Aztec God and Goddess

Tezcatlipoca was originally a Toltec god. In Aztec mythology, Tezcatlipoca (Lord of the Smoking Mirror) was the god of night sky, the north, temptation, sorcery, beauty and war.

Tezcatlipoca owned a magical mirror (Itlachiayaque - "Place From Which He Watches") that allowed him to see inside people’s heart.

Tezcatlipoca was also known as Titlacauan (We His Slaves), Ipalnemoani (He by whom we live), Necocyaotl (Sower of Discord on Both sides), Tloque (Lord of the Near and Nigh), and Yohualli Eecatl (Night, Wind). According to the Aztecs, he was also the god of discord and deceit as well as the god of robbers, but he was also the god of rulers, warriors and sorcery. He was associated with the notion of destiny or fate and with the jaguar, and was known for inciting wars between peoples.

Tezcatlipoca’s great rival and opponent in cosmic battles, as well as his partner partner in acts of creation, was Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), an ancient Mexican and Central American deity associated in Aztec mythology with the color white and the direction west. Attributes of both Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl originally came from pre-Aztec traditions of the Olmecs and the Toltecs. The Aztecs assimilated them in their religion, and the two deities were equated and considered twin gods.

Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl were both equal and opposed. Tezcatlipoca was called “Black Tezcatlipoca”, and Quetzalcoatl “White Tezcatlipoca”. Mixcoatl was sometimes added to this complex as "Red Tezcatlipoca." Omacatl, Titlacahuan and Tezcatlanextia were also considered aspects of Tezcatlipoca; the four Tezcatlipocas were the sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, lord and lady of the duality, and were the creators of all the other gods, as well as the world and man. Tetzcatlipoca was usually depicted with a black stripe painted across his face, and is usually shown his right foot replaced with a mirror made of obsidian or hematite.