MICTLANTECUHTLI, AZTEC GOD OF DEATH

Mictlantecuhtli is the primary death god in the Aztec pantheon and one of the 9 Lords of the Night.  He presides over the city of the dead, Mictlan. He is generally depicted as a bloody skeleton. Statutes of Mictlantecuhtli often show him with his arms raised before him ready to tear apart souls; or crouching down in a brooding posture. Sacrifices to him sometimes involved ritual cannibalism.

CORRESPONDENCES 

spiders

owls

bats

the direction north

the underworld

the eleventh hour

skulls bones eyes

obsidian

darkness

BEAUTIFUL MONSTERS

I love beautiful yet dangerous animals. The picture above is a violin mantis, a perfectly engineered little death machine. Look at it, its alien appearance, its sleek and highly functional form. And of course, it's formidable arms, perfectly designed for one purpose. A gorgeous animal. Mantis's in general are some of the most sublimely beautiful creatures on the planet (and certainly a personal favorite). It's easy to overlook the brutality of a mantis due to it's elegant form and interesting behavior. A tarantula, shark or cobra on the other hand  isn't quite as "pretty" and as a result they are often treated as a villain or worse. As human beings it's easy to anthropomorphize animals and assign them motives, personalities, or labels like "good" or "bad". I catch myself doing this quite often but I try to resist it. Who knows what thoughts go through the mind of a cobra or shark? What is that regal mantis pondering as it grooms itself? I'd like to know. Whatever they are thinking I'm sure it's so alien to a humans thoughts as to be unrecognizable. Such animals are beyond any emotion or label we assign them. They aren't "good" or "bad", they are not "ugly" or "pretty". They simply are.

When I encounter a predator like this I try to view it without judgement. Observe it without fear or labels and appreciate it for what it is. A fierce and wild creature. Murderous yes, but also innocent. Beyond good and evil; a truly beautiful monster. 

CARROT MAN

Today a man called into my work to place an order. This is a regular but difficult customer. He places an order then calls back several times a day to tweak it. Add items, remove items, ask questions, etc. He is in his 70’s and most likely just wants to talk to someone. I have had other jobs where elderly customers would call us just to speak with another human being. Lonely sad people. This guy is somewhat charming. He has a heavy New Jersey accent and throws terms like “foget about it!” around with reckless abandon. So he calls in on a slow work day and we discuss grains, diet and health in general. He starts telling me about his diet and that’s when things got weird. He informed me that the only thing he has eaten in the last couple of years is carrots. Just carrots. I’m interested now so I urge him to continue. He goes on tell me that his skin is bright orange and that he passed out twice from malnutrition. His feet have also swelled up to enormous proportions  twice resulting in him being hospitalized. The doctors told him to vary his diet or he could die but he didn’t listen to them. (“Doctors?  Wat do they know?  Foget about it!”) He also tells me that he has lost a lot of weight and that his “bones are stickin out every which way”. He recently decided to take the doctor’s advice and vary his diet. He eats seeds now, which is why he’s been contacting me. Carrots, sesame seeds, and millet…  I told him he should probably branch out into other territory like fruit and meat but he’s a stubborn one.  The reason I share this story is for the simple fact that somewhere in New Jersey there lives a bright orange skeleton with huge feet and a crotchety attitude, and the world is richer for it.