 :for the fictional character from the legends of dune books, see titan (dune)#tlaloc. tlaloc () was an important deity in aztec religion; a god of rain, fertility, and water. he was widely worshiped as a beneficent giver of life and sustenance, but he was also feared for his ability to send hail, thunder, and lightning, and for being the lord of the powerful element of water. tlaloc is also associated with caves, springs, and mountains, in which he was believed to reside. his planetary form is venus, which signifies him as him as sharing a relationship with the gods quetzalcoatl and xolotl. his animal forms include herons and other wet or water dwelling creatures such as amphibians, snails, and possibly sea creatures, particularly ones that inhabit seashells. a specific plant also bears a relationship to tlaloc. known to the aztecs as yauhtli, tagetes lucida, was burned as a ritual incense in native religious ceremonies. the cult of tlaloc is one of the oldest and most universal in ancient mexico. although the name tlaloc is specifically aztec, worship of a storm god like tlaloc, almost always associated with mountaintop shrines and with life-giving rain, is as at least as old as teotihuacan and likely was adopted from the maya god chaac or vice-versa, and/or ultimately perhaps from an earlier olmec precursor. tlaloc means "he who is the embodiment of the earth." or more commonly "he who makes things sprout." this suggests that the deity was identified with the earth and ground water before evolving into a mountaintop rain god. in fact, an underground tlaloc shrine has been found at teotihuacan.townsend, richard f. (1992). the aztecs thames & hudson: london. p. 122. in aztec cosmology, the four corners of the universe are marked by "the four tlalocs" () which both hold up the sky and function as the frame for the passing of time. tlaloc was the patron of the calendar day mazÄtl. in aztec mythology, tlaloc was the lord of the third sun which was destroyed by fire. a
Aztec_gods Fertility_gods Rain_deities Sky_and_weather_gods Thunder_gods