Aztec and Maya Calendar
In the tonalpohualli, the sacred Aztec calendar, Wednesday March 17, 1535 is:
Xihuitl:
solar year
4 - Acatl (reed)
Long Count:
Mayan calendar
11.15.15.5.9
Xiuhpohualli:
365-day calendar
16 - Tlacaxipehualiztli (III)
(Correlation: Alfonso Caso [adjust])
The significance of this day
Aztec facts
Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital was captured by Hernán Cortés on August 13, 1521 (day 1-Coatl). This date, as recorded by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún, provides an anchor for the correlation of the calendar.
Day Atl (Water) is governed by Xiuhtecuhtli, God of Fire, as its provider of tonalli (Shadow Soul) life energy. Atl is a day for purification by subjecting oneself to the ordeal of conflict. It is a good day for battle, a bad day for rest. Water brings out the scorpion, who must sting its enemies or else sting itself. Atl is the day of the holy war, which is always a battle with one's own enemies within.
The thirteen day period (trecena) that starts with day 1-Tecpatl (Stone Knife) is ruled by Mictlantecuhtli, Lord of the Region of the Dead, god of death. This trecena signifies an ordeal or trial that pushes one to the very threshhold of endurance: it forebodes an abrupt change in the continuity of things. These are 13 days influenced by the sun, which is a symbol of death: the stars are the warriors of the past and the sun is the gateway of that transformation. The sun is singing fire while the Evening Star guides it through the Region of the Dead: the combined efforts of the elementals are focused on producing a permanent change of heart. These are good days to shed old skins; bad days to cling to what is already known.