The Aztec Sun Stone is famous, but it was never a working calendar. It is a giant carved solar disk that told a much bigger story: the Aztecs believed the world had already passed through four earlier ages, and they lived in the fifth. The stone tied that cosmic myth to real power by linking the beginning of the current sun to the reign of Itzcoatl in 1427.
Key Facts
Not a calendar: The “Calendar Stone” name is misleading; the stone is a symbolic monument, not a timekeeping device.
Five suns: Its carvings show the five ages of the world in Aztec mythology.
Ruling power: The date glyph 13 Reed connects the start of the fifth sun to 1427 CE, the year Itzcoatl took power.
Massive size: The basalt stone is 3.58 meters wide, 98 centimeters thick, and weighs about 25 tons.
Discovery: It was found in December 1790 in Mexico City’s central plaza.
Current home: It now sits in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Sacred imagery: The center may show Tonatiuh, Yohualtonatiuh, or Tlaltecuhtli, depending on interpretation.
Cosmic design: Around the center are symbols for the four earlier suns, the 20 day names, the cardinal directions, and sacred fire serpents.
Historical Context
The Sun Stone once belonged to the ceremonial world of the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan. It was likely placed flat on the ground and may have been used in rituals, including blood offerings. When Spanish rule collapsed the Aztec world, the stone was found upside down, perhaps buried by people who feared the end of the fifth sun.
Historical Significance
The Sun Stone is one of the strongest visual statements of Aztec religion and kingship. It shows how the Aztecs linked myth, ritual, and political power into one grand design. Today, it remains a powerful symbol of Mexico’s pre-Columbian past and a reminder of how the Aztecs imagined the universe itself.
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Chaos and order go hand in hand. The Universe is chaotic, yet the four dimmensions is following a pattern. There is a lot to learn from the essence of the universe. There are untapped energies that we are not aware of. Those energies will reveal themselves to whoever knows to master their receiver.
The history, religion, and rituals of the Aztecs live on today through their art.
In the 13th century, it is likely that the Aztecs, originally a nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers, first arrived in Mesoamerica, forming their capital city of Tenochititlan in 1325 A.D.. The name “Aztlan” means “white land” and the term “aztec” refers to all groups living in the Valley of Mexico (15-16ce.), but in particular, the Tenochka tribe of the Mexica group. When they came, they overpowered the previously dominant clan of the Toltecs. The Tenochka tribe consisted of skilled temple architects, artisans, engineers and craft guilds. Their city, Tenochititlan, was first settled near lake Texcoco, on the spot where an eagle with a snake in its mouth landed on a prickly pear cactus, now a well-known symbol of Mexico.
The Aztecs had a rich belief system and multiple gods for the various forces of nature. When the gods first created the earth, supposedly in Tenochititlan, they each sacrificed themselves into a fire, creating a “moving sun”. According to the Aztecs, this moving sun signified the fifth, and final era of our world, which would ultimately be destroyed by an earthquake. This is also an explanation as to why human sacrifice was so fundamentally important to the Aztec religion. The most important sacrifice was considered blood, which would be offered by priests, for example, at the top of the Templo Mayor (“Great Pyramid”). The twin temples of the city were located at the north end, Tlaloc Temple (blue), and at the south end, Huitzilopochtli Temple (red).
The blue temple was built in honor of Tlaloc, the god of peace, rain, fertility and a symbol of the winter equinox, while the red temple was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun, war, dryness, and the summer solstice. Other important Aztec gods include Mother Earth, Coatlicue, the mother of Huitzilopochti, and her daughter, Coyolxauhqui (or, “bells for cheeks”), the moon goddess. Coatlicue (or, “serpent skirt”) is represented by a massive stone sculpture, about 9 feet tall, in Temple Mayor. She has clawed hands, taloned feet, and wears a necklace of human hearts and hands. Truly the earth goddess, she is the giver and the taker of life. Coyolxauhqui, on the other hand, is made of a large, carved stone disk, and shows a woman with dismembered limbs, a skull + snake belt, and monster-face joints.
As the myth goes, she was magically impregnated by a ball of hummingbird feathers, giving birth to full-grown Huitzilopochti. Due to Coyolxauhqui’s disapproval of her mother, she and her 400 siblings, the stars, she decapitated her while attempting to kill her. However, Huitzilopochtli came to the rescue of his mother and defended her from his sister, severing many of her limbs. It is because of this battle in the sky, between Huitzilopochti and Coyolxauhqui that the sun sets and rises every twelve hours. This makes these moments where the sky changes moments of extreme precaution.
Because of these spiritual beliefs, the Aztecs created a ritual where a human would be sacrificed at the top of Temple Mayor. Their blood would be poured on the statue of Coatlicue. Then, their bodies would be rolled down the temple, to land on the flat stone of Coyolxauhqui. This occurred on “Panquetzaliztli”, or the Raising of the Banners Festival, which was devoted to the reenactment of the snake-mountain myth. This day was based on the Aztec Calendar, which was basically a 260 day-count recording of important ritual events of the fifth era.
Aside from their temples and statues, the Aztecs also celebrated their “skull racks”, which consisted of about 60 skulls that were embedded into the architecture. The skulls were also decorated and worn as masks. The skull itself symbolizes the idea of human sacrifice, as it came from within our skin and represents death. It’s impressive to me how the Aztecs embraced death as a natural part of life.
