Key Info

- Serpent form of Xiuhtecuhtli

- Acts as a flaming atlatl wielded by Huitzilopochtli

Brief Bio

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.

Xiuhcoatl was considered to be the nahual, or spirit form, of the Aztec fire deity Xiuhtecuhtli. It was a lightning-like weapon borne by Huitzilopochtli. With it, soon after his birth, he pierced his sister Coyolxauhqui, destroying her, and also defeated the Centzon Huitznahua. This incident is illustrated on a fragment of broken sculpture excavated from the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan. The fragment was originally a part of a large stone disk that depicted the fallen Coyolxauhqui with the Xiuhcoatl fire serpent penetrating her chest. This Xiuhcoatl wielded by Huitzilopochtli symbolizes the forces of darkness being driven out by the fiery rays of the sun.

Tonatiuh, the sun god, was guided across the sky by Xiuhcoatl and was used by him as a weapon against his underworld enemies, the stars, and the moon.