Aztec Gods and Goddesses


TEOYAOMQUI: the god of Dead Warriors.


TEZCATLIPOCA, (god of Night and Sorcery) "Smoking Mirror" (obsidian), characterized as the most powerful, supreme deity, was associated with the notion of destiny. His cult was particularly identified with royalty, for Tezcatlipoca was the object of the lengthy and reverent prayers in rites of kingship.

The creator God - The God of the Hunt - Patron of Princes - God of Providence. The Lord of the Here and Now - The Enemy on Both Sides. The true invisible god who walked over the heavens and surface of the earth and hell. Where ever this god went wars, anxiety, and trouble were sure to follow. Tezcatlipoca was thought to incite wars against one another and was called Necocyautl, which means "sower of discord on both sides".

Also metaphorically refered to as Moyocoyatzin, (Capricious Creator), Titlacahuan, (He Whose Slaves we Are), Moquequeloa, (The Mocker) , Moyocoyani, (Maker of Himself), Ipalnermoani, (Lord of the Near and the Nigh), Nahuaque, (Night Wind).

His cruel hand was felt to be at fault when a rich man was brought to mis fortune. When Tezcatlipoca chose to appear on the earth he brought destruction, and only rarely did he provide good fortune to an individual, after all why should he? The ruler of the Mexica was said to be "The Flute of Tezcatlipoca" in his title of Great Speaker.

Tezcatlipoca was also worshiped under the name Titlacahuan, "He Whose Slaves We Are", who was the master of human destiny. In some ways like Huitzilopochtli who represented the blue sky, or day sky, Tezcatlipoca represented the night sky.

He was the warrior of the North while Huitzilopochtli was the warrior of the South. He was the god of sin and misery and had a fetish for the obsidian knife. A young god, legend has him carrying off the wife of aging Tlaloc, "Xochiquetzal", goddess of flowers and love.

His name was derived from the painting of his image with soot containing shining metal flakes which the Indians called "Tezcapoctli" or "shining smoke". He can be identified in codices by a smoking mirror and a mirror drawn in place of a foot torn off by the earth monster, a representation of myth why at Southern latitudes one of the stars of the Ursa Major is missing form the night heavens. Tezcatlipoca is nocturnal and represented by black coloring and his hair and is often represented cut in two different lengths characteristic of warrior classes.

Tezcatlipoca is the patron of sorcerers and related to the stellar gods, the moon and to those that represent death, evil, and destruction. His "Nahual", or disguise, is that of the Jaguar. Master of men's destinies.

In Toltec mythology he was the adversary of his brother Quetzalcoatl, the Mexica borrowed much of this legend adding and deleting where it suit the purpose of the Mexica. Sahagun relates that the ill or afflicted would pray to Tezcatlipoca in his name of Titlacaoan in the hope of getting well by his mercy. On all road and street crossings a stone seat, called Momuztli, adorned with flowers was placed for this most revered god, the flowers were replaced every five days.

The Mexica knew that intercourse was necessary to help in the birthing process, but the child was "seated" in the womb by Tezcatlipoca where it would receive it's fate. Family characteristics were explained as the whim or fancy of Tezcatlipoca, not a matter of genetics.

An obsidian highly polished black idol of Tezcatliopoca was the common veneration to this god, in some smaller towns a wooden idol painted black from the temples down was used. The forehead, nose, and mouth were painted in a human Indian color.

An intricate lip plug of crystalline beryl with a green or blue feather complimented the image. Around his neck would be placed a huge golden Jewell and on his arm golden bracelets. In his left hand was placed a fan of blue, green and yellow feathers, surrounding a round plate of gold, polished like a mirror.

His mirror was called Itlachiayaque, "Place from Which He Watches", as Tezcatliopoca could see all by looking into the mirror. In his right hand the idol would carry four arrows signifying punishment for sin he would inflict on the evils of man.

On his ankles he wore twenty golden bells.

Tied to his right foot was a deer hoof, which represented his swiftness and agility. His main temple in Tenochtitlan was a dark and mysterious place where the idol was kept behind a curtain with only special priests allowed to view and serve the image.

In the chamber of this god was an altar approximately 6 feet tall upon which rested a wooden pedestal, on this pedestal stood the idol.

His name spelled properly is Tezcatl Ipoca, "Mirror that Smokes".

An early Mexica prince "Texcatlpopocatzin", bore his name. Tezcapoctli, is the Mexica name for the black obsidian with a reflecting surface used in the making of mirrors. Tezcatlipoca was left handed and also known as Opoche, "He Who Has Left Handedness", one of his priests was known as "His Left Hand". Also known as Itzcaque, "He Who Has Obsidian Sandals".

Also known as "Ixquimilli, "A Blindfold" and is represented as a spirit of darkness in codex Cospi, pl. 12, Codex Borgia, pl. 15, Codex Laud, pl. 13, and in the Dresden Codex pp. 15, 35, and 69. Tezcatliopoca was possibly seen as a form of the planet Venus.


TLALOC, the rain deity, belonged to another most memorable and universal cult of ancient Mexico.

The name may be Aztec, but the idea of a storm god especially identified with mountaintop shrines and life-giving rain was certainly as old as Teotihuacan. The primary temple of this major deity was located atop Mt. Tlaloc, where human victims were sacrificed to fertilize water-rocks within the sacred enclosure. In Tenochtitlan another Tlaloc temple shared the platform atop the dual Main Pyramid, a symbolic mountain.


TLALOCAN: Tlalocan was the earthly paradise of Tlaloc, located in the East, the place of Light and Life. It was where the souls of those killed by lightning, dropsy, skin diseases, and those sacrificed to Tlaloc went.

The Rain God-God of Vegetation-Ruler of the South. In ancient Chichimec times may have been worshipped under the name of Tlalocateuctli, meaning "Land-lier-Lord". Tlalocateuctli was considered by Alcaron to be a metaphor for the owner of a sown field.

Known to the Olmec as "Epcoatl", meaning Seashell Serpent. There is speculation that this deity originated with the Olmec. Known to the Maya as Chac, to the Totonacs as Tajin, to the Mixtecs as Tzahui, to the Zapotecs as Cocijo and throughout Mesoamerica.

A water god probably one of the oldest gods worshiped as a result of the importance of rain for crop production. Called Choc by the Maya and Cocijo by the Mixtecs, the principal worship god of the Olmec culture. Tlaloc was not a creator God but one created by other Gods. His first wife Xochiquetzal, Goddess of flowers and love , was stolen from him by Tezcatlipoca. His second wife was the Goddess Matlolcueitl, "The Lady of the Green Skirts", an ancient name for the mountain known as Malinche, located in Tlaxcala.

Although a beneficent god Tlaloc certainly had the power to unleash floods, lightning and drought when angry. To please him children were sacrificed to him as well as prisoners dressed in his image. It is said that the more the babies and children cried the more Tlaloc was pleased. During the sacrifice the tears of the screaming children were seen as representations of falling rain, the more the children cried, the better the rain season.

Tlaloc is easily identified by his characteristic mask giving the impression of eyeglasses and a mustache. Blue is his dominant color and of his mask. His body and face are often painted black, and water is often depicted dripping from his hands. The name Tlaloc, derives from the term "tlalli", meaning earth, with the suffix "oc", meaning something that is on the surface. Townsend alludes to the fight of clouds welling up in canyons and hovering around mountaintop in the rainy season to explain this metaphor.

Those who died from drowning, lightning or things thought to be associated with water went to Tlacocan, the paradise of Tlaloc located in the South and was known as the place of fertility.

His home in Tenochtitlan was next to the same temple of the venerated Huitzilopochtli, where a special chamber was built. His statue was made of stone in the shape of a horrible monster. The image was dressed in red with a green feather headdress. A string of green beads called chalchihuitl, "jade", hung from his neck. His ears, arms, and ankles were adorned with bracelets of precious stones. Apparently no other idols in the Mexica city were adorned with as many precious jewels at Tlaloc. In his right hand was a representation of a purple wooden thunderbolt, in his left hand was a leather bag filled with copal. The idol was placed upon a green cloth draped over a dais. His body was sculpted as a man and the face like a monster.

Known as Epcoatl, (Seashell Serpent), to the Olmec, and his religious themes were associated with children with that culture as well.

Also known as Tlalteuctli, (Earth Lord). May have been known as Oztoteotl, (The God of Caves), who was principally worshipped in the Chalma area. In the codex Vaticanus, Tlaloc is depicted as living inside of a mountain.

Known by the Olmec as "Epcoatl", or Seashell Serpent.

An interesting ceremony to Tlaloc by his priests was for the priests to throw themselves into frigid lake waters at midnight and imitate the sound and splashing of water birds to the point of exhaustion. This was apparently done just to please Tlaloc. In another ritual a priest would climb a mountain naked(*18) and painted black, carrying fir boughs and a conch trumpet. He would chew tobacco and periodically blow the horn. After piercing his ears and thighs with spines(*19) to let blood(*20), he would retrace his steps stumblin

The direction of the rains Tlaloc sent were also of importance. The western rain was red colored from the sunset. This rain represented the richness of autumn. The southern rain was a rich blend of rain and summer fertility and considered a , Tlaloc's color.

The eastern rain was a golden rain which fell lightly over the crops making the crops grow, a promise of life. The north rain was a hail and thunder message from Tlaloc often bringing destruction. Snow and hail were thought of as representations of the bones of the past dead.

The temple to Tlaloc, on Mt. Tlaloc, is approximately at the 4000 meter level with views of the twin volcanoes Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl and the entire valleys of Pueblo and Mexico. Mt. Tlaloc was located approximately twenty-five miles due east of Tenochtitlan and directly north of the twin volcanoes. In the Spring, at the height of the dry season, the leaders of Tenochtitlan, Tetzcoco, Tlacopan, and Xochimilco would make a pilgrimage to the shrine to call for rain from within the mountain.

While the Mexica leaders were conducting their ceremony, a large tree called "Father", or Tota, was erected near the great shrine to Tlaloc in Tenochtitlan and surrounded with small trees to symbolize a forest. An impersonator of Chalchiuhtlicue, Goddess of the sea and lakes, was selected to sit in the forest and symbolize the lake. As the leaders were returning, the great tree was felled and rafted out to the Pantitlan shrine, located in the center of the lake, where a great fleet of canoes met the returning leaders. The impersonator was then sacrificed, her blood poured into the water of the lake, jewelry given to the water of the lake, and the tree symbolically planted to indicate a renewal of life and growth. The tree was left to stand with the remains of trees planted in past years ceremonies.

Attendants of Tlaloc:

Resided in the mountains, where rain and clouds are formed. Not deities themselves but close enough. May be likened to devilish imps who served the rain god Tlaloc. The Tlaloque were worshiped in special ceremonies during the sixteenth month of the Aztec calendar, (Dec. 11-Dec. 30), known as Atemoztli, meaning "The Descent of Water".

The Tlaloque were the bearers of the rattlestaff (chicahualilizti), "That Which Makes Things Strong". A signification of a male erect penis or a type of digging stick.

The Tlaloque numbered four and lived in the halls of the great palace of Tlaloc, Tlalocan, the terrestrial paradise, and represented the four directions. On Tlaloc's orders one of the Tlaloque would take a particular jug and pour it over the world, thunder was thought to be the sound of the jugs breaking. The Mexica considered the Tlaloque to be brothers to the goddess of corn.


TLAZOLTEOTL: the goddess of Licentiousness.

TONACATECUHTLI: the creator and provider of Food.

TONATIUH, the sun, was perceived as a primary source of life whose special devotees were the warriors. The warriors were charged with the mission to provide the sun with sacrificial victims. A special altar to the sun was used for sacrifices in coronation rites, a fact that signifies the importance of the deity. The east-west path of the sun determined the principal ritual axis in the design of Aztec cities.

TONANTZIN, "honored grandmother," was among the many names of the female earth-deity.

XILONEN, "young maize ear," and Chicomecoatl, "seven serpent," were principal deities of maize representing the chief staple of Mesoamerican peoples.


XIPE TOTEC, the god of springtime and regrowth.

God of suffering. God of Spring-God of Jewelers-Ruler of the East- The Red Tezcatlipoca. Also known as "The Red Mirror" and his disguise was that of the Eagle.

May have been worshiped by the name Tlatlauhqui Tezcatlipoca, meaning the red Tezcatlipoca.

According to Sahagun this god was originally from Zapotlan, a town in the state of Xalisco and was well honored by all those living near the seashore. Itching, diseases of the eyes, and tumors were attributed to this well worshiped god. His cult was greatly enhanced by Tlacaelel, half brother to Moctezuma I.

Also called Yopi and is found in the Teotihuacan culture as the "God With A Mask". His cult is centered around flaying a slave and covering a priest with the skin of his victim. The rite signified that with the arrival of spring the earth must cover itself with a new skin or coat of vegetation and swap old skin for new.

Represented in codices as a red Tezcatlipoca and all clothes and adornments are red and his face is colored red with yellow stripes. His Nahual or disguise is the Tlauhquechol or "spoon bird". He ruled over the East, the region of light, therefore fertility and life. Would afflict those who did not worship him with boils, blisters, and festering sores.

Those chosen to wear the flayed skin of the victim dedicated to this god would wear the skin bloody side out with the victims hands left to hang flapping as the priest celebrated this rite.

Another well practiced sacrificial rite to Xipe required a victim to be tied to a framework and then riddled with arrows until death. The victim's blood dripping was thought to make the ground fettle and to simulate the falling of rain.

He was the God of Goldsmiths as when the skin of a victim aged it turned gold colored, representation of the gold the workers used.

Was also called Xipe-Totec-Tllatlauhquitezcatl. Totec meaning "awesome and terrible lord who fills one with dread", Xipe meaning "man who has been flayed and ill-treated", Tlatlauhquitezcatl, meaning "Mirror of fiery brightness". Xipe was worshipped through out Mesoamerica with references to his worship even being found in Teotihuacan II culture. His festivals had more sacrifices than any of the other gods because the common people found it a popular ceremony and had more fun.

The image of this idol was that of a man with mouth open and dressed in the skin of a sacrificed man. On his wrists hung the hands of the victim. In his right hand was placed a staff with rattles attached at the ends. In his left hand was a shield adorned with yellow and red feathers.

A red ribbon tied in a fancy bow was placed on his forehead and in the middle of the bow was placed a golden object. A well worked breechcloth, (human skin?), completed his look. His image was always kept in this manor. Skins worn and decomposed by warriors in reverence to this god were collected and stored in a special vault under his special temple.

In old times may have been known as Moyohualihtoatzin, Meaning "Night Volunteer", in more modern eras Moyohualihtoatzin became a metaphor for sleeping and was linked with the land of the dead, or Mictlan(*40). Also may have been worshipped at Tlatlauhqui Texcatl, meaning "Red Smoking Mirror", obvious connection with Tezcatliopoca. See Mixcoatl.

His name is derived from Xipe, meaning "Flayed ones", and Totec or ToTeuc, meaning "Our Lord".

Also known as Yohuallahuantzin, meaning "inebriated in the night", or "one who has become inebriated in the night". This term was an ancient term used in the worship of Xipe Totec.

XIUHTECUHTLE the fire god.


XOCHIPILLI: the god of Feasting and young Maize.

"Patroness of Erotic Love" "Goddess of the Flowering Earth". Celebrated during the "Farewell to the Flowers" festival signifying the coming of frost. This was a solemn festival. People would make merry and smell flowers knowing they were about to dry up and wither for the season. A feast in honor of the flowers would occur.

Xochiquetzal was also the divinity of painters, embroiders, weavers, silversmiths and sculptors.

The image of this deity was of wood in the shape of a young woman. A gold ornament was placed over her mouth and a crown of red leather in the form of a braid was placed on her head. Green bright feathered decorated this headband in the shape of horns.

She was dressed in a blue tunic adorned with woven flowers made from delicate feather work. Her arms were open as in the form of a woman dancing. Her idol was placed on a tall alter and her attendants were the same as those who tended Huitzilopochtli as her temple was small and had no specially assigned priests.

This is one of the exceptions the Aztec made and were fond of sacrificing virgins to this goddess. The victim's legs were crossed after cutting out their hearts and then sent rolling down the steps of the temple. At the foot of the temple special priests took the bodies of the sacrificed virgins to the Ayauhcalli, "the house of the mist", which was a sort of cellar built especially for this sacrifice, where the bodies were kept.

A woman in the guise of Xochiquetzal was ritually killed and flayed and a priest wearing her skin would sit at the foot of the temple while area craftsmen dressed as monkeys, ocelots, dogs, coyotes, and jaguars would dance about her while she pretended to weave cloth. Each of the dancing craftsmen would carry in their hands a symbol of their craft, a painter his brush, etc.

Also refereed to as Precious Feather Flower-Goddess of Song, Dance, and Sexual Pleasure. Patron of prostitutes. Goddess of Artistry and Delight. In Duality she was also Macuilxochitl, a male representation.

God associated with maize and vegetation. Goddess of flowers, grains, and patroness of weavers. God of sculptors and embroiders. Quail and incense were often offered to this god and depending on the devotion fasting of from 20 - 80 days was common. People who were born on One Flower or Seven Flower were pre-destined to become good at these crafts and worship this god. Said to have afflicted those who displeased her with boils.

in legend she was taken to the underworld by Xolotl and ravaged. She also is said to have eaten forbidden fruit from an aphrodisiac tree and became the first female to submit to sexual temptation. She was expelled from paradise and the tree split into two. She transformed into Ixnextli, "Ashes in Eyes", a metaphor for being blinded by crying. Her pain at not being able to look into the sky that she once lived in is why men can not look directly into the sun.

Goddess of flowers and romantic love depicted with flowers in her head-dress and as a young married woman with a wrap around skirt and a Quechquimitl, or highly decorated type of poncho. Xochiquetzal's flower was the marigold. Today in early November Mexico celebrates the day of the dead, or "All Souls", in which the ground is strewn with marigolds, combining old and new customs.

May have been worshipped under the name Tonacacihuatl, meaning "Sustenance-Woman".

In Alcaron's book when the speaker of an incantation is impersonating a god, the speaker's wife assumes the role of Xochiquetzal.

Worshipped during the festivals of Matlalcueyeh, Huei Pachtli, and Macuilxochiquetzal.


YACATECUHTLI: the god of Merchant Adventurers.


- Aztec Religion






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