Itzpapalotl

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Depiction of Itzpapalotl from the Codex Borgia.

In Aztec mythology, Itzpapalotl ("Clawed Butterfly" or "Obsidian Butterfly") was a fearsome skeletal goddess, who ruled over the paradise world of Tamoanchan. She is particularly associated with the moth Rothschildia orizaba from the family Saturniidae.

Itzpapalotl is also known as the clouded Apollo. The goddess got her name because of the broad butterfly wings sprouting from her shoulders with the blades of sharp obsidian knives all the way around the edges; she also has a knife for a tongue.

As the legend goes, Itzpapalotl fell from heaven along with Tzitzimime and several other shapes such as scorpions and toads. Itzpapalotl wore an invisible cloak so that no one could see her. At some times, she was said to have dressed up like a lady of the Mexican Court, caking her face with white powder and lining her cheeks with strips of rubber. Her fingers tapered into the claws of a jaguar, and her toes into eagle's claws.

[edit] Contemporary cultural references

In Laurell K. Hamilton's novel, Obsidian Butterfly, of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series, Itzpapalotl, or Obsidian Butterfly, is a vampire who thinks she is the goddess of that name, and she owns a night club named Obsidian Butterfly after herself.

Octavio Paz's prose poem "The Obsidian Butterfly" from the collection Aguila O Sol (literally Eagle or Sun, colloquially "heads or tails") is named after Itzpapalotl, and she is in the poem.