The Wives of Tezcatlipoca

Xochiquetzal, the Precious Flower, is the goddess of femininity, beauty, the arts, and many other things. She is the wife of Tezcatlipoca and rules over Tamoanchan, believed to be the place where humans and flowers were created—a paradise described as being adorned with turquoise and mist. In some beliefs, Tamoanchan is the level just below the highest realm, Omeyocan, the 13th level.

Tamoanchan being the 12th, and all other levels lie below her and Tamoanchan.

(The word Tamoanchan comes from the Mayan language but describes the same place.)

Xochiquetzal created Itzpapalotl, the Obsidian Butterfly, leader of the Tzitzimime, the star goddesses who descend during solar eclipses.

Itzpapalotl is described as having wings like a butterfly, but with edges adorned with obsidian blades that can cut through anything. Itzpapalotl was created in Tamoanchan, and her loyalties lie with Xochiquetzal.

Xochiquetzal is characterized as a beautiful woman, the most beautiful goddess—like the Mexican Aphrodite to make it easier to understand.

However, her beauty is secondary to her distinctive headdress. In ancient codices, her headdress is described as a magnificent, large, and beautiful object made of quetzal feathers among other sacred and precious materials. This headdress is like a double headdress; see the image for reference.

Her Quetzal helmet is also a unique characteristic.

In some accounts, it is believed that she was the one taken by Tezcatlipoca, while in others, it is said that it was Chalchiuhtlicue who was seduced by him. Whatever happened, Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue ended emotionally devastated by Tezcatlipoca's actions and words. He manipulated them into ending two suns (the 3rd and the 4th) without using physical force—only their emotions.

Atlatonan was a very important goddess for the Matlatzincas; with the Mexica, she was syncretized into their beliefs and became the wife of the creator and destroyer god, Tezcatlipoca. Sadly, the lake attributed to her, once called "the Nine Waters" and now known as Alto Lerma, has almost completely dried up.

Although it’s believed that she can be present in any fresh body of water, she doesn’t need to physically travel there—she can be wherever she wishes, whenever she wants.

Atlatonan is described as a very beautiful woman whose beauty shines at night under the moonlight. When she moves through the water, she prefers to have her lower body as a powerful, black aquatic serpent. Her torso remains serpent-like, while her upper body and head are human. When she wants to leave the water, she transforms her snake tail into human legs. Like most gods, she can change forms, but she prefers the serpentine mermaid form. There are also accounts of her taking the shape of only a serpent or other small freshwater animals.

She commands the mermaids (Acihuatlameh) and mermen with fish tails, ruling over all living and dead within fresh water and the water itself. She blesses fishermen or curses them if they act immorally, offering nothing to those who behave immorally; even the water punishes them.

Huixtocihuatl is
The elder sister of Tlaloc and the Tlaloque
The younger sister of Chalchiuhtlicue

Huixtocihuatl mocked her brothers, Tlaloc and the Tlaloque, very harshly. In revenge, they took her to the depths of the sea, down to the ocean bed, where she lay on a salt bed—a place where all life dies. In Mexico, these salt beds are eight times more potent than normal, lethal to all, where nothing survives. Yet, she did survive. Not only did she survive, but she also learned to form and control salt, mastering it. She blesses salt traders or curses them based on the morality of their actions. (It is said that she may be the one who distributed salt in a more complete version of the tale and made the sea salty, but that’s just a theory.)

She is a persevering and strong goddess who emerges even stronger from the worst circumstances.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be related, but the fact that she is the wife of Tezcatlipoca and is related to Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue speaks volumes without needing to say anything… To explain, Tezcatlipoca took Tlaloc’s wife and the position of the sun from both Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue, respectively. This is the family of Huixtocihuatl—the same family that tried to kill her, yet Tezcatlipoca did not abandon her; instead, they married.

Xilonen, the Goddess of Maize, agriculture, the one who nourishes us in life and in death.

In the death of mortals, Xilonen always accompanies them through Mictlán or along the path to death, providing food. She does not want you to make the long, hard journey toward death and the life beyond in Mictlán hungry; she wants you to be nourished for your passage.

As the goddess of food, specifically maize, Xilonen is crucial to ancient Mexican civilization. It was maize that enabled the ancient Mexicans to cease their nomadic hunting and begin cultivating food, binding them to the land and, over time, establishing a civilization.

(THIS SPACE IS RESERVED FOR FUTURE DISCOVERIES ABOUT ANY CONNECTION BETWEEN HER AND TEZCATLIPOCA)

It is thought that she is Chicomecoatl, associated as the main goddess of maize, with Xilonen being her younger form.

In the Mexica sacrificial calendar, her Ixiptla (sacrificial representative) is sacrificed alongside the Ixiptla of Cinteotl.