The true story of Santa Muerte: a cult of love and revenge

The holy deadalso known as ‘The white girl’ It is an entity that Mexicans have worshiped since pre-Hispanic times.

Although it is believed that the cult of Holy death It is a contemporary fashion that originated in the neighborhood of Tepito just a few years ago, this is wrong. In Mexicoworshiping death is so common that we even have a holiday related to this topic that is celebrated on the first days of November:‘Day of the Death’.

And that’s not all, there are several historical documents and archives that indicate that The cult of death dates back to Pre-Hispanic Mexico.

Just to mention a few examples we have the Mayan god, Ah Puch, a malevolent deity that has the shape of a skeleton and the face of a jaguar who is in charge of the underworld and also the Aztec goddess Mictecacíhuatl known as ‘The Lady of Dead People’, ‘The Lady of Death’ either ‘The holy dead’, name with which the Spanish conquerors identified it.

The temple to The holy dead or the Aztec goddess Mictecacíhuatl It was located in the ceremonial center of the ancient city of Tenochtitlan.

There the people who wanted to entrust their dead to him came to make offerings to him so that he would guide them with goodness to one of them. the thirteen heavens. However, the Aztec goddess was also invoked by anyone who desired the power of death.

But ask a favor The holy deadused to be counterproductive because there was a belief that the deity collects favors at a very expensive price.

The cult of Holy Death: esotericism and religion

The rituals with The holy dead They are usually associated with the esoteric, that is, with rituals and spells that only make sense to those who participate in them, in this case the indigenous people before the arrival of the Spanish.

After the conquest and evangelization, the rite of death began to be linked to the Catholic celebration of the Faithful Deceasedconsequently forming a cultural hybrid that permeated the resymbolization of death and the way in which Mexicans deal with it.

Currently, the general feeling towards The holy dead It is rejection, since the Catholic Church rejects it. Furthermore, its devotees are often perceived as people associated with crime and a life of sin.

For her followers, Santa Muerte is not bad, although it is not good either, it is only an entity that fulfills its equitable function, without making distinctions between one being and another, because one thing is certain: no one escapes death.

La Santa Muerte: a cult of love and revenge

In exchange for asking a favor The holy dead, some people usually give him all kinds of gifts ranging from flowers, ribbons, cigars, liquor, food, toys and even blood offerings; this in exchange for him protecting his loved ones who have died, or simply out of a desire for revenge.

TO ‘The beautiful girl’ either ‘The skinny’as they also say to The holy deadit is common that he is also venerated to ask for justice especially when a person lost their life at the hands of a murderer.

Contrary to what many might believe, the followers of Santa Muerte are not only criminals, drug traffickers, murderers, prostitutes or evildoers of all kinds.

For many of his followers The holy dead It does no harm, it is a deity to whom one prays like any other saint and even before entrusting oneself to it, some usually ask permission from Godsince they believe that ‘The white girl’ She is an ally who works and obeys her orders.

However, if the intentions of the person praying to you are not good, The holy dead will more than repay the favors, since he also works for Satanin the sense that he brings to him the souls that have done wrong and therefore belong to him.

Signs of Santa Muerte

The signs that The holy dead It is present in your life, far from being frightening, as many would assume, it has rather to do with an atmosphere of peace and comfort, since according to its faithful followers, if you approach it with humility and kindness, you will be blessed.

Therefore it is not strange that devotees of The holy deadthey attribute the gift of warding off sadness, fear and attracting abundance.

But on the contrary, when it is invoked to cause evil, then what has been requested will be collected by ‘The Faquita’ three times.

That is, if you have asked someone to die, before fulfilling you The holy dead It will come for three people you love. If you have asked him for revenge, he will do everything possible to ensure that you have it, but the price will also be high.

Prayer to Santa Muerte

There are several sentences to The holy dead but the most popular is the one that Panther Commander, Jonathan Legaria Vargaspopularized with the construction of the Temple to Santa Muertein Tultitlán, during 2007.

The prayer to Santa Muerte says like this:

‘My mother, my holy death I ask you and humbly beg you to allow me to come before you at the right time and at the right moment, without pain, without fear and with faith.’

What meaning do the symbols of Santa Muerte have?

Santa Muerte is usually represented with a black robe, which means immortality and invisibility. In one of her bony hands she usually carries a scythe, a symbol that for many represents justice. And in the other hand she carries the world that is equivalent to her gift of omnipresence, that is, the ability to be everywhere. In other cases death carries a balance, this in reference to equity.

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