Santa Muerte Devotion 101: Answers and Explanations for Curious Readers and New Devotees
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/41gmMKg
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/41gmMKg
How to Become a Santa Muerte Devotee
The secret to becoming a Santa Muerte devotee is that there is no secret. As already stated, the Santa Muerte accepts us all. If you are alive, then you will one day die, which means you are already growing closer to the Santa Muerte every day. The difference between a devotee of Santa Muerte and the rest of the world is only that the devotee acknowledges Santa Muerte, rather than trying to ignore her.
There are several ways to acknowledge Santa Muerte. Perhaps the easiest and most basic method is by praying to her, which only requires an open heart. There are many ways to pray, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The prayers you choose to recite may be poetic and rhyming, or completely conversational. They may be written in advance by other devotees or improvised in the moment. Prayers may be recited to make a request of Santa Muerte, to give thanks to her, or simply to say hello.
Another way to acknowledge Santa Muerte is to build an altar to her. There will be more discussed on the topic of altars later, but the basic rule is that an altar should contain a depiction of Santa Muerte; which can either be a literal depiction, like a statue or a painting of Santa Muerte herself, or a symbolic depiction of death, like a plaster skull or an image of a skull and crossbones. The altar may be a permanent altar in your home, or a temporary altar that is disassembled and put away when not in use. When circumstances prevent a devotee from keeping a physical Santa Muerte altar, an altar may also be conjured within the mind’s eye - a sort of astral altar, as I call it, which I have also referred to as “the altar in one’s heart”.
Santa Muerte may also be acknowledged through the making of offerings. Again, there is no doctrine as to what constitutes a good offering, but I tend to advise devotees that the offering should be something which you yourself would like to receive as a gift. At the heart of a good offering is sacrifice - we shouldn’t give the Santa Muerte something just because we have nothing else to do with the item, there should be true thought behind the offering because, as with every gift you will give or receive, it truly is the thought that counts. More will be shared on the topic of offerings later; for now, I only want to introduce the idea as a way of acknowledging Saint Death.
When we acknowledge the Santa Muerte, either through prayers, constructing an altar, or making offerings, we show Santa Muerte that we are no longer ignoring her, and that we wish to form a relationship with her. The more we acknowledge Santa Muerte, the stronger that relationship will become. This is important, especially for those who wish to petition the Santa Muerte for magickal favors, because it is the relationship with Santa Muerte which is the foundation for magickal success.
Remember that Santa Muerte has already decided that we are all worthy of her embrace, evidenced by the fact that we are all alive and therefore getting closer to death every day. Because of this, there is no switch that needs to be flipped in order to become a devotee - no test or initiation that needs to be completed. While it is true that you may perform a ritual to mark the beginning of your devotion to Santa Muerte, it would be a ritual performed voluntarily, rather than to satisfy some requirement of Santa Muerte.
Your devotion to Santa Muerte begins the first day you say a prayer to her, build an altar to her, or make an offering to her. Every prayer, altar, or offering that comes to follow is a reinforcement of your devotion, in order to strengthen your relationship with her.
There are several ways to acknowledge Santa Muerte. Perhaps the easiest and most basic method is by praying to her, which only requires an open heart. There are many ways to pray, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. The prayers you choose to recite may be poetic and rhyming, or completely conversational. They may be written in advance by other devotees or improvised in the moment. Prayers may be recited to make a request of Santa Muerte, to give thanks to her, or simply to say hello.
Another way to acknowledge Santa Muerte is to build an altar to her. There will be more discussed on the topic of altars later, but the basic rule is that an altar should contain a depiction of Santa Muerte; which can either be a literal depiction, like a statue or a painting of Santa Muerte herself, or a symbolic depiction of death, like a plaster skull or an image of a skull and crossbones. The altar may be a permanent altar in your home, or a temporary altar that is disassembled and put away when not in use. When circumstances prevent a devotee from keeping a physical Santa Muerte altar, an altar may also be conjured within the mind’s eye - a sort of astral altar, as I call it, which I have also referred to as “the altar in one’s heart”.
Santa Muerte may also be acknowledged through the making of offerings. Again, there is no doctrine as to what constitutes a good offering, but I tend to advise devotees that the offering should be something which you yourself would like to receive as a gift. At the heart of a good offering is sacrifice - we shouldn’t give the Santa Muerte something just because we have nothing else to do with the item, there should be true thought behind the offering because, as with every gift you will give or receive, it truly is the thought that counts. More will be shared on the topic of offerings later; for now, I only want to introduce the idea as a way of acknowledging Saint Death.
When we acknowledge the Santa Muerte, either through prayers, constructing an altar, or making offerings, we show Santa Muerte that we are no longer ignoring her, and that we wish to form a relationship with her. The more we acknowledge Santa Muerte, the stronger that relationship will become. This is important, especially for those who wish to petition the Santa Muerte for magickal favors, because it is the relationship with Santa Muerte which is the foundation for magickal success.
Remember that Santa Muerte has already decided that we are all worthy of her embrace, evidenced by the fact that we are all alive and therefore getting closer to death every day. Because of this, there is no switch that needs to be flipped in order to become a devotee - no test or initiation that needs to be completed. While it is true that you may perform a ritual to mark the beginning of your devotion to Santa Muerte, it would be a ritual performed voluntarily, rather than to satisfy some requirement of Santa Muerte.
Your devotion to Santa Muerte begins the first day you say a prayer to her, build an altar to her, or make an offering to her. Every prayer, altar, or offering that comes to follow is a reinforcement of your devotion, in order to strengthen your relationship with her.