#xolotl

Twin brother of the god Quetzalcoatl, as Quetzalcoatl is the light and morning star Xolotl is the dark and the evening star. In one of the creation myths the Fifth Sun did not move upon creation, prompting the wind god Ehecatl to slaughter the other gods as sacrifice for it. Xolotl, being a master shapeshifter, hid from him in the form of maize, maguey, and an axolotl, ultimately being caught in the end. During this tale he cries so much that his eyes fall out of their sockets. He also aided his brother in retrieving bones from Mictlan to make new life. Xolotl guides the sun through the underworld, Mictlan, in order to protect it from the dangers there. Symbolically he is tied to fire and lightning, but also to negative traits such as deformities and specifically twins, which were also seen as a deformity.

Pantheon: Aztec

Domain or Function: God of Venus as the evening star, guides the sun through the underworld to protect it. Represents fire and lightning as well as deformities and twins.

Alternate Names: None

Character Traits: A protector mainly, though seen with negative possibly pitiful traits, the 'darker' half to his brother.

Visual Traits: Depicted most commonly as a dog (the xoloitzcuintle) with skeletal or emaciated features, sometimes bearing a torch, and sometimes with his limbs facing backward.

Symbolism: Dogs, skeletons, torches, deformities.