Welcome to Santa Muerte in Seattle, a blog about my journey as a follower of Santa Muerte - the Mexican folk saint of Death. I’ll be talking about my thoughts and practices as a Muertista and their impact on my life. There’s not a lot of written material out there, particularly not in English, on what it means to be a follower of Santa Muerte and I’m hoping to clarify things in my own mind while filling the information gap. I do not, in any way, claim to be an authority on Santa Muerte. This blog will reflect my personal experiences and no one else’s.
A little bit on who I am. My name is Emily. I’m a 35 year old Latina and, as you may have guessed, I live in Seattle, Wa. I have been a Polytheist and a witch for about 18 years now. Over the years my practice as rambled and ranged over many topics (you can read about my general practice at BlackSunMagick and my pop culture practice at ExotericMagick). The one overarching theme to my religious and magickal life for as long as I can remember is death work. I have always been drawn to spirits and spirits have always been drawn to me; leading me to work with them and the powers of death if only to better understand what was all around me. I discovered Santa Muerte six or seven years ago and began working with her.
In short Santa Muerte is the Mexican folk saint of death, but in reality she is so much more. She has many names - La Flaca (the Skinny Lady), La Huesada (the Bony Lady), La Madrina (the Godmother), La Niña Blanca (the White Girl), just to name a few. For those that are not familiar with them, a folk saint is a figure (the spirit of a deceased person or an otherworldly being of some kind) that is recognized by the people, but not the Church, as having the power to intercede for or otherwise aid the living. Santa Muerte is a particularly powerful folk saint believed to have dominion over death and to have the ability to aid those who petition her in just about every aspect of their lives. Her origins are a bit murky, but she is generally believed to be a syncretism between the traditional Western personification of death and the Aztec goddess of death and the underworld, Mictecacihuatl. Her practices reflect this syncretism through adaptations of traditional Catholic prayers and modified indigenous folk magick. In Mexico her followers come from every walk of life, from drug traffickers to politicians, though she is especially popular amongst the poor and marginalized members of society.
For more introductory information on Santa Muerte check out:
At first I was very nervous about the appropriateness of working with Santa Muerte because I am not Mexican. I am a mixed-race Latina (half Puerto Rican/Panamanian, half Russian-Jewish), but just because I can (not fluently) speak the language doesn’t meant I’m entitled to the neighbor’s things. If you’re not overly familiar with Santa Muerte she is, beyond her sovereignty over life and death, the patron saint of the marginalized, unwanted, and dispossessed. She is very much a protectress of the Mexican underclasses and, to a certain extent, she belongs to them. Santa Muerte is a figure of the people; one who accepts all regardless of who or what they are. As a result, she’s much beloved of those who are not appreciated by the Catholic Church - particularly LGBTQIA+ and those that live outside the law. For many, she is the only figure they can turn to who will not judge them for who they are and how they live their lives. I have tremendous respect for that and have no wish to appropriate that which I have no right to. However, the strength of the pull that I felt towards her, combined with her acceptance of all, overcame my reservations.
I began working with Santa Muerte cautiously and with the greatest respect to her origins and established liturgy. I researched her as thoroughly as I could through books and articles in English and then moved on to what I could find in Spanish; articles, documentaries, and the Santa Muerte biblias that I could get my hands on. I was already somewhat familiar with the syncretic practices of New Orleans Voodoo and a few folks of Latin American folk magicks, so I could understand the underpinnings and influences in most of what I found in magickal workings with Santa Muerte. What I was not as familiar with was the way those folk practices meshed into the veneer of Catholicism. Although half of my family is Catholic, I was not raised with any of those traditions and as a witch and Polytheist I have more than a few unpleasant associations with Christianity. However, in deference to the established practices of her people and Santa Muerte’s familiarity and obvious acceptance, I decided to follow them “as is” rather than trying to shoehorn her into a Pagan framework - which I feel would have been appropriative and disrespectful. Over time La Huesada has made it clear what types of liturgy and practices she expects from me.
Half a year or so ago a friend of mine started hosting public Santa Muerte rosaries. Previously I had not done her rosary because of my knee-jerk reaction to the Catholicism in it, but since I knew and respected the person leading it I decided to give it a try. About halfway through my first rosary I could feel Santa Muerte standing by my side and felt how pleased she was that I was finally embracing her full liturgy. Shortly after that I took the course my friend had taken on Santa Muerte and her practices (see http://www.curiouscurandera.com/ for information on that course). About halfway through that course Santa Muerte came to me and informed me that I was to be her priestess. My first reaction was pleased shock and my second was confusion and asking the question “what exactly does that mean?” That’s the part I’m still figuring out and am likely to be figuring out for some time.
I’m hoping that this blog will help me figure out what it means for me to be a priestess of Santa Muerte. There are a few temples out there with “priests” and “priestesses” - folks who lead masses, rosaries, and who help people petition La Flaca. However, I’m not sure that’s what I’m meant to do. I’m a witch. I’m the one in the cave at the edge of town you come to as an absolute last resort. Then again, Santa Muerte is a figure that some come to as a last resort so who knows. Only time will tell.
In my next post I’ll write a little more on Santa Muerte herself and what her practice looks like. As I’m still forming the ideas of what this blog will be please feel free to ask any questions you may have or any suggestions for content you’d like to see.
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