Coatlicue : The Earth Goddess

Coatlicue, the Aztec goddess of the earth also known as the Serpent Skirt, was regarded as an old woman who represented the ancient world's worship of the Earth. She was worshipped during the spring and autumn seasons in the Aztec tradition.

In Aztec mythology, she was a priestess who was tasked with maintaining the shrine on the sacred mountain Coatepec. Her image features a dualism: Her face is made up of two fanged serpents, and her skirt is made up of interwoven snakes. She also feeds on dead bodies as the Earth consumes all that it has left with her clawed fingers and toes.

In addition to her skirt, which is made up of snakes, she was also known to wear a necklace that featured human hearts and alternating hands. She was commonly portrayed with a face of serpents in place of a human head, and her hands were likewise replaced with snakes. This use of Aztec iconography suggested that Coatlicue had been dismembered, with the twin head snakes possibly representing gouts of blood. Her feet are giant jaguar claws. A serpent of blood flows from beneath her skirt of serpents.

Another sculpture shows Coatlicue with her head still intact. However, her face is partly skeletonized and de-fleshed. Her nose is missing, revealing the cavity and yet she still has flesh on her lips, which are open to reveal bared teeth.

Read more at https://mythlok.com/coatlicue/