Gods of Jade and Shadow explores the conflicts between gods, and the influence mortals have on the existence of immortal beings. In Chapter 23, Hun-Kamé tells Casiopea that “words are seeds” and that saying things, either verbally or in belief alone, gives something power (231). As seen through the gods that exist in the story’s world, the beliefs characters hold about themselves, and the power of the spoken word, Gods of Jade and Shadow illustrates how belief is strength.

Throughout the book, Hun-Kamé explains that gods and religions exist due to the beliefs people choose to hold. Hun-Kamé and Vucub-Kamé’s confrontation was born of mortals gradually moving toward newer religions and leaving the Mayan gods to fade into myth. As a result, their power diminished, something Vucub-Kamé believes can be changed through forcing people to remember him. Truthfully, he has no proof that reemerging as a godly force would cause people to return to him. It may be that he could not win against the power of more modern religions, but he is willing to take the chance.

Vucub-Kamé’s belief that people would return to the old ways is one of several instances where characters believe things that become reality.