#templo mayor

These are some details of my painting of Tlaltecuhtli, Earth Lady.

On either side of Tlaltecuhtli appear two Teteo, Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of Death, and Tlaloc, Our Lord the Rain.

The land of the dead is under the earth, and the lords of rain live in the hollow mountains. Both are accessed by caves which pierce the earth. The joints, such as elbows and knees, are thought of as openings by which one can enter the body and the solid bones. Therefore, her joints are painted with Tlaloc faces, or, sometimes, with skeletal faces. These represent the caves by which one enters the world of the Teteo of death and rain. They also represent her two poles, of life and death, and of the duality which she incarnates.

At the feet of Mictlantecuhtli are two quail. The white spots on the quail’s feathers symbolize stars, and the quail is a symbol of the night time sky. At the feet of Tlaloc is a rattlesnake. The curving, sinuous body of the snake is like the movement of lightning across the sky, and like the curving of rivers as they wind across the earth. Both animals live in caves in the ground, and therefore are bridges between the dark and mysterious world of the Teteo beneath the earth, and the world of humanity on the earth’s surface.

You can find prints of Tlaltecuhtli in my Etsy store!

Tlaltecuhtli Mother Earth Mexica Aztec Earth Goddess | Etsy México