Coatlicue's Sacrifice and Rebirth

As Easter approaches, so do thoughts of ritual sacrifice and rebirth. Lately, when I think of ritual sacrifice and rebirth, the first deity to come to mind is Coatlicue. She was worshipped by the Aztecs, but there is evidence that she predates the Aztecs. An ancient earth mother great goddess adopted by a conquering empire, Coatlicue was considered to be mother of the gods, the sun, the moon, and the stars. There are stories of Coatlicue being decapitated by her son Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war. However, in another variant of the story, Huitzilopochtli doesn't decapitate his mother, he simply consumes her heart, "an act suggesting that she died as a result of heart excision, a common form of Aztec human sacrifice, according to colonial authors." Cecelia Klein pieces together evidence to argue that Coatlicue was one of the three goddesses (along with her sisters) from Aztec myth to sacrifice herself to give birth to and energize the fifth and present sun. In the story of the sisters' sacrifice, they are brought back to life via their skirts...Coatlicue's happening to be made of living snakes. This would explain why statues of Coatlicue have two snakes in the place of her head.

According to Klein, "Rather than dying as an enemy in battle, Coatlicue sacrificed herself voluntarily to provide the Mexica with the warmth, light, and changing seasons that brought them crops, food, and good health. If this reading of the Coatlicue statue is correct, women's powers to generate new life on every level were, among the Mexica, very great indeed."

This conclusion is supported by the two major Mexica festivals at which Coatlicue was celebrated. At the spring festival called Tozozontli she was presented with "the first fruits of the flowers which had bloomed earliest that year" as well as "all kinds of flowers 'small, little, tiny, minute ones, no matter how many, no matter how little'." Then, each autumn, during a feast, "a woman impersonating Coatlicue was sacrificed."

Today's painting, available in the shop or through Fine Art America, commemorates Coatlicue's sacrifice and rebirth.

Sources:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/31185285_A_New_Interpretation_of_the_Aztec_Statue_Called_Coatlicue_Snakes-Her-Skirt

http://e-researcher.be/ru/arkhivv/112-vol-2-no-4-2019/308-coatlicue-and-the-holy-death-two-terrible-mothers-of-the-mexicans

Comments

Asherah

An inscription from Khirbet El-Qôm (near Jerusalem) dated to the 700s BCE and translated by archaeologist Judith Hadley reads, "Uriyahu the Rich wrote it. Blessed be Uriyahu by Yahweh for from his enemies by his Asherah he has saved him by Oniyahu by his Asherah and by his A[she]rah.” ( Source ) Asherah was the Great Goddess of the Ancient Near East. From this inscription and other evidence, it is surmised that Yahweh, the God of the Jews, once had a wife - Asherah. Asherah was also sometimes known as Astarte and was associated with lions and the planet Venus, like her relative, Ishtar/Inanna. Asherah's symbol was the tree of life, and her worship involved sacred groves and asherah poles. Asherah original painting available through Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available in shop or through RedBubble or Fine Art America. All of the Asherahs in my painting are based on figurines housed in the Isra...

Chang e, Moon Goddess

Chang e or Chang o, the Chinese moon goddess. The details of her story vary, but generally she is married to an archer who shoots 9 of the 10 suns to prevent the Earth from scorching drought. He is awarded elixir of immortality by the Great Queen Mother Goddess of the West. To keep the elixir from burglars, Chang e drinks it. The elixir causes her to float up to the moon, where she is separated from her husband, but at least has a jade rabbit and busy woodcutter for company. China's lunar landers are named after her. Chang E, Moon Goddess original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art . Stickers, prints, and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America . In older stories, she also births the 12 moons. In some versions of the story with the archer, Chang e is reunited with him during the 8th moon of each year. The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates this reunion, and is one of the largest holidays in China. According...

Sophia and the Apocryphon of John

In 1945, thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by an Egyptian farmer near the town of Nag Hammadi, Egypt. These early Christian texts date from the 3rd century CE, and include writings attributed to John the Baptist. The writings of John became known as the Secret Book of John, or the Apocryphon of John. A translation by Frederik Wisse can be read online . In the Apocryphon, there is a female counterpart to the Father - the holy Mother, Barbelo. "She is the forethought of the All - her light shines like his light - the perfect power... The first power, the glory of Barbelo, the perfect glory in the aeons, the glory of the revelation... she became the womb of everything, for it is she who is prior to them all, the Mother-Father." I became aware of the Apocryphon of John after reading a graphic novel by Marisa Acocella, The Big She-Bang, The Herstory of the Universe According to God the Mother (highly recommended, by ...

Having a Child Is Like Having Your Heart Walk Around Outside Your Body

I've been reading a lot about evolutionary psychology lately. It seems that what really made us human was the bond between mother and child. Our big brains force us into the world before we can even hold up our own heads. We essentially must continue gestating outside the womb. The learning and empathy that develops between mother and child in infancy forms the basis of everything we call love, and lays the foundation for our cooperative culture. Evolution, driven by the mothers. It's been a series of fascinating reads, and it's reminded me of the quote about how having a child is like forever having a piece of your heart walking around outside your body. Or, in the case of my painting, your whole heart. My heart and I, walking through the parking lot of the New York Renaissance Faire a couple of years ago. Having a Child Is Like Having Your Heart Walk Around Outside Your Body, original painting by Echoing Multiverse. Available via S...

Ardipithecus ramidus, Eve of Bipedalism

Ardipithecus ramidus. Our first great grandmother to walk upright. The Eve of bipedalism. Dating to about 4.4 million years ago. Males and females of the species are similarly sized and both have canine teeth that are feminized. The males don't bare their fangs to scare off rivals. They don't have fangs. Based on these features, it can be assumed that Ardipithecus society was likely relatively egalitarian and cooperative. That's nice. Inspired by Cat Bohannon's new book, Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution. Ardipithecus ramidus, Eve of Bipedalism, original painting by Echoing Multiverse available via Saatchi Art . Stickers and other merch available through RedBubble or Fine Art America .

Bi Pride Symbol

It's Diversity and Inclusion week at the offspring's school. Last year they had Wear the Rainbow day and of 1700ish students and staff, the teen saw three others participating. So afterwards I asked teachers and her guidance counselor to consider participating next time because it didn't make the kid feel good diversity and inclusion vibes to be so alone. Direct result or just coincidence: this year's Diversity and Inclusion week substituted On Wednesdays We Wear Pink day in the place of Wear the Rainbow day. Mean Girls peer pressure totally says diversity and inclusion to me. So, in protest, the kid has made every day this week gay day with their wardrobe choices. So proud. And it coincided with me reading I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, which is an amazing book. Quote from the author: "...you deserve ridiculous, over-the-top high school rom-coms about teenagers like you, just like the straight kids have!" Recent surveys have s...

Echoing Multiverse

Search This Blog