GLOSSARY

CUAUHXICALLI -The Cuauhxicalli, better known as the "Aztec Calendar Stone" or the "Sun Stone", is a huge circular carving nearly 12 feet in diameter, 3 feet thick, and weighing 25 tones. Cuauhxicalli is a Nahuatl term various translated as "Eagle Bowl" or "Heart Bowl". The Cuauhxicalli shows Tonatiuh, the Sun God of the present Fifth Age, surrounded by the months and days of the Aztec calendar. The Cuauhxicalli was carved from Olivine Basalt around 1079 Pisces - 1479 AD, during the reign of the sixth Aztec monarch Axayacatl. The Cuauhxicalli was part of the Temple of the Sun in the Aztec capitol Tenochtitlan, and was buried in the general destruction which followed the conquest of the Aztecs, only to be re-discovered in 1390 Pisces - 1790 AD. 

NUMA POMPILLIUS -Legendary second King of Rome, after Romulus, Numa is said to have ruled from 486 Aries -715 BC to 528 Aries -673 BC. Numa established many Roman cultural institutions, especially regarding the Roman religion. Numa regulated the Roman liturgical calendar, establishing religious festivals, and created the office of Flamen or Arch Priest -one for each of the major Roman Gods, most notably the Flamen Dialis for Jupiter whose life was surrounded by many taboos.. The wives of the Flamens served as Flaminias, or Arch priestesses. Numa also established the Salian Priesthood and the Vestal Virgins. Legend says he was married to the Goddess Egeria, who transformed him into a sacred well in the forest of Aricia when he died. 

  

TONATIUH -The Aztecs believed that there had been successive Ages of creation and destruction, each with their own Sun and their own characteristic race. Tonatiuh was the Sun of the Fifth and current Age. According to Aztec mythology, as related by the spaniard Bernardino Ribera de Sahagun, after the Fourth Age had ended and all was destroyed, the Gods had gathered at Teotihuacan to create the world anew. A new Sun and Moon had to be created, but these could only be created if two Gods would sacrifice Themselves for the purpose. A God called Tecucistecatl undertook to become the new Moon, but no God could be found to become the new Sun, for they were all afraid. At length a humble and disfigured God called Nanahuatzin agreed to become the new Sun. After extensive rituals of purification, a great bonfire was built into which both Tecucistecatl and Nanahautzin were to throw themselves -but Tecucistecatl lost His nerve, so the humble Nanahautzin went first. Then, inspired by Nanahautzin's example, Tecucistecatl followed. Nanahautzin was reborn as Tonatiuh, the Sun, while Tecucistecatl became the Moon. And thus the Fifth Age began. Tonatiuh ruled an Otherworld paradise called Tollan, which was reserved for warriors who died in battle and for women who died in childbirth.