| “ | Santisima Muerte, I beseech you, the Immortal God formed with great power over all mortals, who rules the celestial sphere where we shall enjoy a glorious day without night for all eternity. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I beseech you that you deign to be my protector, until my final hour and moment in which your Divine Majesty commands to take me before your presence. Amen. | „ |
| ~ Prayer of La Santa Muerte |
Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (Spanish for Our Lady of the Holy Death), often shortened to Santa Muerte, is an idol, female deity or folk saint in Mexican neo-paganism and folk Catholicism.
A personification of death, she is associated with healing, protection, and safe delivery to the afterlife by her devotees. Despite condemnation by leaders of the Catholic Church as well as Evangelical movements who have described the idol as a False God, her following has become increasingly prominent since the turn of the 21st century.
Overview[]
Our Lady of the Holy Death is a personification of death. Unlike other saints who originated in Mexican folk Catholicism, Santa Muerte is not, herself, seen as a dead human being. She is considered a spirit associated with healing, protection, financial wellbeing, and assurance of a path to the afterlife.
According to popular belief, Santa Muerte is very powerful and is reputed to grant many favors. Her images are treated as holy and can give favors in return for the faith of the believer, with miracles playing a vital role. As Señora de la Noche ("Lady of the Night"), she is often invoked by those exposed to the dangers of working at night, such as taxi drivers, bar owners, police, soldiers, and prostitutes. As such, devotees believe she can protect against assaults, accidents, gun violence, and all types of violent death.
Although there are other death saints in Latin America, such as San La Muerte, Santa Muerte is the only female saint of death in either of the Americas. Though early figures depicted the saint as a male, iconographically, Santa Muerte has become a skeleton dressed in female clothes or a shroud, and carrying both a scythe and a globe. Some followers of Santa Muerte believe that she is jealous and that her image should not be placed next to those of other saints or deities, or there will be consequences. Santa Muerte is identified as female not by her figure but by her attire and hair. The latter characteristics were introduced by a believer named Enriqueta Romero.
Description[]
Santa Muerte now generally appears as a skeletal female figure, clad in a long robe and holding one or more objects, usually a scythe and a globe. Her robe can be of any color, as more specific images of the figure vary widely from devotee to devotee and according to the rite being performed or the petition being made. Her effigies are dressed differently depending on what is being requested. Usually, her vestments are differently colored robes, but it is also common for the effigies to be dressed as a bride (for those seeking a husband) or in European medieval nun's garments similar to female Catholic saints.
The two most common objects that Santa Muerte holds in her hands are a globe and a scythe. The scythe can symbolize the cutting of negative energies or influences. As a harvesting tool, a scythe may also symbolize hope and prosperity. Her scythe reflects her origins as the Grim Reaper ("la Parca" of medieval Spain), and can represent the moment of death, when it is said to cut a silver thread. The scythe has a long handle, indicating that it can reach anywhere. The globe represents Death's vast power and dominion over the earth, and may be seen as a kind of a tomb to which we all return.
Other objects associated with Santa Muerte include scales, an hourglass, an owl, and an oil lamp. The scales allude to equity, justice, and impartiality, as well as divine will. An hourglass indicates the time of life on earth and also the belief that death is not the end, as the hourglass can be inverted to start over. The hourglass denotes Santa Muerte's relationship with time as well as with the worlds above and below. It also symbolizes patience. An owl symbolizes her ability to navigate the darkness and her wisdom. The owl is also said to act as a messenger; A lamp symbolizes intelligence and spirit, to light the way through the darkness of ignorance and doubt. owls in particular are associated with Mesoamerican death deities such as Mictlantecuhtli and seen as evidence of continuity of death worship into Santa Muerte.
