Editing Chalchiuhtlicue (section)

==Religious significance==
Chalchiuitlicue directly translates to "Jade her skirt"; however, her name is most commonly interpreted as "she of the jade skirt."<ref name=":2" /> She was also known as '''Chalchiuhtlatonac''' (chalchihu[itl]-tla-tona-c) "She who shines like jade" and '''Matlalcueye''' "Possessor of the Blue Skirt" by the [[Tlaxcaltec|Tlaxcalans]], an indigenous group who inhabited the republic of [[Tlaxcala (Nahua state)|Tlaxcala]].<ref name="AztecDeity">{{cite journal |last1=Dehouve |first1=Danièle |title=The Rules of Construction of an Aztec Deity: Chalchiuhtlicue, The Goddess of Water |journal=Cambridge University Press |year=2020 |volume=31 |pages=7–28 |doi=10.1017/S0956536118000056 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Chalchiuitlicue was the wife or sister of the Aztec god of rain [[Tlaloc]], depending on the text. Tlaloc and Chalchiuitlicue share similar attributes as they are both water deities; however, Chalchiuitlicue was often associated with groundwater, unlike Tlaloc.<ref name="AztecDeity" /> She was also the mother of the Aztec moon god [[Tecciztecatl]]. In other texts, she was the wife of [[Xiuhtecuhtli]], who was a senior deity for the Aztecs.<ref name="Schwartz, David A.">{{cite book |last1=Schwartz |first1=David A. |title=Maternal Death and Pregnancy-Related Morbidity Among Indigenous Women of Mexico and Central America |date=2018 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-71537-7 |pages=11–33 }}</ref>

In Aztec religion, Chalchiuitlicue helps Tlaloc to rule the paradisial kingdom of [[Tlalocan]]. Chalchiutlicue brings fertility to crops and is thought to protect women and children.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y053PeFmS5UC&q=Mesoamerican+Mythology:+A+Guide+to+the+Gods,+Heroes,+Rituals,+and+Beliefs+of+.&pg=PR11|title=Mesoamerican Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Rituals, and Beliefs of Mexico and Central America|last1=Read|first1=Kay Almere|last2=Gonzalez|first2=Jason J.|date=2002-06-13|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=9780195149098|pages=142|language=en}}</ref>

According to myths, Chalchiuhtlicue once ate the sun and the moon. She is often associated with serpents, as most Aztec water deities are.<ref name="Schwartz, David A." /> It is thought that her association with water and fertility speaks to the Aztecs' association with the womb and water. She often withheld a dual role in Aztec mythology as both a life-giver and life-ender.<ref>Miller & Taube 1993: 60</ref> In the Aztec [[creation myth]] of the [[Five Suns]], Chalchiuhtlicue presided over the Fourth Sun or the fourth creation of the world. It is believed that Chalchiuhtlicue retaliated against Tlaloc's mistreatment of her by releasing 52 years of rain, causing a giant flood which caused the Fourth Sun to be destroyed.<ref>Taube 1993: 34–35</ref> She built a bridge linking heaven and earth and those who were in Chalchiuhtlicue's good graces were allowed to traverse it, while others were turned into fish. Following the flood, the Fifth Sun developed. The Fifth Sun is the world which we now occupy. During her reign the Aztecs first began to use maize, which became a paramount staple in their diet and economy.<ref name="Schwartz, David A." />

Chalchiutlicue was associated with the many fasciates of water as well as being credited with being involved with the death of those who died in drowning accidents.<ref name=":0" />

In addition to water-related deaths, Chalchiuhtlicue presided over birth rituals, bathing of sacrificial victims and ceremonial actors, judiciary purification, royal investiture, and the recycling of ritual waste.<ref name="AztecDeity" />

Chalchiuhtlicue was often depicted as "a river, out of which grew a prickly pear cactus laden with fruit, which symbolized the human heart." (Schwartz 2018, 14). She was believed to be the personification of youth, beauty, and zeal, although she should not be confused with [[Tlazolteotl]] (also known as Ixucuina or Tlaelquani), who was the Aztec goddess of midwives, steam baths, purification, sin, and was the patroness of adulterers. Although the two goddesses often overlapped, they were distinct from one another.<ref name="Schwartz, David A." />