Tonanatzin

Our Lady of Guadalupe

"It is no secret to anyone that Mexican Catholicism is centred about the cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe... the scene of her appearance to the Indian Juan Diego was a hill that formerly contained a sanctuary dedicated to Tonanatzin ‘Our Mother’, the Aztec goddess of fertility."
- Octavio Paz (Mexican writer and diplomat)

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Early one morning in December 1531, a Mexican Indian, Juan Diego, heard beautiful music and a woman’s voice calling him to the top of Tepeyac Hill, which he was just passing. He saw a radiantly beautiful woman, who identified herself as the Virgin Mary. She told him that a temple should be built in her honour at the bottom of the hill.

The Aztec earth goddess Tonantzin wore a white robe and was called "The Goddess of Sustenance", "Honored Grandmother", and "Serpent".

The serpent often has negative connotations in Christian cultures, but it is very common to find it as an attribute of the Goddess all over the world.