One of the depiction of the Goddess IxChel with the snake in her hair and healing flowers and herbs in her handsThe Mayan Massage Goddess IxChel is an ancient goddess of healing and fertility. Ix means goddess of the feminine and Chel means rainbow, light. She's associated with bodies of water, streams, lakes, rivers.
IxChel is also a Maya Moon goddess, and she is depicted in various fashions: as a Maiden, as a Mother, and as a Crone. Depending on the various stages of her life, she wears a snake on her head (symbol of medicine & healing powers) and carries water in her hands, or a rabbit as the symbol of fertility. She also pictured carrying a jug full of water (or her womb upside down) to help insure fertility by watering everything. She was sometimes depicted as the goddess of catastrophe (the woman who stands by as the world floods). As a Crone she is in charge of medicinal plants, healing and the moon phases. She carries a lot of spiritual knowledge.
IxChel plays an important part in the history of Maya Massage and she is very dear to Rosita Arvigo (so much that she named her place in Belize "The IxChel Center"). I knew nothing much about her when I went to get my first Maya Massage with Corrrine Porterfield-Brown..... My first appointment just blew me out of the water, and I not only learned Self Care, but so much more about my body and its workings. Corrine also does Spiritual Healing which was very appropriate in my case, and very welcome (to find out more about Spiritual Healing, check the Arvigo website).
The night after my massage I dreamt my house was flooded and there were snakes everywhere. It was a fantastically vivid dream, and not scary. In the dream though I was concerned about my cats (!) and the snakes on the floor, so I snapped out of it.
I became obsessed with the goddess IxChel, and read more about her. How did she come into my dream? In the next few weeks I read everything I could about IxChel! I discovered so much about the Mayan culture and its fascinating history.
I happened to be going to the Yucatan shortly after my Maya Massage training (coincidence?), and was totally smitten by the place too. I continue to this day to be fascinated by IxChel and her presence in my life.