About this project

What is Nave del Tiempo?

Nave del Tiempo shows the intertwined movements of the Tonalpohualli and Xiuhpohualli. Enter a date to locate it within the 260-day count, its thirteen-day trecena, the annual cycle of veintenas, and its year designation.

Nave del Tiempo was created as an accessible point of entry into the Tonalmaxiotl and as a contribution to the transmission of calendrical knowledge. The count used here follows the work of Arturo Meza Gutiérrez, based in calendrical knowledge gathered from Indigenous communities including the Sierra Norte de Puebla and developed through decades of comparison with oral tradition, historical records, archaeology, mathematics, and astronomical observation. Multiple correlations of the Mexica calendar exist today, reflecting different interpretations of the surviving evidence. Nave del Tiempo follows this particular lineage of study and practice.

The digital structure, written explanations, and visual presentation of Nave del Tiempo were created by Cihua Mazatl. The name Nave del Tiempo is offered in tribute to one of my elders and maestros, 7 Venado, lo comparto con mucho amor. The calendrical system itself is not my invention, nor is it claimed as my intellectual property. This project is intended as a tool for access, study, and the continued transmission of this knowledge.

I offer Nave del Tiempo with humility and gratitude to the elders, maestros, researchers, and communities who have carried this knowledge before me. I do not speak as its origin, but as one person participating in its continued transmission. Tlazohcamati.

Reading the result

Reading the count

Each date is shown through several simultaneous movements. The day combines one of thirteen numerals with one of twenty signs. The trecena identifies the thirteen-day sequence in which that day participates. The veintena locates it within the eighteen twenty-day periods of the solar year, followed by Nemontemi. The year is identified through its numeral and one of four year bearers.

Nave del Tiempo offers a noon snapshot of the count for Central Mexico. Because the calendrical day may shift at different hours, a precise birth time can change the result. For a fuller reading of the forces present at birth, explore a personalized Tonalamatl.