Take a trip with me to the spiritual Yucatán peninsula of Mexico to learn about the Maya people and their prominent goddess Ixchel. I am going on the Witches on the Water Cruise in September (and there is still time to join us if you want) where we will be visiting the Yucatán and immersing ourselves in the culture and religion of the Maya.
The Yucatán of Mexico is a fascinating place. The Yucatán peninsula constitutes a significant proportion of the ancient Maya lowlands and was the central location of the Maya Civilization. The Maya culture also extended south of the Yucatán Peninsula into Guatemala, Honduras, and the highlands of Chiapas. The Yucatán peninsula is home to many Maya archaeological sites, including Chichen Itza, Coba, Tulum, San Gervasio, and Uxmal. The peninsula is also home to a large population of Indigenous Maya and Mestizos, and Mayan languages are widely spoken.
The Yucatán Peninsula is a limestone peninsula that's mostly flat and has very little surface water. This results in a distinctive landscape with many caves and sinkholes called cenotes, which were considered sacred by the Maya and were used as ceremonial places and a source of water. In 2018, the largest underwater cave in the world, Ox Bel Ha, was discovered in the Yucatán Peninsula. The peninsula also has tropical rainforests and jungles, and is known for its tropical beaches and small villages.
Visiting the Yucatán peninsula can be like stepping back in time. The locals of the area walk a fine line of embracing technology and modernity while still honoring the ways of their ancestors. Tourism is the dominant service industry in the Yucatán peninsula but the industrial manufacturing sector is the fastest growing industry in the area.
For those going on the Witches on the Water cruise, we will get a glimpse of the Maya culture and explore the area in an intentional and spiritual way. While on the ship, we will have programming that includes workshops and rituals. And when visiting the Yucatán off ship, we have a private excursion that will take us to many fun and spiritual places. One of the places we will be visiting is San Gervasio, a Mayan temple complex dedicated to the Maya goddess Ixchel.
San Gervasio is a small, yet significant Terminal Classic (900-1200 CE) site located on the island of Cozumel. The site was a major pilgrimage destination for the worship of the Maya moon deity Ix Chel; goddess of childbirth, weaving and medicine. It is thought that the original site name was Tan Tun Cuzimil, "Flat Rock at the Place of the Swallows". It is the largest of over 30 much smaller sites located around the island, and controlled them through much of its history.
I have had the pleasure of visiting San Gervasio before and felt it's power and energy. If you have had the honor of visiting historical sites, especially those with spiritual significance, you may have noticed that some sites feel much more active spiritually, energetically, than others. For me, San Gervasio was one of those sites that struck me as being very active when I first visited it in 2013. I could see in my mind people walking the pathways through the complex. And when our guide brought us to the main altar, I could not help but make an offering to Ixchel. And now, 11 years later, I get to lead a group of fellow Pagans and witches through a mini ritual at the main altar at San Gervasio, honoring the Mayan goddess Ixchel.
One of the Mayan's most important deities is the moon goddess Ixchel. Ixchel's powers include everything governed by the cycles of the moon -- water, fertility, harvests, pregnancy -- as well as love and sexuality. She is also the patroness of the arts, textiles, painting, medicine and healing.
The Maya believe in the duality of the universe. Reflecting this duality, Ixchel is benevolent but can also be powerful and destructive. With her power, she can give life; but she can also take it away. She provides both rain for the harvests and medicines for healing, but she is also destructive, sending floods, diseases and curses that can affect the harvests and endanger people's lives.
The story of Ixchel originated in the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala around 1500 BCE. Part of her power comes from controlling the cycles of the moon which govern sowing and harvesting. She is often pictured alongside Chaac (the god of rain) because of their shared association with rain and crops. But she is depicted in many different incarnations.
In some paintings, Ixchel is depicted as a beautiful young maiden accompanied by a rabbit (who has his own place in Mayan mythology and also represents the moon). In other images, she is a woman weaving on a waist loom that represents the thread of life -- it symbolizes the umbilical cord and the placenta. At times, she is also portrayed as a fierce older woman emptying a jug of water onto the earth, resulting in storms and devastation that destroys crops and ends lives.
In her role as a "punisher," Ixchel is shown with symbols of death and destruction around her: a snake wrapped around her neck; her feet transformed into menacing claws and her skirt made of bones that form crosses.
She is also known by several different names, among them are Rainbow Woman (Ixchel), Big Rainbow (Chak Chel), White Moon Lady (Sak U'Ixik), Lady of the First Brush (Ix Chebel Yax) and Goddess of Childbirth (Sinal).
Ixchel's origin myth says that she was weaving on her waist loom one day when she caught the eye of Itzamná (the god of heaven and wisdom who would become her husband). As he is said to reside in the sky, Itzamná is sometimes referred to as the Sun King. According to myth, he's the son of the creator god Hunab Ku and created the Mayan calendar, as well as the Mayan hieroglyphic writing system.
Together, Ixchel and Itzamná created Bacab -- the four deities that hold up the corners of creation.
Their 13 children included Hun Hunahpu (the god of maize), Yum Kaax (the god of wild plants and animals who protected the harvest from predators), Ek Chuah (the god of cocoa and war and the patron of merchants), other sons who were gods of sacrifices and stars, and daughters who were goddesses of water, night and paradise.
According to myth, when Ixchel dies, dragonflies sing over her for 183 days, after which she comes back to life and goes to find her husband in his palace. On the way there, she flirts with his brother Morningstar. Itzamná responds by flying into a jealous rage, and Ixchel hides from him in her Temple of Night. From there, she continues to nurture Earth's pregnant women.
As the goddess of fertility and childbirth, Ixchel is responsible for the formation of the baby in the womb and decides whether the child will be male or female. To ensure a successful birth, Maya midwives place Ixchel's image under the birthing bed.
Ixchel was such an important goddess that festivities celebrating her role in childbirth and medicine take place in the Mayan "zip" month of Aug. 21 to Sept. 13. She has two important temples: one on the island of Cozumel where we are headed on our cruise and the other on the Island of Women.
Historically, Maya women and girls would make a pilgrimage to Ixchel's temple San Gervaios on Cozumel twice in their lives, leaving in canoes from Puerto de Poló (today the site of the Xcaret theme park and resorts). The first trip took place when a girl's mother took her to the temple; then, when the girl became a mother, she took her daughter to the temple.
Once there, they would leave offerings of flowers and food and images of the goddess. This ceremony would be accompanied by dancing and singing.
This Mayan sacred journey is still enacted every year on May 26. Beginning at the Xcaret parks, hundreds of Mayan canoes filled with pilgrims cross the Caribbean Sea to the island of Cozumel to visit Ixchel's temple and receive her blessings.
When I visited San Gervasio in September 2013, I did not know that people still made annual trips there to honor Ixchel. It is no wonder you can feel the energy of love and serenity in this jungle ruin.
The entire Earth is a spiritual and sacred space. But every now and then we come across specific sites such as San Gervasio where the magick is stronger, where the rites of the ancients are upheld, and the past walks with the present. If you ever find yourself on the Yucatán peninsula or in Cozumel, I highly encourage you to visit the sacred Maya site of San Gervasio. Uxmal, a larger and very impressive Mayan ruin in the Cozumel area, also has a temple of Ixchel. Regardless of where you travel to, travel makes us better humans and better neighbors. When you are able, take a trip and visit a new place. It makes the world a smaller place and helps remind us that no matter where you are, people are just people. Love is just love. And the gods and magick are alive and well, all around us.