Storytime: Ixchel And The Dragonflies

Welcome to Storytime. This myth is Ixchel and the Dragonflies, a Maya + Quiche myth from Guatemala. Read from Erica Helm Meade's "The Moon in the Well."
"Sometimes known as Lady Rainbow, Ixchel is the principal Moon Goddess of Mayan lore in Campeche, Yucatan and Guatemala.

This is a story that reminds us of the power of nature to heal, the mystery of the divine feminine, and listening to our own truths.

Transcript

Ixchel and the Dragonflies adapted from Maya and K'iche myths of Guatemala.

Long ago,

In the land of the wandering jaguar,

The sacred deer,

The soaring quetzal,

The ant and the butterfly.

Beneath the jade mountain,

Alongside the turquoise sea,

In the land of the Mayan people,

The moon was said to be the most beautiful of all heavenly bodies.

People spent hours on clear nights gazing up at the sky,

Awed by that lustrous pearl,

That white gardenia which could drop billions of shimmering petals on the sea and still remain in full bloom.

The moon,

They said,

Is a radiant queen who lives and breathes,

Laughs and cries,

And they called her by name,

Ixchel Moon Woman.

Ixchel had everything a queen might want,

Her own moon palace with walled gardens,

Lading with cascading pink bougainvillea and dancing yellow Nicotiana blooms.

She had her own variety of bees to produce heavenly honey.

Green-capped hummingbirds flicked here and there in her garden.

Lest you think her frivolous,

Let me make clear,

Her duties kept her fully occupied.

She watched over the tides of the great oceans,

Steadily guiding them in and out.

No one's timing was more reliable.

Ixchel held sway over the pulse of life itself,

Including women's fertile cycles which still flow today in accord with the moon.

She watched over midwives and healers and was known to be their guiding light.

Ixchel's favorite pastime was traversing the cosmic stream in her dugout canoe.

She would paddle along the Milky Way and admire the swirling eddies of stars.

She would sometimes shine boldly and fully wearing a rainbow crown.

Other times she was partially hidden beneath her silken rebozo shawl.

Other times she would wrap herself entirely so that not even a sliver of her luminous cheek showed as she glided silently across the sky.

The sun secretly admired her and watched her as much as he could.

During her dark times he strained to catch a glimpse of her.

Then her shawl would open slightly.

Her white earlobe would shine at first like a tiny pearl and then her shoulder would shine like an abalone shell.

Then sun could not take his eyes off her.

The harder he stared,

The brighter she shone until she began wrapping up in her rebozo again.

This waiting,

Watching,

And shining went on for eons.

So say the Mayan people.

In the land of the Mayan people there is a calm season and a stormy one.

And the storms are created by a storm maker called Chuck.

During the calm season the storm maker grew very bored.

One day to pass the time Chuck paid a visit to the Moon Palace while Ixchel was away in her canoe.

Chuck spoke with Ixchel's guardian,

Her grandfather.

Chuck liked nothing better than to stir things up.

He said,

Grandfather,

You are an observant sort.

Do you see that glint in sun's eye when he looks upon Ixchel?

Grandfather replied,

I see nothing out of the ordinary for it is sun's place to see and to watch over all.

Well,

Said Chuck,

He looks at Ixchel differently.

His brightest rays shoot across the sky to her like arrows.

Surely these are arrows of desire.

Hmm,

Said grandfather,

I had not noticed.

After Chuck departed grandfather could not get the thought out of his mind.

The sun warming Ixchel with rays of desire?

This was not right.

Ixchel's domain was that of the night,

The tides,

Health and healing.

Sun ruled over the day and the nourishing crops that grow upon the land.

If they should come together all manners of confusion would result.

If they ran away together the world would be engulfed in floods and darkness.

It was unthinkable.

For the next few days the sea was as smooth as glass and the sky was cloudless and blue.

An excruciating boredom came over Chuck and he decided to assuage it by visiting Vulture at the top of Jade Mountain.

You know,

He said to Vulture,

Whoever marries Ixchel will be the king of the sky.

After Chuck departed Vulture could not stop hearing that phrase,

King of the sky.

Being a scavenger who always made do with leftovers,

The thought of being king intrigued him.

Vulture was a meek fellow but very persistent.

He began flying toward Ixchel every morning before dawn.

Good morning jewel of the sky he would call.

How radiantly you glowed upon the clouds last night.

These morning visits were not lost on sun and he grew jealous.

The calm season was nearly over.

Storm maker Chuck went to grandfather and said it is plain to see sun and Vulture are now rivals for Ixchel's love.

I've heard Vulture plans to elope with her and to prevent it sun plans to kidnap her.

But why am I telling you?

You are Ixchel's guardian.

Surely these things do not escape your watchful eye.

Grandfather did not wish to appear negligent.

I'm aware of the problem he said but I'm still deliberating what to do.

I have a plan said Chuck.

Tonight when Ixchel paddles upstream I will follow staying a good distance behind so she does not see me.

When the morning dawns and her suitors come to claim her I will see and churn and produce the greatest of all storms to block their way.

Grandfather thanked Chuck and encouraged him to be strong.

Whether Vulture truly planned to elope with Ixchel and whether sun truly intended to kidnap her no one can say for sure.

But it is known that both Vulture and sun moved towards Ixchel that dawn as was their invariable habit every dawn before.

What was special this day is that storm maker Chuck was poised upon the sea.

His clouds darkened the sky.

His fierce winds began to howl.

His thunderclaps roared so violently they nearly jolted the morning star loose from its place in the sky.

His lightning bolts cracked wildly.

One of them struck Ixchel and knocked her into the sea.

She sank down down and fearing for her life she changed herself into a red crab that she thought might survive the depths.

She thought deep below the waves she would be safe from Chuck's lightning but no.

Chuck raged blindly.

His wild spears of lightning pierced the water and struck her again and again.

Ixchel was tossed about in the sea until Chuck grew tired and his storm gave way to calm.

Ixchel's lifeless body floated in the water alongside her canoe.

Do you think that was the end of Ixchel?

Was her strength precision and beauty snuffed out forever?

No.

Fortunately she had friends who came in search of her.

The dragonflies.

Dragonflies appear dainty and frail but in truth they hold great power.

They crossed the seas and continents in gale force winds to come to Ixchel's aid.

They came in ones and in twos.

In tens and in twenties until they were four hundred strong they righted the canoe and placed Ixchel in it.

Then they returned her to the moon palace.

Grandfather wept and said since she had so loved her dugout canoe it would serve as her coffin on her journey to the other world.

Grandfather also said since she had so loved the dragonflies they would be the singer at her funeral.

For many days and nights grandfather mourned.

All four hundred dragonflies covered her coffin.

Their iridescent bodies shone like mother of pearl like shimmering turquoise and jade for many days the dragonflies hummed.

Grandfather thought they were humming funeral songs but in truth they were filling her with their life force.

They were bringing Ixchel back to life.

Imagine grandfather's joy when he saw her stirring when she rose up for all to see her radiance once again.

She thanked her friends and soon resumed her rightful place in the sky.

She still paddles her canoe in the cosmic waters.

She still rules over the tides and the cycles of new life.

She still bestows blessings on the healing arts.

And if the story I have told is not a lie then it's the truth.

The whole truth as known in the land of the wandering jaguar the sacred deer the soaring quetzal the ant and the butterfly beneath the jade mountain alongside the turquoise sea in the land of the Mayan people where the moon is still set to be the most beautiful of all heavenly bodies.

And now my friends you understand why the Mayan say never underestimate the power of a dragonfly.

One dragonfly is steadfast and strong.

400 make miracles occur.

Reviews

I enjoyed this immensely! I wish there were more of your stories. 👍🙏😀👏

Lovely, thank you

Wow that was really amazing thank you for sharing 🥰. You also narrate really well, looking forward to more stories from you too!