god of beauty and war, the lord of
heroes and lovely girls. He once seduced the goddess of flowers, Xochiquetzal,
wife of the god Xochipilli, because such a lovely goddess was a good match for
him, being a handsome war-like god. Yet he appeared most frequently as a
magician, a shape shifter and a god of mysterious powers.
Xochipilli (male) - Xochipilli ("Flower Prince") is the Aztec god of flowers, maize,
love, games, beauty, song and dance. He is the husband and twin brother of
Xochiquetzal. Xochipilli is depicted with a stick of which the sharp tip penetrates
a human heart.
Xochiquetzal (female) - 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. Originally Xochiquetzal ("Flower
Feather") was 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 wife sister of
the flower prince Xochipilli and sometimes mentioned as the wife of the rain god
Tlaloc.
Atlacamani (female) - The Aztec goddess of the storms which occur on the
ocean.
Atlaua (male) - The powerful Aztec water god, called 'lord of the waters'. He is
associated with the arrow (atlatl). Also a god of fishermen.
Ayauhteotl (female) - The Aztec goddess of the haze and mist which can be
seen at night and early in the morning. She is associated with vanity and fame.
Camaxtli (male) - The Aztec god of war, hunting, and fate, and creator of fire.
He is one of the four gods who created the world. He is also a Chichimec tribal
god.
Chantico (female) - The Aztec goddess of hearth fires and volcanic fires. When
she violated the ban on eating cayenne on fasting day by eating roasted fish
with cayenne, she was turned into a dog by the maize-god Tonacatecuhtli. Her
name means 'she who dwells in the house'.
Ehecatl (male) - In Aztec mythology, Ehecatl ("wind") is the god of the winds. He
begins the movement of the sun and sweeps the high roads of the rain god with
his breath. As another form of the great Quetzalcoatl he brings life to all that is
lifeless. He brought love to mankind after he became involved with Mayahuel, a
young woman. Their love was symbolized by a beautiful tree which grows on the
place they arrived on earth.
Itzli (male) -The Aztec stone knife god, and god of sacrifice.
Macuilxochitl (male) - "Five Flower". The Aztec god of music and dance.
Mextli (male) - The principal god of the Mexican (hence the name of their
country), more usually called Huitzilopochtli. Hundreds of human beings were
offered to him annually as sacrifices. Mexitli was the god of war and storms, and
was born fully armed.
Nanauatzin (male) - The Aztec god who sacrificed himself in a fire so that the
sun should continue to shine over the world.
Omacatl (male) -"Two Reeds". The Aztec god of feasts and joy. He is considered
to be an aspect of the god Tezcatlipoca. Maize effigies, representing the god,
were eaten at his festival.
Opochtli (male) - The Aztec god of fishing, hunting, and bird snaring.
Tepeyollotl (male) - The Aztec earth and cave god. He causes earthquakes and
also the echo is thought to be made by him. The jaguar is his animal.
Tlahuixcalpantecuhtli (male) - "Lord of the Dawn". The Aztec god of the planet
Venus as the morning star. He was considered to be an incarnation of
Quetzalcoatl.
Tlaltecuhtli (male) - The Aztec earth monster god, called 'Lord of the Earth'.
Tonatiuh (male) - The Aztec sun-god, god of warriors. Those who die in his
service are rewarded with eternal life. He presides over the fifth (present) Aztec
world age.
Ueuecoyotl (male) - The Aztec god of sex and irresponsible gaiety. His name
means "Old, Old Coyote".
Xipe Totec (male) - The mysterious Aztec god of agriculture, spring and the
seasons, the symbol the death and rebirth of nature. In order to stimulate the
growth in both nature and mankind, he flays himself to offer food to humans
(such as the maize seed loses its outer skin to enable the shoot to grow). After
he has shed his skin, he appears as a shining, golden god. In his honor, each
year in the beginning of spring, people were sacrificed to him. These victims
were flayed alive and the priests wore these skins in various rituals. These rituals
symbolized the renewal of the earth and the budding of new life.
Xipe Totec is also the god of the west and the patron of goldsmiths. He is
thought to be responsible for sending diseases to man, such as the plague,
blindness and scabs. He is depicted as a flayed man, covered in (his own) skin
and his name means "our lord the flayed one".
Xiuhcoatl (male) - The Aztec fire-snake and the personification of drought and
scorched earth.
Xocotl (male) - Xocotl is the Aztec god of fire and of the stars.
Supernatural Creatures
They carry down the sun from the highest point of the sky to its home in the
underworld in the shape of eagles, haunted crossroads at night, stole children
and caused sicknesses, especially seizures and madness, and seduced men to
sexual misbehavior.
If one harms another person's nahual, one may harm the person who belongs to
that nahual. During sleep, the nahual can go wondering, something that can be
seen in the dream. Nahuals can also be sent out to perform tasks, use it as an
adviser, or a person can change his shape to that of the nahual.