 The serpent around the waist may be a reference to the serpentine goddess Cihuacoatl, who was not only associated with war, sacrifice, and political power, but also with fertility, childbirth, and midwifery.Finally, the unkempt hair is often associated with darkness and the earth.Not only was "Cihuatlampa" a place of darkness, but most Aztec associations with the earth (and particularly earth goddesses) symbolize both childbirth and sacrifice, two of the defining traits of the "cihuateteo" themselves.