Tezcatlipoca
Aztec god of sorcery, night, ancestral memory, time, the night winds, and change through conflict
Tezcatlipoca is one of the most important gods for the Aztecs, sometimes he is even viewed as being the highest god of the pantheon. Tezcatlipoca’s name means “Smoking Mirror”, the Nahuatl term for the black obsidian mirrors used for divination. Tezcatlipoca also had several titles, as he was considered a fearsome god who people did not always mention directly out of respect. Tezcatlipoca has two nahualli (animal spirit) forms; Tepeyollotl, the jaguar god of the Underworld (Mictlan), and Chalchiuhtotolin, the Jeweled Fowl god. As Tepeyollotl, he roams Mictlan, causing earthquakes with his roars. As Chalchiuhtotolin, he appears as a beautiful fowl, covered in jeweled feathers. But as beautiful as Chalchiuhtotolin is, he is also terrifying to behold.
His physical representation was carved from obsidian (black volcanic glass), and He was pictured cloaked in a mantle with skulls and crossbones on it, holding an atlatl (spear thrower), and shield, His mirror (called Itlachiayauhque, “Place From Which He Watches”), and adorned with jewelry and feathers. This statue was kept behind a dark curtain in the inner sanctum of the Temple of Tezcatlipoca, and few but the priests were allowed entrance. The priests offered incense to Tezcatlipoca four times a day, and rose at midnight to pierce their shins with maguey thorns to offer their blood to their god (auto-sacrifice such as this was a common practice given in devotion to various deities). In my experiences, I have seen him as a man in his fifties with great vitality. He is like a shaman, but walks strangely and can be a little unnerving sometimes.
Tezcatlipoca was told to be the son of the supreme deity, Ometeotl, who has both a male and female form, which allowed them to create. Ometeotl had four offspring, Tezcatlipoca (also called Black Tezcatlipoca), Xipe Totec (Red Tezcatlipoca), Quetzalcoatl (White Tezcatlipoca), and Huitzilopochtli (Blue Tezcatlipoca). These brothers were at times seen as aspects of Tezcatlipoca because of his praise as being the supreme god. In the creation story, Tezcatlipoca ruled the first world of the Sun but was later overthrown by Quetzalcoatl. Though the two eventually cooperated in order to create the 5th Sun. They transformed into giant snakes and attacked and dismembered the female reptilian-monster called Tlaltcuhtli, one part of her became the earth and the other the sky. Trees, plants and flowers sprang from her hair and skin while springs and caves were made from her eyes and nose; the valleys and mountains came from her mouth.
While Tezcatlipoca is a god of multiple things, he is first and foremost a sorcerer. He has great knowledge on magick and divination, and uses his smoking mirror for these very purposes, as he is a master of mirror magick. Tezcatlipoca governs the fate of mortals, seeing into their minds and hearts with his obsidian mirror. He has a very impartial approach toward humans, and will bless or punish as he sees fit. As the night wind, Tezcatlipoca rushes through the streets in the night, giving terror or luck to any he comes across in accordance with his judgement of them. Tezcatlipoca is also the god who challenges us with conflicts and struggles, making us face our fears so we can become more like warriors in attitude. He can also act a bit like a trickster, but in a more serious way where he aims to teach or punish. He is also very cunning and knows how to manipulate in order to achieve things, also being able to transform his appearance to look attractive.
Tezcatlipoca is one of the four brother gods who rule over the directions. His own direction is the North, the realm of darkness, which is in contrast to the West, Quetzalcoatl’s realm of light. Since Tezcatlipoca were opposed in methods and philosophies, they were considered as rivals and would fight each other for power. One of the things they were said to disagree on was human sacrifice; while Tezcatlipoca desired this, Quetzalcoatl only wanted animal sacrifices.
Tezcatlipoca is primarily the patron of sorcerers, warriors, and young men. Tezcatlipoca was also the patron of the Telpochcalli, the schools where young men were trained to be warriors. Although he was not always protective to soldiers, since sometimes he could be found at crossroads in the dead of night, ready to challenge any unsuspecting warriors to test their mettle. Tezcatlipoca often tested mortals’ bravery, even non-warriors. He would sometimes appear in the night as Chalchiuhtotolin, uttering an eerie cry, or as a huge, decapitated man with a gash in his chest that opened and closed, making a sound like a chopping ax. Humans would either summon their bravery to investigate these strange sounds or flee in terror. Those who were brave would find Chalchiuhtotolin or the headless specter, and their courage would be further tested. If the person fled, Tezcatlipoca would not favor them, for he is not a god who values cowards. Yet if the person was brave, they could grab Chalchiuhtotolin by the tail and capture him, or reach into the specter’s gaping chest to grasp its heart. If they succeeded in facing their fears, Tezcatlipoca would bestow a blessing on them.
The night warrior in contrast to Huitzilopochtli’s day, Tezcatlipoca also uses sorcery and cunning to exact his will, in addition to warrior might. He is also a princely god, a patron of nobility. Yet he is also the patron of slaves, who were considered his beloved children. Because of this care for the slaves, those who treated their slaves badly during the thirteen-day period of Ce Miquiztli would be punished, losing all wealth or becoming sick with leprosy, tumors, gout, scabies, or dropsy. Tezcatlipoca then served as an example to the nobles of proper treatment towards their subordinates. He rewarded virtue by bestowing riches, and he punished the wrongdoers. He would make certain to bring humility into his people, reminding them that in his eyes, they are all his servants.
The main rite of Tezcatlipoca’s cult took place during Toxcatl, the fifth ritual month. Every year at that time, the priest selected a young and handsome captive to become the Ixiptla (image) of Tezcatlipoca. He was chosen to be the god’s own representative on Earth for a full year, selected from among the captives caught in Aztec campaigns abroad. He would then begin living in luxury, attending ceremonies and banquets laid out by nobles, and all those that met him in the street would prostrate themselves before him in reverence. Twenty days prior to the end of the year, he would be wed to four maidens that were chosen to be images of the goddesses Atlatonan, Huixtocihuatl, Xilonen, and Xochiquetzal. Then after the year ended, the Ixiptla would be sacrificed to Tezcatlipoca, and as a way to signal the beginning of the spring Toxcatl ceremonies. His sacrifice would take place without spectators, in a temple far from the city center. Once with the priests, he was held down and his chest would be cut open, allowing his heart to be pulled out. Even though this will seem horrific now to many, the Aztecs saw the Ixiptla as having a great honor and they respected him.
Offerings: obsidian, jade, turquoise, flint, red jasper, smoky quartz, jet, thorns, peyotl, copal incense, black and red ritual beads, skull prayer beads, obsidian mirrors, glass mirrors, polished metal mirrors, sacrificial daggers, ritual tools, magic artifacts, animal bones, crystal skulls, tobacco pipes, xocolatl made with water and three types of peppers (ghost pepper, habanero, chipotle), corn cobs, pinto beans, red beans, black-eyed peas, tortillas, beef carnitas, yellow tequila (like Jose Quervo), blood offering*
*animal sacrifice should be offered to him if this is legal in your area, if not, you can just do an auto-sacrifice of your own blood through a safe means
