Chalchiuhtlicue is the goddess of oceans, rivers and any other running water, but also a goddess of birth and the patron of women in labor. Her name means “Jade Skirt” or “Lady of Precious Green”.

In Aztec religion, the water goddess was the wife of the rain god Tlaloc, an ancient deity that had long been worshipped throughout Mesoamerica. Chalchiuhtlicue symbolized the purity and preciousness of spring, river, and lake water that was used to irrigate the fields.

This @iLaCatrina icon symbolizes the nature element of water placed in the ofrenda to quench the thirst of the sprits. It also symbolizes the element of life. She is holding an offering resembling a water lily with an Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) in the center. Axolotls used to live in Lake Texcoco, which was part of a complex lagoon system that also included Lakes Xochimilco, Chalco, Zumpango, and Xaltocan 300 years ago where the Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlan.