Healings in the traditions of Curanderismo focus on healing on the 3 levels or planes: the physical, emotional, and spiritual. Thus the foundation of Curanderismo is to not just treat an illness only on the physical, but also to look at how and from where it manifested in the emotional body & spiritual bodies.

For many illnesses, problems, disease, conditions form physically in the body from a directly related illness in the soul. Healings in Curanderismo treat the soul in the spiritual plan first and later the healing is reflected in the body with restored health.

The most common healing practice with the Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica is the limpia rite. In western terms it is a spiritual energetic cleanse, using specific medicine tools to heal the unseen layers of illness.

Nana Xochiketzalli practices Maya & Mexica Ancestral Medicine, as taught by her maestras. Each Curandera or Curanderismo Practitioner specializes in different fields and can assist in different modalities. Xochiketzalli’s work focuses on the spiritual & emotional plan and with invisible ailments that often have long term health effects.

In curanderismo it is understood that the soul is what illuminates ones beings. The tonalli or soul essence can leave the body via susto / shock and get lost or hide in the darkest corner of one’s mind if one does not deal with the heavy emotions at the time of shock.

These heavy emotions / los aires come to evoke old memories and stir awake the unconscious mind, asking one to look within. Los aires teach of reflection and the importance in acknowledging emotions as teacher’s vs deflecting them and pushing them away.

Susto or shock is one of the 13 aires / emotional winds. Alot of Xochiketzalli’s work involves healing susto, whether they are recent scares like a car accident, house fire, breakup, death or illness… Or long time repressed sustos which in turn, turn into trauma; like death, loss, sexual abuse, or childhood trauma… The multitude examples of susto can be endless, yet no one is too little.

Limpias and Soul retrieval are some of the key rituals in Curanderismo for addressing these repressed or buried emotions.

Nana Xochiketzalli offers 4 forms of Healings in the traditions of Curanderismo.

- Traditional Limpia with Plática -

(90 minutes) Spring & Fall Offering

- Limpia de Flores with Plática -

(90 minutes) Spring & Fall Offering

- Soul Retrieval Limpia -

( 3 hours ) Summer Offering

- Personal Mayan Fire Ceremony -

Divination, Healing, & Petition

( 3 hours) Summer Offering

A traditional healing within ancestral medicine works with tools that come from the earth like plants, herbs, flowers, crystals, and feathers. As well common house tools like a broom, an egg, and candles are also often used. Then there are also instruments and sound.

Each healing is unique, utilizing the Platica ritual to open the space. The safe space allows one to go within their own soul, remember, and find their own solutions.

The different tools used, such as copal to cleanse, herbs used in sweeping, or an egg for divination vary amongst practitioners, just as the different indigenous modalities that may also be incorporated into each unique session, such as journeying, soul retrieval, or reiki.

In this tradition one comes with an intention and together work is done to see the intention met, yet often more than one healing will be needed. Limpias are an ancestral remedy to healing body, mind, & spirit.

The Heart is the essence and center of each breathing being. It is what enables life to live and what gives life. In nahuatl there are so many forms and variations of the word Yolotl, meaning Heart. There are many different types of illnesses as well that all have to do with the heart, for the heart is the center of everyone’s universe.

Healings that connect someone with their center can be a soothing and empowering experience that supports in letting go heavy emotions, wipe away the tears, and surrender any heartache back to Tonantzin Tllali Coatlicue / Mother Earth.

When working con el corazoncito one must first give themself permission to feel each heavy emotion of the heart; such as loss, grief, heartbreak, rejection, or depression, ect… Even as hard as it may be to feel, in doing so this allows the body to remember and in return can somatically react thru vocal sound or body trembles. Doing this allows the spirit to begin the long road of healing.

Susto is one of the most commonly treated ailments in Curanderismo and translates to a shock or scare. At its core it is a traumatic event where one’s spirit jumps out of their body out of fear and shock. When susto can be treated immediately it allows the scare to be released.

Unfortunately, most are not taught how to deal with shock emotionally or spiritually and thus in turn one often represses it and buries it. In return the shock turns into trauma.

Trauma can be a mixture of heavy emotions that can be carried for years, generations, or even further back lifetimes. Often people are unaware of what caused their traumas, as it may have been an event that passed when they were a child or even at birth. So many are taught as children to hide away these emotions, to not deal with them, and thus trauma can be literally tucked away into secret locations within one’s memory, stored in the unconscious mind.

As adults unaddressed traumas can affects one’s health or life path as the longer it is ignored, the deeper the susto becomes and then develops into a loss of spirit or soul Loss.

Soul Loss may trigger many accidents in one’s life, along with bad patterns, and repeating one’s mistakes. Having severe lost pieces of our soul can look like addiction, cause illness, to even death. It is important to treat it as soon as one becomes aware of it. In the body it causes heavy energies like depression, anxiety, lack of interest in life, heartache, and insomnia to name just a few...

Reflection and shadow work are key ingredients in moving thru trauma. It’s essential to help rid the body of heavy emotions, weather new winds or old and call back the spirit from the dozens of moments of shock throughout a lifetime.

Trauma is deeply embedded within the psyches and thus one healing is often not enough in this work. A traditional limpia opens up the space to begin to uncover these heavy events, but a soul retrieval limpia looks to healing specific traumas that have already been uncovered.

Together travel within to find the lost pieces of one’s soul and recover them thro guided journey and ritual.

Reasons for a needing a limpia range dramatically, just as the various medicine tools that are used in spiritual healings throughout cultures around the world. All instruments are sacred, and the power is held in the belief for this medicine.

Yet some common reasons for needing a limpia can include, moving los trapped aires / heavy emotions that have been felt for too long, like anxiety, fear, anger, shame, resentment, sorrow, or envy…

As well limpias can help support one thru difficult time of transitions, guide someone in discovering the root cause of illness, or bring strength and renewal in times of loss. Limpias are beautiful in guiding people thru heart break, weather it be loss of a partner, animal, job, or friendship…

These ancestral sweeping can help move negative self-talk, self-hate, or self-sabotaging behaviors / actions. Sometimes one needs a cleansing to remove obstacles in their relationships, to letting go of grudges and working towards forgiveness.

As well those who envy someone, are angry, or hold any heavy emotions can shoot their arrows and thus direct bad energy someone’s way; a limpia is always needed in these situations.

Limpia Clinics

Seasonal limpia clinics are offered up to 4 times a year to support walk in, donation based sessions.

This offering is provided by Somos Medicina Collective & Curanderismo Practitioniors out of a desire to make ancestral medicine accessible to all.

This type of limpia is quite a shorter offering, generally from 15 - 30 minutes. This makes room for more people to be seen in a shorter time.

Donations are very welcome, yet this is a free offering held at La Ciendita, in Arcata California.

Please follow Xochikalli.cihua on Instagram for upcoming community clinic dates.

For more information