TYPE: Moon Goddess
ORIGIN: Mayan - Classical Mesoamerican, (Yucatec and Quiche)- Mexico
INFORMATION: Also the goddess of childbirth and medicine and of rainbows. A consort of the sun god. She has a major shrine as Cozumel and small figurines of the goddess have been conventionally placed beneath the beds of women in labor. Such women are considered to be in great danger at times of lunar eclipse when the unborn child may develop deformities. Ix Chel is a guardian against disease and the Quiche Indians regard her as a goddess of fertility and sexual intercourse.
A goddess of weaving, believed to be the first being on earth to weave cloth, she was employed in this craft when she first attracted the attention of the sun god. She carries her loom sticks across the sky to protect her from jaguars. Under Christian influence she has been largely syncretized with the Virgin Mary. Also Goddess I. See also Ix Chebel Yax.