Coatlicue, She of the Serpent Skirt

The myth

Coatlicue, “Serpent Skirt,” is the earth mother goddess, mother of Huitzilopochtli, Coyolxauhqui and the four hundred Huitznahua, the southern stars. She was sweeping the temple on Coatepec hill when a ball of feathers fell from the sky and made her pregnant. Her monumental sculpture, found in 1790 in Mexico City’s central plaza, is one of the most striking works of Mexica art: in place of a head, two serpents meet; her skirt is woven of rattlesnakes, and she wears a necklace of hands and hearts. Today it stands in the National Museum of Anthropology.

Why it has this power

A Level 9 Epic with 2800 ATK and 3000 DEF — the only non-Legendary monster in this mythology with 3000 DEF, because she is the earth that holds everything up. Earth is her element; Sun and Crown, the solar son she bore. She enters only through the Rite of the Serpent Skirt, with the Jade-Rattle Rattlesnake, the Sacred Agave and the Bone Walker.

Did you know

After its discovery, the Coatlicue sculpture was reburied for years because its image disturbed the authorities of the time.

Connections

Where to get it

• Ritual: Summoned by the ritual Rite of the Serpent Skirt, with the materials Jade-Rattle Rattlesnake, Sacred Agave, Bone Walker of Mictlán.
• It never joins the collection: you summon it mid-duel, by fusion or ritual.

Sources

1. Coatlicue — World History Encyclopedia — Mark Cartwright
2. En manos de Coatlicue (Arqueología Mexicana) — Iliana Godoy
3. Huitzilopochtli — World History Encyclopedia — Mark Cartwright