COYOLXAUHQUI
Coyolxauhqui – She of the Golden Bells
Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the moon, is Coatlique’s daughter. Her name refers to the metal bells she wears on her face. Furious over her mother’s pregnancy, Coyolxauhqui and her four hundred star brothers (known as the Centzon Huitznahua) slew her but in the process, liberated their brother, Huitzilopochtli, who immediately sprang to action, dismembering Coyolxauhqui. Her corpse and severed remains tumbled down Coatepec, Snake Mountain.
The destruction of Coyolxauhqui indicates the rise of the new solar religion associated with Huitzilopochtli and the emergence of the Aztecs as a political force in that region. Coyolxauhqui represents an older, lunar-based pantheon. Her severed white head rolls through the sky nightly, accompanied by her four hundred brothers. (Four is a sacred number in Aztec cosmology, and so four hundred is a random number indicating multitudes. There are actually as many brothers as there are stars in the sky.)
ORIGIN:
Mexico
ICONOGRAPHY:
On the night of 21 February 1978, during construction work, employees of the Mexico City Electric Light Company discovered a massive stone image of Coyolxauhqui with head and limbs severed from her torso at the base of Huitzilopochtli’s shrine in Tenochtitlan, now Mexico City. Although Coyolxauhqui is usually portrayed as youthful, her image at the Temple of Huitzilopochtli depicts her as an old woman with sagging breasts and belly, naked but for ornaments associated with warriors. Coyolxauhqui is also sometimes depicted weeping. She may be represented solely by a dead, severed head.
METAL:
gold, copper
FLOWERS:
Aztec marigolds (Tagetes spp.) Ipomoeia alba and Datura inoxia: both species are colloquially known as moonflower or moon vine.
PLANET:
Moon. Coyolxauhqui is especially present when the moon is red-hued and full. She is also associated with the Milky Way.
SEE ALSO:
- Arianrhod
- Coatlique
- Huitzilopochtli
- Malinalxochitl
- Aztec Mythology
- Meso American Mythology
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.