| Ixchel | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Ix Chel |
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First Appearance |
Mayan Mythology |
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Created by |
Unknown |
Origin[]
Ixchel (or Xchel / Chak Chel) was a 16th-century Maya goddess associated with midwifery, medicine, and weaving. She is often depicted as an aged jaguar goddess and corresponds to Goddess O in the Dresden Codex. Ixchel is analogous to the Aztec goddesses Toci (earth and sweatbath deity) and Cihuacoatl (birth goddess).
Spanish sources, such as Diego de Landa, described her as “the Goddess of making children” and associated her with healing, rituals, and medicine bundles. Classical Maya artifacts, like the Birth Vase, depict Ixchel alongside aged midwives presiding over childbirth and performing healing.
Ixchel is linked mythologically to Itzamna, with whom she had thirteen sons, two of whom created heaven and earth. Her mythology may have centered on the sweatbath, a sacred birthing space, reflecting her Aztec counterpart Toci’s domain.
Iconography includes a serpent headdress, crossed bones, jaguar claws, and warrior attributes, emphasizing her dual role as a healer and fearsome female warrior.
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Ixchel published before January 1, 1931 are public domain in the US.
Notes[]
- Ixchel features in Marvel Comics as a member of the Ahau.
- Ixchel is playable in Smite as a mage. She is the second Maya goddess to feature in Smite, after Awilix.