Aztec Day Names
Below is a list of the 20 Aztec day names used in the Xiupohualli. Each one maybe interpreted according to the qualities of its symbol.
Each name was combined with a number, 1 – 13, from the Tonalpohualli, which affected its interpretation. The 20 day names repeated in sequence during each of the 18 Solar months, but obviously took different numbers each time, changing their meaning in numerological ways.
Not only was a child named according to the date of its birth, but each Trecena (13 day period) and each Solar year was named according to the day they began upon.
A sample date is 31 January Year 3 Aquarius, which translates (using the Alfonso Caso method of correlation) to Year 4-Acatl (4-Reed), Trecena 1-Calli (1-House), Day 6-Tochtli (6-Rabbit).
1 Coatl –Snake
2 Cuetzpallin -Lizard
3 Calli -House
4 Ehecatl -Wind
5 Cipactli -Crocodile
6 Flower -Xocitl
7 Quiahuitl -Rain
8 Tecpatl -Flint
9 Ollin -Movement
10 Cozcacuauhtli -Vulture
11 Cuauhtle -Eagle
12 Ocelotl –Jaguar/Ocelot
13 Acatl -Reed
14 Malinalli –Grass/Herb
15 Ozomatli -Monkey
16 Itzquintli -Dog
17 Atl -Water
18 Tochtli -Rabbit
19 Mazatl -Deer
20 Miquiztli -Skull
Aztec Months
Below is a list of the 18 20-day months of the Xiupohualli, or Aztec civil calendar. The Nemontemi brought the Xiupohualli to a total of 365 days.
1 Atlacacauallo –“Rain’s End” (February/March)
2 Tlacaxipehualiztli –“Flaying Time” (March)
3 Tozoztontli –“Lesser Vigil” (April)
4 Hueytozoztli –“Greater Vigil” (April/May)
5 Toxcatl –“Dry Season” (May/June)
6 Etzalcualiztli –“Corn and Beans” (June)
7 Tecuilhuitontli –“Lesser Feast of the Nobles” (June/July)
8 Hueytecuihutli –“Greater Feast of the Nobles” (July)
9 Tlaxochimaco –“Birth of Flowers” (August)
10 Xocotlhuetzin –“Fruit Falls” (August/September)
11 Ochpaniztli –“Cleansing the Roads” (September)
12 Teoleco –“Return of the Gods” (October)
13 Tepeihuitl –“feast of the Hills” (October/November)
14 Quecholli –“Precious Feather” (November)
15 Panquetzaliztli –“Raising the Flag” (December)
16 Atemoztli –“Rain Falls” (December/January)
17 Tititl –“Stretching” (January)
18 Izcalli –“Rebirth” (February)
Nemontemi –“Empty Days” (Five Epogamenal Days -February)
Witches’ Calendar of Years
There is also a form of calendrical Astrology associated with certain branches of Wicca. This system is based upon the number 9, and relates to the natural world and its phenomena.
Like the Chinese calendar, each year is assigned a ruler: these are Sun, Moon, Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Animal, Plant (Vegetable), Stone (Mineral). Each year has specific qualities, and the cycle repeats in sequence. Again, years are provided below in Gregorian rather than Correllian notation for ease of reading.
The system reflects a Mediterranean base as it reckons each year as beginning at the Spring Equinox, which is Traditional for some branches of Wicca, though less frequently encountered today than it once was.