30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreDid the Aztecs and Mayan peoples believe in predestination?
Set of fate/destiny calendar signs on a supernatural deer figure, Codex Borgia pl. 53 (detail)
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Sylvia Olson: Did the Aztecs and Mayan peoples believe in predestination? How did their beliefs on this topic blend/change when confronted with Catholicism? (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
Good question, and a huge topic in its own right. As is often the case, we feel we can do no better than to quote from internationally recognised experts. They don’t all agree! A pretty ‘hard line’ is taken on this by 20th century French anthropologist Jacques Soustelle, who concluded that the fate of every Mexica/Aztec individual was ‘subjected to the strictest predestination.’ To a limited extent, he concedes, this could be mitigated:-
There were certainly attempts at correcting fate, however. If a child were born under an unfortunate sign, some days were allowed to go by before naming him, until a fortunate sign should come. It was also conceded that by dint of penance, privation and self-control a man might escape the evil influences which doomed him, for example, to drunkenness, gambling and debauchery. But it does not seem that there was ever much hope of avoiding the inexorable operation of the signs. They were at the base of everything, the fate of individuals and the fate of communities...
Consequently the life of the Mexican was dominated by the portents drawn from the ‘tonalamatl’ [ritual calendar]. The merchants waited for the day 1-Coatl to begin their journey towards the remote countries of the south, because this sign promised them success and prosperity. Those who were born in the group 1-Ocelotl [1-Jaguar: pic 2] would die as prisoners of war... Certain days were favourable to certain professions: 1-House, for instance, for doctors and midwives (pic 3).
Jill Furst explains the workings of the ritual calendar:-
In ancient Mexico, a person’a birthday was one of 260 named days in a special calendar used solely for divination and celebrating rituals in the deities’ honour. It consisted of twenty pictorial signs combined with thirteen numbers to provide 260 separate day signs... Each day... transmitted a character and fate to both men and women born on that date... Each day’s dispensation could be good, bad, or some blend of the two, but everyone born on one date had the same calendrical name, and the same or a similar intrinsic nature and a comparable fate.
Miguel León-Portilla confirms the same for the ancient Maya. Favourable destinies could be sought - those which, confronted with adverse fates, would neutralise contrary influences. In this way it was possible to escape absolute fatalism and open the door to knowledge leading man to better acting and thinking at prescribed moments... [Priests] were the ones who indicated the days favourable for ceremonies such as the giving of a name to a child, the admission of a youth to a school, the celebration of a wedding, the beginning of a war, the consecration of a ruler...
The tradition of divination based on the ritual calendar has survived to a considerable extent to this day. So deeply ingrained was the belief in the ritual calendar that many modern Nahuatl speakers continue to believe in its influence on fate or character, even though the fine details of divination disappeared with the Conquest. (Furst).
Old and New World astrology had much in common, rendering it easier for Indigenous Mesoamerican calendrical systems to survive. Furst explains:-
The West also had a long history of using astrological signs to determine or reveal the natures and futures of men and women. Christianity tolerated the practice because God’s design manifested itself in the ordered physical world, and hence, in the predictable movements of the heavens and the influence they exerted on human lives. The stars represented God’s will secondhand.
This emphasis on (divine) order was stressed by the great Mexican historian Alfredo López Austin:-
The gods brought about order, sequence, periods. At the same time, the intrusion of anomalies in the order implied divine volition, the capricious acts of invisible beings whose arbitrary deeds provoked the event and the disorder. But humans wanted to understand more; they wanted to scrutinise the mysteries of the cosmos. They looked for the cause of the capricious acts, and thought that they could distinguish another, more profound order, the discovery of which promised them control over what was apparently random. Thus the gods were subjected to fatalism...
In summary, to quote Jill Furst, ‘the Central Mexicans believed in destiny, but were not fatalists...’
Sources:-
• Furst, Jill Leslie McKeever (1995) The Natural History of the Soul in Ancient Mexico, Yale University Press (Chapter 11)
• León-Portilla, Miguel (1988) Time and Reality in the Thought of the Maya, University of Oklahoma Press (Chapter 5)
• López Austin, Alfredo (1993) The Myths of the Opossum: Pathways of Mesoamerican Mythology, translated by Bernard R. Ortiz de Montellano and Thelma Ortiz de Montellano, University of New Mexico Press (Chapter 10)
• Soustelle, Jacques (1961) Daily Life of the Aztecs on the Eve of the Spanish Conquest, Stanford University Press (Chapter 3).
Picture sources:-
• Main: Image from the Codex Borgia scanned from our own copy of the ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria, 1976
• Pix 2 & 3: images from the Florentine Codex scanned from our own copy of the Club Internacional del Libro 3-volume facsimile edition, Madrid, 1994
• Pic 4: image taken from Rosny, Léon de (1888) Codex Peresianus. Manuscrit hiératique des anciens Indiens de l’Amérique Centrale, conservé a la Biblithèque Nationale de Paris. Bureau de la Société Américane, Paris.
Comments (1)
Sylvia Olson
11th Apr 2025
Thank you so much for your help! Your site has been extraordinarily helpful in learning about the Aztecs and Mayans, and largely fueled my passion to continue exploring Mesoamerican culture. Now, I’m researching how Catholicism blended with indigenous religious beliefs, (mainly though looking at Día de los Muertos) and your site has continued to provide great insight!
Mexicolore
Many thanks for taking time to comment, for your kind words, and for asking such an interesting question in the first place! Only too pleased to help...
Set of fate/destiny calendar signs on a supernatural deer figure, Codex Borgia pl. 53 (detail)
More Ask Us Entries
- The colours of maizeDid the Aztecs and Maya believe in predestination?What did the Europeans make of the Aztecs brought to Spain?Is the Templo Mayor the only double shrine?How were disputes settled?Why no backgrounds?What was the Maya moon symbol?Why didn’t most Aztec warriors wear helmets?Why did the Aztecs sculpt goddesses?Why did Aztec priests practice asceticism?Was the Toltec calendar similar to the Mexica?What about cougars?Is Xoaltecuhtli a real Aztec god?Was another layer planned for the Templo Mayor?Did women sing and dance in rituals?Did the Aztecs have organised schools of thought?What about Aztec toilets and bathing together?Did the Aztecs adapt to Spanish tactics?Questions about Aztec warriorsDid Aztec warriors have their own warrior code?Did the Aztecs know about peccaries?Did the Aztecs know soap?A symbol for welcomeAre Toci and Tlazolteotl the same?Aztec fortressesAhuitzotl’s childrenDid the Aztecs have ritual specialists?Tell us more about OpochtliDid the Aztecs use canoes for war?The town of MixtlanWas tobacco a harvest offering?Who was Huemac?Diadem versus feather headdressWhat did the Aztecs think of Venus?Did the Aztecs perform mummification?Did the Toltecs paint codices?What is the origin of the Aztec spirit bird?What were battle formations like?Calendar signs on a chess setAztec stone toolsWhat is the object in Xochipilli’s hand?Did the massacre of Toxcatl affect the Mexica army?Did Tezcatlipoca have four wives?What did noble houses look like?Is this a Nezahualcoyotl poem?What do we know about Teotitlan?The art of magicWhat did heron feathers represent?How did the bridges in the causeways work?How did Spaniards describe Aztec warriors?How bad was it to be under the control of the Mexica?How did the Aztecs write distances?What connects Xiuhtecuhtli, Huehueteotl and Chantico?Itzpapalotl and her Chichimec originsDid spiders have any symbolism?What’s with Ixtlilton?Please describe Aztec sling projectilesWere other animals associated with the moon?What do Quetzalcoatl’s earplugs really look like?The ‘Rise Talokan!’ hand gestureHow did Aztec warriors train?Were fish symbolic to the Aztecs?Did sharks or swordfish symbolise anything?Did crows mean anything to the Aztecs?Did they scar children going to religious school?What rituals accompanied Aztec deaths?Did the Aztecs have anything like the 7 deadly sins in Christianity?What was the average age of an Aztec emperor?What would be the Aztec term for empress?Did the Aztecs refer to Tenochtitlan and Mexico?Did merchants stay at inns?Could priests and priestesses marry?Did codices advise on being a good ruler?Did commoners have access to codices?Did they have a preferred hand for wielding weapons?How did warriors carry weapons?Did Mictecacihuatl have her own temple?What was the symbol for the Mexica themselves?Did the Aztecs use wood saws?Why did Quetzalcóatl and Tezcatlipoca dominate creation?The Mexica war cryA name for the north American continentDeclaring warDid the Aztecs use perfume?How do I choose an Aztec name?Did the Mexica say prayers before hunting?Who created Mictlantecuhtli?Were there initiation rites for new warriors?Did they use cooking fat and earth ovens?What animals were associated with the sun?Were albinos special in ancient Mexico?Is there an Aztec symbol for family?Is sobador (massage) culture prehispanic?What type of war paint did they have?Did the Aztecs practice martial arts?Is any of Cortes’s treasure left today?Everything for sale in the great marketDid Aztec men grow beards?Did all festivals include human sacrifices?What happened to the Culhuas?When does a day ‘start’ in the tonalpohualli?Towns linked by causeways to TenochtitlanThe Aztecs and mental illnessWere all Mexica great astronomers?How did they light their homes?Did the Aztecs hug?The Aztecs and the seaWhat about giants in Aztec mythology?The colour bands on Tezcatlipoca’s faceSacrifice of a Colhua princessAxolotls in Mexica(n)/Aztec mythologyWhat’s the meaning of this statue?Xochipilli and XochiquetzalCommon features of Aztec/Mesoamerican religionWhat was the hairstyle of (seasoned) Aztec warriors?How did commoners address the emperor?Resources on Mexica writingOther examples of Aztec templesIs this tattoo an Aztec eagle?Did the Aztecs convert conquered peoples?What’s painted red on the face of Tenoch?Why no bears in Aztec mythology?Red paint on Aztec stone sculpturesGod figures made of corn stalk pasteComing-of-age ritualsCan you identify this poster?What does Temaxcalapa mean?What evidence is there of human sacrifice?Did the Aztecs have a term for religion?How did the Aztecs get their stones for building?Did the Aztecs use metal spears?What does this Nahuatl saying mean?How did the Aztecs use stars?What happened to the nobility?What did the Aztecs call the Spanish?How did Aztec culture influence their housing?Why did Alvarado massacre the Aztecs?What surgery did the Aztecs practice?What did royal women wear?Were all gods male and female?The feast for XilonenCould you get divorced?What would Cuauhtémoc have looked like?Is Tlaltecuhtli on this ring?Keeping the Aztec army supplied and treating woundsThe Aztecs and dwarfsCan you identify this object?Was Xochiquetzal a female Aztec warrior?Is this the urn with Ahuitzotl’s ashes?Dogs as guides for soulsWar chantsThe clothing of Aztec priests and royalsWhat’s going on in this image from the Florentine Codex?Which feast was dedicated to Chalchiuhtlicue?Royal court musiciansHow did they make colourful costumes?Did the Aztecs use a ‘Mixtec Sabre’?The symbolism of the four directionsWere women stargazers?Turquoise mosaic discMesoamerican tradeWhat happened to the rest of the sacrificed person’s body?Who exactly were the Chichimec people?Is there a name for the Aztec speech glyph?Did the Aztecs paint their canoes?The symbol for turquoiseHow do we know Tenochtitlan had a zoo?Did the Spanish eliminate Aztec song and dance?The tongue hanging out in Aztec artThe 13 heavens and 9 underworldsWhat exactly was a ‘calpulli’?Aztec children’s clothesGood source books on Mexica musicWhere are the codices today?Deerskin strap masks‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’How much gold did the Conquistadores get?Can you translate this poem?The origin of ‘pulque’The eagle and the snake...Many partners or one?Volcano mythsMapsWere war banners sacred or utilitarian?Did war shield symbols represent cities?Symbol for war‘A typical battle’TonantzinThe monkey’s earringDouble-headed serpentWho was Prime Minister at the Conquest?The ‘crying boy’ whistling jugThe wind god’s fanThe symbol for goldAztec gardensMysterious rectangular motifAztec/Mexica clothingCuauhtémoc’s emblemThe ruler’s white dressFood storesThe name Moctezuma todayWho are these 2 gods?Aztec shieldsHow should I start teaching a topic on the Aztecs?How did the Aztecs make molcajetes?Aztec God of Good Health?Why wear headdresses?How big was the Aztec Calendar (Stone)?An image of Citlalicue?Aztec pyramidsPictures of what the Aztecs ateTezcatlipoca or Tezcatilpoca?Sacred birds, flowers and Day LordsAztec symbol for protectorTraditional Náhuatl greetingsChild-friendly sources on the ConquestWere the Aztecs barbaric?What does (my) name Cuitlahuac mean?Ce Acatl Topiltzin QuetzalcoatlWomen and the ConquestMoctezuma’s deathAztec earringsThe Aztec ArmyWhat about Tlatelolco?