Name and Etymology:
Mixcoatl, "Cloud Serpent"
Ce Tecpatl Mixcoatl
Religion and Culture of Mixcoatl:
Aztec, Mesoamerica
Symbols, Iconography, and Art of Mixcoatl:
As the god of war and ambush, Mixcoatl is usually portrayed wearing war paint and carrying a bow, arrows, and perhaps a ritual knife. Mixcoatl could also be depicted carrying a basket used for holding game.
Mixcoatl is God of:
Hunting
War
Milky Way
Equivalents in Other Cultures:
Camaxtli, principle god of the Huejotzingo and Tlaxcala
Story and Origin of Mixcoatl:
Originally the Sun and Mother Earth created 400 stars as their offspring, but the stars behaved very badly. The Sun and Mother Earth then created Mixcoatl in the hopes of fixing things, but Mixcoatl killed all his siblings. It's possible that Mixcoatl is based upon an early, legendary warrior or hunter of the Toltecs who died and was then deified.
Family Tree and Relationships of Mixcoatl:
Son of Tonacatecuhtli
Aspect of Tezcatlpoca
Father of Quetzalcoatl
Consort of Coatlicue, fathered her 400 sons who were killed by Huitzilopochtli
Temples, Worship and Rituals of Mixcoatl:
The main festival for Mixcoatl was held in October when hunters would offer up their own blood to him during two days of hunting and feasting. A man and a woman would also be sacrificed to Mixcoatl at his main temple. The woman would be slaughtered like a game animals; the man would be killed in the traditional Aztec practice of cutting out his heart, but only after he showed the woman's head to the crowd.
Mythology and Legends of Mixcoatl:
Aztecs believe that Mixcoatl created fire, using the earth itself as a drill, as well as war.
