Sunday, September 15, 2013

Xochiquetzal

Well, more art. (I'm not going to question it, thanks.) This time it's the Aztec Goddess of flowers, Xochiquetzal. Her mother was said to be Tlazolteotl, the Goddess of Filth (or Earth), and She had a variety of husbands, depending on the myth; in some She's said to be Tlaloc's wife.

I've shown Her here with (of course) many many flowers, all natives of Mexico; She's holding a bouquet of dahlias (the national flower of Mexico), has strings of fuchsia in Her hair, and is crowned with a garland of marigolds and petunias. The marigolds are somewhat after the garlands typically seen on Day of the Dead altars; She doesn't have anything to do with that holiday (that I know of), but it seemed appropriate. Of course just now I read that marigolds are especially sacred to Her; I didn't know that when I drew Her.

Her name is made up of two Nahuatl words, xochi meaning 'flower', and quetzal meaning 'precious feather', specifically of the bird which is also called the quetzal. She wears the green feathers of this bird as part of Her headdress.


I've put up some prints at my deviantArt gallery here; and some t-shirts over at Printfection here. Enjoy!

7 comments:

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Beautiful! It's always so great to have another Goddess Oracle card from you. I especially like how the fuschias are worked into the headdress.

Anonymous said...

Oh lady, I am so SO glad to see you "arting" again and with such momentum! Big hugs - of the non-creepy kind ;D - and a fair bit of jumping up and down.

Your new girls fit right in with the rest, while having something of their Own to them. The strength of self you've garnered in the intervening years is coming through, I think. Looking forward to seeing how this plays into the cards you were thinking of reworking. Ohhhhh yes.

The colours in this one are so abundantly joyful - who knew the Aztecs had a softer side ;)

Thalia said...

Well they are Mexican, so I figured bright colors were traditional. :)

Roll Cage Mary said...

As an Australia, I loved seeing Yhi and She is embodied in the person of Rosemary Wanganeen.

http://lossandgrief.com.au/

Anonymous said...

That's certainly a lovely picture, but Xochiquetzal's domain is far more than "flowers". In Aztec mythology, Her domain is fertility, childbirth, beauty, female sexual power, and the feminine arts. Her name translates to "precious flower". Her traditional symbols include marigolds (Her sacred flower), birds, and butterflies.

Again, this is a very lovely portrait, but maybe a bit more research would've made it and the description even better. :-)

Anonymous said...

Why are you being nasty when I was being calm and polite?

Thalia said...

Random criticism is not polite.