National Maize Day - Centoetl & Chicomecoatl

The day after Thanksgiving in America is National Maize Day so who else would POTM talk about but the Maize Cob God and the Seven Serpent Goddess.

Centeotl (translates to Maize Cob God in Nahuatl the Aztec language) and Chicomecoatl (Seven Serpent Goddess) are the two deities that watched over the growing of corn in all its stages but have you ever seen them in the same room? Some scholars believe the two were actually one deity...that Chicomecoatl grew up to be Centeotl. This isn't too far fetched since MesoAmerica did not think in the binary when it came to gender, however, most scholars still believe the two to were consorts and not the same being.

Either way, as gods and goddesses ofttimes do, they demanded offerings to keep the corn coming. Centeotl's offering was a lot less bloody than his female counterpart's, where five elderly women were sent off to the fields to pick an ear of corn each. Those five cobs were carefully brought back and babied by the people to appease their Maize Cob God.

Chicomecoatl preferred blood from a decapitated virgin which was gathered and poured over a figurine of her. After, the virgin's body was flayed and the priest donned the skin making them the impostor deity of Chicomecoatl.

These two were not the only Aztec deities related to corn. Quetzacoatl, the feathered serpent, brought the highly demanded crop to the people by transforming into a black ant. Might need to talk about that story the next corn holiday.

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Saint Nicholas Feast Day

One of the best known Christian saints around the world is Nicholas of the Ancient Greek (now part of Turkey) coastal city, Myra, as he is tied into the Santa Claus mythology. December 6th is set for his Feast Day as that is when he was believed to be the day he died though in the Orthodox religion it is on the 19th. Lots about the real saint have been lost but 200 years after his death, he had a strong band of followers...actually known as the cult of St. Nicholas. The cult entwined Christianity aspects with Greek mythology (why Krampus is at home being St. Nick's wing man). So, though there is very little left to tell us about the real Nicholas, he lived in a time and place where Christianity was constantly being attacked and documentation was done on parchment which wasn't always stored right, there are two stories about Nick that solidified his status as a child protecting generous giver: The first shows his altruistic side. A poor man with 3 daughters was very...

Giving Tuesday - Oshun, The Yoruban Orisha of Sweet Waters

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National Tie One On Day - Pan, The Greek God of the Wild

November 27th is National Tie One On Day according to my trusty internet search so I’m going to take this time to talk about the Greek god, Pan. I get that he is better known for his pick up artist ways, but don’t sell him short on the partying. I mean his best bud was none other than Dionysus, god of debauchery and all things fun. OK, so, Pan was a satyr which means he was 65/35 goat/human and he sure liked the ladies of the forest, aka, the nymphs. The story goes that he ba sically stalked this one nymph, Syrinx, so bad that the river nymphs gathered and turned her into a bunch of reeds to hide her. Pan, not to be deterred by the new form the object of his desire took, grabbed a handful of reeds and made his flute...thus creating the pan flute. Ugh, I feel like I should have prepared a spiffy sign off like..."and that’s the Pith of the Myth" or something. I’ll work on it ;)

Pith of the Myth

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