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 Build an Astral Santa Muerte Altar
When you can’t build a physical altar to Santa Muerte, even a covert altar, you have the option of relying on an astral altar, which is an altar that exists within your mind’s eye. This is something that I have also referred to as “the altar in one’s heart”. While the idea of visualizing Santa Muerte for the purposes of devotion is not a new idea, the term “astral altar” is one that I have not heard anywhere else in regard to Santa Muerte, so I have chosen to coin it here for our purposes.
Remember that the only requirement of a Santa Muerte altar is a depiction or representation of death - and any image that you can conjure in your mind is just as valid and powerful as any image you can find in the real world. Part of the reason altars are erected in the real world is to give our conscious minds something to focus on when we pray, petition, or make offerings to Santa Muerte. If you’re able to focus on an image of the Santa Muerte in your mind, however, then you have everything you need for a Santa Muerte altar that you can take anywhere and that never needs to be dusted.
Similar to building a physical Santa Muerte altar, any depiction or representation of death will suffice as the foundation for an astral altar. This means that you can hold a literal representation of Santa Muerte in your mind’s eye, or, if that is too difficult, you can try visualizing a more basic representation like a skull or vase of dead flowers. I encourage you to try visualizing a variety of different death related images until you find one that you can comfortably hold in your mind’s eye. It would also be helpful to constantly review images of symbols associated with Santa Muerte in order to give your mind more and more material to draw inspiration from.
You may find that you have one type of image that you enjoy visualizing more than others, and you may find that the images you visualize will change depending on factors like your mood or the purpose of a magick petition. For example, if you wanted to offer a prayer of thanks for help in a matter of love, then you could visualize an astral altar anchored by the Santa Muerte dressed in red, as red is associated with matters of love, or you could visualize a vase of dead roses. If you wanted to petition the Santa Muerte for help with a legal matter, then you could visualize an astral altar anchored by the Santa Muerte dressed in green, as green is associated with the law, or you could visualize the scales of justice.
Using this astral altar is as simple as willing it into your mind’s eye whenever you want to communicate with Santa Muerte, pray to her, or make an offering to her. Do not be discouraged if you lose focus while you work or pray. If you lose focus, simply regroup your thoughts and conjure the image into your mind’s eye again.
If you are someone who absolutely cannot erect a physical altar, not even a covert altar, and if visualization is difficult for you, then you can create a type of astral altar substitute which I will call an altar of declared intent - essentially a type of astral altar that is prayed into existence rather than visualized. To be clear, this should only be considered an altar of last resort, because imagery, whether in the real world right in front of you, or visualized in your mind’s eye, is a powerful tool for focusing your intent on the outcome you hope to achieve, and whenever you have access to a powerful tool of magick, then you should use it. This being said, to create an altar of declared intent, simply recite one time aloud or to yourself a declarative statement like;
“Santa Muerte, I acknowledge you, I love you, and now I do approach you,”
Then perform whatever magickal work you have to perform as normal.
Remember that the only requirement of a Santa Muerte altar is a depiction or representation of death - and any image that you can conjure in your mind is just as valid and powerful as any image you can find in the real world. Part of the reason altars are erected in the real world is to give our conscious minds something to focus on when we pray, petition, or make offerings to Santa Muerte. If you’re able to focus on an image of the Santa Muerte in your mind, however, then you have everything you need for a Santa Muerte altar that you can take anywhere and that never needs to be dusted.
Similar to building a physical Santa Muerte altar, any depiction or representation of death will suffice as the foundation for an astral altar. This means that you can hold a literal representation of Santa Muerte in your mind’s eye, or, if that is too difficult, you can try visualizing a more basic representation like a skull or vase of dead flowers. I encourage you to try visualizing a variety of different death related images until you find one that you can comfortably hold in your mind’s eye. It would also be helpful to constantly review images of symbols associated with Santa Muerte in order to give your mind more and more material to draw inspiration from.
You may find that you have one type of image that you enjoy visualizing more than others, and you may find that the images you visualize will change depending on factors like your mood or the purpose of a magick petition. For example, if you wanted to offer a prayer of thanks for help in a matter of love, then you could visualize an astral altar anchored by the Santa Muerte dressed in red, as red is associated with matters of love, or you could visualize a vase of dead roses. If you wanted to petition the Santa Muerte for help with a legal matter, then you could visualize an astral altar anchored by the Santa Muerte dressed in green, as green is associated with the law, or you could visualize the scales of justice.
Using this astral altar is as simple as willing it into your mind’s eye whenever you want to communicate with Santa Muerte, pray to her, or make an offering to her. Do not be discouraged if you lose focus while you work or pray. If you lose focus, simply regroup your thoughts and conjure the image into your mind’s eye again.
If you are someone who absolutely cannot erect a physical altar, not even a covert altar, and if visualization is difficult for you, then you can create a type of astral altar substitute which I will call an altar of declared intent - essentially a type of astral altar that is prayed into existence rather than visualized. To be clear, this should only be considered an altar of last resort, because imagery, whether in the real world right in front of you, or visualized in your mind’s eye, is a powerful tool for focusing your intent on the outcome you hope to achieve, and whenever you have access to a powerful tool of magick, then you should use it. This being said, to create an altar of declared intent, simply recite one time aloud or to yourself a declarative statement like;
“Santa Muerte, I acknowledge you, I love you, and now I do approach you,”
Then perform whatever magickal work you have to perform as normal.