Aztec & Mayan Pantheon
Celestial cycles, sacred mathematics, sacrifice, and cosmic renewal define these Mesoamerican systems. The gods demanded reciprocity, and the universe itself required nourishment to endure. Time was not linear but layered and cyclical.
Deities
🜂 Huitzilopochtli
Domain: Sun, war, patron of Tenochtitlan
Symbols: Hummingbird, serpent weapon (Xiuhcoatl)
Key Associations: Solar warfare
Huitzilopochtli is the Mexica patron god who led his people to found Tenochtitlan. He is closely tied to solar renewal and sacrificial cosmology.
🜂 Quetzalcoatl
Domain: Wind, knowledge, priesthood, creation
Symbols: Feathered serpent
Key Associations: Civilization
Quetzalcoatl is associated with learning, wind, and cultural order. His name means “Feathered Serpent.”
🜂 Tezcatlipoca
Domain: Night sky, destiny, rulership
Symbols: Smoking mirror, jaguar
Key Associations: Fate and power
Tezcatlipoca is a powerful and often unpredictable deity associated with rulership and cosmic testing.
🜂 Tlaloc
Domain: Rain, storms, fertility
Symbols: Goggle eyes, fangs
Key Associations: Agricultural survival
Tlaloc governs rainfall and is essential to crop growth.
🜂 Coatlicue
Domain: Earth, motherhood, life and death
Symbols: Serpent skirt
Key Associations: Birth of Huitzilopochtli
Coatlicue is an earth mother figure associated with both creation and destruction.
🜂 Xipe Totec
Domain: Renewal, agriculture, sacrifice
Symbols: Flayed skin imagery
Key Associations: Regeneration
Xipe Totec represents renewal through shedding, often depicted wearing flayed skin.
🜂 Itzamna
Domain: Creation, sky, knowledge
Symbols: Celestial imagery, aged figure
Key Associations: Cultural founder
Itzamna is often associated with creation and wisdom.
🜂 Kukulkan
Domain: Wind, serpent deity
Symbols: Feathered serpent
Key Associations: Similar to Quetzalcoatl
Kukulkan is the Maya feathered serpent deity, associated with wind and rulership.
🜂 Chaac
Domain: Rain, lightning
Symbols: Axe, long nose
Key Associations: Agriculture
Chaac is a rain god vital to Maya farming and survival.
🜂 Ix Chel
Domain: Moon, fertility, weaving
Symbols: Crescent moon, serpent
Key Associations: Women and childbirth
Ix Chel is associated with lunar cycles and fertility.
🜂 Hun Hunahpu
Domain: Maize, rebirth
Symbols: Maize imagery
Key Associations: Popol Vuh myth
Hun Hunahpu is the Maize God, central to Maya cosmology and rebirth narratives.
🜂 Ah Puch (Kisin)
Domain: Death
Symbols: Skeletal imagery
Key Associations: Underworld
Ah Puch is associated with death and decay within Maya belief systems.
Creatures
🜂 Cipactli
Type: Primordial sea monster
Domain: Creation myth
Symbols: Crocodilian body, multiple mouths
Key Associations: Earth formed from body
Cipactli is a monstrous sea being from whom the earth is formed after the gods tear her apart. She represents primordial chaos transformed into land.
🜂 Tzitzimimeh
Type: Star demons
Domain: Night sky
Symbols: Skeletal female figures
Key Associations: Solar threat
The Tzitzimimeh are celestial beings believed to descend and devour humanity if the sun fails to rise.
🜂 Tepeyollotl
Type: Jaguar spirit (sometimes deity, sometimes creature aspect)
Domain: Mountains and echoes
Symbols: Jaguar
Key Associations: Night and wilderness
Tepeyollotl embodies the spirit of mountains and is associated with jaguar imagery.
🜂 Nahual (Nagual)
Type: Human-animal shapeshifter
Domain: Spiritual double
Symbols: Animal counterpart
Key Associations: Personal spirit animal
A Nahual refers to a human with a spiritual animal counterpart or the ability to shapeshift.
🜂 Camazotz
Type: Bat demon
Domain: Underworld (Xibalba)
Symbols: Bat, severed head
Key Associations: Popol Vuh
Camazotz is a bat being associated with death in the Maya underworld narratives.
🜂 Vision Serpent
Type: Ritual serpent manifestation
Domain: Royal blood rituals
Symbols: Serpent with emerging ancestor figures
Key Associations: Ancestral communication
The Vision Serpent appears in Maya iconography during ritual bloodletting, serving as a conduit to ancestors.
🜂 Wayob (Way)
Type: Spirit companions / shapeshifters
Domain: Dream and spiritual realms
Symbols: Animal doubles
Key Associations: Spiritual alter-egos
Wayob are spirit companions or alter-forms connected to individuals, especially rulers.
🜂 Xiuhcoatl
Type: Fire serpent
Domain: Solar warfare
Symbols: Turquoise serpent
Key Associations: Huitzilopochtli’s weapon
Xiuhcoatl is the fiery serpent weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli.
🜂 Earth Monster (Itzam Cab Ain – interpretive category)
Type: Cosmic crocodilian being
Domain: Earth and sky boundary
Symbols: Crocodile or caiman form
Key Associations: World structure
In Maya cosmology, crocodilian imagery represents the earth floating on primordial waters.
When life becomes challenging, calling on guardian spirits and deities for protection can offer profound support. Discover how to invoke these powerful beings from various traditions for spiritual shielding and guidance.