Coatlicue

Coatlique – She of the Serpent Skirt; Mother of the Heavens

The goddess Coatlique, mother of the moon and stars, was keeper of the sacred shrine at Coatepec (Snake Mountain). One day while sweeping, a ball of down feathers fell from the sky. She tucked it into her bosom. By the time she had finished sweeping, the feathers had mysteriously disappeared—and Coatlique knew she was pregnant. It was not a virgin birth per se, but no sex was involved and technically there was no father.

Her daughter, moon goddess Coyolxauhqui, enraged to discover this pregnancy, plots with her four hundred star brothers to kill Coatlique and thus terminate the pregnancy, rather than submit to the forthcoming Huitzilopochtli, Lord of War, gestating in their mother’s womb. Coatlique was not unaware of the threat, but the child within her womb comforted her, advising her not to worry. When Coyolxauhqui and her four hundred brothers attacked, slicing off

Coatlique’s head, the divine child, Huitzilopochtli, leaped out, fully formed, fully armed (similar to the birth of Athena).

Coatlique is a fierce spirit of fertility. Some consider her the spirit who lies at the root of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Tonantzin –

ORIGIN:

Mexico

Manifestations:

Coatlique’s head is a human skull or that of a snake. She may have a double snake head. In Hoodoo parlance, a two-headed woman is a conjurer with the power to see into two worlds, usually the past and future or the realms of the living and the dead. Coatlique is a primal two-headed woman. She wears a necklace of human hands and hearts and a skirt of entwined serpents. Her feet are tipped with talons.

ICONOGRAPHY:

Surviving depictions of Coatlique are reasonably rare, but several colossal statues have been unearthed. Snakes appear where her head and hands should be, representing blood flowing from her severed neck and wrists.

Realm:

Coatepec: “Snake Mountain”

ELEMENT

Earth

ANIMAL:

Snakes, especially coral snakes

Number:

5

Sacred site:

Tepeyac, site of her great temple, was considered a place of tremendous spiritual power and was a major pilgrimage point before the Spanish Conquest.

SEE ALSO:

• Anat;
• Athena;
• Baba Yaga;
• Coyolxauhqui;
• Guadalupe;
• Huitzilopochtli;
• Kali

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by : Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.