🍁Ochpanistli Ceremony: Honoring Cleansing and Change 🧹🍂 Tuesday, October 8th at 6pm.

Ochpanistli, the 10th month in our Mexican calendar, marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of Tonalko, the dry season. This month, also known as “Sweeping,” symbolizes both the literal and spiritual cleansing of our world as we prepare for the changing season.

Traditionally, roads and homes were swept as an act of purification, with the broom serving as the sacred symbol of the month. The sweeping motion is linked to the winds of autumn, which clear away fallen leaves and remnants of the harvest. It is a time when the earth begins to ready itself for winter’s stillness.

At the heart of Ochpanistli is the veneration of Tlazolteotl, the Teotl of cleansing and renewal. Depicted as Teteoinan, Our Mother, she embodies the Earth itself, sacrificing herself, a gesture symbolizing the Earth’s death in winter, only to be reborn later with the return of the rains during spring.

In our modern ceremony, we honor this sacred cycle by focusing on communal cleansing. Each participant is invited to bring fragrant herbs, such as epazote, mint, lavender, and others. Together, we will create herbal bundles and perform cleansing rituals on one another, honoring the changing season and preparing for the stillness of winter, with its symbolic embrace of death and renewal.

🍂🍂🧹🧹

Ochpaniztli, el décimo mes de nuestro calendario mexicano, marca el final de la cosecha y el inicio de Tonalko, la temporada seca. Este mes, también conocido como “El Barrido,” simboliza tanto la limpieza literal como la espiritual de nuestro mundo mientras nos preparamos para el cambio de estación.

En nuestra ceremonia moderna, honramos este ciclo sagrado enfocándonos en la limpieza comunitaria. Cada participante está invitado a traer hierbas aromáticas, como epazote, menta, lavanda, entre otras. Juntos, crearemos manojos de hierbas y realizaremos rituales de limpieza unos con otros, honrando el cambio de estación y preparándonos para la quietud del invierno, con su simbólico abrazo de muerte y renovación.

Flyer central image by @micorazonmexica