Cuetlaxochitl Tarot Spread~~~This tarot spread is for Cuetlaxochitl (hide or leather flower) who is sacred to the Aztecs and was used as a resource for medicines and dye.Cuetlaxochitl blooms from October to February, and came to be associated with Huitzilopochtli (hummingbird of the south or left), the Aztec god of the sun, Lord of War and the patron of the capital of Tenochtitlán. The bright red flowers adorned temples to Huitzilopochtli. Caravans of people carried Cuetlaxochitl in packs on their backs from the botanical gardens in Oaxtepec, 60 miles away, to decorate and honor Huitzilopochtli.  Cuetlaxochitl came to represent the re-birth of light on Earth during the dark, winter months. This may be in relation to one version of Huitzilopochtli's origin story. Huitzilopochtli was born on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.The story goes, Coatlicue (serpent skirt), mother of the Centzonhuitznahuah (400 southerners) and their older sister Coyolxauhqui (bells painted or on cheeks) was on Coatepec (Serpent Mountain) sweeping. A ball of feather down drifted from above and Coatlicue snatched it up and put it in the folds of her clothes. As soon as she finished sweeping she went to remove the feathers and nothing was there. At that moment, she concieved.Her children became angry with her and felt this mysterious pregnancy dishonored them. Coyolxauhqui rallied her siblings the Centzonhuitznahuac to kill their mother. Coatlicue hid until she gave birth to Huitzilopochtli, who was born full grown, dressed in armor and wielding weapons. He defeated the Centzonhuitznahuac turning them into stars, and his sister, Coyolxauhqui, was decapitated, her body tossed over the mountain to shatter into pieces and her head was placed in the sky as the moon.The symbolic association to the rebirth of light may be seen in Cuetlaxochitl's appearance, the red leaves represent the blood of sacrifice or the sacred life force and the leaf pattern of the flower around its center can be seen as the rays of the sun.~~~Deck: The Jade Oracle, The Toltec Oracle#nahuatl #nahuatlwords #nahuatllanguage #huitzilopochtli #cuetlaxochi #coatlicue #tarotspread #oracle