Quetzacoatl is the main Aztec god of the morning star. His name means "feathered serpent", which is how he is depicted in statues and drawings.

Through the later years of the Toltec civilization, the ancestor of the Aztec civilization, all of the priest / kings were named Quetzacoatl. The Aztecs, for an unknown reason, adopted this name as the name of one of their major deities. According to legend, Quetzalcoatl, being a good god, was overcame with shame after Tezcatlipoca laced his drink with poisonous mushroom and he and his sister committed incest. Therefore, he left on a raft made of snake skins, with no intent to return. Unfortunately, his raft caught fire one afternoon on the ocean when the sun was high, and legend has it that his ashes turned into birds and carried his heart up to the heavens. It was then that he became the god of the morning star.

Even though Quetzalcoatl demanded no sacrifice other than fruits and flowers, it became customary for the Aztecs, early in the morning, to cut their ear with a cactus thorn, put two drops of blood on two fingers, and flick the blood toward the morning star, for good fortune.

Myths of Quetzalcoatl are perhaps the most numerous, and they include other deities such as Cacique, Ehacatl, Huitzilopochtli, Xipe Totec, and Xolotl.

For many years, the Aztec priests had prophecied that Quetzalcoatl would return and overthrow his adversaries, bringing a reign of greater peace and justice. This almost messianic hope was to be realized with a sad irony when the Spaniards arrived in Mexico. This new Quetzalcoatl proved to be a ruthless warrior, who not only opposed the god of the Aztecs themselves, but caused the overthrow of the entire Aztec empire. The Aztecs flocked to the black-robed priests who spoke of just the thing that was prophecied: peace and justice. They therefore believed that Quetzalcoatl had returned, only to be massacred by the Spaniards.