Birth Sign Bonanza: One-Deer

Sahagún, General History, Book IV, Chapter III

This entry to our Birth Sign Bonanza series is the third thirteen day period, in Spanish called 'trecena', of the Aztec ritual calendar, 1 Deer.

According to the writings of the 16th century friar, Bernadino de Sahagún, a child born on the first day of 1 Deer could expect a life of good luck. A son would enjoy wealth and fortune as a noble, or admiration and acclaim as a warrior. A daughter would give her parents pleasure by being active and resourceful.

As is true with many of the Aztec birth signs, there was a flip-side to all this good fortune.

The holder of the 1 Deer destiny was also thought to have a cowardly and weak nature which manifested itself especially during storms. Sahagún explained that a clap of thunder or a bolt of lightning was sufficient to send these sign bearers running in fear.
Sometimes, he continued, these people would drown to death, their bodies appearing a few days later without eyes, fingernails or teeth, victims of a mythical aquatic predator called the ahuízotl.

The period of 1 Deer was host to an Aztec festivity that honoured the souls of women who had died during labour. They were called the Cihuateteo. Statues of them were adorned in paper and worshipped.

The thirteen day period of 1 Deer

Second birth sign of the 1 Deer period.

Imagine if from an early age you were told that you would be addicted to alcohol all of your life. To the Aztecs, it did not matter if you had never tasted a drop of pulque, the Aztec alcoholic beverage of fermented cactus; in being born on the day of Two Rabbit, your destiny as a drunk was sealed.

The Aztecs had laws governing drinking. Older people, priests, nobles and warriors were allowed the privilege of enjoying pulque. For a normal man to drink pulque every day was heavily frowned upon and seen to be disruptive, both socially and spiritually.
Thus the holder of the Two Rabbit birth sign was seen to be cursed. He would bring poverty and disrepute to his family, unable to satiate his need for drink.

Here are some definitions of a person born on the day of Two Rabbit….

All a man thought about during every waking hour was consuming pulque. He would forget to eat, drinking pulque even if it was dirty and had flies and straw in it.
He would not wash, even if he had fallen down in the dirt.
He was irrationally jealous and paranoid.
He would verbally abuse those around him and insist that he was great and strong.
He danced and sang when there was no cause to.
He threw objects at anyone he could see.
If he did not drink, he would become heavy-hearted until he could find some pulque.
He was an enemy to his friends.
His friends thought he would be better off drowned or killed by robbers.
He was capable of many shameful things like adultery or using his strength against women.

Centzontotochtin 400 Rabbits: the many different ways of becoming inebriated.

The festivities that were held on the day of Two Rabbit were in honour of the principal pulque deity, Izquitécatl, and other gods related to the inebriating drink. A large statue dedicated to the god had a bowl of pulque set in front of it, and within it lay cane straws for sucking the fermented liquid.

Old people and warriors drank from the stone bowl, called a Ometochtecómatl, or Two Rabbit Bowl. Aztec lore described the many ways of getting drunk to be 'infinite', like 400 rabbits, or the stars in the sky. If a drunk man died, he was said to have been 'rabbited', emphasizing that there were many outcomes to getting drunk.

Falling asleep with your head on your chest - a rather mild reaction to drunkenness.
Some cry rivers of tears or find their solace in song.
Others speak to themselves, are spiteful to others or pretend to be great and rich even when they aren't.
A drunk man might become suspicious of everyone, or accuse his wife of being wicked. If a person laughs near him, he will think he is being made fun of.
Inebriated women might fall on the floor and sleep there, their hair loose and untidy - very bad behaviour!

If you're interested in finding out your Aztec birth sign, follow this link to www.azteccalendar.com/calendar-calculator.html

Make sure you look for both your 'trecena' and day signs. Good luck and watch this space for more birth sign bonanzas...!

Sources:

Sahagún, Fray Bernadino de “Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España”, Prologue by Angel María Garibay, 6th edition, Editorial Porrúa, 1985, Mexico City, Mexico.