The Moon and the Sun
This is the age of the fifth sun. After the destruction of the fourth sun, the gods gathered together to decide who would become the next sun. Tecciztecatl, a god who was proud and rich, volunteered, but they needed someone else to join him. So Nanauatl, a poor god, was chosen. A huge bonfire was built, and when the time came, Tecciztecatl attempted to throw himself into the flame, but his fear overwhelmed him. Nanauatl closed his eyes and jumped in. Ashamed, Tecciztecatl follows him into the fire. Eventually, two bright suns rose in the sky. Angry that Tecciztecatl continues to follow Nanauatl, the other gods threw a rabbit at him, dimming the sun and leaving an imprint of a rabbit on his face. This is why the Aztecs say there is a rabbit in the moon.
But even though they now had a sun, it would not move. The gods knew that they had to sacrifice themselves in order for the sun to move and the people that they had created to live. So, the world of the fifth sun, the Aztec world, was created through sacrifice. Men had to repay the gods with sacrifice to keep the universe in balance. This is why the Aztecs sacrifice; to prevent the fifth sun from being destroyed like the other four before it.
Myths and legends
The creation of the earth
Quetzalcoatl, the light one, and Tezcatlipoca, the dark one, looked down from their place in the sky and saw only water below.
A gigantic goddess floated upon the waters, eating everything the two gods created with her many mouths. They knew they must stop her, so they transformed themselves into two huge serpents and descended into the water. One of them grabbed the goddess by the arms while the other grabbed her around the legs, and before she could resist they pulled until she broke apart.
Her head and shoulders became the earth and the lower part of her body the sky. The other gods were angry at what the two had done and decided, as compensation for her dismemberment, to allow her to provide the necessities for people to survive; so from her hair they created trees, grass, and flowers; caves, fountains, and wells from her eyes; rivers from her mouth; hills and valleys from her nose; and mountains from her shoulders.
Still the goddess was often unhappy and the people could hear her crying in the night. They knew she wept because of her thirst for human blood, and that she would not provide food from the soil until she drank. So the gift of human hearts is given her. She who provides sustenance for human lives demands human lives for her own sustenance. So it has always been; so it will ever be.
