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Codex Chapman

Metztli

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Nahua Moon Connections and Fables While we see the moon as a beautiful planet that provides light for the night, the Nahau saw the moon as a being in the sky that fought with the sun. Through the many different myths and fables related to the moon, the Nahua people gave different cultural and symbolic meanings to it through personification. These symbolistic connections to their culture and how their society functions lead to interesting comparisons to our own scientific discoveries. #Metztli #astrology #Coyolxauhqui
The Birth and Personification of the Moon
To the Nahua people, the moon was a being that changed with the phases. Through the moon's growth, there came with it different attributes associated with it. In book 7 of the Digital Florentine Codex, the Nahua people describe the moon's growth from a “small bow” to a “round and disc-shaped” object (Book 7, Folio 2r). Within this description, the moon was said to be very pale and white and could shine “like daytime.” The brightness of the moon described here is represented in the image from the Florentine Codex with a bright white crescent moon with the personification of the androgynous moon person. In subsequent references to the moon, sometimes represented as smaller glyphs, the face of the moon is depicted inside the crescent, as shown in this image. As described by the Handbook to Life in the Aztec World, the sun and the planet Venus were said to be the most important celestial bodies and were perceived as masculine (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 139). On the other hand, the moon and the Earth were perceived as both masculine and feminine. These distinctions of gender are important to consider when thinking about the connotations they have in a cultural context.

While the sun had many celebrations and positive cultural connections for the Nahua, the moon was said to imitate the sun and was believed to be a coward. To the Nahau people, the cycles of the moon had a deeper significance than what we have today and was said to have “a recurrent cycle of birth, growth, plenitude, decay, and death (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 309).” These symbols carry on throughout the culture and provide deeper connections to the celebrations of the sun and the meanings behind the connections to less revered beings. During the moon’s natural day cycle, the Nahua saw the moon in two different main states: sueño meaning sleeping, or desvelo meaning sleepnessless (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 309). To us today, we know that this is simply correlating to the time of day. However to the Nahau, this was a cycle that lent itself to the symbolizing of the fight between the sun and the moon. The moon’s cycle was further studied in the context of meteorological indicators. The Nahau could determine different weather or omen indications by studying the moon's appearance. For example, the Nahau knew that if there was a red moon, that meant there would be heat or a dry temperature; another example would be the many-colored rings that sometimes showed to indicate “good faith; birth of animals and people; good time for commencing activities (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 309).” Through these symbols and representations of the moon, the Nahau people formed other myths and fables to gather further meaning as to what the sun and moon could mean to them as a cultural group.
Fables of the Moon Lead to Negative Omens
Towards the end of the moon’s cycle the Nahau describe this phase as the death of the moon (Book 7, Folio 2v). This term describes the setting of the moon to bring a new day with the sun. This would be the time of the moon’s slumber. Along with these descriptions of the moon's phases, the Nahua talk about the sun's and moon's origin in a different fable of the rabbit and the moon. As is depicted in the image from the Digital Florentine Codex, the moon is shown with a rabbit in the middle instead of the earlier depiction of the person inside it. This particular imagery of the rabbit inside the moon is a more common depiction that the Nahua used to symbolize the moon because of the fable. This drawing of the moon is similar to the previous imagery of the moon with the crescent being the key feature to depict the idea of the moon.

In the Nahua culture, there were said to be new suns being made throughout their history. In this fable of the rabbit on the moon, the Nahua describe the process the gods took to create a new sun and moon. When the sun had set and there wasn’t any sun or moon, the gods had gathered at Teotihuacan and discussed who would become the sun and the moon. From here, two gods volunteered to sacrifice themselves in the fire to ascend to become the sun and the moon. The god who jumped first became the sun, and the god who jumped second became the moon since he was more fearful of the sacrifice. When the moon was formed, one of the gods then threw a rabbit at the moon to make it not as bright as the sun. The rabbit was then emblazoned onto the moon, which was then seen by many other generations to come (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 140). From this fable, we can see that the depictions of the rabbit on the moon held cultural importance to the Nahau, connecting to the origins of the sun and the moon. From this same fable came the importance of blood sacrifices to the sun to ensure movement throughout the day. Because of the cowardly performance of the second god, who became the moon, the moon was associated with fear and cowardice, which produced generally negative omens.

The eclipse was considered to be a significantly negative omen. In this image from the Florentine Codex, we can see a different level of detail provided for the sun verses the moon. The depiction of the moon doesn’t have as much character as the sun which could also indicate the importance of the sun over the moon. With the sun representing goodness and life, the moon's covering was believed to produce evil. Women who were pregnant feared that their children might be turned into mice or be born with no lips (Book 7, Folio 7r). Many of the effects were thought to result in deformities of unborn children. This link between astrology and omens continues throughout other tellings of the sun and the stars. The connections to the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui also produced negative omens that carried on throughout her own depictions. Coyolxauhqui was normally used instead of depicting the actual moon when worshipping the moon or representing it in their culture.
Coyolxauhqui: The Moon Goddess
With many of the gods, goddesses, and deities within Nahua culture, a certain connection is identified by their dress, providing a deeper meaning to their society. Coyolxauhqui is also called the Moon Goddess or She of the Bells on the Cheeks. Due to her mytholigical origins told throughout Nahua history, she is also associated with serpents that sometimes take the place of sacrificial blood. This visual of the “blood snakes” is most likely in reference to the feeding of the gods with blood sacrifice (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 194). Often depicted with bells carved on her cheeks, the physical representations of Coyolxauhqui provide more context as to what she symbolized within their culture. Many of the stone statues or sculptures show only pieces of Coyolxauhqui’s body or a dismembered form of her to represent her defeat at the hands of her brother Huitzilopochtli, the sun and war deity of the Nahua. This legend of the two gods became of great importance concerning sacrifices and the celebrations of the gods. Coyolxauhqui’s dismembering symbolizes her moon goddess status and her connections to “femininity and the ‘mutilations’ of the phases of the Moon” (Manuel Aguilar-Moreno 2006, 193). Her likeness was carved into several sculptures and placed at the bottom of the main temple to serve as a reminder of the meaning of sacrifice to the gods. The ritual sacrifice of throwing people down the stairs was said to be a symbolic representation of Coyolxauhqui’s first sacrifice.

Another angle to consider with this repeated symbolism of female sacrifice is one brought up by Caroline Dodds in her writing on the place of gender and power in Aztec society (Dodds, 2007). Going back to our original discussion on the gendering of the moon as both masculine and feminine, we can think about how the representation of Coyolxauhqui as the moon goddess leads to a clearer picture of the gendering of the sun and the moon. Depictions of the female figure of Coyolxauhqui show a shameful woman in a state of defeat that could be interpreted as what happens to women who don’t stay in their place within society. The moon is symbolized in the Digital Florentine Codex, often with an androgynous face, but is still associated with femininity and negative connotations. Many of the connotations with Coyolxauhqui overlap with those of the phases of the moon. On the other hand, the sun is always depicted and described as strong and powerful. These distinctions are also clear in other pieces in the Digital Florentine Codex, where the sun glyph is used in shows of power or triumph, while the moon glyph is used in more humble situations when used at all. Throughout the fables and descriptions of gods, goddesses, and deities, it’s clear that the Nahua people took great care in representing them with their cultural importance. The cultural connections to different aspects of their societies provide a rich and interesting history.
Conclusion
When trying to understand how the Nahua people viewed the sun and the moon, we can look at the personification of them. To them, the moon was cowardly and less than the moon, which led to negative omens. The connection to Coyolxauhqui, the Moon Goddess, was also seen as further proof of the moon’s place in their society. Depictions of the moon show an androgynous face, but Coyolxauhqui’s relation to the moon lends a more feminine aspect to it. Overall, we see a rich culture and history of the Nahua that is strengthened by the fables and stories of the creation of the sun and the moon.
References
Manuel Aguilar-Moreno (2006). Handbook to Life in the Aztec World. Forward: John Pohl. New York, Facts on File.

Caroline Dodds (2007). “Female Dismemberment and Decapitation: Gendered Understandings of Power in Aztec Ritual Violence.” Cultures of Violence: Interpersonal Violence in Historical Perspective. Ed. S. Carroll. Palgrave Macmillan
Chapbook 5
In Nahua culture, celestial bodies held immense spiritual and cultural significance, forming the backbone of their religious practices and worldview. The sun deity, Tonatiuh, was revered as the central figure in the daily lives of the Nahua, guiding their efforts to maintain cosmic order and sustain the sun's journey across the sky as the Nahua offered daily tributes to Tonatiuh in the form of blood and incense, believing that these offerings would ensure the sun's successful journey each day. The moon, known as Metztli, played a more ambivalent role in Nahua culture, often associated with omens and viewed as a lesser celestial being compared to the sun. While the moon lacked a defined gender, its connection to the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui imbued it with a feminine aspect. Myths and fables about the moon contributed to the cultural understanding of the celestial body and its place within the larger Nahua cosmology. Stars, or citlalin, were also deeply intertwined with Nahua cultural practices. Stars were seen as omens and incorporated into various aspects of Nahua life, from daily routines to artistic and symbolic representations. The pictographic language of the Nahua often included depictions of stars, highlighting their importance in both art and spirituality. Together, these celestial beings were central to Nahua religious and cultural practices, shaping their understanding of the world and reinforcing their connection to cosmic order. Through the exploration of sun worship, moon beliefs, and star symbolism, we gain insight into the deep reverence the Nahua held for celestial objects and how they influenced every aspect of their society.

We hope you enjoy this journey of learning about celestial objects through the Nahua perspective! Please begin with Tonatiuh’s Radiance: Nahua Sun Worship.