Aztec Astrology Signs: Find Your Tonalli & Day Sign Meaning

Last Updated on July 24, 2025 by Avia

If you think your personality is just a cosmic cocktail of Mercury retrogrades and sun signs, think again dearies, because I’ve got an astro-doosie for you! Introducing: Aztec astrology, and it’s about to blow your birth chart wide open, in the best possible way.

Rooted in ancient Mesoamerican wisdom, Aztec astrology is less about horoscopes and more about divine design. It doesn’t just tell you how you might behave during a full moon; it whispers secrets about your soul’s mission, your spiritual DNA, and why you’ve always felt a little different (or wildly magical). It’s a deep, sacred system that combines nature, animal spirits, gods, time cycles, and dreamlike math into a mystical map of self-awareness.

Aztec astrology is alive. It’s still pulsing through indigenous traditions and ready to guide modern seekers like you into sharper purpose, deeper intuition, and (let’s be honest) some seriously next-level personal insight.

If you’ve ever wondered why you were born when you were, or what cosmic flavor colors your life, this ancient system might just become your new favorite rabbit hole. Want to know

On this page, you’ll discover insights and how-tos like…

Find Your Aztec Zodiac Sign Now
What Is Aztec Astrology and How Does It Work?
- The Tonalpohualli: Sacred 260-Day Calendar
- What Is a Tonalli?
The Day Signs: Living Symbols
The Lords of the Day and Night
How It All Works (In Real Life)
How to Find Your Aztec Day Sign and Interpret Your Tonalli
Mayan vs. Aztec Astrology: Cousins, Not Clones
A Note on Sacred Numbers
A Word From Avia: Why (and how) I Wrote This

Find Your Aztec Zodiac Sign Now

Note: This is an in-house calculator (not an ad or spammy weird thing). A link will pop up after you enter your birtdate that will take you to more details about your Aztec sign on this website.

What Is Aztec Astrology and How Does It Work?

Aztec astrology is a sacred system of cosmic timing and spiritual symbolism developed by the ancient Mexica (Aztecs), with roots even deeper in older Mesoamerican civilizations like the Olmecs and Toltecs. It’s a worldview, a spiritual GPS, and a divine conversation between you, the Earth, and the cosmos.

The Tonalpohualli: Sacred 260-Day Calendar

At the heart of Aztec astrology is the Tonalpohualli, a 260-day sacred calendar. This isn’t based on the solar year abd on divine energy cycles, rooted in agricultural rhythms, cosmic forces, and spiritual timekeeping. Think of it like a cosmic drumbeat that marks when certain energies rise, fall, and swirl around us.

What Is a Tonalli?

Your tonalli (pronounced toh-NAH-lee) is your birth energy. It’s a sacred fusion of your day sign and cosmic timing that shapes your essence, destiny, and spiritual gifts. In Nahuatl, tonalli literally means “day” or “solar warmth,” but it also refers to the animating soul-force granted to you at birth by the gods.

It’s about when you were born and what you were born with.

The ancient Aztecs believed your tonalli determined your:

Natural talents and personality traits
Relationship with the gods and spirit guides
Life purpose and karmic challenges
Emotional tone and energetic path

In essence, your tonalli is your sacred code. Knowing it connects you to the heartbeat of the universe and gives you language for your inner landscape.

The Tonalpohualli is made up of 20 Day Signs (tonalli), which are:

Cipactli (Crocodile) – Creation energy, beginnings, wisdom
Ehecatl (Wind) – Change, intellect, divine communication
Calli (House) – Shelter, security, introspection
Cuetzpalin (Lizard) – Agility, adaptability, creativity
Coatl (Serpent) – Power, duality, transformation
Miquiztli (Death) – Transition, mystery, spiritual growth
Mazatl (Deer) – Gentleness, intuition, grace
Tochtli (Rabbit) – Fertility, celebration, sensitivity
Atl (Water) – Emotion, purification, flow
Itzcuintli (Dog) – Loyalty, guidance, the underworld
Ozomahtli (Monkey) – Play, artistry, mischief
Malinalli (Grass) – Resilience, humility, cycles
Acatl (Reed) – Communication, growth, fragility
Ocelotl (Jaguar) – Power, magic, night energy
Cuauhtli (Eagle) – Vision, leadership, ascension
Cozcacuauhtli (Vulture) – Renewal, justice, truth
Ollin (Movement) – Earthquake energy, change, evolution
Tecpatl (Flint) – Clarity, truth, sacrifice
Quiahuitl (Rain) – Nourishment, prosperity, divine blessing
Xochitl (Flower) – Beauty, love, artistry

Each day has a unique combination of a day sign + a number, forming 260 possible “birth energies”—what the Aztecs called your “tonalli.”

Your tonalli is your energetic fingerprint. It influences your personality, strengths, challenges, life path, spiritual gifts, and even the way the gods and ancestors might communicate with you.

The Day Signs: Living Symbols

Each of the 20 day signs is a living, breathing archetype connected to nature, deities, animals, elements, and cosmic principles. For example:

Coatl (Serpent): Power, duality, and sacred transformation
Itzcuintli (Dog): Loyalty, guidance, and underworld journeys
Tochtli (Rabbit): Fertility, art, pleasure, and spiritual sensitivity

These are powerful forces. The Aztecs believed each person was born with a guardian sign that offers blessings and lessons, much like an animal totem or spirit guide.

The Lords of the Day and Night

To add even more depth, every day is also ruled by a Lord of the Day and a Lord of the Night. These are powerful deities who influence the spiritual weather of the day. These celestial figures infuse your tonalli with deeper karmic, emotional, and intuitive layers.

How It All Works (In Real Life)

Aztec astrology was used to:

Name children and guide their life paths
Choose auspicious days for ceremonies, marriages, or warfare
Understand a person’s spiritual strengths
Time rituals, agricultural cycles, and sacred festivals
Connect with gods, ancestors, and spirit animals

Today, you can use Aztec astrology as a tool for self-discovery, shadow work, spiritual connection, and even decision-making. Want to align your actions with your inner cosmic blueprint? This system’s got you covered.

How to Find Your Aztec Day Sign and Interpret Your Tonalli

So you’re ready to find your Aztec day sign? Good. Because once you know your tonalli, you’re decoding personality traits and you’re unlocking a powerful blueprint that connects you to earth, sky, spirit, and story.

Step 1: Know Your Birthday (But in a Cosmic Context)

Aztec astrology doesn’t use the Gregorian calendar (you know, the one where Taco Tuesday and your dentist appointment exist). Instead, it’s based on the Tonalpohualli, a 260-day sacred cycle composed of 20 signs.

This means your tonalli repeats every 260 days (not annually) so it doesn’t line up neatly with January 1st or your star sign. To find your tonalli, you’ll need an Aztec horoscope calculator or Tonalpohualli day sign calculator (like the one below) and you’ll need your birth date (day/month/year). That’s it! My handy-dandy Aztec sign calculator will do the math and reveal your day sign.

Find Your Aztec Sign on WYS:

Step 2: Meet Your Day Sign (Tonalli Symbol)

Once you’ve got your result (e.g., Coatl or Ocelotl), it’s time to meet your day sign, aka your cosmic spirit buddy.

Each of the 20 signs carries a powerful symbolic identity: animal, element, deity, and lesson. Your sign reveals how you move through life, where your strengths lie, and what your spirit came here to learn, break, create, or bless.

Step 3: Work With Your Tonalli in Daily Life

Once you know your Aztec day sign personality, don’t let it collect digital dust. Here’s how to bring that energy into your spiritual and symbolic practice:

Meditate on your sign. Visualize the animal, the symbols, the motion of its energy
Create art or altars inspired by your tonalli
Journal about how your sign shows up in your relationships, habits, work, dreams
Honor the strengths and shadow of your tonalli (each sign has both)

And here’s a bonus: your tonalli isn’t meant to box you in. It’s a starting point, a mythic mirror, a sacred key. You’re still the hero of your journey, you just now have ancient cosmic backup.

Mayan vs. Aztec Astrology: Cousins, Not Clones

So maybe you’re wondering: “Wait a minute. Isn’t this just Mayan astrology in a feathered headdress?” Great question. Short answer: nope. Long answer: they’re spiritual cousins, but they don’t share the same cosmic toothbrush.

Sure, both are rooted in Mesoamerican genius, and both use a 260-day sacred calendar. But when it comes to spiritual vibe, purpose, and how they’re used, they’re very different cosmic creatures.

Let’s break it down.

The Mayan Vibe:

Based on the Tzolk’in: a 260-day sacred calendar with 20 day signs and 13 numbers.
Places a heavy focus on astronomy, time cycles, and galactic alignment (like, math-meets-mysticism).
Each day has a birth glyph, which functions like a symbolic soul tattoo, often tied to specific gods or energies.
Mayan astrology often emphasizes spiritual potential, ceremonial timing, and long-term cycles (like the famous Long Count calendar).
It’s incredibly precise, deeply spiritual, and sometimes feels like talking to a very mystical timekeeper.

The Aztec Vibe:

Based on the Tonalpohualli, the Aztec sacred calendar of 260 days, also with 20 Aztec day signs and 13 sacred numbers (though we focus on the signs in this guide).
Your Aztec horoscope is based on your day sign, also called your tonalli (as mentioned earlier, it’s your spiritual life force or personal soul energy).
It’s more archetypal and earthy: rooted in animal guides, elemental forces, myth, and nature-based wisdom.
It was used for everyday guidance in the Aztec world: naming children, planning weddings and rituals, and aligning with divine energy.
Less about long-term cosmological predictions, and more about understanding your place in the divine rhythm of the universe, right now.

Bottom line? If Mayan astrology is a sacred sundial in a temple, Aztec astrology is a cosmic drumbeat in your chest. Both are powerful, both are profound. However, your tonalli in the Aztec calendar is uniquely you, right down to the energy that chose the day you were born.

A Note on Sacred Numbers

Traditionally, each tonalli combines a day sign with a sacred number from 1 to 13, together forming 260 unique cosmic combinations in the Aztec calendar. While these sacred numbers carry meaning, I’ve chosen to focus solely on the 20 Aztec day signs in this guide and calculator. Why? Because the signs themselves are rich, symbolic, and powerful enough to offer deep insight on their own, and for most modern seekers, that’s the real gold.

Once I feel confident the number calculation is accurate and helpful (without overwhelming you with ancient math), I may add it back in. For now, let’s keep it simple and soul-focused.

A Word From Avia: Why (and how) I Wrote This

I’d like you to know that I didn’t just roll out of bed one day, slap together a few Aztec animal names, and call it a day sign. This project took years (yes, literal years) of research, decoding, cross-checking, digital wizardry, minor breakdowns (who am I kidding? MAJOR meltdowns), and large kettles of black tea (and possibly tequila).

I dug deep into surviving codices, Indigenous scholarship, and academic sources that honor the Tonalpohualli, the sacred 260-day calendar still honored by Mexica descendants today. I wasn’t about to mess with a living tradition and just make stuff up. That’s not how I roll.

So, if you’ve tried other “Aztec sign” calculators online and gotten different (or confusing) results (yeah, me too). That’s why I set out to build a calculator that actually works, based on authentic surviving systems of ancient Mesoamerican timekeeping. It took a long time, and a lot of trial-and-error, but this baby? She’s tuned in.

No gimmicks. No guesswork. No BS.

So when you click that button to “find your Aztec sign,” you’re stepping into something that’s been crafted with care, intention, respect, and just enough caffeine to move tectonic plates.

So, why did I even bother? Great question. I created this Aztec astrology guide because I was tired of seeing this ancient, soul-stirring system buried under digital dust (or worse, reduced to clickbait). The Tonalpohualli shouldn’t be another astro-sign slot machine on the internet. Rather, I wanted to resurrect its powerful poetry as a living language of the cosmos. And frankly, it deserves better PR.

I wanted to build something that felt real, rooted, and respectfully rebellious, something that honors (not culturally misappropriates) the Mesoamerican spirit world and speaks to your modern soul. If this guide helped you feel seen, sparked your curiosity, or squeezes your snarglies, then we’re both exactly where we need to be.

Stay curious. Stay sacred. Stay weird.

Mighty brightly,