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 Chalchiuhtilicue
Wife of Tlaloc. Goddess of storms and water.
Personification of youthful beauty, vitality and violence.
She was also the Lady of the Maintenance,
the man was nourished by her so that he could live and multiply.
In this way, she is symbolically the Nutritious Mother.
Chalchihuitlcue is the whirlpool, the wind on the waters, all
young and growing things, the beginning of life and creation.
According to the Aztecs, our world is the fifth in a
series; the fourth was destroyed by a great flood sent by
Chalchiuhtilicue to punish humanity for its wickedness. Before she
did so, the goddess built a multicolored bridge into the Fifth World for
the righteous - a bridge that reappears today, sometimes, as a rainbow.
The "jade-skirted goddess" ruled all waters: earth's flowing steams, rain
from the heavens, and the nourishing waters used for drinking and
baptisms. When painted or sculpted, the goddess was shown decked
out in a jade necklace, turquoise earrings, a crown of iridescent blue
feathers, and a skirt trimmed with water lilies.
Patricia Monaghan's
The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines
The Goddess
Coyolxauhqui
Aztec
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