Coatlicue

Coatlicue, whose name means 'Lady of the Serpent Skirt', is one of the oldest and most complex deities in Aztec mythology. According to the chronicles of indigenous informants collected by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún in his 'General History of the Things of New Spain', Coatlicue was the mother of the gods and the stars. Her creation myth is set at Coatepec Hill, 'Serpent Mountain', where she resided as a humble priestess. One day, while sweeping the temple, a ball of hummingbird feathers, symbol of Huitzilopochtli, fell from the sky and adhered to her waist. From this miraculous act she became pregnant with the sun god Huitzilopochtli, the youngest of her 400 children, known as the Centzon Huitznahua, the Southern Stars. This divine pregnancy provoked the wrath of her daughter Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the Moon, and her brothers, who conspired to decapitate their mother for dishonor. However, Huitzilopochtli was born fully armed, with fiery armor and the weapon xiuh cóatl, 'turquoise serpent', emerging from her womb to defend her. He killed Coyolxauhqui and dismembered her brothers, scattering their heads across the mountain, thus consolidating the cosmic order and the triumph of the Sun over the Moon and the stars.

The most famous representation of Coatlicue is the monumental basalt sculpture found in 1790 in downtown Mexico City, now in the National Museum of Anthropology. This imposing 2.5-meter-high, 11-ton figure shows the goddess with a skirt of intertwined serpents held by a belt of scorpions, tarantulas, and shells. Her face is covered by two facing serpents forming a mask, symbolizing cosmic duality. Instead of hands, she has feline claws, and her breasts hang flaccid, dripping milk, representing devouring fertility and eternal nourishment. A necklace of human hearts and severed hands adorns her neck, while human skulls hang from her ears. Her feet trample a turtle or jaguar, evoking connection to the earth. This terrifying image reflects her ambivalent nature: creator mother and devourer of the 400 stars she sacrificed to make way for the Fifth Sun. The Spaniards feared it so much they tried to destroy it, breaking it in two, but it was reconstructed. It symbolizes the primordial earth, Tlalli, and the life-death-rebirth cycle, embodying terror and reverence before telluric forces.

The cult of Coatlicue was central in the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlán, dedicated alongside Huitzilopochtli, her defender son. The Aztecs venerated her as earth mother, offering human sacrifices to nourish the sun in its daily journey, reflecting her role in maintaining the Fifth Sun. Festivals like Toxcatl honored her destructive fertility with dances and blood offerings. In mythological relationships, she is mother of Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauhqui, and the Centzon Huitznahua; wife or sister of Mixcoatl, god of hunting and the Milky Way; and ancestor of Quetzalcóatl in some versions. Identified with Cihuacóatl, 'Serpent Woman', warrior-maternal aspect, and Tlaltecuhtli, the monstrous earth. Her image influenced the Virgin of Guadalupe, colonial syncretism where the Guadalupana steps on the moon, echo of Coatlicue trampling the turtle-moon. In the pantheon, she embodies the devouring mother, opposed to benign goddesses like Xochiquetzal, but essential for Aztec cosmic balance, where creation demands constant destruction.