Santa Muerte Death Magick: Prayers and Rituals From Where Life Meets Death
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/3BIeTTq
Digital Web Book by Arnold Bustillo
Buy the paperback at https://amzn.to/3BIeTTq
Introduction
This short book is a collection of petitions relating to death magick that appeal to the power of the Santa Muerte, a Mexican folk saint whose name in English translates to Holy Death, and who is recognized by many as the personification of death itself.
While it could be argued that any magick that appeals to Holy Death could be considered "death magick," I make the distinction here only to emphasize that the petitions in this book focus on energy and experiences that will take your practice of magick closer than it has probably ever been to the Land of the Dead. You will encounter instructions for working with ghosts, for dealing with hauntings, for honoring the dead, and even for causing death, both literal and metaphorical.
Dangerous?
I’m sure that some of you who have picked up this book did so with some concerns in mind. You may have heard that it is dangerous to interact with spiritual forces or energies that exist in the great beyond. To this I assure you that the petitions offered here have been crafted with safety features in mind, with intentions that have been incorporated to ensure as safe an experience as possible. While you will find in these pages petitions that allow you to recruit spirits of the dead to perform favors and tasks, these petitions are designed to only recruit willing, honest, and helpful volunteers. In other words, none of the petitions in this book seek to command or compel the spirits of the dead, nor do they allow any random trickster spirits to gain access to your life. Look closely at the words of the prayers which are included in each petition, and you will see that, where appropriate, an intention is clearly stated that only allows for helpful, willing spirits, to interact with you.
Backlash
With some of the petitions included here, such as those that are intended to send harm or harassment to your enemies, you might be concerned about backlash, or what some spiritual systems would call Karma, or the Law of Three. These are not concerns in Santa Muerte magick, because the very nature of Santa Muerte is one of balance. Images of Santa Muerte are often depicted with the scales of justice, and the fact that we are all treated the same in the end, all subject to the power of Death, shows how essential is balance to the nature of Santa Muerte. Also, Santa Muerte magick is magick of petition, which is to say, magick of request. When we perform Santa Muerte magick we do not command Santa Muerte to do anything, we petition her for help. Since the nature of Santa Muerte is balance, we can assume that petitions which would cause an imbalance will be ignored. If a death curse, for example, is not deserved, or if a death curse would create an imbalance that we are not aware of, then we can expect the petition to go unanswered. In that case, no harm, no foul - no backlash in your direction. If the death curse is granted, however, then this is a sign that the outcome was deserved, or restored a balance. If that’s the case, then backlash would create an imbalance in your direction, which goes against the balancing nature of Santa Muerte. This is why, in my own expression of Santa Muerte devotion, I do not consider ideas like Karma, or the Law of Three, when performing magick under the power of Santa Muerte.
Adaptability
With those words of comfort out of the way, I want to remind my readers that the petitions I share are my own, and therefore based on my own resources and what I have access to. Not everybody will have access, for one reason or another, to candles, herbs, and other tools. The good news is that the tradition of Santa Muerte is non-dogmatic, and highly customizable. Every relationship with Santa Muerte is unique, and you are encouraged to adapt the petitions contained within these pages to your own circumstances, especially if you are unable to perform them exactly as they are written. If you are in a position where you cannot perform or adapt any of these petitions with physical tools, please check out my first book, “Santa Muerte Prayer Magick," for a method of petitioning the Santa Muerte through prayer alone. All of the prayers contained in this book may be adapted to the method shared in “Santa Muerte Prayer Magick," which is available on Amazon.com.
Open to All
Another point I want to make is that everything in this book may be used by anyone who wants to explore the power that the Land of the Dead has to offer, whether or not they identify as a devotee of Santa Muerte. While I recognize that the territory known today as Mexico is the cradle of modern Santa Muerte devotion, a foundational principle of Santa Muerte magick is that Santa Muerte accepts us all, no matter where we are from, no matter where our roots are planted, and no matter how we identify. This is evidenced by the fact that Santa Muerte, as death itself, will one day come for us all. Since Santa Muerte accepts us all, it does not matter if you identify wholly as a devotee of Santa Muerte, as a member of another faith, or as completely faithless. There are no prerequisites to perform the petitions outlined in this book, and there is no requirement to become or even to remain a devotee after a petition has been granted. The Santa Muerte is a part of your life whether you accept it or not - all of the prerequisites and requirements necessary to petition the Santa Muerte have already been fulfilled by virtue of your own birth. The day you were born was the day you started dying, and it was on that day that you became a child of Santa Muerte.
The Color Brown
In the tradition of Santa Muerte, the color brown is commonly associated with matters of death, dying, and the Land of the Dead, which is why we appeal to the Santa Muerte dressed in brown to interact with the Land of the Dead, and which is why you will notice that brown is the dominant color in this book. There are some exceptions to this, such as the traditional association of the Black Cloaked Santa Muerte with the sending of curses and hexes, but ultimately, there is only one Santa Muerte, and no matter what color the Santa Muerte is shown to wear, she is one in the same. To petition one aspect of Santa Muerte, is to petition the one and only. When we use colors to appeal to the various aspects of Santa Muerte, we use them as one of many tools to help convey our specific intent. Color is one way that we convey our intent, but it is not the only way. Intent is also conveyed through the incorporation of prayer, visualization, herbs, oils, and more.
Herbal Correspondences
In regard to the herbal correspondences that are shared here, they are derived from various sources, including tradition / legend, the physical appearance of plants, and research relating to medicinal uses of plants. Many herbs have more than one use, so you may see the same herb prescribed for different purposes across my writings. This is because no single ingredient carries an entire petition. We combine the individual ingredients together to create a holistic recipe to achieve a specific outcome. You can crack an egg for a savory breakfast, or you can crack an egg for a sweet dessert - but it’s ultimately the chef’s intent, combined with all the other ingredients and processes, that creates the meal.
Copal
On the topic of herbal ingredients, I want to make a note and suggestion regarding copal, which is an ingredient listed in many of the petitions that follow. Technically, copal is not an herb, it's a resin, but it is treated in my writings as an herbal ingredient, with many instructions calling on you to grind or blend copal with other ingredients using a mortar and pestle. Because it's a resin, you may find it difficult to grind and incorporate, especially at room temperature. You will likely find that the resin gums into a sticky paste as you work with it. You can overcome this by storing your copal in the freezer, preferably permanently, but at least for an hour or two before the start of any petitions that require this ingredient. When you are ready to bring your supplies together to perform a magick petition, you can keep the copal frozen by placing it in a small sandwich bag and putting that bag in a small bowl with ice. This will allow you to keep the copal cold, but still close by, until you need it.
Candle Safety
As a note of safety, please remember to never leave a burning candle unattended. There is nothing wrong with extinguishing a candle when you have to walk away from it, and re-lighting it when you return.
Disposing Items
When a petition is complete, unless you are keeping specific items for use as a magick charm, then you may dispose all items which you no longer require as responsibly as possible - spent candles can be thrown away, pieces of paper may be shredded and recycled, herbs may be thrown over the Earth, et cetera. If you construct a magick charm but come to a point when you no longer require its energy in your life, then you may simply disassemble the charm, and again dispose of the individual pieces as responsibly as possible.
While it could be argued that any magick that appeals to Holy Death could be considered "death magick," I make the distinction here only to emphasize that the petitions in this book focus on energy and experiences that will take your practice of magick closer than it has probably ever been to the Land of the Dead. You will encounter instructions for working with ghosts, for dealing with hauntings, for honoring the dead, and even for causing death, both literal and metaphorical.
Dangerous?
I’m sure that some of you who have picked up this book did so with some concerns in mind. You may have heard that it is dangerous to interact with spiritual forces or energies that exist in the great beyond. To this I assure you that the petitions offered here have been crafted with safety features in mind, with intentions that have been incorporated to ensure as safe an experience as possible. While you will find in these pages petitions that allow you to recruit spirits of the dead to perform favors and tasks, these petitions are designed to only recruit willing, honest, and helpful volunteers. In other words, none of the petitions in this book seek to command or compel the spirits of the dead, nor do they allow any random trickster spirits to gain access to your life. Look closely at the words of the prayers which are included in each petition, and you will see that, where appropriate, an intention is clearly stated that only allows for helpful, willing spirits, to interact with you.
Backlash
With some of the petitions included here, such as those that are intended to send harm or harassment to your enemies, you might be concerned about backlash, or what some spiritual systems would call Karma, or the Law of Three. These are not concerns in Santa Muerte magick, because the very nature of Santa Muerte is one of balance. Images of Santa Muerte are often depicted with the scales of justice, and the fact that we are all treated the same in the end, all subject to the power of Death, shows how essential is balance to the nature of Santa Muerte. Also, Santa Muerte magick is magick of petition, which is to say, magick of request. When we perform Santa Muerte magick we do not command Santa Muerte to do anything, we petition her for help. Since the nature of Santa Muerte is balance, we can assume that petitions which would cause an imbalance will be ignored. If a death curse, for example, is not deserved, or if a death curse would create an imbalance that we are not aware of, then we can expect the petition to go unanswered. In that case, no harm, no foul - no backlash in your direction. If the death curse is granted, however, then this is a sign that the outcome was deserved, or restored a balance. If that’s the case, then backlash would create an imbalance in your direction, which goes against the balancing nature of Santa Muerte. This is why, in my own expression of Santa Muerte devotion, I do not consider ideas like Karma, or the Law of Three, when performing magick under the power of Santa Muerte.
Adaptability
With those words of comfort out of the way, I want to remind my readers that the petitions I share are my own, and therefore based on my own resources and what I have access to. Not everybody will have access, for one reason or another, to candles, herbs, and other tools. The good news is that the tradition of Santa Muerte is non-dogmatic, and highly customizable. Every relationship with Santa Muerte is unique, and you are encouraged to adapt the petitions contained within these pages to your own circumstances, especially if you are unable to perform them exactly as they are written. If you are in a position where you cannot perform or adapt any of these petitions with physical tools, please check out my first book, “Santa Muerte Prayer Magick," for a method of petitioning the Santa Muerte through prayer alone. All of the prayers contained in this book may be adapted to the method shared in “Santa Muerte Prayer Magick," which is available on Amazon.com.
Open to All
Another point I want to make is that everything in this book may be used by anyone who wants to explore the power that the Land of the Dead has to offer, whether or not they identify as a devotee of Santa Muerte. While I recognize that the territory known today as Mexico is the cradle of modern Santa Muerte devotion, a foundational principle of Santa Muerte magick is that Santa Muerte accepts us all, no matter where we are from, no matter where our roots are planted, and no matter how we identify. This is evidenced by the fact that Santa Muerte, as death itself, will one day come for us all. Since Santa Muerte accepts us all, it does not matter if you identify wholly as a devotee of Santa Muerte, as a member of another faith, or as completely faithless. There are no prerequisites to perform the petitions outlined in this book, and there is no requirement to become or even to remain a devotee after a petition has been granted. The Santa Muerte is a part of your life whether you accept it or not - all of the prerequisites and requirements necessary to petition the Santa Muerte have already been fulfilled by virtue of your own birth. The day you were born was the day you started dying, and it was on that day that you became a child of Santa Muerte.
The Color Brown
In the tradition of Santa Muerte, the color brown is commonly associated with matters of death, dying, and the Land of the Dead, which is why we appeal to the Santa Muerte dressed in brown to interact with the Land of the Dead, and which is why you will notice that brown is the dominant color in this book. There are some exceptions to this, such as the traditional association of the Black Cloaked Santa Muerte with the sending of curses and hexes, but ultimately, there is only one Santa Muerte, and no matter what color the Santa Muerte is shown to wear, she is one in the same. To petition one aspect of Santa Muerte, is to petition the one and only. When we use colors to appeal to the various aspects of Santa Muerte, we use them as one of many tools to help convey our specific intent. Color is one way that we convey our intent, but it is not the only way. Intent is also conveyed through the incorporation of prayer, visualization, herbs, oils, and more.
Herbal Correspondences
In regard to the herbal correspondences that are shared here, they are derived from various sources, including tradition / legend, the physical appearance of plants, and research relating to medicinal uses of plants. Many herbs have more than one use, so you may see the same herb prescribed for different purposes across my writings. This is because no single ingredient carries an entire petition. We combine the individual ingredients together to create a holistic recipe to achieve a specific outcome. You can crack an egg for a savory breakfast, or you can crack an egg for a sweet dessert - but it’s ultimately the chef’s intent, combined with all the other ingredients and processes, that creates the meal.
Copal
On the topic of herbal ingredients, I want to make a note and suggestion regarding copal, which is an ingredient listed in many of the petitions that follow. Technically, copal is not an herb, it's a resin, but it is treated in my writings as an herbal ingredient, with many instructions calling on you to grind or blend copal with other ingredients using a mortar and pestle. Because it's a resin, you may find it difficult to grind and incorporate, especially at room temperature. You will likely find that the resin gums into a sticky paste as you work with it. You can overcome this by storing your copal in the freezer, preferably permanently, but at least for an hour or two before the start of any petitions that require this ingredient. When you are ready to bring your supplies together to perform a magick petition, you can keep the copal frozen by placing it in a small sandwich bag and putting that bag in a small bowl with ice. This will allow you to keep the copal cold, but still close by, until you need it.
Candle Safety
As a note of safety, please remember to never leave a burning candle unattended. There is nothing wrong with extinguishing a candle when you have to walk away from it, and re-lighting it when you return.
Disposing Items
When a petition is complete, unless you are keeping specific items for use as a magick charm, then you may dispose all items which you no longer require as responsibly as possible - spent candles can be thrown away, pieces of paper may be shredded and recycled, herbs may be thrown over the Earth, et cetera. If you construct a magick charm but come to a point when you no longer require its energy in your life, then you may simply disassemble the charm, and again dispose of the individual pieces as responsibly as possible.