THE 67 MOST IMPORTANT AZTEC GODS AND THEIR MEANING - HISTORY - 2025

The Aztec gods form an important nucleus in the set of myths and beliefs of one of the greatest empires in history, which spread from Mexico to Central America between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Aztec mythology stood out for the importance of the sun, in fact they considered themselves a people chosen by the sun god. It had Huitzilopochtli, the sun god, as the central referent of a multiple pantheon full of deities.

Pre-Hispanic and Aztec mythology is original and adapted. Original because he created his own gods, but he also adapted other pre-existing deities in the Anahuac valley.

The Aztec Empire was made up of what is known as the Triple Alliance, a confederation of indigenous Mexican states made up of Texcoco, Tlacopan, and Mexico-Tenochtitlan.

The Aztecs had a theocratic political organization headed by the huey-tlatoani, who was elected by a council of representatives of different social clans. Furthermore, he had a monarchical figure of Toltec descent, who ruled alongside a council of prominent nobles.

However, the power scheme was complex, with elected officials, courts, and a judicial system. Its economic activity was divided between commerce, mining and the textile industry.

When the Aztec Empire began its reign after defeating the Tepaneca, some gods were already part of the Anahuac Valley. These deities were adapted to their beliefs, while others emerged from their own culture.

A central point of Aztec mythology is the theory of the five suns, each of which represents a historical stage and its changes are due to a catastrophe. We are currently in the fifth Sun.

Major Aztec gods

1- Quetzalcóatl-God of life, winds and wisdom

God of life, light, wisdom, fertility and knowledge, patron of the day and the winds, is the ruler of the west, and is considered "The Feathered Serpent."

Son of Tonacatecuhtli (man) and Tonacacihuatl (woman), the creators of God, he was born white, with blond hair and blue eyes, he was the second Sun and lasted 676 years.

He is one of the most important deities of the Aztecs, even some legends recognize him as the main God of the pantheon. It is a serpent in its duality of human condition and has feathers because it has a spirit.

2- Coatlicue

Known as the mother of all gods, she is "The One with the Serpents Skirt" and is considered the goddess of fertility, patron of life and death, guide to rebirth.

3- Tezcatlipoca

One of the most complex deities of Aztec mythology, he was the god of heaven and earth, the lord of guardianship and protection of man, as well as a source of life.

He is the origin of power and happiness, owner of battles, with a strong and invisible omnipresence, which made him one of the favorites for worship.

The Aztecs paid tribute to all this in a single representation, which was painted with metallic reflections, a black stripe on the face and a mirror on the ceiling.

This obsidian mirror (a volcanic rock) served him to observe all the actions and thoughts of humanity and also gave off a powerful smoke that served as a defense and killed his enemies. It is considered the first Sun, which lasted 676 years.

4- Yacatecuhtli

He was one of the Elder Gods. God of merchants and travelers, so the Aztecs offered him slaves as a sacrifice to satisfy him and ensure his happiness. He is represented with a prominent nose, which served as a guide for travelers.

5- Cinteotl

Owner of a dual identity, being a man and a woman, he was the god of sustenance (corn, as the main source) because he was sheltered under the earth. In addition, he was the patron of drunkenness and drinking in rituals.

6- Ometéotl

God of duality, unknown by the people but venerated by the upper classes with his poems, he was the father of four gods located one at each cardinal point. He was considered lord of the near and the far.

7- Xochipilli

Precious or noble flower, according to its name, Xochipilli is one of the most revered for representing the pleasures of life.

He was the god of love, pleasure, sacred drunkenness, games, beauty, dance, flowers, corn, the arts, and songs. In his cult, meals were offered in a massive celebration, where each state or individual offered their crops to the rest.

8- Tonatiuh

He was the god of the Sun, leader of the sky and considered the fifth Sun of Aztec legend. Product of the sacrifice of the gods, Tonatiuh is the eternal Sun, since all died for him.

This explains why the Aztecs performed so many rituals and sacrifices for the Sun to run its strong and radiant course.

9- Huitzilopochtli

Husband of the goddess of death, god of death and the Aztec underworld, he was considered a deity of the shadows.

He was the Lord of Mictlán, a dark and silent place where the souls of the dead lived in the center of the earth, which no one wanted to reach of their own free will.

11- Tlaloc

For the Aztecs, Tláloc was “the one who made things sprout”, provider, he was considered the god of rain, fertility, earthquakes and lightning. It was also called the "nectar of the earth."

He is one of the oldest deities in the pantheon and ceremonies were held to honor him in the first month of the year.

12- Metztli

Her name means "that of the serpent in the face" and she is the goddess of the Moon. One of the most respected deities by the Aztecs, because Metzi dominated the water with the snakes.

With this power he caused storms or floods, but he could also be a source of happiness and blessings, and he represented maternal love with a skirt full of bones.

Furthermore, its importance lies in the fact that the Aztec calendar was ruled by the lunar phases.

13- Xipe Totec

Located where the sun hides, in the west, this deity represents the masculine part of the universe, youth and dawn.

Xipe Tótec had as a weapon a chicahuaztli (percussion instrument, which was represented with a serpent) from which the rays that sent rain to the corn.

That is why he is considered the god of abundance, young corn, love and wealth. Furthermore, it is a representation of renewal, detachment from the useless, the soil and the spiritual nature.

14- Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli

His name represents the morning star, the light of dawn, he is a colorful god for the Aztecs who ruled the sun at noon.

15- Mixcoatl

Its name represents the smoke serpent. God of storms, war and hunting. He was represented with red bands and his 400 children are stars of the Milky Way, a space that for the Aztecs belonged to him.

16- Ehecatl

God of the wind, he was represented in the breath of living beings. It brings life because it announces and clears the rain. In addition, it is considered that he was the one who set the fifth Sun and its moon in motion.

17- Xiuhtecuhtli

He was highly respected for being the god of fire and heat. His representation was always with red and yellow colors, which symbolize his power.

Elder, owner of time and patron of kings and warriors, he is one of the oldest cults in Aztec mythology.

18- Atlacoya

Goddess of drought, her name means sad water, it represents austerity and hopelessness. It is feared for being the eater of fertility.

19- Chalchiuhtlicue

Goddess of lakes, seas, oceans, rivers and water currents, she illuminated the first Sun on a sky of water that fell in the form of a flood. Patron of births, her worship takes place on the first day of the beginning of the year.

20- Chantico

Her name means "the one in the home", she is the goddess of personal treasures and fires, those that are in the heart, in the home, in the volcanoes, the celestial ones and those of the stove.

21- Chicomecóatl

Depicted with a hoya, she is the goddess of subsistence and is believed to have been the first woman to cook peas and other delicacies.

Patron of vegetation and fertility, her cult was carried out with a long fast in which the houses were also surrounded with crops.

22- Cihuacoatl

She was the first woman to give birth and that is why she is considered the goddess of births. The legend of La Llorona (which many towns preserve today) is partly inspired by its myth.

In addition, she is considered the patron saint of doctors, bleeding patients, midwives, surgeons and those who gave remedies for abortion. She was also venerated in Aztec mythology as a soul-gathering guide.

23- Huehuecóyotl

His name means "old coyote" and he is one of the gods of vices. She is actually a trickster deity who rules the arts, joy, storytelling, and songs.

He was revered by the Aztecs as the lord of ceremonial music and dance, guide of adulthood and adolescence.

His cult also led him to be the patron of unbridled sexuality, a symbol of cunning, wisdom and pragmatism. He was married to the goddess Temazcalteci but had homosexual invocations with lovers of both genders, according to Aztec legend.

24- Xiuhtecuhtli

His name means "lord of the night" and was, precisely, the god of the night, who protected the sleep of children. He was worshiped with different dances before nightfall.

25- Amimitl

Her name means the representation of a "water dart", an image that leads her to be the god of lakes and fishermen, he could calm storms to guarantee their protection and good fortune.

The fishermen offered him all their prayers before embarking in search of a good job and sang his hymn as a sign of worship.

26- Macuilmalinalli

God of men killed in battle, he is also considered the lord of the grass. He is considered the patron of cut or smoked grass, two salient customs of Aztec mythology.

27- Ixtlilton

A healing and vicious god, Ixlilton is in Aztec mythology considered the god of medicine, dance, festivals, and games.

Patron of childhood and its sick people, his cult was based on the fact that he could heal and make children speak.

For this, the sick were taken to their temples, where they had to dance and drink black water (its name means black water) that cured all ills.

28- Macuilxochitl

Goddess of well-being, music, dance, games and good luck, she was considered Ixtlilton's sister.

According to Aztec legends, they invoked her to ask for her protection and fortune with burning incenses and meals served before the patolli games, a typical game played on a board in the shape of a blade drawn on a carpet.

29- Tlacotzontli

His name means "hair rod" and he is the protector god of the nocturnal roads, where travelers and enemies passed. His representation wears a protective cloak that is used to perch and rest.

30- Iztli

Aztec goddess of stone and sacrifices, was represented as a black gemstone in the shape of a sacrificial knife. Her name was associated with a sharp weapon in other cultures.

31- Citlalicue

The creator goddess of the stars, together with her husband Citlalatonac. She also created the milky way, earth, death, and darkness.

32- Cinteteo

Name with which the Aztecs called the four gods of corn. They were children of the goddess Centeotl and the god Cinteotl.

Their names were Iztac-Cinteotl (white corn), Tlatlauhca-Cinteotl (red corn), Cozauhca-Cinteotl (yellow corn), and Yayauhca-Cinteotl (black corn).

33- Ahuiateteo

Source: This image was created with Adobe Photoshop.

Group of gods of excess and pleasure, also represented the risks and dangers that accompany the former. They were associated with the Tzitzimimeh, a group of supernatural beings who personified death, drought, and war.

34- Centzonhuitznahua

Source: Florentine Codex

Group of southern star gods. They were the evil sons of Coatlicue and brothers of Coyolxauhqui.

Together, these brothers tried to murder their mother while she was waiting for Huitzilopochtli. Their plan was thwarted when the elder god was born adult and ready for battle, in which she slaughtered them all.

35- Centsontotochtin

Source: Codex Magliabecchiano

Aztec gods of wine and pulque, were represented by a group of rabbits that met in alcoholic celebrations. Among others were Tepotztecatl, Texcatzonatl and Colhuatzincatl.

36- Cipactonal

Oxomoco (left) and Cipactónal (right). Source: Codex Borbonicus

Aztec god of astrology and calendars.

37- Cihuateteo

Source: Codex Borgia

Female group of Aztec spirits who died during childbirth. The Aztecs believed that this group of spirits accompanied the sun as it set each evening.

38- Chalchiutotolin

Source: Codex Borgia

She was considered a goddess of disease and plagues. It was a symbol of powerful sorcery. Her nahual, or animal representation, was a turkey that terrorized villages bringing disease and death.

39- Chimalma

Source: John Pohl

She was considered the mother of the god Quetzalcóatl. Its name means "hand shield" in Nahuatl.

40- Coyolxauhqui

Source: Drini

Daughter of Coatlicue and Mixcoatl, she was an Aztec goddess who led her four hundred brothers in an attack against their mother, when she learned that she was pregnant by Huitzilopochtli.

However, when her brother was born fully adult and ready for battle, she was killed and dismembered. A disk found in the Templo Mayor in Mexico City represents her like this.

41- Huehueteotl

He was the god of fire and was also a common element among various Mesoamerican cultures. He was generally depicted as an old and decrepit figure, occasionally bearded.

42- Itzpapalotitotec

It is about the Aztec goddess of sacrifice. She ruled the supra world known as Tamoanchan, the paradise of dead children and the place where humans were created. She was the mother of Mixcoatl.

43- Ixtilton

Source: Codex Borgia

Aztec god of medicine and healing. He was a benevolent god that emanated from an obsidian mask that brought darkness and peaceful sleep to children before sleeping at night.

44- Mayahuel

Source: Codex Borgia

Aztec goddess associated with the maguey, a species of agave plant that was popular in many Mesoamerican cultures. It was related to aspects such as fertility and nutrition. Mayahuel was also represented in many aspects related to pulque, the alcoholic beverage extracted from the maguey.

45- Temazcalteci

Source: No machine-readable author provided. Tecuicpanecatl ~ commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims).

She was the Aztec goddess of steam baths, which is why she was also considered the deity of medicine and was worshiped by Aztec doctors. The temazcales, or ritual steam baths, were created in her name.

46- Tlazolteotl

Source: Codex Borbonicus

It is about the Aztec goddess of sin, vice, and sexual perversion. It was also considered a deity that could cure diseases caused by sexual misconduct. She was the mother of the god Centeotl.

47- Tlaltecuhtli

Source: Lin Mei from Boston, USA

Along with Coatlicue, Cihuacoatl, and Tlazolteotl, Tlaltecuhtli was an Aztec god who participated in the creation of the earth. It was characterized as a sea monster that came to live in the sea after the Great Flood.

During a battle with Quetzalcóatl and Texcatlipoca, this god was split in two. One half of his body was thrown upward and formed the sky. The other half became the earth.

48- Tlalcihuatl

It was the female representation of the god Tlaltecuhtli. Some researchers think that it could be the same figure, because in some representations it appears in the usual pose in which the Aztecs illustrated women giving birth.

49- Tepeyollotl

Source: Codex Borgia

God of mountains and echoes. He was also considered the god of earthquakes and jaguars. He was graphically represented as a jaguar leaping towards the sun.

50- Xochipilli

Source: By gripso_banana_prune Antony Stanley

He was the Aztec god of art, games, beauty, dance, flowers, and music. Its name comes from the Nahuatl words "xochitl", which means flower and "pilli", which means prince or child. Literally, Prince of flowers. His wife was Mayahuel and his twin sister was Xochiquetzal. This god was also the deity of homosexuals and prostitutes.

51- Xochiquetzal

Source: Codex Borgia

She was the Aztec goddess of fertility, beauty, and female sexual power. She was the protector of young mothers and of pregnancy, childbirth and the arts practiced by women during this stage, such as sewing and embroidery.

52- Xolotl

Source: Codex Borgia

Aztec god of sunset, lightning and death. He was in charge of protecting the sun as he traveled to the underworld every night. Dogs were associated with this divinity and it was believed that these animals accompanied the souls of the dead on their journey to the underworld. He was normally represented graphically as a ferocious dog.

53- Zacatzontli

Source: Codex Borgia

He is the Aztec god of the road. In his left hand he carried a cane and in his right a bag full of quetzals. He was the protector of merchants. Helped travelers during their journeys.

54- Tzitzimime

Representation of a Tzitzimitl in the Magliabechiano Codex. Source:

Aztec deity related to the stars. She was depicted as a female skeleton wearing skirts with designs of bones and skulls. She was considered a demon.

55- Xantico

Source: Codex Borgia

Aztec goddess of bonfires and stoves in Aztec houses.

56- Toci

Source: Éclusette

Goddess grandmother, represented healing and healing.

57- Malinalxochitl

Source: Arnold3423

Goddess and sorceress of the snakes, scorpions and insects of the desert. She was the sister of Huitzilopochtli.

58 - Omacahtl

Its name means "two reeds". He was considered by the Aztecs as the god of fun, celebrations, parties and joy.

They personified him as a plump man, painted black and white with a cloak surrounded by flowers and a crown full of papers of many colors.

During parties and celebrations they offered him corn and asked for riches (Spengleriano, 2014).

He was worshiped by cooks, who invoked him when they had to prepare a dinner, so that the food would not cause any discomfort to the guests.

When the rich gave a banquet they revered it in a special way. During the celebration they placed an image of Omacahtl with a hole in the abdomen. In that hole the host was putting delicacies to keep him happy, thus preventing him from getting angry and could take revenge by causing indigestion.

59 - Patecatl

Codex Borgia Fountain

God inventor of medicine among the Aztecs. He is the so-called god of fertility and healing.

She was the partner of Mayahuel, a beautiful goddess who came to live with mortals and, so as not to be discovered, became the maguey plant.

By fermenting the root of the maguey, pulque originated, which is an alcoholic beverage made from that plant. That is why Patecalt is also called the god of pulque.

He also found the divine cactus or peyote and wanted to invent an extraordinarily beneficial medicine, made from pulque with peyote pulp.

Patecatl and Mayahuel gave rise to the centzon totochtin, which are the 400 rabbits, 400 spirits or minor gods of pulque, and that is why they are considered the gods of drunkards and drunkenness. (Aztec Mithology, 2007).

60 - Opochtli

He was part of the group of companions from Tláloc. He was considered the god of bird hunting and fishing among the Aztecs. He was the creator of fishing nets, the fishing rod and the harpoon.

It was symbolized completely painted in black, with a scepter, holding a red shield and wearing a crown of feathers and paper on his head.

In the fishermen's festivals it was offered with food such as corn, pulque and incense.

61 - Chiconahui

Goddess of the home and fertility. She is considered a minor goddess (Ecured, 2017).

Chiconahui is credited with the invention of cosmetics and ornaments for women. It is symbolized with a cane and with a shield that has the shape of a foot. Although it is a female figure, it is associated with symbols of war.

62 - Oxomoco

Oxomoco (left) and Cipactónal (right). Source: Codex Borbonicus

She is the goddess of calendars and astrology, and personifies the night. Her name means first woman.

Together with Cipactli they compose time. If Oxomoco is the earth or the night, Cipactli is the sun or the day. From that union arises what for them would be the time or the calendar.

The great god Quetzalcóatl created them by grinding bones and melting them with his own blood. Cipactli and Oxomoco were the original couple in the new world and who were later considered the creator gods of the Aztec calendar (Balladeer, 2011).

63 - Cipactli

Source: Giggette

He is a god of light, of radiance, the one who sent light to earth. He is also considered the god of Aztec calendars and astrology, which he created with his wife Oxomoco.

64 - Xochitónal

It is represented with the figure of an alligator or a gigantic iguana, and is considered a minor Aztec god.

Guard the entrance to the underworld Mictlan, and is in charge of guarding the passage to the black water lake that the souls must overcome to reach the final rest.

The dead had to defeat or elude him to meet the lord of the dead and of the shadows, Mictlantecuhtli.

65 - Tztlacoliuhqui

Source: Rrs3aq

He is the Aztec god of winter, ice, frost, and cold. He is also the god of human misery and sin. It is held responsible for volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and natural disasters.

Sometimes he is represented with a blindfold, symbolizing his work as a vigilante, such as that which imposes punishment on humans. They say it is made of volcanic stone or obsidian.

66 - Macuiltochtli

Source: Codex Borgia

Aztec god linked with warriors, with men who died in battles.

It is a masculine spirit recognized as one of the centzon totochtin or minor gods of drunkenness, drunks and pulque.

He is worshiped under the figure of a rabbit, an animal that in Mesoamerican culture was associated with excesses and drunkenness (Aztec Mithology, 2007).

For the Aztecs there was a set of gods of minor vices called Macuiltonaleque.

Among them were mainly five:

-Macuilxóchitl (Five Flower), deity of players, dance and music.

-Macuilcuetzpalin (Five Lizard) god of pleasure.

-Macuilmalinalli (Five Herb), alluded to the excessive use of herbs or peyote as stimulants.

-Macuilcozcacuauhtli (Five Vulture), god of gluttony.

-Macuiltochtli (Five Rabbits), grouped with the gods of pulque or drunkenness

The other gods considered part of the guild of vices are:

Mayáhuel (goddess of the maguey, hence of drunkenness), Ometochtli, Tepoztécatl, Tlazoltéotl and Huehuecóyotl (Atzecas gods of vices, 2016) .

67 - Téotl

This word means the sovereign god. For the Aztecs it was the immortal, the creator who sustained the world. The eternal, invisible and indestructible. It is equal to the universe, the Aztec deity par excellence.

It is invisible but, it hides beautifully in many ways. In the first place, their appearance is materialized in beings of nature, such as trees, flowers, insects and humans (Aztec Religion: Téotl, the generating force of the Universe, 2011).

Téotl was never represented with images; he was only worshiped in a temple located in the city of Texcoco.

God patterns in the Aztec calendar

In the work Historia de las cosas de la Nueva España, Fray Bernardino de Sahagún reflected a relationship of the months of the Aztec calendar with the Gregorian calendar. Divided into 18 months, the Aztec calendar had patterns for each month.

Monolith of Piedra del Sol. Source: pixabay.com

Find out which deity corresponds to your birthday:

I- Atalcahuallo - from February 2 to 21

Patron Goddess: Chachihuitlicue

II- Tlacaxipehualitzi - from February 22 to March 13

Patron God: Xipe -Totec

III- Tozoztontli - from March 14 to April 2

Patron Gods: Coatlicue-Tlaloc

IV- Hueytozoztli - from April 3 to 22

Patron Gods: Centéotl-Chicomecóatl

V- Tóxcatl -from April 23 to May 12

Patron Gods: Tezcatlipoca-Huitzilopochtli

VI- Etzalculiztli -from May 13 to June 1

Patron gods: the tlaloques

VII- Tecuilhuitontli - from June 2 to 21

Patron God: Huixtocihuatl

VIII- Hueytecuilhutli - from June 22 to July 11

Patron God: Xilonen

IX- Tlaxochimaco - from July 12 to 31

Patron God: Huitzilopochtli

X- Xocotlhuetzin - from August 1 to 20

Patron God: Xiuhtecuhtli

XI- Ochpanitztli - from August 21 to September 9

Patron God: Tlazoltéotl

XII- Teotelco - from September 10 to 29

Patron God: Tezcatlipoca

XIII- Tepeilhuitl - from September 30 to October 19

Patron God: Tláloc

XIV- Quecholli - from October 20 to November 8

Patron God: Mixcóatl / Camaxtli

XV- Panquetzalitzli - from November 9 to 28

Patron God: Huitzilopochtli

XVI- Atemotzli - from November 29 to December 18

Patron God: Tláloc

XVII- Tititl - from December 19 to January 7

Patron God: Llamatecuhtli

XVIII- Izcalli - from January 8 to 27

Patron God: Xiuhtecuhtli

Nemontemi - from January 28 to February 1

Empty or dire days.

Themes of interest

Aztec religion.

Aztec calendar.

Aztec architecture.

Aztec literature.

Aztec sculpture.

Aztec art.

Aztec economy.