Mama Quilla

The Mother Moon

Domain: Moon, Time & Women
Alignment: Neutral Good
Element: Light
Relics of Power: Silver Disk

Speak with Mama Quilla

The People

People

Inca

Region

Andes mountains

Period

15th – 16th c.

The Inca gods were worshipped along the Andes, from present-day Peru to Chile, from the sacred capital of Cusco. The emperor (Sapa Inca) was held to be the son of the sun Inti, and the people honored the earth-mother Pachamama with offerings. The cult was suppressed after the Spanish conquest, but persists in living Andean traditions.

The Inti Raymi, the Festival of the Sun, gathered the empire in Cusco at the winter solstice — and is re-enacted to this day. The Coricancha temple had walls covered in gold, and offerings to Pachamama remain alive in the Andes, with coca leaves and ritual bundles.

The Sacred Scrolls

Mama Quilla, the 'Mother Moon', is the Inca goddess of the moon, of time and protector of women. Wife and sister of Inti, she governed the calendar, the female cycles and the religious festivals. Her silver image mirrored the golden one of the Sun, for silver was held to be her tears. As The Mother Moon, this deity occupies a position of supreme prestige in the incas pantheon. Their domains over Moon, Time & Women reflect ancestral cosmic order maintained across millennia. In classical iconography, they are depicted with an aura of unshakeable majesty and sacred attributes that inspired reverence in emperors and peasants alike. Their influence extended beyond earthly boundaries, governing fates and harmony between the visible and invisible worlds. For ancient devotees, contemplating their essence was to understand the very fundamental forces of nature and human existence.

Sacred Symbols

The silver disk, the full moon, the calendar and the eclipse

Divine Lineage

Wife and sister of Inti; daughter of Viracocha; mother of the royal line.

The Legendary Myth

The Incas believed that lunar eclipses happened when a serpent or a puma tried to devour Mama Quilla in the sky.

Legends & Deeds

A celebrated secondary legend preserved in the oral traditions of the incas recounts the journey when Mama Quilla intervened directly in the lives of mortals.

Cult & Worship

Historically, the cult of Mama Quilla occupied a central place in the religious and architectural calendar of antiquity.

Relics of Power

The silver disk with a feminine face that shines in the night, ruling time, the cycles and the calendars.

Did You Know?

The visible spots on the moon were explained by the Incas as marks left by a fox that fell in love with Mama Quilla and climbed up to her, remaining forever imprinted on her face.