Ehecatl is the god of the winds and is an aspect of Quetzalcoatl,
for this reason he is also called Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. As the god of the
winds, Ehecatl is associated with all directions. As the god Tlaloc cannot
carry the rain clouds, Ehecatl blows the clouds to signify the end of the dry
season.
In the creation myth of the Aztec’s it tells how a fourth
sun was destroyed and the gods gathered. It was the deities Nanahuatzin and
Tecciztecatl who jumped into a sacrificial fire becoming the sun and moon. Ehecatl who blew on the two, causing them to start moving.
It was later that the goddess Itzpapalotl was stealing
daylight and keeping it until paid with human sacrifice. While this occurred,
Ehecatl came across a mortal female called Mayahuel, the granddaughter of
Itzpapalotl. The two fell in love and went to earth to share it, with a tree
blossoming the exact spot they landed. When Itzpapalotl arrived home to find
Mayahuel was no longer there.
A search for Mayahuel began, with Ehecatl and Mayahuel
disguising themselves as branches of the tree they caused to blossom. The
Tzitzimime were not fooled and stuck lightning at the tree, causing Mayahuel to
fall to the ground in several pieces. Ehecatl buried the remains, and from the
rotting body of Mayahuel the maguey plant grew.
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