Xipe Totec, The Flayed God, God of spring, agriculture, rebirth, renewal, seasons, and diseases

Xipe Totec is an Aztec god of agriculture, fertility, and rebirth who is often depicted wearing the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim.

• Pantheon: Aztec pantheon
• Deity Title: God of spring, agriculture, rebirth, renewal, seasons, and diseases
• Deity Symbol: Flayed human skin worn as a cloak
• Home Plane: Unknown
• Deity Level: Lesser deity
• Alignment: Neutral Evil
• Aliases: Red Tezcatlipoca, Xipe, Tlatlauhca, Yoalli Tlauana
• Superior: None
• Traditional Allies: Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloc
• Traditional Foes: Quetzalcoatl, Xochiquetzal
• Divine Artifact: A flayed skin cloak and a bag containing the seeds of the new harvest
• Servants: Tlaloque, human priests and warriors
• Servitor Creatures: Kytons
• Sacred Animal: Butterfly
• Manifestations: Flayed skin, blooming flowers, butterflies, disease
• Signs of Favor: Bountiful harvests, flourishing crops, healing from disease
• Worshipers: Farmers, gardeners, healers, priests, and those seeking renewal or rebirth
• Cleric Alignments: Chaotic Neutral, Neutral, Chaotic Evil
• Specialty Priests: Skinweavers, flower arrangers, healers, and those who perform ritual sacrifices
• Holy Days: Tlacaxipehualiztli (the Flaying of Men), celebrated in February and March, Tozoztontli (Little Vigil)
• Portfolio: Renewal, spring, seasons, agriculture, and disease
• Domains: Chaos, Plant, Renewal, War
• Favored Weapon: Flaying knife (Obsidian Dagger)
• Favored Class: Druid
• Favored Race: Human
• Duties of the Priesthood: Preside over agricultural and renewal ceremonies, conduct sacrifices, and maintain the temple and surrounding gardens
• Major Cult/Temple Sites: The temple of Tlacaxipehualiztli in Tenochtitlan
• Benefits: Healing magic, ability to summon butterflies and blooming flowers, resistance to disease.

Xipe Totec is a complex deity with a striking appearance. He is often depicted as a skeletal figure with flayed skin draped over his body like a cloak, revealing the red, raw flesh beneath. His face is skull-like, with eyes in naked eye sockets and a sharp-toothed grin. In one hand, he holds a bloody knife, and in the other, a bundle of unidentifiable organs.

Despite his gruesome appearance, Xipe Totec is a revered deity in Mesoamerican mythology. He is the god of spring and renewal, and his name translates to “Our Lord the Flayed One.” His followers believed that the ritual sacrifice and flaying of captives was necessary to ensure the rebirth of the world each spring. The flayed skin of the sacrificed captives would be worn by priests in elaborate ceremonies to symbolize the shedding of old skin and the renewal of life.

Xipe Totec’s role in Mesoamerican mythology is tied to agriculture and the cyclical nature of life. His worshippers believed that by offering sacrifices to Xipe Totec, they were ensuring a bountiful harvest and a new beginning. Xipe Totec was also associated with warfare and conquest, as his followers believed that capturing prisoners for sacrifice was necessary to appease him and ensure their own victory in battle.

Despite his grisly reputation, Xipe Totec was also seen as a benevolent deity who brought new life and prosperity to his worshippers. He was often depicted wearing a new, unblemished skin, symbolizing the rebirth and renewal that he brought to the world each spring.

Currently in the World

Xipe Totec was once a benevolent deity, revered for his role in agriculture and the renewal of life. But over time, he became twisted, consumed by his desire for power and control.

In the beginning, Xipe Totec was known for his willingness to shed his own skin each year, symbolizing the renewal of the earth and the crops that sustained his followers. But as the centuries passed, he began to demand more and more of his worshippers.

At first, it was simple sacrifices, offerings of food and drink to ensure a bountiful harvest. But soon, he began to demand human sacrifices, believing that the blood of his followers was the key to his eternal power.

As the years went on, Xipe Totec’s influence grew, and his followers became more and more fanatical. He was known for his twisted sense of humor, often demanding that his priests wear the flayed skins of his victims as a sign of their devotion.

In the 1450s, Xipe Totec was at the height of his power. He had amassed a vast army of followers, and his influence stretched across the land. But even as his power grew, he knew that he needed more. He longed to control every aspect of his followers’ lives, to be their one true god.

And so, he began to plot. He sent his minions to infiltrate the temples of other gods, sowing seeds of doubt and dissent. He whispered promises of power and riches to those who would turn against their own faith.

But even as Xipe Totec worked to expand his reach, he knew that his power was not absolute. There were other gods who would stand in his way, other forces that would seek to bring him down. And so, he kept his true desires hidden, waiting for the moment when he could strike out and claim his rightful place as the one true god.