Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Xochi Quetzalli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Xochi, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear stories from your time in school/training/etc.

I will always remember and look back to the first moment I met my maestra, K’iche Maya Curandera Nana Tomasa. It was back in February 2012 on the shores of Lake Atitlan.

It was dawn and as the sun rose, there i was sitting on the raw earth, next to an ancient body of water surrounded by 3 sacred volcanoes.

Before me stood Nana Tomasa who was speaking to small crowd of young travelers searching for knowledge and thirsty for wisdom.  Many of us were in fact seeking and searching for our songs.

For it was being taught that to find our song, ie our destines then we must begin to connect with our own ancestors and where we come from.

Nana Tomasa stood in a traditional hupil and corte and in her small body her spirit rose above all to share a message with this young crowd.

“Para empezar, tienes que comenzar en sacando las espinas de su corazón. To begin this journey, you must all start by pulling out the thorns that are wedged in your heart.”

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Xochiketzalli. My name translates to beautiful flower or precious flower, but metaphorically represents blossoming beauty. The feminine essence of Xochiketzalli is immersed in the beauty found all around us. It is in the flowers, in the water, and in the fruits. It is beauty found in nature, it’s our feminine virtues, and it’s found in all womxn.

I am mixed, many nations, feeling imbetween, which is known as the state of nepantla in the Mexica Tradition. Thankfully I found mis maestras / teachers in one of my bloodlines.

The tradition’s of Ancestral Magic called me since i was a little girl. The path of Curanderismo and the red road saved me from a life of dangerous intoxication. I’ve been working in theses traditions for over 13 years and I honor all my ancestors thru doing this work.

I am an initiated Aj’Qij’, which is a Mayan Daykeeper or Spiritual Guide..I am an Artist, Healer, & Teacher, offering classes and healings based in Curanderismo, Ancestral Medicine, and Mexica & Maya Cosmology.

I met Nana Tomasa & her daughter Nana Sebastiana in 2012 and was initiated to the same path in 2015. We are Aj’Qijab and are called to serve our communities.

I offer free community ceremonies throughout the month at my folk healing center Spirit Medicines in Eureka California; unceded Wiyot territory. As well I see clients one on one for Mayan Divinations; sacred Tz’ite Consultations, Mayan Astrology Readings, or Personal Mayan fire Ceremonies and as well Spiritual Limpias, Cleansings, & Healings.

My work may vary from many practitioners as it consists of working mostly in the spiritual plan. I look to the root of physical problems by addressing our emotions. Many of our ailments are linked to our emotions, los aires, our karmic patterns, and our actions.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I would never use the word, sole woman enterprise to describe myself, as the words describe a business woman, yet if I was to conform to the American version of Capitalism perhaps that might be one of my titles…

Titles here in the USA are important, or so at least we think. I see more and more made up titles being shared in the social media world,

In this rat race we are all looking to get ahead and there is so much competition. We are all being pushed to conform with the American business moto.

Luckily more and more are being creative and looking outside the box. I suppose i have always been one of those creative individuals. I had many privilege’s to go after my dreams, and travel. I have always been determined to keep pushing forward.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

For most titles and certificates are important tools to growing a business, yet not as much in this ancient indigenous practice of ancestral medicine, Learning thru oral tradition, living with teachers, and living daily this humble path of service has become my main form of school.

In my field of offering holistic medicine and alternative healing I have had to unlearn this westernized business practice, look to the first nation’s structures, and combine the two to create something that will actually work here in the States.

Have I got it right? Who knows, I am still working on it and always learning on this path. No masterclass will teach you all the secrets of the trade. My advice is to create something new, be creative, and follow your own individual calling. This is how we find our songs. Do not look to what others are doing, but look within and write your own story.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.xochiketzalli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritmedicines/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FolkHealingCenter
• Other: www.spiritmedicines.etsy.com