Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures
Aztec (Tonalpohualli) · Aztec day sign 9
Atl
Water
Atl, 'water', day sign 9 of the Aztec tonalpohualli. Patron: Xiuhtecuhtli.
Atl, water, is the life-giving and dangerous element at once — the rain that nourishes and the flood that destroys. Its patron in the Borgia list is Xiuhtecuhtli, the fire god, an apparent paradox that reflects the pairing of 'water and fire' (atl tlachinolli) as the Aztec metaphor for war.
The patron deities of the day signs differ between the surviving codices; the list used here follows the Codex Borgia tradition as reconstructed by modern scholars. The tonalpohualli was read by trained diviners together with the number of the day and its trecena, so a sign was never interpreted alone.
Personality
emotional · purifying · adaptable · intense · courageous · changeable
In the Aztec tonalpohualli, a person whose tonalli, or birth sign, is Atl is described as emotional, adaptable and intense, sharing the double nature of water, which both nourishes and destroys. Its patron in the Borgia list is Xiuhtecuhtli, the fire god, an apparent paradox that recalls atl tlachinolli, 'water and fire', the Aztec metaphor for war.
Modern readings of the sign credit Atl people with depth of feeling, purity of intention, resilience and the ability to cleanse and renew situations; they are said to be courageous when roused and generous in giving life and energy to others. Their challenges are said to be volatility, sudden floods of emotion, restlessness and a tendency to be drawn into conflict.
In love Atl people are portrayed as passionate and devoted but changeable; in work, as healers, purifiers and people who flourish in fluid, changing conditions, as well as in roles that demand courage. The tonalpouhque, the Aztec diviners, read the sign together with the number of the day and its trecena, so the balance between nourishing water and destructive flood varied from birth to birth.
Sources and further reading
- The Aztec Calendar Stone — Khristaan D. Villela and Mary Ellen Miller (eds.), 2010
- Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript — Gisele Díaz and Alan Rodgers, 1993
- The Aztecs — Michael E. Smith, 2012