El Quinto Sol: The Mesoamerican Cosmos

El Quinto Sol ("The Fifth Sun") is a fully illustrated playing-card deck that translates Mesoamerican cosmology into the structure of a classic French-suited deck, with a focus on Nahua and Mexica imagery. The four suits stand for the four cardinal directions and the elements fire, earth, wind and water, the Aces for principles of creation, and the court cards depict deities such as Quetzalcoatl, Mictlantecuhtli, Coatlicue and Mayahuel. The pip cards hide references to the 260-day tonalpohualli ritual calendar, and the card back shows the "Deer of Days" based on an image from the Codex Borgia. The deck has 56 cards (52 playing cards, 2 Jokers, one double-backed card and a bonus card) and comes in three editions: Core, Alebrije with holographic foil, and Mictlantecuhtli in black and gold with orange gilded edges. A digital Codex explains the symbolism and sources and includes the rules for an original game for 2 to 4 players.