Prayer & Intention
I thank the guardians of parteras, pregnant people, and families.
I thank the energy of life, death, regeneration.
I thank the flora & fauna.
I thank the land, the land, the land.
I thank all my ancestors who guide, love, and protect me in this lifetime.
My practice is an altar to the great teacher, xochitlquetzal.
She rests in the direction of the east, tlahuitzlampa.
The place that illuminates, brings forth a new day, new beginnings.
The energy of spring, oxytocin, fertility and blossoming.
When I was pregnant, I learned of xochitlquetzal through Tepacxochitl of Chichihualtia. I was fascinated by her medicine; perhaps having been born in the spring myself. When I built my birth altar, I called on xochitlquetzal to listen to my prayers and began build a relationship with that energy.
I honor her in my practice.
about me
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about me *
My name is Elizabeth "ellie" Guzman. I was born and raised in Tovaangar (Los Angeles, CA) and my parents and lineage come from nahuatl speaking lands in so called Colima, Mexico.
As a former community organizer, I come to birthwork with a deep desire to breathe life into a world rooted in our cultural and ancestral gifts. My interest in birthwork flourished as I learned and grounded in my own cultural practices and land based work. I see dignified and culturally rooted birthwork as a path forward, a basket that can hold our our personal and collective transformation. When I had my first child, this became evermore clear. I have to build the world I want them to grow in. I felt the responsibility of repairing kinship ties and our villages through this work.
I bring my experience as mother, my spiritual practice, and years of community learning to my practice. I want to take a moment to name the many teachers who've taught me much of what I practice today:
Bianca Tema Mercado, Matriz Birth ( Plus the incredible parteras who've joined in the teachings)
Berenice Dimas, Hood Herbalism
Montse Olmos, Mujer de la Tierra, Rising Matriarchs
Panquetzani, Indigescuela
Raeanne Madison, Postpartum Healing Lodge
The people at Holistic Abortion, Birthworkers of Color Collective, and Birthing the Block.
I humbly offer my energy and care to you and your loved ones.
