“Relax and Concentrate. Visualize Santa Muerte in your mind and visualize the problem each of you has. We call on Santa Muerte to resolve it.” - instructions given during the Santa Muerte Mass held at Dona Queta’s shrine in Tepito When I read the caption on North Carolina-based artist and educator Tim Botta's illustration of popular … Continue reading La Patrona de la Prosperidad – Santa Muerte, the Self-Help Guru
Game Over: ‘Madrina’ Enriqueta Vargas Officiates the First Funeral at Santa Muerte Internacional
(VAYA AQUI para el artículo en español) Weddings and baptisms performed by Santa Muerte leaders are increasingly common in Mexico and the U.S.. For example, Enriqueta Vargas, head of the Templo Santa Muerte Internacional on the outskirts of Mexico City, now performs both rites on a weekly basis. It had always struck me as odd that … Continue reading Game Over: ‘Madrina’ Enriqueta Vargas Officiates the First Funeral at Santa Muerte Internacional
Game Over: “Madrina” Enriqueta Vargas Oficia el Primer Velorio Estilo Santa Muerte
Los bautismos y las bodas realizados por lideres del culto a la Santa Muerte son cada vez mas comun en Mexico y en los Estados Unidos. Por ejemplo, Enriqueta Vargas, lideresa del Templo Santa Muerte Internacional ya los oficia semanalmente en Tultitlan, en las afueras de la Ciudad de Mexico. Siempre me parecia curioso que … Continue reading Game Over: “Madrina” Enriqueta Vargas Oficia el Primer Velorio Estilo Santa Muerte
The Occult Philosophy of the Pentagram & the Cult of St. Death
The pentagram or pentangle is a widely used symbol in popular spirituality. Commonly associated with Wicca and Neo-Paganism in the United States, in Latin America the availability and distribution of low cost reprints of grimoires, chapbooks on ritual magic and various anthologies focused on practical instruction in 'occult science' provide interpretations based on the work … Continue reading The Occult Philosophy of the Pentagram & the Cult of St. Death
St. Death & the Elves – Curious clues to the origins, associations & correspondences of la Nina Blanca
“Cowardly defamers, here I stand. I walk with the elf. Let their courage fall, their hairs stand on end, and let terror and fear reign them.” - from the Invocation of Don Diego Duende The Magical Powers of the Holy Death, published in English by Jaguar Books' Cali Casa imprint, and available in Spanish from … Continue reading St. Death & the Elves – Curious clues to the origins, associations & correspondences of la Nina Blanca
Photoset of the 14th Anniversary of Santa Muerte in Tepito
Santa Muerte devotees flocked to Tepito, Mexico City's most notorious barrio, on Halloween night, 2015, to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the founding of the first public shrine by former quesadilla vendor, Enriqueta Romero. On October 31, 2001, Romero made history by setting her life-size effigy of the skeleton saint outside on the sidewalk in … Continue reading Photoset of the 14th Anniversary of Santa Muerte in Tepito
Magic Works in Its Own Way – San Benito’s Santa Muerte Statues in perspective
“There are no accidents or haphazard events in this world of U.S.-Mexico witchcraft (brujeria).” - Dr. Antonio N. Zavaleta During my undergraduate studies I was fortunate to spend a few semesters with Dr. Joann Scurlock, a professional member of University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute and an expert on folk magic practices around the world. She … Continue reading Magic Works in Its Own Way – San Benito’s Santa Muerte Statues in perspective
Madrina de la Santa Muerte: Entrevista con Lideresa del Culto en Mexico, Enriqueta Vargas
La jefa del Templo Santa Muerte Internacional con sede en Tultitlan, Enriqueta Vargas se ha convertido en la liderasa mas dinamica del culto a la Santa Muerte en Mexico. Convertida a la fe depues del asesinato de su hijo Jonathan Legaria Vargas en 2008, quien fundo el templo en Tultitlan, la "Madrina" Vargas ha transformado el … Continue reading Madrina de la Santa Muerte: Entrevista con Lideresa del Culto en Mexico, Enriqueta Vargas
King Death: Santa Muerte in the Philippines
As a specialist in Latin American religion I suspected that sooner or later my research would take me to the Philippines, which was also colonized by Spain. However, I thought it would be the burgeoning Catholic Charismatic Renewal that would lead me there since I had done research on the dynamic movement in Latin America. … Continue reading King Death: Santa Muerte in the Philippines
Santa Muerte and Human Sacrifice in Mexico and Guatemala
Since Santa Muerte went public in 2001 there have been numerous cases of alleged human sacrifice to the skeleton saint. The great majority follow the pattern of the two latest cases, one in Chihuahua, Mexico, and the other in Guatemala City. In the Mexican case involving the shocking murder of a 6 year-old boy by … Continue reading Santa Muerte and Human Sacrifice in Mexico and Guatemala
Most Holy Death 