30 May 2025 / 10 House
Article suitable for older students
Find out moreHow did the Aztecs use stars?
ORIGINAL QUESTION received from - and thanks to - Samuel Lopez Matos: I’d like to know how the Aztecs used stars. I’ve had trouble finding what I need elsewhere, so I chose to turn to you. Please help! (Answered by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore)
The Mexican scholar Yolotl González Torres discusses this in detail in her little book El culto a los astros entre los mexicas (SEP, Mexico, 1975, p.16) (our translation):-
The central importance of observing the stars was economic, ie it was a way to mark key moments in the farming cycle and of other activities linked to the seasons. Stars acted as compass, map and calendar. The combination of two calendars, solar and lunar, allowed the Aztecs to pinpoint the main phases in their economic life. Sun and moon are the two celestial bodies most linked to nature and act(ed) as symbols of those key pairs of opposites so necessary for life - fire and water, light and darkness, the very cycle of life and matter.
Solar phases and the completion of a star or constellation’s zenith in the sky marked cycles and ‘coincidences’ celebrated by religious festivals: for example, the moment when the Pleiades reached their zenith signalled the start of a new calendar cycle of 52 years.
Image from the Codex Zouche-Nuttall scanned from our own copy of the ADEVA facsimile edition, Graz, Austria, 1987.
Comments (5)
Nathaniel
23rd Apr 2024
Hey me again thanks for the last reply I was just wondering if the aztecs used the stars as a compass to find their way around and if they did how did they use the stars as a compass
Mexicolore
Navigating by the stars is the same principle all over the world: ‘Stars move across the sky from east to west, and some stars, called rise and set stars, begin and end their nightly path below the horizon. Sailors determined their heading by watching the movement of the stars the same way they watched the sun’s movement’ (formula boats.com)
Nathaniel
22nd Apr 2024
Hey I was just wondering how the Aztecs used compasses and how big is it????????????
Mexicolore
They didn’t have compasses as we know them on the ground - they didn’t need them as they knew their own landscape and world so well. Having said that, some say the four key ‘year-bearer’ signs on the great Aztec Sunstone (House, Rabbit, Reed, Flint), apart from being calendar signs were also compass points (Flint = N, Reed = E, House = W, Rabbit = S)... Check the size of it - one heck of a compass!
Taytay
27th Jul 2023
Oh wow I didn’t;t now any of that! I’m definitely going to be researching this - thank you!!!1 :D
Taytay
6th Jun 2023
Hi! I have a question about the Centzon Mimixcoa!
I have seen some sources state that five of the Mimixcoa (Cuāuhtli-icohuauh, Mix-cōātl, Tlo-tepētl, Apan-teuctli, and Cuetlach-cihuatl) killed the rest of the Mimixcoa and turned them into stars. Is this a true myth?
Mexicolore
It’s part of the myth contained in the important manuscript ‘Leyenda de los Soles’/Codex Chimalpopoca. In the story of the Mexica migration from Aztlan, a (mesquite) tree features (shown in the Codex Boturini) linked to the moment in the journey when Huitzilopochtli tells the Aztecs they are from then on to be called Mexica. The five Mimixcoa you mention hide in the tree, pursued by all their kinsmen (Cloud Snakes) who, unlike the five, all refuse to worship the sun god. ‘When they are encircled by their innumerable enemies, the tree breaks...’, the five emerge and work miracles including an earthquake, a mountain collapses and a flood. ‘By means of these disasters they kill the Cloud Snakes and offer them to the Sun God as “food and drink” (Rudolph van Zantwijk, ‘The Aztec Arrangement’). But there’s no mention of them being turned into stars!
Khushi
3rd Apr 2019
How are stars important to the Aztecs?
Mexicolore
We have a little more information on stars here -
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/how-were-the-stars-created
and here -
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/did-the-aztecs-know-of-different-star-constellations-to-the-ones-we-see-today
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?