13/05/2022
Ix Chel: Our Divine Mother
In the Maya spirituality Ixchel is the essence of love, gestation, textile works, moon and medicine. Sometimes she was represented with a rabbit. In hieroglyphic texts her name is Chak Chel (big rainbow), in the Chilam Balam her name is Ix Chel.
Maya legends says that Itzamná, direct invocation of the creative energy of the name K'uj or Jajal k'uj, married Ixchel procreating the other Yuumtsilo'ob like Yuum Kaax, Ek Chuah,Yuum Chaak and the energies of the stars; His daughters were the essence of the waters, the night and paradise. Ixchel is credited with phenomena related to the moon, pregnancy, weaving and flooding.
She was depicted as an old woman emptying a pitcher full of water on the ground or also as an old woman knitting on a waist loom. In his head, a snake, and in the skirt bones forming crosses. She was celebrated in the zip month under her name as a lady of medicine. She had four manifestations, in four different colors (red, white, black and yellow) associated with the four courses of the universe. Her glyph corresponding with the day caban.
One of the most important temples is located on the island of Cuzamil (Cozumel) the province of Ecab. From the port of Pole (today Xcaret) the canoes of pilgrims departed towards the temple in Cuzamil to request the oracle of her energy; In this pilgrimage young women would to ask in their pregnancies to procreate children that their husbands wanted.
For Ixchel it is said that she gave protection to the pilgrims who would visited this sacred island, Cozumel. Isla Mujeres which was also dedicated to their worship.
Ixchel was revered as the essence of the moon, because of the feminine character of the moon. It represented the fertility closely tied to the earth, since it is the cycles of the moon that govern the times of sowing and harvesting. It is also associated with rain and with the god Chaac by this same concept.