Xochitl

Xochitl

Pronounced: Show-CHEE-tul

In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, Xochitl literally means “flower” but also possesses other implications:

• Xochitl names a type of power implicit in beauty, goodness, love, and purity.

• Xochitl is the power of creativity. Art may be a physical expression of this power.

• Xochitl means “to flower,” as in to bloom or blossom.

• Xochitl also refers to genitals. Xochitl—the title of a small 1938 painting by Frida Kahlo, sometimes called The Flower of Life—portrays a flower consisting of two parts, one resembling a vulva, the other a phallus.

Xochitl is the root word in the names of the twin deities Xochiquetzal and Xochipilli who epitomize this power. Xochitl is also the name of a goddess who is the perfect embodiment of this force. Usually Xochitl refers to Xochiquetzal but may refer to Mayahuel, her brother’s wife. In Frida Kahlo’s originally private but now published letters written to her lover, photographer Nikolas Muray, this contemporary goddess adopts Xochitl as her nom d’amour.

SEE ALSO:

• Frida Kahlo
• Malinalxochitl
• Mayahuel
• Xochipilli
• Xochiquetzal

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by : Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.