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FOODISM360
Sure, eating too much avocado on toast may mean you will never be able to afford a home, but who needs the trappings of modern wealth when you are able to nourish your mind, body and soul with the simplistic beauty of a single fruit?

Quick Facts

Fruit of the tree Persea americana, the avocado is native to Mexico and Central America, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. Characterized by its oval or pear-shape, rough skin and large seed, the fruit has been referred to as the avocado pear or alligator pear. 

The earliest account of the avocado’s presence in Europe is from 1519. The avocado was later introduced to Indonesia by 1750, Brazil in 1809, and South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century. The actual word “avocado” derives from a Nahuatl Indian (Aztec) word  “ahuácatl” which in fact means testicle.

It is thought that the reference is either due to the avocado’s shape or the fact that it was considered to possess aphrodisiac qualities by the Aztecs. Leading us into the symbolism of this sacred fruit.

Spirituality and Symbolism

The avocado acts as an Aztec symbol of love. An avocado tree can live for hundreds of years and a pair of avocados living and growing together on a tree symbolizes relationship love. An ideal husband would bring a pair of avocados to his wife as an outward display of love. The Aztecs also associated the avocado with fertility, recognizing it as the fruit of lust which could act as a natural aphrodisiac.

The avocado is recognized as a source of energy, health and beauty, and unlike our friend the cactus, needs specific conditions to survive. We embrace the avocado as a symbol of love (for both self and others) and the transferring of our inner beauty into our physical bodies.