Todays Mayan Tzolkein calendar day sign is 9 Muluc, water or sacrifice. Much is made of the Mesoamerican practice of human sacrifice, but let us be clear that many ancient cultures practiced human sacrifice. In Mesoamerican cultures, nothing less than the fate of the entire universe depended on the continuous sacrifice of sacred water or blood to feed the gods and keep the Sun rising. Without blood, matter would return to the void and the star demons led by Itzpapalotl would consume the world and everything in it. The Aztecs did practice human sacrifice on a sometimes grandiose scale, but we also know now that the conquistadors grossly exaggerated the numbers of the dead via sacrifice in order to give legitimacy to their own campaign of cultural extermination. The Mayans in contrast also practiced sacrifice but on a smaller scale and less frequently, usually to be rid of enemy warriors or to beg for rain during drought. Before we judge these cultures, let us look to the number of our own warriors who have died recently and what they died for. Let us also look at the offerings made by modern Pagans and how much thought and effort (usually very little) that goes into them. By no means do I suggest going back to the ancient practice of flower wars and human sacrifice. Enough of our youth die on the battlefield for reasons the Mesoamerican cultures would see as incomprehensible already. Today is also September 11th, the year our own ideology and safety was attacked by a radical group who hates and refuses to understand us and our lives. Since then thousands of soldiers, to say nothing of the civilian casualties. I say that we sacrifice our young warriors in war over ideology against a threat from ourside our culture just as the Mesoamerican cultures did so long ago. This does not make it right or wrong, it just means that we should keep perspective. The conquistadors once conquered Tenochtitlan with a handful of soldirs and an overwhelmingly alien culture along with the diseases they brought. Our mighty American empire was staggered by two planes full of terrorists. On the day of sacrifice, let us remember the suffering of those who give all for war, whatever the reason and let us be worthy of their sacrifice.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 11:08:54 +0000
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