Ix Chel is a Mayan goddess of the moon, but she is also the goddess of childbirth, rainbows(?), weaving, fertility, and lovemaking.
In ancient times, it was believed that a lunar eclipse was a great threat to pregnant women, causing their children to be be born with defects and abnormalities. Women who were going through labour at the time of an eclipse were supposedly in the greatest danger, so they were given amulets of Ix Chel to put under the bed during this time to protect them, and incantations and prayers were said to the goddess until the eclipse passed.
