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
What Is the Santa Muerte?
The Santa Muerte is death.
She is not a spirit or deity with dominion over death, but the personification of death itself. This distinction is important because spirits and deities are themselves subject to the power of death. When all the believers of a god disappear, so too does that god die. The Santa Muerte, on the other hand, is a constant force that exists whether or not you believe in her. She is a fact of life that does not require belief in order to be made real. If all the devotees of Santa Muerte were to suddenly disappear, she would not lose any of her power, because human beings are not the only things alive in the universe. In fact, the very universe we call home is itself alive, which means that it will one day succumb to Santa Muerte as well, at which point a new beginning will be born. Since every death gives way to a new beginning, and since every new beginning must one day die, then it becomes clear that the power of Santa Muerte is perpetual and never-ending.
The idea of Santa Muerte as we know her today, comes from Mexico. Obviously, death does not just exist in Mexico, but we do have the Mexicans to thank for helping to thrust Santa Muerte onto the world stage and teaching the rest of the world how to spiritually approach the Skeleton Saint. If the continent we call Africa is the cradle of humankind as we know it today, then the area we call Mexico is the cradle of Santa Muerte as we know her today.
In seeking to understand what is the Santa Muerte, it’s also important to understand a bit about the Spanish language. The language itself is gendered, so words are either masculine or feminine. “Santa” is the feminine form of the word “Saint”, so it’s fair to say that, in Mexico, death is a woman. Many words in Spanish, like other languages, can carry more than one meaning. While “Santa” is the feminine form of the word “Saint”, it can also be translated to mean “Holy”, which reflects and embodies the spiritual, and even magickal, aspects of death. If death was simply the end of physical life, then there would be nothing to pray to. The holiness of death is what allows us to pray to Santa Muerte for miracles and to seek her magickal blessings.
Finally, “Santa”, as a derivative of “Holy,” can also be translated to mean “Good”. When we devote ourselves to Santa Muerte, we are therefore devoting ourselves to a “Good Death”. There are many ways to die, and many ideas of what constitutes a good death. For some, a good death is a quick death, experienced as painlessly as possible. For others, a good death is a comfortable death in a familiar place and surrounded by loved ones. What does a good death mean to you? When we devote ourselves to Santa Muerte, we are ultimately asking for the best death possible - whatever that may be to us.
She is not a spirit or deity with dominion over death, but the personification of death itself. This distinction is important because spirits and deities are themselves subject to the power of death. When all the believers of a god disappear, so too does that god die. The Santa Muerte, on the other hand, is a constant force that exists whether or not you believe in her. She is a fact of life that does not require belief in order to be made real. If all the devotees of Santa Muerte were to suddenly disappear, she would not lose any of her power, because human beings are not the only things alive in the universe. In fact, the very universe we call home is itself alive, which means that it will one day succumb to Santa Muerte as well, at which point a new beginning will be born. Since every death gives way to a new beginning, and since every new beginning must one day die, then it becomes clear that the power of Santa Muerte is perpetual and never-ending.
The idea of Santa Muerte as we know her today, comes from Mexico. Obviously, death does not just exist in Mexico, but we do have the Mexicans to thank for helping to thrust Santa Muerte onto the world stage and teaching the rest of the world how to spiritually approach the Skeleton Saint. If the continent we call Africa is the cradle of humankind as we know it today, then the area we call Mexico is the cradle of Santa Muerte as we know her today.
In seeking to understand what is the Santa Muerte, it’s also important to understand a bit about the Spanish language. The language itself is gendered, so words are either masculine or feminine. “Santa” is the feminine form of the word “Saint”, so it’s fair to say that, in Mexico, death is a woman. Many words in Spanish, like other languages, can carry more than one meaning. While “Santa” is the feminine form of the word “Saint”, it can also be translated to mean “Holy”, which reflects and embodies the spiritual, and even magickal, aspects of death. If death was simply the end of physical life, then there would be nothing to pray to. The holiness of death is what allows us to pray to Santa Muerte for miracles and to seek her magickal blessings.
Finally, “Santa”, as a derivative of “Holy,” can also be translated to mean “Good”. When we devote ourselves to Santa Muerte, we are therefore devoting ourselves to a “Good Death”. There are many ways to die, and many ideas of what constitutes a good death. For some, a good death is a quick death, experienced as painlessly as possible. For others, a good death is a comfortable death in a familiar place and surrounded by loved ones. What does a good death mean to you? When we devote ourselves to Santa Muerte, we are ultimately asking for the best death possible - whatever that may be to us.