TONALPOHUALLI
What is Tonalpohualli?
The Tonalpohualli is a 260-day sacred Aztec calendar formed by combining 20 day names with the numbers 1 through 13. A person’s date of birth is converted into this calendar to determine their birth sign, from which innate qualities and destiny are read. It shares the same structure as the Maya Tzolk’in and is one of the calendar systems widely shared across Mesoamerica.
Overview
- System
- Fate Reading (converts the date of birth into the sacred calendar and reads it)
- Origin
- Aztec Empire (present-day Mexico)
- What You Need
- Date of birth
- Best For
- Life, career
- Time Frame
- Life as a whole
Origins & History
The Tonalpohualli is a 260-day calendar formed by combining 20 “day names” with the numbers 1 through 13, and it served as the sacred calendar of the Aztec (Mexica) civilization. It shares the same structure as the Tzolk’in of the Maya civilization and is thought to be one of the calendar systems widely shared among the civilizations of Mesoamerica.
Separate from the 365-day calendar known as the Xiuhpohualli, based on the sun’s yearly cycle, it functioned as a calendar for religious ritual and divination, and the combination of day name and number on which a person was born was said to indicate that person’s destiny and nature. The underlying concepts of this calendar are still carried on today in traditional ceremonies in some regions.
How It Works
- 01Convert the date of birth from the Gregorian calendar into the Tonalpohualli calendar system.
- 02Identify which of the 20 day names corresponds to the converted date.
- 03From the same date, identify the corresponding number from 1 to 13.
- 04Read a person’s nature and destiny from the combination of day name and number (the birth sign).
What It Reveals
The Tonalpohualli is well suited to reading innate nature and tendencies in life and career. At the same time, even though it shares its structure with the Maya Tzolk’in, the finer details of how the day names and symbols are interpreted vary between sources, and it should be kept in mind that this is not a system designed to draw definitive conclusions about a person’s character.
Related Methods
References
- Wikipedia: Tōnalpōhualli (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C5%8Dnalp%C5%8Dhualli)