One of 's (1910–13).Veneration of Santa Muerte was documented in the 1940s in working-class neighborhoods in Mexico City such as. Other sources state that the revival has its origins around 1965 in the state of. At present Santa Muerte can be found throughout Mexico and also in parts of the United States and Central America. There are videos, web sites, and music composed in honor of this folk saint.

1. La Santa Muerte History

The cult of Santa Muerte first came to widespread popular attention in Mexico in August 1998, when police arrested notorious gangster and discovered a shrine to the saint in his home. Widely reported in the press, this discovery inspired the common association between Santa Muerte, violence, and criminality in Mexican popular consciousness.Since 2001, there has been a 'meteoric growth' in the size of the Santa Muerte beliefs, largely due to her reputation for performing miracles.Worship has been made up of roughly two million adherents, mostly in the, Veracruz, and Mexico City, with a recent spread to. In the late 2000s, the founder of Mexico City's first Santa Muerte church, David Romo, estimated that there were around 5 million devotees in Mexico, constituting approximately 5% of the country's population.By the late 2000s, Santa Muerte had become Mexico's second-most popular saint, after, and had come to rival the country's 'national patroness', the. The cult's rise was controversial, and in March 2009 the Mexican army demolished 40 roadside shrines near the U.S. Circa 2005, the Santa Muerte cult was brought to the United States by Mexican and Central American migrants, and by 2012 had tens of thousands of followers throughout the country, primarily in cities with high Latino populations.

As of 2016, the cult of Santa Muerte is said to be one of the fastest-growing in the world, with an estimated 10 to 12 million followers. Attributes and iconography. White Santa Muerte.Our Lady of Holy Death is a. Unlike other saints who originated in Mexican folk religion, Santa Muerte is not, herself, seen as a dead human being. She is associated with healing, protection, financial wellbeing, and assurance of a path to the afterlife.Although there are other death saints in Latin America, such as, Santa Muerte is the only female saint of death in either of the Americas. Though early figures of the saint were male, iconographically, Santa Muerte is a skeleton dressed in female clothes or a shroud, and carrying both a scythe and a globe.

Santa Muerte is marked out as female not by her figure but by her attire and hair. The latter was introduced by a believer named Enriqueta Romero.The two most common objects that Santa Muerte holds in her hands are a globe and a. 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.

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. Veneration Rites associated with Santa Muerte. Red Santa Muerte.The image is dressed differently depending on what is being requested. Usually, the vestments of the image are differently colored robes, but it is also common for the image to be dressed as a bride (for those seeking a husband) or in European medieval 's garments similar to female Catholic saints. The colors of Our Lady of Holy Death's votive candles and vestments are associated with the type of petitions made.White is the most common color and can symbolize gratitude, purity, or the cleansing of negative influences. Red is for love and passion.

It can also signify emotional stability. The color gold signifies economic power, success, money, and prosperity. Green symbolizes justice, legal matters, or unity with loved ones. Amber or dark yellow indicates health.

Images with this color can be seen in rehabilitation centers, especially those for drug addiction and alcoholism. Black represents total protection against black magic or sorcery, or conversely negative magic or for force directed against rivals and enemies.

Blue candles and images of the saint indicate wisdom, which is favored by students and those in education. It can also be used to petition for health. Brown is used to invoke spirits from beyond while purple, like yellow, usually symbolizes health.Devotees may present her with a polychrome seven-color candle, which Chesnut believed was probably adopted from the seven powers candle of, a syncretic faith brought to Mexico by Cuban migrants.

La Santa Muerte History

Here the seven colors are gold, silver, copper, blue, purple, red, and green. In addition to the candles and vestments, each devotee adorns their own image in their own way, using U.S. Dollars, gold coins, jewelry, and other items.Santa Muerte also has a ', which varies from shrine to shrine. The most prominent is November 1, when the believer Enriqueta Romero celebrates her at her historic Tepito shrine where the famous effigy is dressed as a bride. Others celebrate her day on August 15.

Places of worship. Santa Muerte dressed in styleThe cult of Santa Muerte is present throughout the strata of Mexican society, although the majority of devotees are from the urban working class. Most are young people, aged in their teens, twenties, or thirties, and are also mostly female.A large following developed among Mexicans who are disillusioned with the dominant, institutional Catholic Church and, in particular, with the inability of established Catholic saints to deliver them from poverty.The phenomenon is based among people with scarce resources, excluded from the formal market economy, as well as the judicial and educational systems, primarily in the inner cities and the very rural areas. Devotion to Santa Muerte is what anthropologists call a 'cult of crisis'.

Devotion to the image peaks during economic and social hardships, which tend to affect the working classes more. Santa Muerte tends to attract those in extremely difficult or hopeless situations but also appeals to smaller sectors of middle class professionals and even the affluent. Some of her most devoted followers are those who commit petty economic crimes, often committed out of desperation, such as prostitutes, and petty thieves.The worship of Santa Muerte also attracts those who are not inclined to seek the traditional Catholic Church for spiritual solace, as it is part of the 'legitimate' sector of society.

Many followers of Santa Muerte live on the margins of the law or outside it entirely. Many street vendors, taxi drivers, vendors of, street people, petty and members who follow the cult are not practicing Catholics or Protestants, but neither are they.In essence they have created their own new religion that reflects their realities, identity, and practices, especially since it speaks to the violence and struggles for life that many of these people face. Conversely both police and military in Mexico can be counted among the faithful who ask for blessings on their weapons and ammunition.While worship is largely based in poor neighborhoods, Santa Muerte is also venerated in affluent areas such as Mexico City's and districts. However, negative media coverage of the worship and condemnation by the Catholic Church in Mexico and certain Protestant denominations have influenced public perception of the cult of Santa Muerte. With the exception of some artists and politicians, some of whom perform rituals secretly, those in higher socioeconomic strata look upon the veneration with distaste as a form of. Association with the LGBT community Santa Muerte is also seen as a protector of, since many are considered to be outcast from society. Many LGBT people ask her for protection from violence, hatred, disease, and to help them in their search for love.Her intercession is commonly invoked in ceremonies performed in Mexico.

The, also known as the Church of Santa Muerte, gay marriage and performs religious wedding ceremonies for homosexual couples. Association with criminality. A man blowing smoke onto a miniature image of Santa Muerte.In the Mexican and U.S. Press, the Santa Muerte cult is often associated with violence, criminality, and the illegal drug trade. She is a popular deity in prisons, both among inmates and staff, and shrines dedicated to her can be found in many cells.Altars with images of Santa Muerte have been found in many drug houses in both Mexico and the United States. Among Santa Muerte's more famous devotees are kidnapper, known as El Mochaorejas, and, one of the bosses of the.

In March 2012, the State Investigative Police announced that they had arrested eight people for for allegedly having performed a of a woman and two ten-year-old boys to Santa Muerte (see: ).In December 2010, the self-proclaimed bishop David Romo was arrested on charges of banking funds of a kidnapping gang linked to a. He continues to lead his sect from his prison, but it is unfeasible for Romo or anyone else to gain dominance over the Santa Muerte cult.

Her faith is spreading rapidly and 'organically' from town to town, such that it is easy to become a preacher or messianic figure. Drug lords, like that of La Familia Cartel, take advantage of 'gangster foot soldiers' vulnerability and enforced religious obedience to establish a holy meaning to their cause that would keep their soldiers disciplined. Votive candles.

Santa Muerte votive candles at a grocery store in suburban.Santa Muerte is a multifaceted saint, with various symbolic meanings and her devotees can call upon her a wide range of reasons. In herbal shops and markets one can find a plethora of Santa Muerte like the that have her image on the front and in a color representative of its purpose. On the back of the candles are prayers associated with the color's meaning and may sometimes come with additional prayer cards.The candles are placed on altars and devotees turn to specific colored candles depending on their circumstance. Some keep the full range of colored candles while others focus on one aspect of Santa Muerte's spirit. Santa Muerte's image as satanic or evil has been derived from her association with drug trafficking and the dead bodies found at her altar, however, the specific colors for the candles indicate that Santa Muerte's devotees stem from many walks of life beyond crime, violence, and the drug trade. Santa Muerte is called upon for matters of the heart, health, money, wisdom, and justice. There is the brown candle of wisdom, the white candle of gratitude and, the black candle for protection and vengeance, the red candle of love and passion, the gold candle for monetary affairs, the green candle for crime and justice, the purple candle for healing.The black votive candle is lit for prayer in order to implore La Flaca's protection and vengeance.

It is the lowest selling candle due to its association with 'black magic' and witchcraft. It is not regularly seen at, and is usually kept and lit in the privacy of one's home. To avert from calling upon official Catholic saints for illegal purpose, drug trafficker will light Santa Muerte's black candle to ensure protection of shipment of drugs across the border.Black candles are presented to Santa Muerte's altars that drug traffickers used to ensure protection from violence of rival gangs as well as ensure harm to their enemies in gangs and law enforcement.

As the escalates, Santa Muerte's veneration by drug bosses increases and her image is seen again and again in various. Ironically, the military and police officers that are employed to dismantle the White Lady's shrines make up a large portion of her devotees. Furthermore, even though her presence in the drug world is becoming routine, the sale of black candles pales in comparison to top selling white, red, and gold candles.One of Santa Muerte's more popular uses is in matters of the heart. The red candle that symbolizes love is helpful in various situations having to do with love. Her initial main purpose was in that of love magic during the, which may have been derived from the love magic being brought over from Europe. Her origins are still unclear but it is possible that the image of the European combined with the celebrations of death are at the root of La Flaca's existence, in so that the use of love magic in Europe and that of pre-Columbian times that was also merging during colonization may have established the saint as manipulator of love.The majority of anthropological writings on Santa Muerte discuss her significance as provider of love magic and miracles.

The candle can be lit for Santa Muerte to attract a certain lover and ensure their love. In contrast though, the red candle can be prayed to for help in ending a bad relationship in order to start another one. These love miracles require specific rituals to increase their love doctors power.

The rituals require several ingredients including red roses and for passion, binding stick to unite the lovers, for prosperity, and several others depending on the specific ritual. Santa Muerte and the Catholic Church. Santa Muerte statues alongside other items of Mexican veneration (, ) on sale at a shop on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.The has condemned the cult of Santa Muerte in Mexico as and, calling it a 'degeneration of religion'.

Latin American have condemned it too, as and trickery. Has accused Santa Muerte devotees—many of whom were baptized in the Catholic religion despite the difference of belief and the fact that Santa Muerte churches and temples have instituted a separate baptism practice—of having turned to devil-worship.Catholics say that Santa Muerte is an, the worship of which has been rejected by Yahweh in the. Veneration of this or any other idol can be a form of inadvertent devil-worship, because regardless of the intent of the worshipers, the devil can trick people into doing such things. Priests regularly chastise parishioners, telling them that death is not a person but rather a phase of life. However, the Church stops short of labeling such followers as, instead accusing them of.Other reasons the Mexican Catholic Church has officially condemned the worship of Santa Muerte is that most of her rites are modeled after, and some Santa Muerte devotees eventually split from the Catholic Church and began vying for control of church buildings. Santa Muerte in the United States. A Santa Muerte garden altar in in California's San Francisco Bay Area.The Santa Muerte cult was established in the United States circa 2005, brought to the country by Mexican and Central American migrants.

Chesnut suggests that there were tens of thousands of devotees in the U.S. This cult is primarily visible in cities with high populations, such as, and.There are fifteen religious groups dedicated to her in Los Angeles alone, which include the Temple of Santa Muerte.In some places, such as Northern California and New Orleans, her popularity has spread beyond the Latino community. For instance, the Santisima Muerte Chapel of Perpetual Pilgrimage is maintained by a woman of Danish descent, while the New Orleans Chapel of the Santisima Muerte was founded in 2012 by a European-American devotee.As in Mexico, some elements of the Catholic Church in the United States are trying to combat Santa Muerte worship, in particularly. Compared to the Catholic Church in Mexico, the official reaction in the U.S. Is mostly either nonexistent or muted.

The has not issued an official position on this relatively new phenomenon in the country. Opposition to the veneration of Santa Muerte took an unprecedented violent turn in late January, 2013, when vandal(s) smashed a controversial statue of the folk saint, which had appeared in the San Benito, Texas, municipal cemetery at the beginning of the month. See also.Notes a. The term cult, when used in the context of religion, refers to the worship or veneration of certain deities, and the rites associated with them. It does not hold the negative connotations that the word has in colloquialism. Also, in Catholicism, outward religious practice in cultus is the technical term for Roman Catholic devotions or veneration extended to a particular saint.

As such, when the word 'cult' is used in this article, it refers to the devotion, veneration, and rituals associated with Santa Muerte. The reason the word 'cult' is used rather than 'religion' is because the veneration of Santa Muerte is not its own religion, but rather a branch of folk-Catholicism. References.