Tezcatlipoca is asteroid #1980 and also known as 1950 LA. Tezcatlipoca was discovered by the American astronomer Albert George Wilson and the Swedish astronomer Åke Anders Edvard Wallenquist at the Palomar Observatory. Tezcatlipoca belongs to the type SU and to the group Amor.

Tezcatlipoca is named after the Toltec and Aztec god of the night and of matter. Tezcatlipoca was also the god of the direction north, of coldness, of the starry night sky, of the colour black, of war, of heroes, of beautiful women, and of allures. His name translates as “smoking mirror”. The jaguar is his animal and Quetzálcoatl is his enemy. Tezcatlipoca has a magical smoking mirror, which shows him the future. The Aztecs believed to live in the fifth world. Tezcatlipoca was a creator god of the first world, but this world was destroyed by Quetzálcoatl. This is certainly the reason why Tezcatlipoca is the enemy of Quetzálcoatl, maybe also the reason why Tezcatlipoca causes wars. Whether Tezcatlipoca was always the god of war and of his other subjects isn’t clear. Only Tezcatlipoca understands the world, so Tezcatlipoca could give as well as take richness, honour, fame, rulership, dignity however he liked. Teczatlipoca could enter every place, cause strife and war, and demand human sacrifices. Tezcatlipoca wears a jaguar coat and bears a sacrificing knife.

Tezcatlipoca got human sacrifices, but probably less than the Aztec main god Quetzálcoatl. So Tezcatlipoca can’t simply be the evil counterpart. The Aztec religion seems to be non-dualist, but rather a cult of fear based on older cults. The Aztec rituals were mainly thought to appease evil forces. Tezcatlipoca seems to belong to the rather benevolent deities, although he causes war and is the enemy of the main god. Tezcatlipoca is in charge of so many subjects that Tezcatlipoca is certainly a very important god in the Aztec religion too. The many subjects must all be considered when interpreting Tezcatlipoca in an astrological chart. The relationships between the deities of the Aztec pantheon must also be considered when examining asteroids with the Aztec theme.