Yaoehecatl, dancer (1), historian, writer, instructor, lecturer, and Primera Palabra o Jefe del Calpulli Metzcualo-Tonalyeztli (First Word or Chief) of the Calpulli (2) Metzcualo-Tonalyeztli (3) has recently published some material which places Xochipilli into the “force of nature” category from the indigenous point of view of the Mexica. The work “Xochipilli y San Juan Bautista. El sincretismo del Solsticio de Verano” (4) equates the current traditions in Mexico regarding the summer solstice celebrations of St John the Baptist with that of the Mexica traditions regarding the celebration of Xochipilli at the same time. The syncretism (5) of Xochipilli and John the Baptist is very interesting (and extremely likely) but it is the explanation of the force that is Xochipilli that is of interest to me here.

1. a proponent of Danza Azteca (Aztec dance)
2. Calpulli in Náhuatl means ‘great house’ or ‘group of houses’. An important – yet mysterious – unit of Mexica social organisation, it has been variously defined as neighbourhood (barrio in Spanish), district, clan, tribe, town, community, parish, village ward, agriculture-based cooperative, ‘group of families who lived near one another’, ‘group of households forming a small barrio and having common tributary obligations’… Considerable argument and uncertainty surround its true meaning and internal workings. About the only thing we CAN be sure of is that EVERY Aztec/Mexica citizen identified with their local calpulli (sometimes written calpolli). As a building-block of Aztec society, it survived well into the colonial period. Some calpulli were kin-based, related family groups; others were made up of unrelated members of the same ethnic group, perhaps a migrant community. Others functioned as guilds—groups of artisans who worked gold, or kept birds for feathers or made pottery, textiles, or stone tools. https://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-us/what-exactly-was-a-calpulli
3. Metzcualo Tonalyeztli Calpulli , which means family of solar blood and lunar eclipse (familia de la sangre solar y del eclipse lunar)
4. Xochipilli and Saint John the Baptist. The syncretism of the Summer Solstice.  https://www.facebook.com/yaoehecatl/photos/a.2359916344293437/3502774980007562
5. Sincretismo = syncretism = Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths.

Yaoehecatl, along with APROMECI (1) also write about previous temples to Xochipilli that were destroyed by the Spanish. These places are now being reclaimed and used to venerate the old ways (2)(3). These places are also being used as areas of learning and to celebrate and disseminate long suppressed knowledge. The ceremonial centre of Xochipila located in the centre of the city of Xicotepec de Juárez is one such place. With the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, the region known today as Xicotepec de Juárez was conquered militarily and spiritually, and its ancient ceremonial centre was destroyed. The religion of the invader (in this case the Catholic Church of Rome) then imposed itself by replacing the belief systems of the locals with their own, often forcefully and violently, and then tore down indigenous places of worship to build their own churches upon the same land (often with the very stones from the destroyed temples). In the case of Xicotepec de Juárez the Augustinian monks installed “the cult of Saint John the Baptist” as part of their evangelisation strategy. This, in part, worked as both celebrations involved the Summer solstice so they were somewhat analogous but it ultimately backfired for the Church because at first the locals simply continued to worship as they previously had, they just hid the images of their gods behind those of the Church’s. As time progressed they just transferred their beliefs to the newly supplied saints and (in particular) the virgin Mary. To this day pilgrims and dancers come from other municipalities to worship at la Xochipilia. Throughout the year, ceremonies are held to honour Juanito Techachalco, the protector of Xicotepec and patron saint of fertility and the fecundity of plants. The offerings to the “saint” are mainly candles although herbs, flowers, ritual objects, food or animals are also brought. Rituals are performed with traditional methods that are intended to cure various diseases.

1. Asociación Prodefensa de la Medicina y Cultura Indígena (Association for the Defense of Indigenous Medicine and Culture), AC Telephone: (55) 5740-7888 Email: association@apromeci.org.mx Av. Andrés Molina Enríquez No 4236, Colonia Asturias, Cuauhtémoc Delegation, Mexico, DF CP 06850
2. https://apromeci.org.mx/blog/post/99/Xochipila._El_lugar_de_Xochipilli.
3. http://techachalcoxochipila.blogspot.com/

This area has been designated as a Pueblo Mágico (1). The Pueblo Mágicos program launched in 2001 to help shine a spotlight on Mexico’s charming, sometimes unsung, small towns. The first Magical Towns to earn the label included Mexcaltitán in Nayarit, Huasca de Ocampo in Hidalgo, Tepoztlan in Morelos and Real de Catorce in San Luis Potosí. There are currently 132 designated Pueblos magicos in México as of today (2).

1. The Programa Pueblos Mágicos (“Magical Towns Programme”) is an initiative led by Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism, with support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors special experiences because of their natural beauty, cultural richness, traditions, folklore, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts, and great hospitality. It is intended to increase tourism to more localities, especially smaller towns in rural areas. This has nothing to do with brujeria.
2. https://www.gob.mx/sectur/articulos/pueblos-magicos-206528

A little about APROMECI.

This organisation seeks to defend the rights of indigenous peoples to their own culture. They have taken a particular interest in the application of traditional medicine (and the herbs involved) within indigenous cultures and seek not only to defend the right of indigenous peoples to use their plants in the manner they have done, potentially for millennia, but to also preserve these traditions for those of us outside the culture. As a herbalist myself this is a very important action. The use of herbal medicine MUST be protected in every culture (and part of the reason for my starting this Blog was to expound upon the virtues of the herbs and medicinal practices of México).

APROMECI’s mission is to……..

• Support the development of indigenous peoples and communities
• Provide support to non-profit legal entities dedicated to scientific and technological research, in carrying out research activities or preservation of wild, terrestrial or aquatic flora or fauna and within geographical areas identified with indigenous cultures.
• Support authorities and representatives of civil society in the use of natural resources, the protection of the environment, flora and fauna, the preservation and restoration of the ecological balance, as well as the promotion of sustainable development at the regional and community, urban and rural areas.
• Project before national and international organizations, authorities of the Federal, State, Municipal Government and their counterparts at the international level, Congresses and Parliaments and before society in general the use of herbalism, naturism, herbal remedies, herbal medicines, and that of other alternatives for health, as a way of life.
• The promotion and defence of the rights of consumers of herbal, naturopathic and alternative medicine products that, in order to obtain health benefits, must be allowed to consume them.
• The protection of indigenous rights in what that occupies the use, customs, development of their languages, cultures, forms of social organization, human rights and preservation of their cultural roots.

Raúl López Robles, the “chronicler” of the municipal seat of Juchipila notes that the worship of Xochipilli in the area is a tradition passed along to them by the Aztecs (Mexica) sometime around 1170-1171AD when they established themselves and made roots in the municipalities now known as Tabasco, Moyahua, Juchipila and Villanueva.

Now before we wander too far I would like to examine the name Xochipila. It is the first instance in which I’ve seen a feminine name attributed to Xochipilli (1). Xochipilli is often gendered as a (gay) male because of the stereotypically (2) feminine attributes associated with this being (3) and this causes issues (in my mind) when trying to understand the true nature of Xochipilli (as does Wassons largely unchallenged assertions that Xochipilli is the God of intoxicating plants). The name Xochipila (4), has the meaning of Girl Flower, Flower of a girl, Princess of Flowers, and, the one most accepted by historians and chroniclers, is Flower that springs from (sprouts from) the water. This name (Xochipila) removes the connotations involved when conflating the names Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal, which often occurs due to the similarities of the spheres of influence of the two. Xochiquetzal is not the feminine aspect of Xochipilli (even though Xochipilli overflows with Yin energy). Xochiquetzal is is a force unto herself and should be celebrated as such. Xochipilli is not the masculine aspect of Xochiquetzal. These are two very different (but overlapping) forces.

1. Xochiquetzal notwithstanding. Xochipilli has been noted by some as being the trans-sexual twin of Xochiquetzal. There is a strong push for Xochipilli to be queer. Being an effeminate male is not enough it seems.
2. well………stereotypical in white male/masculine cultures (I’m not exactly how sure it ties in with Mexican machismo though)
3. flower, dance and song. It must be remembered though that this culture did not attach the same meanings we do to various symbology and that other warrior caste cultures (such as the samurai of Japan) were also cultured in this manner and practices such as poetry, flower arranging and music were also considered to be valuable additions to a warriors mindset
4. also Cuchipilaa – considered by some authors to be a “corruption” of the name Xochipilli.

As the tradition of Xochipilli worship was passed along to the Totonac peoples of Xicotepec so too did the Mexica carry the cult of Xochipilli to the lands they “conquered”.  

Yaoehecatl teaches of Xochipilli…..To the Nahuatl speaking Mexica Xochipilli was a “solar figure par excellence”.

Xochipilli is the rising sun, the child sun, the god of light, and the very representation of summer itself. Xochipillis main associations are with flowers and plants but he is also associated with the artistic expressions of the human being such as music, dance, singing, poetry.

Xochipilli as a symbol of the young sun also symbolises the beauty of youth and consequently, associated with youth, is love and sexual vitality. In a few words, Xochipilli represents youth, its beauty, and its vital force both of the human being and of nature.

“…on a religious level it seems natural that Xochipilli was the god of light, of life, of pleasure, of love… of tender vegetation, abundant food, music, dances, happiness, poetry and of art in general, as well as being the representation of summer.” (Fernandez, 1959)

It is worth mentioning that all the ancient civilizations that flourished in central Mexico were solar cultures, that is, they worshiped the sun, and their life was governed mainly based on solar movements and cycles.

The Prince of Flowers was associated with places where there was abundant vegetation, lush forests, natural environments that produced a large quantity and variety of plants and flowers, warm climates, pleasant climates, with abundant humidity, and fertile lands fed by rivers or springs. Xochipilli was associated with the fertility of the land and the growth of plants and flowers.

The worship of Xochipilli occurred in these places of abundant natural beauty and with so many mountains and forests everywhere, there would be no shortage of places that were consecrated to Xochipilli. It is also more than possible that those great botanical gardens of Iztapalapa, Tetzcoco or Chapultepec sponsored by various Tlatoani not only had a representation of Xochipilli in them but that they were also dedicated to the life force that is Xochipilli. These gardens were collections of plants dedicated to trees, medicinal herbs, food plants, rare or unusual plants or simply of flowers of great beauty and exquisite aroma.

In the written sources of the sixteenth century There is a mention of the festivity that the ancient Mexicans made to the figure of Macuilxochitl (1)

In the title of chapter XIV of Sahagun’s First Book, the following is read:

“Which speaks (a) about a god called Macuilxochitl, which means Five Flowers, and is also called Xochipilli, which means The Principal Who Gives Flowers or who is in charge of giving flowers.”

“In honour of this god they held a festival, and their festival was called xochilhuitl [festival of flowers], which was counted among the movable festivals… four days before this festival all those who celebrated it fasted, both men and women [… ] When the fifth day arrived, it was the festival of this god. In this festival one dressed up with the attire of this god, as if it were his image or person, which meant the same god; with him they did areito [dance] with songs, and with teponaztli and atambor […] They also did a ceremony, they made five tamales… they were big, on top of which was a sunk arrow that they called xúchmitl [flowery arrow or arrow of flowers], this was offered by all the people.”

1. Macuilxochitl (Five-Flower) is one of the names by which Xochipilli can be identified.

This festival appears never to have stopped being celebrated. If we examine the Xúchitl Dance held to this day in Juchipila (as mentioned above) we are looking at an unbroken tradition of the veneration of the Prince of Flowers.

Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain) (Volume 1) Book 1 : The Gods : Chapter XIV : de Macuilsuchitl [Telleth of the god named Macuilxochitl (Five Flower) and Xochipilli (Flower Prince)]

Macuilxochitl and Xochipilli are names that are used interchangeably. There is some debate as to whether or not they are names for the same entity or they are in fact two different beings. This question can be answered calendrically by the festivals relating to both.

The ancient ceremonies dedicated to Xochipilli were held near the summer solstice (1), an astronomical event that indicates the arrival of that season of the year, a time when there is great vegetation, flowers, plants and trees abound. “fruits of the earth”.

1. This astronomical event (which is also the Church’s time designated for the celebration of San Juan Bautista [Saint John the Baptist]), when the day is longer than the night and the sun’s rays fall fully on the earth due to its tilt on its axis, occurs around June 21 and 22 (in the Northern Hemisphere – in the Southern hemisphere (i.e. Australia) this occurs around 21 – 22 of December. In the summer solstice the day is longer than the night, therefore, for the ancient Mexicans the triumph of the sun over darkness, the triumph of life over death, was evident. In the calendrical record of ancient Mexico, the summer solstice occurred between the seventh and the eighth “month” of its solar calendar, respectively called Tecuilhuitontli, which ran from June 2 to 21, and Huey Tecuilhuitl, which ran from June 22

Xochipilli and Macuilxochitl can also be identified calendrically. Although neither festival below is specifically mentioned by the churchmen writing of it both are relevant due to the timing and naming of the celebrations. This is not entirely unusual. The festivals were marked as “moveable feasts” in that the specific days they were celebrated “moved” according to the calendar (1). It is also highly likely that the festival was not mentioned as it was referred to in the xiuhpohualli calendar and not the tonalpohuahalli calendar (2) which the friars tended to concentrate on.

1. This phenomena of the “moveable feast” still occurs today within the Christian religion. The celebration of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ (commonly called Easter) occurs on the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. This celebration was originally for a pagan Goddess of fertility known as Eostre (and who also represented the rising dawn) but was subsumed by the Catholic Church when they “civilised” the pagans and bought them to the “one true God”. Easter is a pagan festival (eggs and bunnies have no relation to Jesus). The Goddesses name Eostre is the base word for estrogen, a female reproductive/fertility hormone.
2. The Aztecs ‘counted time’ in two different ways; the tonalpohuahalli, or, ‘counting of the days’, which was a 260 day cycle, and the xiuhpohualli, or ‘counting of the years’, which was a 365 day solar count. The tonalpohuahalli was a sacred almanac of days (religious day cycle of the planet Venus) and was used for divination purposes. The xiuhpohualli dictated the annual ceremonial calendar of the Aztec state. This calendar was divided into eighteen ‘months’ of twenty days (also called “veintenas”) with the dangerous five day nemontemi which divided the old year from the new. Each month was celebrated with a festival, as was the beginning and end of each fifty-two year cycle when the ‘binding of the years’ took place. Tecuilhuitontli is the name of the Seventh month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival in the Aztec religion. The principal deity is Xochipilli and feasts are also given to Goddess Huixtocihuatl and it is known as the Small Festival of the Lords. The tonalpohualli contains two kinds of information. It gives the good and bad days as they functioned to determine the fate of the individual. This is the information utilized by the tonalpohualli at birth and during the transition periods of the life cycle. It also lists the birthdays or special days of the deities and the rituals associated with them. It is not to be wondered that these two kinds of information be together because, in final analysis, one’s fate was in the hands of the gods. This information belongs in the tonalpohualli (the reckoning of the days), because we are dealing with days, not months, assigned to or identified with specific deities. The Tonalpohualli was the sacred calendar used by the ancient Aztecs. The Aztec priests used the 13 day trecenas (what we might call a “fortnight”), and a 20 month period for godly rituals. The 13 days were for each god it represents, and this totalled 260 days signifying the ritual calendar the Aztecs called Tonalamatl.The Maya civilization version of the “xiuhpohualli” is known as the “haab'”, and the Maya equivalent of the “tonalpohualli” is the “tzolk’in”.

Before we go any further lets briefly look at the Aztec Calendar .

The second Aztec calendar was the xiuhpohualli or ‘counting of the years’ which was based on a 365-day solar cycle. It was this calendar which signified when particular religious ceremonies and festivals should be held. This calendar was divided into 18 groups of 20 days (each with its own festival). These were….

The tonalpohualli and xiuhpohualli calendars ran simultaneously, as Townsend describes “They have often been explained as two engaged, rotating gears, in which the beginning day of the larger 365-day wheel would align with the beginning day of the smaller 260-day cycle every 52 years. This 52-year period constituted a Mesoamerican “century.”

This is merely a BRIEF glimpse at the calendars. There is waaaay more information to be had. Seek it out.

Juan de Tovar (1) mentions Tecuilhuitontli, a twenty (2) that began to be celebrated in June. It is also observed that Fray Diego Durán (3) mentions that this twenty was also known by the name of Tlaxochimaco (4).

1. Juan de Tovar (1543 – 1623) was a Jesuit priest and writer from New Spain. He was one of the numerous sons of Captain Juan de Tovar, who arrived together with Pánfilo de Narváez during the conquest of Mexico. His mother was a mestizo, granddaughter of the conqueror Diego de Colio. From his mother he learned several indigenous languages, especially Nahuatl, Otomí and Mazahua. As a Jesuit priest, he promoted the cultivation of Mexican languages ​​among seminarians. As a writer, he captured an indigenous vision, describing indigenous traditions and the confrontation between the Spanish empire and the Aztec empire from the point of view of the defeated and with a critique of the behaviour of the victors.
2. veintena – it is (kind of) our equivalent of a month (equals 20 days)
3. Diego Durán (c. 1537 – 1588) was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs, The History of the Indies of New Spain. Also known as the Durán Codex, The History of the Indies of New Spain was completed in about 1581. Durán also wrote Book of the Gods and Rites (1574–1576), and Ancient Calendar (c. 1579). He was fluent in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, and was able to consult natives and Aztec codices as well as work done by earlier friars. His empathetic nature allowed him to gain the confidence of many native people who would not share their stories with Europeans, and was able to document many previously unknown folktales and legends that make his work unique.
4. Tlaxochimaco is the name of the ninth Month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival in the Aztec religion, dedicated to the Aztec God of War Huitzilopochtli. It is called the Bestowal or Birth of Flowers

“The seventh month of this calendar and the first day of it, where the party called tecuilhuitontli was celebrated, which means “party of the lords”… They called this party, by another name, tlaxochimaco, which means “distribution of roses” (Durán)

The relevant factor regarding the word, Tlaxochimaco, is that it translates as: “flowers are given from the earth”, “offering of flowers”, “flowers are given”, sometimes “the birth of flowers”. This word not only represents the time when nature is producing many flowers but is also a metaphorical way of indicating that there is an abundance of flora (trees, bushes, plants, and flowers) in the fields and in the forests.

Tecuilhuitontli and Tlaxochimaco are however, calendrically speaking, two different events (1)(2). Given the Mexica proclivity for floral decoration and celebration it is not at all unusual that both events revolved around flowers.

1. Tecuilhuitontli is the name of the Seventh month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival in the Aztec religion. The principal deity is Xochipilli and feasts are also given to the Goddess Huixtocihuatl, it is known as the Small Festival of the Lords
2. Tlaxochimaco is the name of the ninth Month of the Aztec calendar. It is also a festival dedicated to the Aztec God of War Huitzilopochtli. It is called the Bestowal or Birth of Flowers.

Yaoehecatl notes that Durans translation of “party of the Lords” was often translated as “Little Lord’s Party” (Small Festival of the Lords) and that as “little lord” was a metaphor for the “young sun”, or for “prince” it further reinforces the dates correspondence with Xochipilli (1).

1. One of Xochipillis identifications is that of Piltzintecuhtli – the lord of princes, or child lord, the sun. This reinforces the words of Yaoehecatl when he speaks of Durans translations

I would like to visit Juan de Tovars mention of Tecuilhuitontli briefly and how it relates to the “young Lord”.

“Small feast of the lords”

this festival was called tequilguitl [tecuiluitl], in which the youths carried the demon dressed as a parrot on their shoulders and in a cart lined with corn cane leaves playing flutes in front of him and in his hand they placed a feather sceptre that they They called yolotopil [yolotopilli] who wants to say coracon de bara, the demon that was celebrated here was called tlacopilli [tlazopilli] (1) who wants to say precious sir. I do like the totally Catholic outlook of Xochipilli being the “demon being celebrated” and “the demon dressed like a parrot”

1. tlazopilli. Principal English Translation : “precious nobleman,” denoting a nobleman of particularly high rank and illustrious birth, but also used as a term of flattery for any nobleman (Lockhart etal 1986); “legitimate nobleman”. Tlaçopilli, chalchiuitl, maquiztli teuxiuitl, quetzalli tlaçotli, tlaçotitlacatl, xocoiutl, malhuiloni, tlamaluilli, chonequiztli, hatzoio, hateuhio, uel quiztica tepiltzin. = [He is like] a precious green stone, a bracelet of fine turquoise, a precious father. [He is] an esteemed noble, a youngest child—one who deserves to be treated with tenderness, with care. [ He is] a sensitive person, not unclean, not besmirched; a fortunate noble. (central Mexico, sixteenth century)

Samael Aun Weor (1) in his work on Aztec Christic magic speaks of Xochipilli and Xochiquetzal. Xochipilli (from xochitl “flower” and pilli, “principal” (2), writes Samael, is the God of agriculture, flowers, music, song, poetry and dance. “Flowers and chants are the most elevated things that exist on the earth so as to enter into the ambits (3) of the truth and this is why all their philosophy is tinted with the most pure poetic tinge. The face of Xochipilli is impassible (4); yet, his heart is overflowing with happiness. Wisdom, says Samael, is love. Xochipilli dwells in the world of love, music and beauty. His face rosy as the dawn and his blonde (5) hair give him an ineffable and sublime infantile presence. Art is the positive expression of the mind. Intellect is the negative expression of the mind. Samael is one writer that notes Xochiquetzal as being Xochipillis consort (6).

1. Samael Aun Weor (March 6, 1917 – December 24, 1977), born (in Bogotá, Cundinamarca, Republic of Colombia) and named Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez by his parents, was a spiritual teacher and author. He was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church, but later, disillusioned by religion, he  rejected the Church of Rome and invested most of his time in the study of the metaphysical and esoteric. In 1948 he began teaching and in 1950, under the name “Aun Weor”, he managed to publish the first of over sixty books on esoterica. In 1956, he left Colombia and went to Costa Rica and El Salvador. Later in 1956, he settled permanently in Mexico City, where he would begin his public life. He founded numerous Gnostic Institutions and created Gnostic centres in Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Venezuela. Aun Weor died on December 24, 1977. The basis of Aun Weor’s practical work is of a psychological nature. He states in many of his books that the purpose of his doctrine is to affect a psychological change. The terms Gnostic, Esoteric or Revolutionary Psychology are used to describe the psychological methods taught, and are said to be synonymous with the psychological teachings of religion. In his works, Occult Medicine and Practical Magic, Igneous Rose and others, Aun Weor taught about elemental magic. In the former work he expressed his opposition to the medicine of modern science, allopathy, and called for the Gnostics to learn the ways of Indigenous and Elemental Medicine. Aun Weor taught that all the plants of nature are living Elemental Spirits, similarly to Paracelsus and many other esoteric teachers. He states that it is the Elemental Spirits who cure, not simply the ‘cadavers of the plants’. Plants should be treated as living beings, harvested at the proper hours etc. He stated that the Elementals of all plants are aspects of The Divine Mother in the form of Mother Nature. The Roman Catholic Church has labelled Aun Weor’s neo-Gnostic Movement as a pseudo-church
2. First in order of importance
3. the scope, extent, or bounds of something. i.e. “a full discussion of this complex issue was beyond the ambit of one book”
4. THEOLOGY : incapable of suffering or feeling pain. ie “belief in an impassible God”; ARCHAIC : incapable of feeling or emotion.
5. I’ve not seen reference to Xochipilli being blonde haired before. It does make sense as often sun gods are blonde haired. This is in no way a whitewashing of Xochipilli. There are references to Quetzalcoatl being blonde (as well as white skinned – I will explore this in a future Post) and as Xochipilli is linked to Quetzalcoatl, possibly even being an aspect of Xochipilli, there is some crossover. Xochipilli is one of the few (like Quetzalcoatl) who is said to have not “demanded human sacrifices”
6. a wife, husband, or companion, in particular the spouse of a reigning monarch.

“Lord from whom we live, owner of the ‘near’ and of the faraway,’ we give you thanks with happiness for our Lord Quetzalcoatl, who with the sacrifice of his blood and his penance made your lift to enter within us. Make us strong as he is, make us happy as he is, and make us just as he is.”

“Let it be” (1) was uttered by everybody in chorus.

1. Ometeotl – Amen (Christian) – So mote it be (Pagan/Wiccan)

So, in essence, what we have here is the celebration of the fecundity of youth and the life giving force of the Sun. Xochipilli is the principal (or “first in order of importance”) when it comes to the discussion of the life giving force of nature.

Aside from beauty and fertility it seems that amongst those who still celebrate the “demon dressed as a parrot” in the old ways make no mention of sexual proclivities or preferences. What is celebrated is the generation of the life giving force of the sprouting seed and the blossoming flower. Regardless of the species; plant, animal and mankind all benefit from the expression of the lifeforce that is Xochipilli.

References

• Durán, Diego. La Historia de las Indias de Nueva España e Islas de Tierra Firme. edited by Angel María Garibay. Mexico City, 1967.
• Durán, Diego. Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient Calendar. Translated and edited by Fernando Horcasitas and Doris Heyden. Foreword by Miguel León-Portilla. 2nd ed. Norman, Okla., 1977.
• Fray Diego Durán’s The History of the Indies of New Spain, translated, annotated and with introduction by Doris Heyden. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994.
• Fernandez, J. (1959). An approach to Xochipilli. Nahuatl Culture Studies , 1 , 31-41.
• James Lockhart, Frances Berdan, and Arthur J.O. Anderson. eds. (1986) The Tlaxcalan Actas: A Compendium of the Records of the Cabildo of Tlaxcala (1545-1627),(Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press)
• Mathiowetz, Michael D. (2018). A History of Cacao in West Mexico: Implications for Mesoamerica and U.S. Southwest Connections. Journal of Archaeological Research, (), –. doi:10.1007/s10814-018-9125-7
• Fr. Bernardino de Sahagún, Florentine Codex: General History of the Things of New Spain; Book 10 — The People, No. 14, Part 11, eds. and transl. Arthur J. O. Anderson and Charles E. Dibble (Santa Fe and Salt Lake City: School of American Research and the University of Utah, 1961)
• Santagada, Osvaldo D.; Catholic Church, Latin America Episcopal Council (1989). Sectas en America Latina (Sects in Latin America) (in Spanish). Ediciones Paulinas – CELAM. p. 195. This movement is particularly active in Colombia.)
• Schlesinger, R., & Stabler, A. P. (1986). André Thevet’s North America: A Sixteenth-Century View. McGill-Queen’s University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt80z5h
• Townsend, R.F., The Aztecs, Thames and Hudson, London, 1994.
• Oscar Uzcategui (2008) [2008]. Samael Aun Weor, The Absolute Man. AGEAC. p. 92. ISBN 9789730054798
• Weor, Samael Aun (2011) Aztec Christic Magic : Glorian Publishing : ISBN10 193420627X
• Samael Aun Weor (2001-12-01) [1975]. Revolutionary Psychology. Glorian Publishing. ISBN 0-9742755-7-3

Websites

• https://sic.gob.mx/ficha.php?table=festividad&table_id=1428
• https://www.catalogoculturalzacatecas.mx/fiesta-de-xuchitl/
• https://www.milenio.com/politica/comunidad/puebla-xochipila-un-legado-prehispanico-de-xicotepec
• https://www.samaelgnosis.us/topic/previous_topics/xochipilli.html