Maya Pantheon: Ix Chel

The Lost History of Aztec & Maya, pg. 60

Ix Chel is the Mayan goddess of the Moon and is connected to fertility. It is speculated that there are two aspects to her character, typical of the duality running through much of the Maya belief system; the image of a sensuous young woman, and that of an aged hag. This extreme contrast drawn from many different inscriptions and artefacts, however, has lead archaeologists to believe that the young woman and elderly lady could possibly be two separate goddesses, referred to as Goddess I and Goddess O respectively.

Her connotations with the Moon means that her totem animal is the rabbit, a creature often seen on the face of the moon in many cultures. She is often depicted with a snake on her headdress, and some have speculated that her hair is actually made of snakes. While Ix Chel’s primary role is that of the Moon goddess, she also presides over Water, Weaving and Childbirth – protecting mothers through labour.

Ix Chel can be translated to ‘She of the Pale Face’, a denotion to the moon, or ‘Lady Rainbow’. Contrary to the usually positive connotations we know of today, the rainbow was a sign of bad omen to the Maya, heralding destruction and viewed as ‘“flatulence of the demons” which [arose] from dry wells.’

She is an integral part of the Maya creation myth, being the mother of all other gods (with the exception of Itzama) and also birthing the bacabs.