By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS Staff Journalist The opening statement to delegates at the United Nation's Framework Convention on Climate Change which opened in Cancun on November 29 included a invocation to the ancient Mayan goddess known as Ixchel. The Washington Post is reporting that Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the convention, invoked the goddess in her opening remarks. Calling Ixchel "the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving," she prayed, "May she inspire you - because today, you are gathered in Cancun to weave together the elements of a solid response to climate change, using both reason and creativity as your tools." Figueres went on to say: "Excellencies, the goddess Ixchel would probably tell you that a tapestry is the result of the skilful interlacing of many threads. I am convinced that 20 years from now, we will admire the policy tapestry that you have woven together and think back fondly to Cancun and the inspiration of Ixchel." The goddess Ixchel is an ancient fertility goddess who is sometimes depicted as the goddess of catastrophe because of the many adversities in her alleged life. Her headdress is an entwined serpent and crossed bones adorn her skirt. She is usually shown with claws in place of her hands and feet. The invocation is sparking criticism from all corners. Judi McLeod, a journalist for Canada Free Press says this is just another example of how the United Nations has become "the Mecca of the Pagan." She cites the strange behavior of the wife of former UN Undersecretary General Maurice Strong who maintained a "round-the-clock sacred fire, drumbeat and meditation" during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in order to hold the "energy pattern" of the summit.  "Figueres can claim an alphabet string of degrees after her name, but when too many are asking the right questions about the legitimacy of global warming, she turned to false gods," McLeod writes. Blogger Doug Powers, writing on Michelle Malkin's blog, says the invocation to Ixchel makes sense. "When you’re pushing a myth, there’s no more appropriate entity to pray to than a mythical goddess. Why be inconsistent?" The Conference in Cancun is not expected to be any more successful than the one that took place nearly a year ago in Copenhagen as the scandal-ridden global warming community continues to try to convince skeptical world leaders to agree to costly environmental reforms. © All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace®  http://www.womenofgrace.com