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The date is February 21, 1978. In Mexico City, workers for the state-run electric company, Comisión Federal de Electricidad, were digging in a residential area near the Metropolitan Cathedral known as “La Isla de los Perros,” or “The Island of the Dogs,” in English. The area was named because whenever Mexico City experienced torrential rains and flooding, street dogs would congregate in the area. A few meters down the electric company workers hit a massive disk-shaped stone slab measuring almost 11 feet in diameter and almost one foot thick. On the surface of this stone was carved the image of a decapitated and dismembered woman. As is customary in the Aztec artistic tradition for representations of deities, the woman has what archaeologists call “monster faces” on her joints. On her cheeks were carved representations of bells and from this, archaeologists knew exactly who she was. The goddess Coyolxauqui’s name in English translates to “Bells Her Cheeks.” Everything made sense because the image fit the story of the goddess Coyolxauqui as told by the Aztecs who the Spanish encountered as a living, breathing civilization.
According to Aztec myth one day Coyolxauqui’s mother, the goddess Coatlicue, or “Skirt of Snakes” in English, one of the main deities of ancient central Mexico, was sweeping on top of Snake Mountain. Out of the sky a ball of feathers fell into Coatlicue’s apron, and caused her to become pregnant. Coatlicue’s daughter, Coyolxauqui, the subject of the disk-like slab uncovered in Mexico City, became angry that someone would defile her mother and cause a pregnancy. She rallied her 400 brothers and stormed Snake Mountain to put her mother to death in a sort of honor killing. Immediately before the attack, Huitzilopotchli, the Aztec god of war and heavenly protector of the Aztec Empire, sprang from Coatlicue, fully armed, to defend his mother. Huitzilopotchtli defeated Coyolxauqui and her army and took her body, chopped it up and threw it down off Snake Mountain. The war god was not without compassion for his mother, though, knowing she would grieve for the loss of her daughter, Coyolxauqui. So, Huitzilopotchli took Coyolxauqui’s head and tossed it up to the sky where it became the moon, and Coatlicue would never be far from her daughter.
As an aside, the discovery of the gigantic round stone of Coyolxuaqui found near the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City in 1978 actually led to a more important discovery. Through further excavation around the discovery site, archaeologists realized that they had finally found the Templo Mayor, or main pyramid complex of the civic-ceremonial center of the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. The whereabouts of the templo’s location had been the topic of speculation of centuries, but with the 1978 discovery of the moon goddess’ stone, the location was confirmed. The stone, appropriately, was found at the base of the pyramid. The myth of Snake Mountain would be reenacted at the pyramid by the Aztecs during the festival of Panquetzalitztli, when dismembered bodies of sacrificial victims would be hurled down the stairs of the pyramid, eventually landing on Coyolxauqui’s stone. The moon goddess thus became the receiver of blood sacrifices and played an important role in the Aztec ritual calendar.
Very few sources exist of other moon deities in Ancient Mexico as the Aztecs were the major complex society in control of central Mexico at the time of the arrival of the Spanish and garnered the most scholarly attention from the Catholic clergy which sought to document and learn as much as they could from the Indians. The complex civilization of the Maya had collapsed about 6 centuries before the Spanish arrival and those Maya remaining in the heartland of the ancient civilization still had some of the old beliefs documented by the occasional conquistador, friar or priest. One of the first Europeans to explore the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, arrived ashore in March of 1517 with over 100 disgruntled settlers from Cuba. Hernández de Córdoba noted that on the island of Cozumel – known by the Maya as Kùutsmil – there was a shrine to the Maya moon goddess Ix-Chel. A priest would sit inside of a statue and give oracles to the women who would travel there to ask for blessings and advice regarding marriage and childbirth. Ix-Chel was usually represented as having a snake on her head and a skirt decorated in a crossbones pattern. Often times she was depicted as having claws for hands and feet. Francisco Hernández de Córdoba also noticed that the small island north of Cozumel served as some sort of secondary pilgrimage site for the moon goddess and he found it littered in small statues and figurines, and other representations of Ix-Chel. The name Hernández de Córdoba gave to that small island to this day still bears the name he gave it: Isla Mujeres, or in English, The Island of Women. In the local Maya dialect, Ix-Chel literally meant, “Lady Rainbow,” and in addition to being the moon goddess, she had other aspects and functions. In the book written by the Archbishop of the Yucatán, Diego de Landa called Relación de las cosas de Yucatán, or in English The List of Things in the Yucatán, the moon goddess Ix-Chel was associated with medicine, and according to de Landa in the month the Maya called Zip the Maya celebrated the feast of Ihcil Ix-Chel which honored physicians and shamans and included rituals involving divination stones and medicine bundles. De Landa also mentions that during what is called the “Ritual of the Bacabs,” the moon goddess is also referred to “grandmother.” In another Spanish source, the 16th Century historian and Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas relates a story of Ix-Chel and her husband Itzamna created the heaven and the earth, and together had 13 sons.
As previously mentioned, the Spanish arrived to the Maya areas century after the civilization of the Classic Maya had collapsed. What we know of the moon goddess from the height of the complex ancient Maya civilization of interconnected and warring city-states comes from the remaining written and illustrated records interpreted by archaeologists and historians. These records may appear on monumental architecture or other public works, on pottery or other ceramics or in the few remaining Maya painted bark books called codices. In the Temple of the Warriors and the Temple of the Jaguars at Chichén Itzá the moon goddess is represented among many warriors, kings and captives as an old toothless matriarch. This is her Classic period form in illustrations. In writing she is often represented by a moon sign holding a rabbit. The goddess’ head functions as both the representation of the number one and the phonetic symbol pronounced “na.” In the ancient Maya world, na meant “noblewoman,” and so the head of the moon goddess usually preceded the written names of female elites. In some representations, the moon goddess is the drawing of an elaborately dressed woman sitting inside a crescent moon. In the Dresden Codex, an ancient Maya pictographic bark book, and known as the oldest book in the Americas, the moon goddess corresponds to what early Maya scholars first labeled “Goddess O.” In this codex the moon goddess is depicted as having a face of an old woman and the ears of a jaguar. This image is repeated in a few vases discovered at archaeological sites where the same “Goddess O” is shown as a physician, midwife and weaver. Some archaeologists and historians theorize that the ancient Maya moon goddess might have been much fiercer than previously thought and that her jaguar aspects – her ears and claws – combined with her gaping mouth, may suggest cannibalism. She is also thought to be connected to the maize god, the jaguar god of the underworld, the death god, and an aged god in the Dresden Codex known only as “God L.” The moon goddess of the ancient Maya has also been associated with several things connected with water, 
including rainfall and wells. There are many aspects of the ancient lunar deity that are open to speculation or are just not known. She is often associated with a rabbit, for example, and it is unknown whether or not the rabbit is an animal companion of the goddess or may be symbolic of a “trickster” and serves to illustrate a characteristic of the goddess. Among the modern-day Maya of Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, an elder brother of the sun who was also the son of the moon goddess was transformed into a rabbit after he allowed wild plants to grow in the sun’s cornfield. As punishment, in addition to being turned into a rabbit, the sun’s brother gave him to the moon goddess who threw him up into the sky where he attached himself to the moon. So, to some modern-day Maya instead of the “Man in the Moon,” there is a “Rabbit in the Moon,” put there by the moon goddess herself. As there were centuries “missing” between the Classic Maya writings and the conquest of the Maya lands by the Spanish, it is unclear how the moon goddess changed over time, or if the ancient goddess retained all of her same aspects or functions into the modern historical period. There are some elements of the Maya moon goddess, like the rabbit story that seem to have survived many centuries.
Some scholars argue that in certain regions of the Maya world the moon may have been seen as something altogether different or may have had other functions and symbolism associated with it. The 16th Century Maya chronicle called the Popol Vuh, tells the story of the Hero Twins, a pair of demi-gods with supernatural powers who made frequent visits to the Underworld. In one version of the story, the twins recovered the bodies of their uncle and father and put them up in the sky as the sun and the moon. In another version of the story the twins climbed out of the Underworld to the surface of the earth and then climbed into the sky to become the sun and the moon themselves. This story seems to conflict with the idea of a traditional goddess of the moon. Scholars explain that the Twin story may be a metaphor or fable existing outside of religion much like the idea of the mythical Mother Nature existing as a separate legend apart from the creator Christian God in Western European culture.
What of other ancient Mexican cultures besides the Aztecs and Maya? Did they also have moon goddesses? Little is known about the religion of the Toltecs who ruled over central Mexico before the Aztecs. Scholars know that the Toltecs were polytheistic and they gave importance to the plumed serpent deity, but there is some speculation as to whether or not that this deity represented a real person. Very little evidence exists to show a moon goddess, but there is very little information at all on the gods of the Toltecs as their civilization ended by the 12th Century and they left behind no written record. The predecessors of the Toltecs in ancient Mexico were the Teotihuacanos, who were culturally dominant around the time of Christ and the Olmecs before them who were active from 1500 BC to 400 BC. Very little is known about the religious beliefs of these peoples other than they were polytheistic. Archaeologists and other scholars have identified and labeled certain gods of the Olmecs as their images recur in various artistic expressions. Researchers who subscribe to what has been termed “The Continuity Hypothesis” believe that all of the cultures in ancient Mexico took elements from the previous cultures of the same area who had power before them, and thus a great continuity exists across thousands of years throughout the region. Perhaps the moon goddess and her rabbit companion go back several thousand years, but with no concrete written record or imperfect archaeological records, it is almost impossible to tell.
REFERENCES (This is not a formal bibliography)
The Maya by Michael D. Coe
A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya by Linda Schele and David Freidel
The Popol Vuh
The Aztecs, the Maya and their Predecessors by Muriel Porter Weaver
FAQs
What did the Aztec believe about the moon? ›
In Aztec mythology, Mētztli (Nahuatl: [metstɬi]; also rendered Meztli, Metzi, literally "Moon") was a god or goddess of the moon, the night, and farmers. They were likely the same deity as Yohaulticetl or Coyolxauhqui and the male moon god Tecciztecatl; like the latter, who feared the Sun because of its fire.
What does the moon believe in Mexico? ›While the moon represents calmness, beauty, nurturing. These are also symbols used to represent ancestral gods for the Mayan, Incan, and Aztec people.
What name means moon in Mexico? ›Luna. This whimsical name means “moon” and is derived from Latin. Luna has been used in Mexico for quite some time and has recently risen in popularity in the United States. 13.
Who is the goddess of the moon? ›Selene, (Greek: “Moon”) Latin Luna, in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. She was worshipped at the new and full moons.
What is the Mayan myth about the moon? ›In Mayan mythology, the moon plays a significant role in the creation story. According to the Mayans, the world was created when two gods - one light and one dark - sacrificed themselves. From their sacrificed bodies, the sun, stars, and planets were born. The moon was created from the left eye of the god of darkness.
What did the Mayans say about the moon? ›The Maya believed that the gods guided the Sun and Moon across the sky. Even in the darkness of night, the Maya believed that the Sun and Moon continued to journey through the Underworld, threatened all the way by evil gods who wanted to stop their progress.
What religion worships the moon goddess? ›The Hindu calendar maintains the integrity of the lunar month and the moon god Chandra has religious significance during many Hindu festivals (e.g. Karwa Chauth, Sankashti Chaturthi, and during eclipses).
What religion says the moon is god? ›Those who claim that Allah is a pagan deity, most notably the moon god, often base their claims on the fact that a symbol of the crescent moon adorns the tops of many mosques and is widely used as a symbol of Islam.
Why is the moon so sacred? ›For many people Indigenous to North America, the moon represents divine feminine energy and is known as Grandmother moon. The moon cycle—which is roughly the same length of time as a woman's menstrual cycle—is seen as a sacred gift to women, often referred to as their moontime.
What is the rarest moon name? ›Owing to the rarity of a blue moon, the term "blue moon" is used colloquially to mean a rare event, as in the phrase "once in a blue moon". One lunation (an average lunar cycle) is 29.53 days.
What is the Aztec girl name for moon? ›
Meztli: (pronounced mez-tlee) Another space name for your baby, Meztli is the Aztec word for “moon”. Perfect if your baby arrives in the middle of the night.
What Hispanic girl name means moon? ›Luna. Luna is one of the most popular latina baby girl names right now. If you're familiar with Spanish, you already know that this name literally means “moon.” Luna was also the name of the moon goddess in Roman mythology.
Who is the strongest moon goddess? ›Selene was worshipped in Greek mythology because of her ability to pull the moon across the sky with her chariot to provide a bright light in the otherwise dark sky.
What are the powers of the moon goddess? ›- All Moon-Based Abilities.
- Lunaportation.
- Lunar Cycle Manipulation.
- Lunar Empowerment.
- Lunar Generation.
- Lunar Manipulation. Esoteric Moon Manipulation. Light Manipulation. Lunar Energy Manipulation. Moon Blocking.
- Lunar Physiology.
- Lunar Vision.
Despite dramatic differences between ancient and contemporary world cultures, She is universally regarded as the divine embodiment of healing, fertility, love, compassion, and grace.
Who was the Mayan woman in the moon? ›Ixchel, also spelled Ix Chel, Mayan moon goddess. Ixchel was the patroness of womanly crafts but was often depicted as an evil old woman and had unfavorable aspects. She may have been a manifestation of the god Itzamná.
Who is the Mayan moon goddesses? ›Ixchel (pronounced Ishchel) was the Maya goddess of the moon, love, gestation, medicine, and the textile arts. She was the wife of the sun god Ak Kin, and was often represented accompanied by a rabbit; in hieroglyphics her name appears as Chak Chel, meaning “large rainbow”.
Who is the blood moon goddess Maya? ›Xquic (or Ixquic /ˈʃkikʼ/, ALMG: Xkikʼ, sometimes glossed as "Blood Moon" or "Blood Girl/Maiden" in English) is a mythological figure known from the 16th century Kʼicheʼ manuscript Popol Vuh. She was the daughter of one of the lords of Xibalba, called Cuchumaquic, Xibalba being the Maya underworld.
Why did Mayans go extinct? ›Scholars have suggested a number of potential reasons for the downfall of Maya civilization in the southern lowlands, including overpopulation, environmental degradation, warfare, shifting trade routes and extended drought. It's likely that a complex combination of factors was behind the collapse.
Who is the Mayan goddess of death? ›Ix Chel - Mayan Goddess(es) of the Moon, Fertility and Death.
Did the Mayans and Aztecs worship the moon? ›
They worshipped a moon goddess (the moon was the female counterpart of the sun), the rabbit visible in the moon was an important day/year sign, the popular alcoholic drink pulque (octli in Nahuatl) was associated with the moon, and there was a close link between the moon and growth of all kinds - from human hair to ...
What is the origin of the moon goddess? ›In Chinese mythology, Chang'e (嫦娥) is best known for stealing an elixir of immortality from her husband, the legendary archer Hou Yi (后羿), and escaping to become the goddess of the moon.
What is the spirituality of the moon? ›The Moon represents powerful feminine energy. It signifies wisdom, intuition and a spiritual connection. If you've ever wondered what Moon phases are all about and why we should be paying heed to them, then this is the post for you.
Who is the moon god in the Bible? ›...
| Yarikh | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Arakh, Erakh |
| Major cult center | Larugadu, Ugarit, Jericho, Beth Yerach |
| Planet | Moon |
| Personal information | |
Archangel Haniel's name means: Glory of God. With her help, she will teach you how to harness the power of the moon.
Why is the moon called sin? ›In Mandaean cosmology, the name for the moon is Sin (ࡎࡉࡍ), which is derived from the name of the Mesopotamian deity, much like the Mandean names of many other celestial bodies.
What religion has a moon symbol? ›The Crescent Moon and Star (Islam)
While the Ottoman Empire ruled the Muslim world, the star and crescent was adopted as the symbol of Islam.
Light and dark energy are both at a peak during the full moon, so it's a great time to cleanse your space, body and mind – clearing out any energy you no longer want to hold onto.
How do you worship the moon goddess? ›The moon god is very attached to white things. Therefore he should be worshipped with white flowers, kheer, rice and milk. This will give you great benefits.
What does a full moon do to the body? ›Interestingly, one 2021 study found that people fell asleep later and slept less overall on the nights before the full moon. Other research suggests that the full moon may be associated with less deep sleep and increased REM (rapid eye movement) latency.
Which is the most mysterious moon? ›
Iapetus - A Tale of Two Faces
This made Iapetus difficult to spot, as it mysteriously became brighter and fainter as it completed its orbit of Saturn. In 1671, Cassini observed this difference and correctly predicted that the moon had two faces, one bright, and one impossibly dark.
Small meteors which crash into the moon cause it to leak water from the lunar subsoil, according to NASA scientists. They suggest that the subsurface moisture that is being released has been retained since the Moon formed, or soon after.
What is the oldest name for the Moon? ›Earth's moon, the longest known of all, was given the name "Selene" by the Greeks and "Luna" by the Romans, each a goddess.
Why was the Aztec moon goddess killed? ›Her name means "Golden Bells." She was slain and dismembered by her brother, the Sun god Huitzilopochtli because she instigated their other four hundred sisters and brothers to kill their mother, Coatlicue.
What are blood moon girl names? ›Chizuki Chizuki is a hematic Japanese name for girls. This name simply means “blood moon” and might just edge out Chiyo as the most appropriate name derived from a specific astronomical phenomenon.
Who was the Aztec goddess of moon and stars? ›Coyolxauhqui (pron. Koy-ol-shauw-kee) was the Aztec goddess of the Moon or Milky Way who was famously butchered by her brother Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, in Aztec mythology.
What name means moon in Mayan? ›Meztli, Metzti or Metzi: In Nahuatl it means “The moon” or “The black moon”. In the Aztec mythology, it is the name given to the god who turned into the goddess of the Moon. She is also called Ixchel, by the Mayans.
What Latino names mean moon? ›Luna is a feminine given name of Latin origin. It means moon. In Roman mythology, Luna was the divine personification of the Moon.
What ethnic name is moon? ›Irish: variant of Mohan . English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Moyon in La Manche. Compare Mounce .
Who is the dark goddess full moon? ›Hecate (Greek): The Dark Goddess—Often associated with the dark Moon phase, she is often depicted as a hag, goddess of the crossroads, rebirth and death. She is often called the Goddess of Witchcraft.
Who is the white goddess of the moon? ›
Selene - Goddess of the Moon - The Goddess - The White Goddess.
Who fall in love with the moon goddess? ›Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BC) is one of the many poets who tell how Selene, the Titan goddess of the moon, loved the mortal Endymion. She found Endymion so beautiful that she asked his father, Zeus, to grant him eternal youth so that he would never leave her.
What does the moon goddess control? ›Selene and her brother, Helios, god of the sun, were responsible for controlling the movements of the sun and moon across the sky. The ancient Greeks believed that Selene drove the white chariot of the moon across the sky each night. Her brother, Helios, did the same thing each morning in his golden sun chariot.
What mythical creature is associated with the moon? ›Rabbit or hare
In Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica the rabbit is often associated with the Moon, for example, Tecciztecatl, the Aztec moon god, was pictured as an anthropomorphic rabbit. Frequently, the Maya moon goddess is represented with a rabbit in her lap. There is also a myth involving Quetzalcoatl and the Moon rabbit.
The moon goddess was imprisoned on the moon for stealing an elixir of immortality, while pregnant. Her daughter, Xingyin, is a secret to the other immortals, but when she accidentally experiments with her magic, her presence becomes visible and she has to flee.
Who is the moon goddess of luck? ›Fortuna (Latin: Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at least the Renaissance.
What is the moon goddess weakness? ›Strengths: The personification of the moon, passionate. Weaknesses: Fears abandonment and is unable to be faithful to either men or Gods.
Was the moon important to the Aztecs? ›They worshipped a moon goddess (the moon was the female counterpart of the sun), the rabbit visible in the moon was an important day/year sign, the popular alcoholic drink pulque (octli in Nahuatl) was associated with the moon, and there was a close link between the moon and growth of all kinds - from human hair to ...
What did the Aztecs believe about the sun and moon? ›According to the Aztecs, there were four suns created and destroyed before the period in which we currently live. A new world was created after the destruction of the 4th sun, but the gods were only voices in an uninterrupted darkness, having no sun or moon.
What did the Aztecs believe that the sun and moon required? ›The Aztecs believed that the sun god needed daily nourishment (tlaxcaltiliztli) in the form of human blood and hearts and that they, as “people of the sun,” were required to provide Huitzilopochtli with his sustenance.
What did the Aztecs think of the universe? ›
According to Aztec worldview, the universe consisted of three layers. The middle layer was the earthly one, inhabited by humans. Above that world, the Aztecs imaged thirteen levels or heavens, Omeyocan, the “place of duality,” being the uppermost. Below the earthly layer, there were the nine levels of the underworld.
Who is the strongest female Aztec goddess? ›Coyolxauhqui, the Aztec/Mexica moon goddess and warrior.
Who is the female goddess of the Aztecs? ›Xochiquetzal, (Nahuatl: “Precious Feather Flower”) Aztec goddess of beauty, sexual love, and household arts, who is also associated with flowers and plants. According to Aztec mythology, she came from Tamoanchán, the verdant paradise of the west.
What will the Earth be destroyed by according to Aztec mythology? ›The present era, the Fifth Sun, was predicted to end on a day 4-Ollin (Movement), and, thus, would be destroyed by a movement of the earth, i.e. an earthquake. This sequence is shown pictorially on the Aztec Sunstone, erroneously called “the Aztec Calendar Stone”.
Who was the Aztec goddess of sun and moon? ›| Coyolxauhqui | |
|---|---|
| Region | Mesoamerica |
| Ethnic group | Aztec, Mexica (Nahoa) |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Mixcoatl and Coatlicue (Codex Florentine) |
As Ehecatl-Quetzalcóatl he is often black, wears a red mask like a duck's beak and has long canine teeth. As god of the cardinal directions Quetzalcóatl was also associated with the colours black (north), red (east), blue (south) and white (west).
What is the Mexican myth about the sun? ›The Aztecs considered themselves the People of the Sun, and therefore their duty was to nourish the Sun god through blood offerings and sacrifices. Failure to do this would cause the end of their world and the disappearance of the sun from the sky.
What did the Aztecs call the world? ›...
| Tlaltecuhtli | |
|---|---|
| Symbol | Earth |
| Gender | Male |
| Region | Mesoamerica |
| Ethnic group | Aztec (Nahoa) |
The Aztecs believed that, after the Fifth Sun, the world was likely to come to an end again at the close of any 52-year cycle - by fire, or wind, earthquake or flood: or it might be that Glass Butterfly, the Lightning Goddess, would perpetrate the destruction.
Did the Aztecs believe in a soul? ›After death, the soul of the Aztec went to one of three places: the sun, Mictlan, or Tlalocan. Souls of fallen warriors and women that died in childbirth would transform into hummingbirds that followed the sun on its journey through the sky. Souls of people who died from less glorious causes would go to Mictlan.
What were the Aztecs obsessed with? ›
“[The Aztecs were] a culture obsessed with death: they believed that human sacrifice was the highest form of karmic healing. When the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan was consecrated in 1487 the Aztecs recorded that 84,000 people were slaughtered in four days.