Itzpapalotl, whose name means Obsidian Butterfly, was a goddess in Aztec religion, portrayed as a striking skeletal warrior and death goddess who ruled as queen of the Tzitzimimeh. She ruled over a paradise world described as the destination of those who died in infancy and as the place where humans were created, and she was the mother of the god Mixcoatl. She was particularly associated with the moth Rothschildia orizaba of the family Saturniidae, along with birds and fire, though she primarily appears in the form of the obsidian butterfly for which she is named. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayHistorically attested; no continuous cult 4 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 Function
Domain / Function Connections
Patron Of
Source Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of FateElizabeth Hill Boone
Sources
1. The Facts on File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend
Anthony S. Mercatante, revised and expanded by James R. Dow, Facts on File
2. Itzpapalotl, Structured Record (Wikidata Q)
3. Religions of Mesoamerica, 2nd edition
David Carrasco, Waveland Press, 2013Itzpapalotl, Aztec-era iconography
4. An Illustrated Dictionary of the Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya
Mary Miller and Karl Taube, Thames and Hudson
Wikipedia, "Itzpapalotl"
Cycles of Time and Meaning in the Mexican Books of Fate
Elizabeth Hill Boone, University of Texas Press, 2007Patron Of: Vulture (Cozcacuauhtli)Quote, Patron Of: Vulture (Cozcacuauhtli)
Patron of the day Cozcacuauhtli in the tonalamatl day-sign series.
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