Olin (MH491r)

Olin was a day name in the 260-day divinatory calendar called the tonalpohualli in Nahuatl. This calendar had a role in various Mesoamerican religions, including the Mixtec. The overall shape of this movement symbol is something like a quincunx, or X shape with a round center. The small lines coming off the "wings" may be there to suggest fluttering (movement). Movement is part of the conceptualization of the universe, often associated with the movement of the sun. A link to the celestial realm may be supported by the olin glyph on folio 40 recto of the Codex Mendoza, which has a starry eye at the center of its X shape.

See James Maffie (Aztec Philosophy, 2014, 238–240) for a detailed discussion of the olin glyph and its iconography, drawing from a number of studies. The four cardinal points are clearly represented, along with an important center, linked to the motion of the sun. Motion-change is a key theme, especially as it all relates to the changing ages or eras (culminating in the Fifth Sun). Maffie (2014, 232) also discusses numerous connections between olin and butterflies.

In some contexts, the flutter of a butterfly is connected to the flickering of flames. [See Peter T. Markman and ‎Roberta H. Markman, Masks of the Spirit (1989), 148.] Butterflies and hummingbirds (whose wings have remarkably quick movements) can be found to have solar connections in various Mesoamerican ethnographies.