Atl is the Nahuatl word for water, and Atl is the ninth of the twenty day signs of the tonalpohualli, the 260-day sacred calendar of central Mexico. In the codices it is often drawn as a stream of water with circles, shells or droplets.
Water in Mexica life
Tenochtitlan, the Mexica capital, stood on an island in a lake, and water shaped every part of its life, from farming to warfare to the worship of Tlaloc, the rain god. It is no surprise that water had its own day sign.
Water and fire
Nahuatl poetry paired atl with tlachinolli, "burnt things": atl tlachinolli, "water, fire", was a metaphor for war, often shown in Mexica art as intertwined streams of water and flame. It is a striking example of how the Nahua used paired images to express one idea.
Atl in jewellery
An Atl design references water, the Aztec calendar and a birth date in the 260-day count.
