Tlazolteotl (pronounced tla-sol-TAY-otl) is the Aztec Goddess of the earth and sex. She has four aspects, corresponding to the four phases of the moon. As the waxing moon, she is the young and carefree Maiden, the lover of Quetzalcoatl. As the full moon, she is the Mother of all. As the waning moon, she is the Great Priestess who cleanses the soul and destroys sin. As the new moon, she is the old Crone, Goddess of witches and witchcraft. Tlazolteotl was also called "the eater of filth", from her aspect as the Great Priestess. It was said that at the end of life, Tlazolteotl comes to the dying who confess their sins to her. She cleanses the soul, devouring the sins (the filth). As a mother Goddess, she is often depicted giving birth.

Xochiquetzal (pronounced so-chee-KETZ-al) is the Aztec Goddess of flowers, love, and pregnancy. She also rules over all domestic arts, games, dancing, and prostitutes. She was the wife of Tlaloc, the rain God, but she was kidnapped by Tezcatlipoca, the God of night. While still with Tlaloc, Xochiquetzal played a role in the invention of something very important--chocolate. Quetzalcoatl, the sky God, loved his people very much and stole a cacao tree from paradise to give to them. He asked Tlaloc to feed the plant with his rain, and Xochiquetzal decorated it with her flowers. Some of the flowers turned into pods, which Quetzalcoatl taught the people to harvest, roasting the beans inside to produce the first chocolate. Xochiquetzal's name means "flower feather", and she is usually depicted with a feathered headdress and holding flowers, particularly marigolds, being followed by butterflies and hummingbirds. Her titles include Flower Mistress, Flower-Feather, Most Precious Flower, Flower of the Rich Plume, Bitch Mother, and Blue-Skirted Lady.

Pachamama (pronounced PAH-cha-ma-ma) is the Incan Goddess of fertility. She lives within the earth and provides food for her people. In return, people offer a little bit of food or drink to Pachamama as an offering. If her worshippers forget to honor Pachamama, she gets a little out of sorts and the earth quakes with her bad mood. Pachamama, whose name means "Mother Earth" is also called Mama Pacha.

Ix Chel (pronounced EE shell) is the Mayan Goddess of the moon, pregnancy, and childbirth. She is the consort of Itzamna, God of the sky. She also rules over healing, weaving, and the domestic arts. She is normally depicted as a wise old woman, with a serpent headband and a long skirt. She holds a water jar which she spills to the earth, for she is also a Goddess of water, especially rain water. Her name means "lady rainbow", and is sometimes seen as Ixchel, Ix Chebel Yax, and Chac Chel.

Bet you didn't know there was a Goddess of tequila! Mayahuel (pronounced ma-ha-KWEL) is the Aztec Goddess of fertility and of the maguey, an agave plant. As a fertility Goddess, Mayahuel is depicted with many breasts with which to feed her children, the the Centzontotochtli, or four hundred rabbits. The rabbits are responsible for the infinite kinds of drunkenness, Mayahuel's other area of influence. The maguey plant was used to make a fermented drink called pulque, forerunner to tequila. According to legend, Mayahuel was originally mortal, and was the wife of a farmer. One day while in the agave patch, she saw a mouse who appeared to be drunk. She tried to scare it away, but it just laughed at her. Mayahuel noticed that the mouse had been drinking the juice of the agave plants, so she collected some juice to bring to her husband. The juice was set aside while Mayahuel and her husband finished their work, and it fermented. When they returned in the evening, they tasted it and were delighted with both the flavor and the effects. Mayahuel shared her discovery with the people of Mexico, who were so grateful that they made her a Goddess.

Just one week until Hallowe'en!  I have a special Goddess all prepped for that day, but I think I'll do some scary ones as a lead-up to her. Coatlicue (pronounced koh-ah-TLEE-kway) is the Aztec Goddess of earth and fire, mother to all the Gods, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Her name means "the one with the skirt of serpents", and she is usually represented wearing her skirt made of snakes and a necklace of human skulls, hearts, and hands. Coatlicue is often referred to as a devouring mother, but this representation is not as negative as it sounds. She is the mother who gives us life and then accepts our bodies at death, "devouring" them in order to purify the soul. Coatlicue's unexpected pregnancy from a magical ball of feathers led to the uprising of her other children, led by her daughter Coyolxauhqui. Her son, Huitzilopochtli, sprang from her womb fully grown and armored, and killed his brothers and sister. Coatlicue was struck by grief, both for her children's treachery and the death of her beautiful daughter. She had Huitzilopochtli put Coyolxauhqui's head into the sky as the moon, so that she could see her daughter's face, even in death. Coatlicue is also known as Toci ("grandmother"), Teteoinan ("Mother of the Gods"), and by the epithets Mother Goddess of the Earth who gives birth to all celestial things, Goddess of Fire and Fertility, Goddess of Life, Death and Rebirth, and Mother of the Southern Stars.

And now for an imaginative story about the origin of the moon. Coyolxauhqui (pronounced coh-yohl-SHAU-kee) is the Aztec Goddess of the moon and the Milky Way. Her name means "golden bells", and she is the eldest daughter of the earth Goddess Coatlicue. When Coatlicue was impregnated by a magical ball of feathers, Coyolxauhqui rounded up her 400 siblings, the Centzonuitznaua (Gods of the southern stars), and led them in an attack on their mother. Just as Coyolxauhqui was about to decapitate her mother, her son Huitzilopochtli sprang from his mother's womb, fully armed. He slew all 400 of the star Gods and cut off the head of Coyolxauhqui, throwing it into the sky where it became the moon.

I'm trying to get all my categories covered off with the Goddesses I choose each day, so that's why you're seeing such a mishmash of different cultures. Here's a Mayan one to add to the list. Xmucane (pronounced SHMO-cane) is the Mayan Goddess of time. She and her husband, Xpiacoc, are the grandparents of the Mayan culture, the oldest of all the Mayan Gods. They were involved with the attempts of the Gods to populate the earth. The first men were made from mud, but they disintegrated when it rained. The second attempt was to make men from wood, but they had no minds or souls. Disappointed with their creation, the Gods sent a flood to wash them away. Then Xmucane and Xpiacoc ground corn to make a dough, which the Gods succeeded in fashioning into men. The Mayan culture's view of corn as sacred follows from their belief that it was not only a staple of their diet, but that they were made from it as well.