Goddess of the Week: Mictacacihuatl

Image by Thomas Milne via Flickr

True story:

I knew this professor -- an historian -- at UCLA. She was staying with this very modest family in rural Mexico who were allowing her to sleep on their couch while she did her research. She woke up in the middle in the night and this woman she'd never seen before walked past her and then just evaporated, like steam, like a thin fog. The woman was gone. When the professor mentioned this to her hosts they shook their heads. They didn't know what she was talking about, only then did the professor realize she'd seen a ghost.

Ghosts needs goddesses too, of course, and so, on this week before Halloween, I give you Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec goddess of the underworld, who watched over the bones of the dead, lest they be stolen. With her skull face, serpent skirt and sagging breasts, I'm thinking she was pretty good at keeping thieves at bay.

I know what you're thinking: why would anyone want to steal the bones of the dead? Turns out bones are precious. The Aztecs said they were like seeds and could be used to germinate new life. In fact, the god Quetzalcoatl took Mictecacihuatl's old pile of bones to create humans, so now she must guard her bones even more carefully in case Quetzalcoatl comes back and tries to create something even more dangerous.

To placate the aggrieved Mictecacihuatl, the Aztecs worshipped their lady of the dead in a month long festival that, despite a few changes in venue and ritual, is still celebrated today. Happy Dia de Los Muertos to you.

This goddess is for my daughter, a Halloween baby.

Channel this goddess: when confronting goblins, ghosts and wee little beasties or when bra shopping (because sagging breasts really work for no one, even people with totally cool serpent skirts).

Need a goddess: Leave me a comment in the comment section telling me what you need. I'll see what I can do.