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 Dispose of Magick Trash
During the practice of Santa Muerte magick, you may find yourself in the position of having items left over that need to be disposed. Perhaps it's the glass casing for a candle that has burned to completion, a mixture of herbs that was sprinkled around a candle, or a bottle of tequila you made as an offering.
Once a petition has been made, anything that is left over - unless you are keeping it to act as a magick charm - is essentially magick trash, and this chapter will discuss how to dispose of that magick trash in a safe and practical way. This advice can also be followed to deal with old offerings which you want to rotate off a Santa Muerte altar.
In the past, I would have recommended burning or burying items left over after magickal work, but no longer. In our modern age, and considering the number of devotees practicing in urban cities, burning or burying is not as prudent as it once was and is simply not necessary in a majority of cases.
Treating as Regular Trash
Is the item something that you would normally put in the garbage or recycling bin to be hauled to the dump? Then toss it in the appropriate garbage or recycling bin. Is it an item you would toss to the birds, like a piece of bread? Then toss it to the birds. Is it an item you would toss in your garden or compost bin to fertilize the soil, like fruit or old herbs? Then send it to the garden / compost bin.
Items which are treated as regular trash do not need to be magickally cleansed in any way, because if it is your intent to toss the item away as trash, then your intent will extend to the magick energy associated with the item. Tossing something away as regular trash, bird food, or compost, sends a very clear message that you are done with the item and no longer require any magick energy to be connected to the item.
It is only if you intend to reuse the item, or to give the item away for someone else to use, that you may consider it good practice to clarify your intent to preserve the item, but remove the energy you attached to it.
Reusing / Giving Away
It's an expensive world out there, and throwing away a perfectly good item just because it was used in a magickal petition or as an offering may not feel right to many modern Santa Muerte devotees. In the event an item is still good enough to be used and saved from the trash, you may decide to keep the item for future use, or to give the item away.
If the item was an offering to Santa Muerte, then it should not be kept for yourself. If the item is not treated as regular trash, then it should be given away for someone else to use. Remember that part of the act of making an offering is making a sacrifice, so if you keep the item for yourself, it would negate the act of the sacrifice.
If the item was a tool in a magickal petition, and if you decide to reuse the item or give it away, you can cleanse the item of the magickal energy you attached to it in the following way:
At your Santa Muerte altar, you can either anoint the item with a cleansing perfume or cologne, like Florida Water, OR you can pass the item through the smoke of a cleansing incense, such as sage or copal, OR you can sprinkle the item with a cleansing herb, like basil.
As you anoint the item, pass the item through smoke, OR sprinkle the item with an appropriate herb, visualize any magickal energy attached to the item rising from the item like steam evaporating into the air. As you visualize this, recite the following prayer over the item a total of three times:
"Santa Muerte, Holy Death,
let this energy now rest.
Make this item clean and pure,
to be made anew once more."
If you can wash the item with soap and water, then this should also be done, just to ensure the item is physically clean before any future use. You may now re-use the item or give it away as normal.
Final Notes
In the case of offerings left outside at places associated with death, like a cemetery or the grounds of a hospital, the item does not need to be retrieved and you can leave it to the elements, but considerations should be made so the item is not misinterpreted as common litter and so it will not harm the environment in which you place it. It would be better to leave a piece of fruit or a flower outside rather than a candy in a wrapper or a soda in a can.
In the case of cash offerings, you are free to spend any cash accumulated at your altar by reinvesting it back into the altar. Examples of reinvesting back into the altar include buying new altar pieces or artwork to display at your altar, or buying new offerings to make to Santa Muerte at the altar. You may also donate this cash to the poor. Reinvesting and donating to the poor are both common practices in Mexico where public altars can amass lots of cash in a matter of days.
Once a petition has been made, anything that is left over - unless you are keeping it to act as a magick charm - is essentially magick trash, and this chapter will discuss how to dispose of that magick trash in a safe and practical way. This advice can also be followed to deal with old offerings which you want to rotate off a Santa Muerte altar.
In the past, I would have recommended burning or burying items left over after magickal work, but no longer. In our modern age, and considering the number of devotees practicing in urban cities, burning or burying is not as prudent as it once was and is simply not necessary in a majority of cases.
Treating as Regular Trash
Is the item something that you would normally put in the garbage or recycling bin to be hauled to the dump? Then toss it in the appropriate garbage or recycling bin. Is it an item you would toss to the birds, like a piece of bread? Then toss it to the birds. Is it an item you would toss in your garden or compost bin to fertilize the soil, like fruit or old herbs? Then send it to the garden / compost bin.
Items which are treated as regular trash do not need to be magickally cleansed in any way, because if it is your intent to toss the item away as trash, then your intent will extend to the magick energy associated with the item. Tossing something away as regular trash, bird food, or compost, sends a very clear message that you are done with the item and no longer require any magick energy to be connected to the item.
It is only if you intend to reuse the item, or to give the item away for someone else to use, that you may consider it good practice to clarify your intent to preserve the item, but remove the energy you attached to it.
Reusing / Giving Away
It's an expensive world out there, and throwing away a perfectly good item just because it was used in a magickal petition or as an offering may not feel right to many modern Santa Muerte devotees. In the event an item is still good enough to be used and saved from the trash, you may decide to keep the item for future use, or to give the item away.
If the item was an offering to Santa Muerte, then it should not be kept for yourself. If the item is not treated as regular trash, then it should be given away for someone else to use. Remember that part of the act of making an offering is making a sacrifice, so if you keep the item for yourself, it would negate the act of the sacrifice.
If the item was a tool in a magickal petition, and if you decide to reuse the item or give it away, you can cleanse the item of the magickal energy you attached to it in the following way:
At your Santa Muerte altar, you can either anoint the item with a cleansing perfume or cologne, like Florida Water, OR you can pass the item through the smoke of a cleansing incense, such as sage or copal, OR you can sprinkle the item with a cleansing herb, like basil.
As you anoint the item, pass the item through smoke, OR sprinkle the item with an appropriate herb, visualize any magickal energy attached to the item rising from the item like steam evaporating into the air. As you visualize this, recite the following prayer over the item a total of three times:
"Santa Muerte, Holy Death,
let this energy now rest.
Make this item clean and pure,
to be made anew once more."
If you can wash the item with soap and water, then this should also be done, just to ensure the item is physically clean before any future use. You may now re-use the item or give it away as normal.
Final Notes
In the case of offerings left outside at places associated with death, like a cemetery or the grounds of a hospital, the item does not need to be retrieved and you can leave it to the elements, but considerations should be made so the item is not misinterpreted as common litter and so it will not harm the environment in which you place it. It would be better to leave a piece of fruit or a flower outside rather than a candy in a wrapper or a soda in a can.
In the case of cash offerings, you are free to spend any cash accumulated at your altar by reinvesting it back into the altar. Examples of reinvesting back into the altar include buying new altar pieces or artwork to display at your altar, or buying new offerings to make to Santa Muerte at the altar. You may also donate this cash to the poor. Reinvesting and donating to the poor are both common practices in Mexico where public altars can amass lots of cash in a matter of days.