Time and eternity of the Stone of the Sun
After the fall of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, which was leveled to the ground by conquerors in 1521, many valuable and magnificent works of the Aztecs were deeply buried and forgotten. The same fate befell the Stone of the Sun, as its colors were washed away by underground water currents for over two and a half centuries. It was brought to light by a chance discovery during construction work on the main square of Mexico City in 1790. Since then, the monument has been recognized for its perfection in craftsmanship, and many researchers have studied it, seeking the keys to the messages hidden in its symbols.
Characteristics of the Stone of the Sun
The creation of the Stone of the Sun is associated with the year 1479 and the reign of Axayacatl, the sixth ruler of the Aztecs, who ruled from 1469 to 1481.
The stone is intricately carved in deep relief with astonishing technique and precision. It has a diameter of 3.56 meters, a thickness of 1.4 meters, and weighs 25 tons. It was made using porphyry (crimson stone) with a basalt base, which can only be found in the mountains that surround Mexico City.
obtained near Mexico City. Due to its size and weight, we assume that they had to use some, to us unknown, mechanical means to cut and transport it.
The stone consists of a set of characters that form a series of eight rings or concentric circles of interesting proportions. The central part of the Stone, which encompasses the symbol of the Movement or the Fifth Era, has a diameter of 1.59 m, which coincidentally matches the average height of Mexican Indians. This led researchers to seek a canon according to which the idea of the calendar was drawn. Thus, they noticed that the product of this value 1.59 and √5 (2.2361) results in 3.56, which is the diameter of the entire Stone. Likewise, the product of the diameter of the central figure, 71 cm, and √5 (2.2361) results in 1.59, which corresponds to the diameter of the central part.
The Stone was probably originally colored with vibrant colors, like their codices and most of their artwork and temple facades, as remnants of blue, yellow, red, and green were found upon its discovery. The most deserving for starting the research was Antonio León y Gama, who named this finding the “Aztec calendar”. However, although this name later became established, it is only partially accurate. Namely, the term “Aztec” is appropriate in the sense that they used it and gave it their own distinctive appearance, but the concept of the Sun Stone is much older. The Aztecs adopted this concept along with the entire cultural tradition from their predecessors, the Toltecs, who also inherited it from the mysterious high culture of Teotihuacán, the City of the Gods, and the enigmatic Olmecs. It is also not entirely correct to call it a calendar because it encompasses “a little more” than our current understanding of that term. In addition to calendrical and astronomical knowledge, it encompasses their religious ideas, myths, philosophy, as well as their perception of time, symbols, and metaphysical concepts. Comprehensive studies of the Sun Stone have opened up many new questions with each deciphered answer, so its true meaning remains hidden from us. Origin and Real Role.
Four Suns or Ages
According to Nahuatl tradition, the world and all beings have gone through different stages of creation that occurred one after another. These are the Four Ages or Suns: the Sun of the Night or Earth, ruled by the jaguar, the Sun of the Wind, the Sun of the Fiery Rain, and the Sun of Water.
All of these ages ended with a cataclysm, and after the Fourth Age, when humanity was destroyed by flood, a new, Fifth Age began with the sacrifice of the gods in Teotihuacán.
The symbol of the Fifth Sun is a movement that combines the four directions and contains the power of all the previous ages. The experiences of the past cannot disappear, they form the driving force that represents a new opportunity for humanity and the world.
According to available sources and legends, most of which we can thank the Spanish missionary from the 16th century, Bernardino de Sahagún, it was used by priest-sages who led the Aztec people from the island of Aztlán, located in the east, in the sea, in ancient times. When they finally reached the shores of the desired land, they began their settlement and built their city, which they named Tenochtitlán. They lingered for some time on their journey in the mythical and archaeologically unexplored Tamoanchan, associated with the meaning of the House of Descent, the West. According to Aztec chronicles, four ancient sages remained in this place to reassemble and gather knowledge of the calendar, which is encapsulated in the verses: in tonalpohualli, in xiuhamatl, in xiuhpohualli, in tonalamatl (“fate count, yearbook, year count, dream book”). On the other hand, the Stone of the Sun is also mentioned by its original name Cuauhxicalli (“Eagle Bowl”), which represents the ability to receive and contain the vital energy of the sun bird, which has two strong fundamental characteristics: the eagle can reach far with its clear, penetrating vision, just like with its large, powerful wings, passing through different dimensions.
Astronomical and astrological aspects
We will only list some astronomical and astrological aspects related to the five outer rings.
The fourth ring is associated with Venus and consists of 40 quincunx or glyphs for Po. The mathematical description concerns the synodic orbit of Venus in relation to the Earth’s cycle of rotation around the Sun. Specifically, Venus completes 5 synodic periods in 8 years, and the product of these two numbers is 40. According to the myth, the god Quetzalcoatl transformed into Venus, the Morning Star, after undergoing trials in the underworld.
The fifth ring contains 80 symbols of Mercury, and the synodic period of this planet is 88 days. The corresponding deity is Xolotl, the twin brother of Quetzalcoatl, who takes the form of a dog on his journey through the underworld.
The sixth ring belongs to Mars, or the god Tlaloc, representing the mystical ray of fire that separated the primordial waters to initiate the cycle of manifestation. The synodic period of Mars is 780 days, obtained by multiplying 260 days of the sacred calendar by the number 3 inscribed in the glyph of this planet.
The symbol of Jupiter, the “jewel of the sky,” is found in the seventh ring, corresponding to the god Tezcatlipoca in his aspect of the celestial and nocturnal sky.
The traditions of most Mesoamerican peoples They lead to Quetzalcoatl, a mythical-historical being who brought laws to humans, showed them certain skills, and imparted all the knowledge they possess, including calendar knowledge. His name, Feathered Serpent, represents an extremely significant cosmic principle. By overcoming certain trials, thus clearing the path for other gods and humans, Quetzalcoatl created a lasting connection between the heavens and the earth, symbolically represented by the synthesis of feathers and a serpent. He showed humans the way, reminding them not to forget their heavenly homeland as they journey through life on earth. This is vividly illustrated by a well-known Aztec sculpture depicting a coiled feathered serpent rising in a spiral, with a figure of remarkably humane and noble features emerging from the serpent’s jaws at the top. The power of this deeply human expression is enhanced by the experience of the abyss of darkness from which an exit was ultimately found into a completely new dimension of light.
Huehueteotl, the Ancient God of Fire, was usually depicted with a wrinkled face and delicate fingers, holding a A nest for a bonfire on the head on which the symbols of the Fifth Era are inscribed.
Heart of the Stone Sun
From the very center of the Stone, the attention is drawn to the figure of the Sun god Tonatiuh. It is a modest and unassuming deity from the Fourth Era who, through his own sacrifice, transformed into a new deity, the dignified god of the Sun who illuminates and carries the Fifth Era, the Era of Movement. The beginning of a new space and time, the movement of the Sun and the Moon, the emergence of all living beings and humans, occurred thanks to the help and sacrifice of other gods. The most important of these deities are also inscribed in the Stone, but are mostly hidden beneath symbolic representations and glyphs of astronomical-astrological keys.
The depiction of the god Tonatiuh, in addition to the associated attributes in the spirit of Aztec culture, bears one interesting characteristic: an outstretched tongue in the shape of an obsidian knife. This is a vivid connection to his transformation, as obsidian is born in the fiery veins of volcanoes, and the knife itself has prominent open eyes, which together symbolize the The text symbolizes a conscious sacrifice in order to free a new vital principle.
Tonatiuh is located at the center of the cross, which represents the astrological sign for movement, and on the arms of the cross, there are glyphs of previous ages. Therefore, the central part of the Stone suggests that the experiences of previous ages have not disappeared but have joined the power that is currently expressed through the Fifth Sun, as the fifth opportunity for mankind and the world.
In the horizontal direction, two jaguar claws, also with eyes, emerge from the cross, each firmly grasping the heart as the holiest part and center of a human being’s existence. Interestingly, in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztecs, the word “movement” (ollin) has the same root as the word “heart” (yollotl), which means that the creative movement that signifies true sacrifice and dedication can only occur in the heart of a person, as the source of their deepest human intentions. Watching over this movement is the eternal principle of the jaguar, the animal that is the master of the jungle and the darkness of the transient and illusory world. Therefore, a person needs to sacrifice their best part in order to get out of impassable paths and take control of their own life.
In the eighth ring, along with some other symbols, there are also 28 arches of Saturn. The product of the number 28 and Saturn’s synodic period gives the number 10759, which is the length of one orbit around the Sun. In one aspect, Saturn is Huehueteotl, the Old god of fire, who gave humans their first ceremony, and in memory of this mythical moment, the Aztecs celebrated the ceremony of the New Fire. The eighth ring is also associated with the Milky Way, symbolically represented by two snakes that personify the cosmic energy of polarity. From their wide-open jaws emerge the heads of the gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, and the ornament on the heads of the snakes represents the symbol of the Pleiades.
Ring of the Day
Behind the ring with the symbol of Movement stretches the third ring, which is connected to a cycle of 20 days in the calendar, which also represent 20 astrological signs associated with their respective deities-protectors. The ring starts with the sign of Kr. The first sign is the Turtle (Kaimana), representing primordial waters and the beginning of time. It is followed by the sign of the Wind, the pure spirit that breathes life into shapeless matter. The third sign is the House, a symbol of the spirit enclosed in matter, followed by the Lizard as the principle of young matter seeking light, without which it cannot live. The Snake is the vital force of time that necessarily brings experiences, although it takes on various faces of slowness or speed, lifelessness or mobility. Death is part of the reality of life or another view of the same reality. The sign for the seventh day is the Deer, representing the beauty of nature, followed by the Rabbit associated with fertility. Water carries primarily the idea of fire, which is hidden in its depths. The Dog is man’s faithful companion in life and death, and the Monkey for the Aztecs represents a skilled person and generally represents dexterity. Grass is associated with healing at all levels and, in relation to that, the hidden mysteries of nature, while the Reed is a symbol of renewal, as it preserves thousands of future shoots in its dry stem.
The representation of the main temple in the Aztec The construction of temples took place in layers that were linked to different calendar cycles.
The meaning of time
Like all cultures in Central America, the Aztecs distinguished between two basic calendars, sacred and civil. Each of them went through its own cycle of time, but they constantly intertwine with each other. The sacred calendar consisted of 260 days or 13 months of 20 days each and is believed to be connected to the cycle of pregnancy. The civil calendar consisted of 18 months of 20 days, with an additional 5 nameless days called nemontemi, to complete a year of 365 days. Every 4 years, an extra leap day was added, and every 130 years, one nemontemi was skipped to align the calendar with the tropical year, achieving greater accuracy than the Gregorian calendar.
Each day carried a specific name and number in both the sacred and civil calendar, and the same combination of names and numbers would only repeat after a considerable amount of time. At the age of 52, an important celebration of the New Fire was being celebrated, significant for the whole empire and its future.
The sacred and civil calendars were necessarily connected and synchronized with the movements of the planets, the Moon, and other celestial bodies. The most important was the cycle of Venus, and the complete alignment of the sacred and civil calendar with Venus occurred after 104 years or two cycles of 52 years. The glyphs of each ring bring us complex mathematical calculations that confirm this connection.
However, it may be more important to emphasize the deeper, often overlooked meaning of the elements of the Sun Stone. The symbols carved in the circles have their divine counterpart, their celestial principle without which they would lose any purpose, and they are all interconnected because the entire nature is interconnected, thus realizing its meaning in time cycles. The Sun Stone reminds us that besides linear, horizontal time, there is another vertical time that is not measured by duration or duration. Flow with the evolutionary power that arises from the center of Tonatiuh. This power continuously acts to connect everything that exists, opening up to humans, who integrate themselves into their own being, a new dimension of time in which things do not disappear but endure in eternity, becoming closer and more similar to their celestial counterparts.