My Beliefs in a Nutshell

Divine Duality: I believe that a divine source exists, and that it is divided into dualities. I believe that duality is a principle of the universe, as opposed to a human construct. I also believe that this source is not conscious in any way that humans understand it. I believe that this source does not care, or even note our existences; that's what the gods are for. Instead, this source is remote and distant, and although the "ultimate" in the sense that all things were originated from it in some fashion, it is not "ultimate" in regards to being some kind of goal to reach. In other words, my ultimate spiritual goal is not reaching some kind of unity or consumption by this source.

Fully Polytheistic: I believe that most of the gods exist as real beings. By "most" of the gods, I mean that I believe that not only the Aztec gods exist, but also pretty much any god from any pantheon or religion. I simply do not choose to worship all the gods, but only the gods of the Aztecs. I also am a "hard" polytheist; I believe that each of the gods is an individual being in their own right, as opposed to simply being "aspects" of one supreme deity, or all pantheons simply being cultural expressions of certain archetypal god-types (i.e. I don't believe all war gods are the same, or all rain gods are the same, etc).

Multiple Levels of Reality: I do believe in the various levels of the universe as outlined elsewhere on this site. However, I should make it clear that I believe that things such as the heavens and the underworld are levels of the spirit world; I do not believe that the underworld lives beneath the ground I walk on. This is in accordance with Aztec beliefs, where the spirit world was believed to be a sphere outside of the mortal world, and the spirit world contained the heavens and underworlds. I also believe that various other spiritual realms exist within the greater spiritual world, the realms of other gods and so on. In other words, I don't believe that the only heavens and underworlds are the Aztec ones.

The Physical Proceeds from the Spiritual: I believe that the spiritual world comes before the world of man, that all existence stems from the spiritual, not the other way around. It is a common belief today that the spiritual world, or the powers that dwell there, only exist because humans "thought them into existence." My beliefs are to the contrary. According to Aztec beliefs, the earth is but a mirror that reflects the actions and conditions of the spiritual world and the gods. This is my belief as well. This also applies to my approach to magic: while some may see magic as actions in the physical world that cause spiritual effects (doing a ritual means using physical materials and actions to cause X to happen, etc), magic from my view is taking spiritual action that causes physical effect. All this does not mean that I don't believe in science, for those who want to take it in that direction. Science is merely the physical "how" of the world, the "stuff" the physical realm is made out of. As physical, science can neither prove, disprove, or really have anything to say about the spiritual realms.

Necessity of Conflict: I believe that conflict is a universal principle that is necessary for the health of the universe. Such conflicts may be between universal forces, deities, and even mankind. However, in regards to mankind, this idea of conflict being a universal principle does not apply to the petty reasons that cause conflicts all too often between various groups of humanity. Rather, it is meant to imply that experiencing conflicts of some variety is a natural part of existing in this universe, and that without conflict, stagnation would occur. For example, I do not believe that war is evil or wrong, nor that it's existence will ever truly cease being a part of being human. However, many of the reasons behind wars are foolish or immoral, and many of the results of wars are deeply unfortunate. I see this more as the result of human frailty than the nature of war itself being corrupt.

Darkness and Light: I do not believe in true good or evil, only in light and dark, which are principles unrelated to the traditional Western standpoint of "good = light, evil = dark." I believe that dark and light are universal dualities present in the divine, and that it is natural and healthy for humans to embody one, the other, or a gray area between, whichever is in accordance with their true nature. As such, I find myself a member of the darker section of humanity.

Morality: Not believing in good nor evil and professing myself to be "dark" may cause some to question my morality. All people, in the end, have their own personal moral codes, and as much as they may believe that their morality is the result of some outer structure or standard that possesses the "right" way of being, they only hold to those external standards for one of two reasons: 1. The external moral code fits well with their pre-existing internal morality. 2. They are not holding true to themselves, but forcing themselves to uphold some standard that is not related to their true nature. Perhaps such people wonder if they are too weak to be moral on their own, and need fear of punishment to keep them in check. I do not require threat of eternal punishment to conduct myself morally. As Ptolemy Tompkins put it in This Tree Grows Out of Hell, "...the Aztecs were in fact a people possessed of such unusually noble (if often quirky and unsettling) character that threats of hell made little difference in regard to their behavior in life, which was ruled by an ideal of excellence for excellence' sake."

Sacrifice: The concept of sacrifice is a vital portion of my spiritual path. This does not mean that I sacrifice people, because I don't. But what it does mean is that I believe that the idea of giving up something vital and valuable to the gods is important, and also that being willing to endure pain for the gods is an act of piety and devotion. I do not believe that this is something humanity has "evolved" beyond, or that the gods "don't really want," as some Neo-Pagans would put it. I don't believe the gods are warm and fuzzy, at least not the gods I worship. "Sacrificing" is really about what the Aztecs called "nextlaoaliztli," something which has been translated by some as "debt payment," but which most literally means "giving that which is right/deserved." The gods are not simply here to serve humans, and so it is only right to give what They enjoy to show my reverence, my gratitude, and my appreciation. In my beliefs, sacrifice must be given purely (rather than simply in hopes of getting your way), and must consist of things of true value. To possess "true value" means that what is given must be something that is valuable to the gods, not simply what is convenient for me to give.

Blood is Sacred: Blood possesses spiritual and life giving energies that are very powerful, and very sacred to the gods. This means that blood is one of the most valuable offerings to the gods. In accordance with this belief, I practice auto-sacrifice, the giving of my own blood in sacrifice. I do this responsibly, and it is within my right to do so. This has nothing to do with slashing, evil cults, psychosis, or anything else of the sort. Practically every religion in the world, including Christianity and European forms of paganism, has held beliefs that suffering pain in some form can be a sacred act. I am serious about my religion and do not shun such ideas in preference for my own comfort, nor do I disregard them simply because "we know better now." I believe there are deep truths here, that modern society doesn't "know better," it has simply forgotten.

Beauty in Life and Death: Since death is the only part of life that you're certain not to miss, we might as well make the best of it. The Spanish marveled at the joy that the Aztecs took in life, particularly since the Aztec culture was so seemingly immersed in death. This immersion was an awareness of death, an acknowledgement of it and an honor in it. Every day, every moment, could be your last, so enjoy the fleeting world while you're on it. To see death allowed one to live beautifully, to live beautifully allowed one to die beautifully. To the Aztecs, death was not horrible, but simply a natural part of life. To acknowledge its existence and inevitability, rather than resulting in misery, results in the ability to live life to its fullest. At least, it does with the proper attitude: to see it not as a thing to be feared and thwarted at every last turn, but rather as a necessary and natural thing, something to be honored and accepted. The Aztecs realized that there was a beauty in death as well as life, and that true appreciation of the beauty in either required an appreciation of the beauty in both.