Anonymous: Codex Borgia, page 25 - the five cardinal directions (13th-15th Century)

(Vatican Apostolic Library, Rome, Vatican City)

A page from the Codex Borgia, a book from Meso-America an probably made by the Indians from the confederacies of Tolteca-Chichimeca (modern Mexican states of Puebla and Tlaxcala). This page shows the 4 cardinal directions around a fifth, the central direction. Arranged around the page are the 20 day signs of the Tonalpohualli (the 260-day calendar). In each corner of this page stands a god, the patron of a cardinal direction:

- lower Left corner: Xipe Totec, 'Our Lord the Flayed One'. The god of agriculture, vegetation, spring and patron of the West
- upper left corner: Mixcoatl, god of the hunt and patron of the North
- lower right corner: Tlaloc, the god of rain and storm and patron of the South
- upper right corner: unknown god, he has elements of the solar deity (Tonatiuh) and a god of pulque, he is the patron of the East
- the symbol for '10-movement', the center

Notice that each god has a thin red line connecting it to the day signs. Book probably from the 13th-15th Century

See also these links to other pages from the codex Borgia:
- page 14: The 9 Lords of the Night
- page 56: The gods of Life and Death and the 260-day ritual calendar
- page 71: The sun, moon and 13 birds