Chalchiuitlicue is the Aztec baptism goddess. She is also a snake goddess and the images of her did nothing for me, so I used another snake goddess to represent her. She is a goddess of creation and childbirth. Noah type flooding also fits the river theme in her archetype. The Spanish had something besides baptism to help convert Aztecs to a new faith; she carried a cross.
I mentioned in my last pot about how movies use baptism type scenes to represent a washing away the past, so the the character can make a new start. My use will differ due to my use of a hapless hero. I will explain why this character can’t be redeemed in my next post. If things go as planned, my depiction of the goddess will anoint another character as the enlightened one.
Aztec mythology, like all mythology, is a maze filled with more guesses than true answers. Her importance changes with time. I only care about the symbols. I cheat a bit because baby baptism is not about enlightenment.
Image with modification of Wikimedia photo
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English: Faience figurines of the Snake Goddess. The goddess, or priestess, is depicted with exposed breasts and wearing a rich garment. Her bared breasts suggest her capacity as fertility goddess.
(An explanation of the reconstruction of this partial statue can be found in w:C.W. Ceram‘s 1958 book, The March of Archaeology. The photo of this statue was published by all the medias of countries after the statuette was discovered-(w:Arthur Evans of the Knossos diggings). The figure on her head is only one possibility.) The snakes and the feline on her head are an allusion to her dominion over nature. Knossos.New-Palace period (1600 BC) |
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| Date | 17 July 2008, 10:43:02 |
| Source | originally posted to Flickr as Snake Goddess – Heraklion Achaeological Museum |
| Author | George Groutas |
Dissection of a Misanthrope 