Organization of the Aztec Pantheon

In the official Aztec religion, 144 Nahuatl names corresponded to the gods. Of these names, 66 percent belong to deities considered masculine, and 34 percent, to deities of feminine gender. According to historian Rafael Tena, the important gods of the Aztec pantheon can be identified through three different, complementary methods: 1) the analysis of the functions of the gods, 2) the frequency whereupon they received an official cult, and 3) the presence of their respective temples within the ceremonial enclosure of Tenochtitlan the Handbook of Middle American Indians (1971:
395–446) proposed distributing the Aztec gods into three groups consisting of 17 gods who ruled over similar functions and powers.
1. Creative and provident gods

1. Ometeotl, the Dual Divinity or the Divine Pair: supreme deity
2. Tezcatlipoca, Smoking Mirror: creative, omnipotent god
3. Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent: creative and beneficial god
4. Xiuhtecuhtli, Lord of the Year or Lord of the Turquoise: god of the fire
5. Yacatecuhtli, Lord at the Vanguard: god of merchants and travelers

2. Gods of agricultural and human fertility and of pleasure

1. Tlaloc, “the one that is made of earth”: god of waters
2. Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl, Wind-Feathered Serpent: god of wind
3. Xochipilli, the Flower Prince: god of the fertilizing sun and of joy
4. Xipe Totec, Our Flayed Lord: god of the vegetation that must perish but is reborn
5. Cinteotl, God of the Maize
6. Metztli, Moon: deity of the Moon
7. Teteoinnan, Mother of the Gods: universal mother goddess

3. Gods that conserve the energy of the world but require the nutriments of war and human sacrifices to replenish their power

1. Tonatiuh, “the one that is illuminating”: god of the Sun
2. Huitzilopochtli, Hummingbird of the South: solar god of war, the tutelary god of the Mexica
3. Mixcoatl, Cloud Serpent: god of the Milky Way
4. Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, Lord of the Dawn: god of the planet Venus
5. Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Place of Dead: god of the underworld

THE GODS IN RITUALS
Each celebration of the xiuhpohualli (the solar year) had a corresponding god or gods worshipped in ritual.
These celebrations include the following:
Atlcahualo, or Cuahuitlehua: Tlaloque Tlacaxipehualiztli: Xipe Totec and Huitzilopochtli, Tlaloque Tozoztontli, or Xochimanaloya: Tlaloque, Coatlicue Huey Tozoztli: Cinteotl, Chicomecoatl, Chalchiuhtlicue, Tlaloque Toxcatl: Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli Etzalcualiztli: Tlaloque and Chalchiuhtlicue Tecuilhuitontli: Huixtocihuatl, Xochipilli Huey Tecuilhuitl: Xilonen and Cihuacoatl Tlaxochimaco, or Miccailhuitontli: Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli, Mictlantecuhtli Xocotlhuetzi, or Huey Miccailhuitl: Xiuhtecuhtli-Otontecuhtli, Yacatecuhtli, Mictlantecuhtli Ochpaniztli: Teteoinnan-Toci, Tlazolteotl, Coatlicue, Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl Teotleco: Tezcatlipoca and Huitzilopochtli, Huehueteotl, Yacatecuhtli Tepeilhuitl, or Huey Pachtli: Tlaloc, Tlaloque, Tepictoton, Centozontotochtin, pulque gods, major mountains Quecholli: Mixcoatl, Camaxtle, Huitzilopochtli, Coatlicue Panquetzaliztli: Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, Painal, Yacatecuhtli Atemoztli: Tlaloque, Tepictoton mountains Tititl: Ilamatecuhtli, Cihuacoatl, Tonantzin Yacatecuhtli Izcalli, or Huauhquiltamalcualiztli: Xiuhtechtli, Tlaloc, Chalchiuhtlicue Other celebrations of the xiuhpohualli were the Pillahuano (Xiuhtecuhtli), Atamalcualiztli (Cinteotl), and Toxiuhmolpilia, or New Fire ceremony (Xiuhtecuhtli, Huitzilopochtli).
Celebrations of the tonalpohualli (ritual lunar calendar) also worshipped particular gods. They include the following:
Nahui ollin, “4 Movement”: Tonatiuh
Chicome-xochitl, “7 Flower”: Chicomexochitl
and Xochiquetzal
Ce-mazatl, “1 Deer”: Cihuapipiltin
Ome-tochtli, “2 Rabbit”: Ometochtli and
Izquitecatl
Ce-acatl, “1 Cane”: Quetzalcoatl
Ce-miquiztli, “1 Death”: Tezcatlipoca
Ce-quiahuitl, “1 Rain”: Cihuapipiltin
Ome-acatl, “2 Cane”: Omeacatl
Ce-tecpatl, “1 Knife”: Huitzilopochtli, Camaxtle
Ce-ozomatli, “1 Monkey”: Cihuapipiltin
Ce-itzcuintli, “1 Dog”: Xiuhtecuhtli
Ce-atl, “1 Water”: Chalchiuhtlicue
Ce-calli, “1 House”: Cihuapipiltin
Ce-cuauhtli, “1 Eagle”: Cihuapipiltin
The most important Aztec gods based on their frequency in Aztec rituals were therefore Tlaloc (Tlaloque) and Chalchiuhtlicue, Xiuhtecuhtli-Huehueteotl-Otontecuhtli, Huitzilopochtli, Tezcatlipoca, Cinteotl and Chicomecoatl-Xilonen, Mixcoatl, Yacatecuhtli, Ometochtli, Xipe Totec, To- natiuh, Cihuapipiltin, Teteoinnan-Toci, Tlazolteotl, Ilamatecuhtli-Cihuacoatl, Coatlicue, Quetzalcoatl, Mictlantecuhtli, Painal, Omeacatl, Huixtocihuatl, Xochipilli-Chicomexochitl, and Xochiquetzal.