Think of it in terms of bat, vampire, vampire bat, and Dracula. There are bats, vampires can turn into bats, and Dracula is a lord of vampires. Not all bats are the species vampire bat and usually you wouldn’t go around calling bats Dracula (unless you’re in a situation involving vampires and/or you’re hunting Dracula). Dracula can turn into other forms other than bats.

When Teotl shapeshift they turn into forms of specific animals known to the indigenous people. The core important animal forms get names (like a Dracula) while they are in that form and are considered gods themselves. As far as I’m aware there isn’t a specific owl deity or at least I haven’t found a reference yet.

As far as my posting history is concerned, I’m both a hermit in cyber and meat space.

Chicuahtli isn’t mythical, it’s the Nahuatl word the barred owl. I’ve found a lot of online and books that will interchange the barred owl for a barn owl, but the barn owl in Nahuatl is chichtli.

Edit: didn’t realize it was you anon! Sorry we’ve had this conversation like 3 times now.

I have been summoned.

So the article doesn’t cover Mesoamerican areas which is weird that they’ll use the term “Native American” and have the term stop applying past the Rio Grande.

I got a couple of tidbits of owl folklore in regards to Nahua people located in central Mexico (Aztecs).

You have two owls built into the holy calendar the Tonalpolhualli. In each 13 day week “trecena” you have the barred owl “chicuatli” represents the 6th day and you have the great horned owl “tecolotl” that represents the 10th day. I’ve heard the myth that when a person dies part of their soul is escorted by the corresponding bird from their birth date.

Tecolotl was one of the animal forms that Tezcatlipoca (smoking mirror) would shape shift into on the regular. Chicuahtli is associated with Mictlantecuhtli (lord of the dead lands) which makes sense given the skull-like appearance of the bird.

The last bit I’ll go into is the Tlacatecolotl “owl man” who was said to be (unlike Anon6789) a malevolent shapeshifter being possessed by the more sinister spirits and forces of the cosmos. I believe when you see an owl in a temple in some of the codices that is what is being depicted, but don’t quote me on that.

I know tipping culture is extreme, but I’ve never seen 100%. I don’t think this is real.

Campaign editor and a level cap of 20. I just want to run D&D for friends in game.