Tlazoltéotl

Tlazoltéotl

Important and complex Aztec earth-mother goddess. She was known in four guises, each associated with a different stage in life. As a young woman, she was a carefree temptress. In her second form, she was the destructive goddess of gambling and uncertainty. In middle age, she was able to absorb human wrongdoing. In her final manifestation, she was a terrifying hag preying on youths. She was thought to provoke carnal lust and illicit sexual activity, but she could also grant absolution and remove corruption from the world by eating sexual filth.