Xochipilli : Is it a Dahlia?

I think we may be overlooking the obvious. In my continuing quest to understand Xochipilli, both in spirit and in form, I am drawn to the floral imagery portrayed on the idol. I am unconvinced of the current paradigm which would have me believe that all of these plants are intoxicants designated for shamanic usage. Wasson, to fit a theory, has perhaps projected his own … Continue reading Xochipilli : Is it a Dahlia?

Xochipilli : New Floral Identifications

The Aztec universe has been poorly represented and even less eloquently articulated. This is in some way to be expected as our understanding of this universe has been in many ways limited by the existing written sources that describe this universe. These sources were, by and large, written by the very peoples who destroyed the culture they were inadequately attempting to describe and were also … Continue reading Xochipilli : New Floral Identifications

Acocoxochitl : The Dahlia

acocoxochitl : (Nahuatl) “flower of hollow stems with water” – atl (water), cocotli (tube) and xochitl (flower) also called Chichipatli : (Nahuatl) “bitter medicine” – chichic (bitter) and patli (medicine) (1) an alternative translation is “dog medicine” chi (dog) and patli (medicine/medicinal herb) (Bye 1986) (Simeon 1984). It is sometimes said that chichimeca people are called “dog” people (although it is likely closer in translation … Continue reading Acocoxochitl : The Dahlia