Aztec religion in the context of Ōmeteōtl

Mesoamerican religion is a group of indigenous religions of Mesoamerica that were prevalent in the pre-Columbian era. Two of the most widely known examples of Mesoamerican religion are the Aztec religion and the Mayan religion.

Species belonging to the genus Amaranthus have been cultivated for their grains for 8,000 years. Amaranth plants are classified as pseudocereals that are grown for their edible starchy seeds, but they are not in the same botanical family as true cereals, such as wheat and rice. Amaranth species that are still used as a grain are Amaranthus caudatus L., Amaranthus cruentus L., and Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. The yield of grain amaranth is comparable to that of rice or maize.

The grain was a staple food of the Aztecs and an integral part of Aztec religious ceremonies. The cultivation of amaranth was banned by the conquistadores upon their conquest of the Aztec nation. However, the plant has grown as a weed since then, so its genetic base has been largely maintained. Research on grain amaranth began in the United States in the 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, a few thousand acres were being cultivated there, and continue to be cultivated.

Huitzilopochtli (Classical Nahuatl: Huītzilōpōchtli, IPA: [wiːt͡siloːˈpoːt͡ʃt͡ɬi] ) is the solar and war deity of sacrifice in Aztec religion. He was also the patron god of the Aztecs and their capital city, Tenochtitlan. He wielded Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent, as a weapon, thus also associating Huitzilopochtli with fire.

The Spaniards recorded the deity's name as Huichilobos. During their discovery and conquest of the Aztec Empire, they wrote that human sacrifice was common in worship ceremonies. These took place frequently throughout the region. When performed, typically multiple victims were sacrificed per day at any one of the numerous temples.

Aztec warfare concerns the aspects associated with the military conventions, forces, weaponry and strategic expansions conducted by the Late Postclassic Aztec civilizations of Mesoamerica, including particularly the military history of the Aztec Triple Alliance involving the city-states of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, Tlacopan and other allied polities of the central Mexican region. This united the Mexica, Apulteca, and Chichimeca people through marriages.

The Aztec armed forces were typically made up of a large number of commoners (yāōquīzqueh [jaː.oːˈkiːskeʔ], "those who have gone to war") who possessed extensive military training, and a smaller but still considerable number of highly professional warriors belonging to the nobility (pīpiltin [piːˈpiɬtin]) and who were organized into warrior societies and ranked according to their achievements. The Aztec state's primary purpose was political expansion and dominance of and exaction of tribute from other city-states, a purpose that relied on constant warfare. Aztec society was also centered on warfare: every Aztec male received basic military training from an early age and one of the few possible opportunities of upward social mobility for commoners (mācehualtin [maːseˈwaɬtin]) was through military achievement, especially the taking of captives (māltin [ˈmaːɬtin], singular malli). Thus only specifically chosen men served in the military. The sacrifice of war captives was an important part of many of the Aztec religious festivals. Warfare was thus the main driving force of both Aztec economy and religion.

Tezcatlipoca (Classical Nahuatl: Tēzcatlīpohca [teːs̻kat͡ɬiːˈpoʔkaˀ]) or Tezcatl Ipoca was a central deity in Aztec religion. He is associated with a variety of concepts, including the night sky, hurricanes, obsidian, and conflict. He was considered one of the four sons of Ometecuhtli and Omecihuatl, the primordial dual deity. His main festival was Toxcatl, which, like most religious festivals of Aztec culture, involved human sacrifice.

Tezcatlipoca's nagual, his animal counterpart, was the jaguar. In the form of a jaguar he became the deity Tepeyollotl ("Mountainheart"). In one of the two main Aztec calendars (the Tonalpohualli), Tezcatlipoca ruled the trecena 1 Ocelotl ("1 Jaguar"); he was also patron of the days with the name Acatl ("reed"). A strong connection with the calendar as a whole is suggested by his depiction in texts such as the Codex Borgia and Codex Fejéváry-Mayer, where Tezcatlipoca is surrounded by day signs, implying a sort of mastery over them.

Mexicayotl (Nahuatl word meaning "Essence of the Mexican", "Mexicanity"; Spanish: Mexicanidad; see -yotl) is a movement that aims to revive the Indigenous religion, philosophy and traditions of ancient Mexico (Aztec religion and Aztec philosophy) among the Mexican people.

The movement came to light in the 1950s, led by Mexico City intellectuals otherwise known as the descendants of The Aztec Triple Alliance Elite.

In Aztec religion, Xiuhcōātl [ʃiʍˈkoːaːt͡ɬ] was a mythological serpent, regarded as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec fire deity sometimes represented as an atlatl or a weapon wielded by Huitzilopochtli. Xiuhcoatl is a Classical Nahuatl word that translates as "turquoise serpent" and also carries the symbolic and descriptive translation of "fire serpent".

Xiuhcoatl was a common subject of Aztec art, including illustrations in Aztec codices, and was used as a back ornament on representations of both Xiuhtecuhtli and Huitzilopochtli. Xiuhcoatl is interpreted as the embodiment of the dry season and was the weapon of the sun. Apparently, the royal diadem (or xiuhuitzolli, "pointed turquoise thing") of the Aztec emperors represented the tail of the Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent.

Chalchiuhtlicue [t͡ʃaːɬt͡ʃiwˈt͡ɬikʷeː] or 'She of the Jade Skirt' (from chālchihuitl [t͡ʃaːɬˈt͡ʃiwit͡ɬ] 'jade' and cuēitl [kʷeːit͡ɬ] 'skirt'; also spelled Chalciuhtlicue, Chalchiuhcueye, or Chalcihuitlicue) is an Aztec deity of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism. Chalchiuhtlicue is associated with fertility, and she is the patroness of childbirth. Chalchiuhtlicue was highly revered at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, and she was an important deity for the Nahuas in the Postclassic period of central Mexico. Chalchiuhtlicue belongs to a larger group of Aztec rain gods, and she is closely related to the water god Chalchiuhtlatonal.