Ixchel, was the Mayan goddess of love, the moon, textile workers, fertility and medicine; a deity who protected women during childbirth, whose representation was reflected through an old woman, emptying a pitcher of water on the ground, to send floods and storms; but she was also symbolized as a beautiful woman with a rabbit or weaving on a backstrap loom.
The lunar phases were important for the Mayans, due to the manifestation of the different phenomena of nature that were governed by them; hence, the relevance of the goddess for that culture. Legend has it that the goddess «Ixchel» married «Itzam-Na», god of the sky and the sun, procreating «Yum Kaax» the god of corn, «Ek Chuah», god of war, benefactor of merchants and cocoa; In addition, she gave birth to the gods of the stars and the sacrifices, her daughters were the goddesses of paradise, of the night and the waters.
In the head of the goddess «Ixchel» there is a snake representing wisdom, hidden knowledge and the sinuous movements of the earth; On her skirt she has drawings of bones forming several crosses. In the civilization of the Mayans she was considered as a generating mother; however, she was an ambiguous deity, being motherly and kind, but at the same time depending on the circumstances, she was destructive; on its negative side, it fostered diseases and witchcraft, ruining crops or spreading plagues.
The moon is linked to the powerful mother goddess, considered a great energy that favors the fertility of both the earth and animals, as well as human beings, regulating the cycle of existence. For this reason, «Ixchel» is personified as a young woman and an old lady, who was also named, as mistress of divination and destiny, which had many appearances and titles, covered in all its appearance with the attire of traditional Mayan clothing.
One of the temples where he was worshipped was in «Dcuzamil», in the province of «Ecab» currently known as the island of «Cozumel». The Mayans went to that place, making trips in canoes, with the purpose of asking for favors, offering them offerings with flowers and food; something that many people still maintain as a tradition.
Likewise, they dedicated cults of worship to «Ixchel» on Isla Mujeres, where it could be distinguished from the top of a cliff, an impressive rainbow, which inspired to call her with that significant name; In that place are the vestiges of the temple in which they venerated her, and one of the main attractions that maintains that past.
Mayan mythology has left a wealth of legends, where the gods always have the leading role. The influence of the goddess «Ixchel» has remained eternally in the custom of generations, who, like you, feel the need to know a history coated with a culture, which keeps aspects integrated to modernity, until it becomes a valuable part of their lives. origins.