Which Aztec god was known as the 'Smoking Mirror'?

The Aztec god known as the “Smoking Mirror” was Tezcatlipoca.

The name Tezcatlipoca is commonly translated from Nahuatl as “Smoking Mirror,” referring to the obsidian mirrors associated with him. In Mesoamerica, polished obsidian could serve as a reflective surface and was linked with divination, ritual power, and visions. Artistic depictions may show the god carrying or wearing a smoking obsidian mirror.

Tezcatlipoca was a major and complex deity associated with darkness, the night sky, conflict, rulership, fate, and the invisible forces shaping human lives. He was not simply an evil god. Aztec religious traditions portrayed him as powerful, unpredictable, and capable of rewarding or punishing people.

He was also a major rival of Quetzalcoatl in several myths, including stories about successive cosmic ages. A common mix-up is assuming that every “Tezcatlipoca” reference means the same figure: traditions also describe a group of four Tezcatlipocas, including color-associated forms linked with other major deities. The Black Tezcatlipoca is the figure most directly identified with the title “Smoking Mirror.”