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In Aztec mythology, Coyolxauhqui (which translates to "golden bells" or "she with the bells on her cheeks") was a moon goddess. She was a daughter of Coatlicue and the ruler of the Centzon Huitznahuas, the star gods. Coyolxauhqui was a powerful magician and led her siblings in an attack on their mother, Coatlicue, because Coatlicue became pregnant.

Contents 1 Attack on Coatlicue 2 Templo Mayor Frieze 2.1 Portrayal as Moon Goddess 3 Coyolxauhqui in the Present Age 4 Other Associations 5 Reference

The pregnancy of Coatlicue, the maternal Earth deity, made her other children embarrassed, including her oldest daughter, Coyolxauhqui. As she swept the temple, a few hummingbird feathers fell into her bosom. Coatlicue's fetus, Huitzilopochtli, sprang from her womb in full war armor and killed Coyolxauhqui, along with many of the brothers and sisters. He cut off her limbs, then tossed her head into the sky where it became the moon, so that his mother would be comforted in seeing her daughter in the sky every night.

A shield-shaped stone frieze reflecting this story was found at the base of the stairs of the Templo Mayor. In this frieze, Coyolxauhqui is shown spread out on her side, with her head, arms and legs chopped away from her body. The orbiting full moon in the stone carving reflects her position as the moon goddess. She is distinguished by balls of eagle down in her hair, a bell symbol on her cheek, and an ear tab showing the Mexica year sign. As with images of her mother, she is shown with a skull tied to her belt. Scholars also believe that the decapitation and destruction of Coyolxauhqui is reflected in the pattern of warrior ritual sacrifice. First, captives' hearts were cut out. Then they were decapitated and had their limbs chopped off. Finally, their bodies were cast from the temple to lie, perhaps, on the great Coyolxauhqui stone.

Coyolxauhqui's cut-up body represents the path of the moon around the Earth, as well as the phases of the moon. Marcela Andre Lopez comments, "What really is going on in this story is that it is an astronomical observation of the phenomenon observed in the sky every day upon Earth. The Sun, with its light, 'destroys' the moon and the stars as the daylight arrives. The 'severed' Coyolxauhqui is nothing but the various phases of the moon: arms, legs, and a whole composite."

She is a major deity in Mesoamerica, living on in other areas in the approach to worship in all-night prayer vigils ongoing today in central Mexico, fully clothed in Christian adoration mixed with local ancestral remembrances and invocations.

Coyolxauhqui's celestial associations are not limited to the moon. Other scholars believe that she should be understood as the Goddess of the Milky Way, or be associated with patterns of stars associated with Huitzilopochtli.

• Duran, Fray Diego (Doris Heyden, Translator). "The History of the Indies of New Spain." University of Oklahoma Press, Norman Oklahoma, 1994.

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