The Santa Muerte

The Healer, Protector, and Guide to the Afterlife

By: Kelly Mass

Narrated by: Chris Newman

The cult image, female divine being, and folk saint Nuestra Seora de la Santa Muerte (Spanish meaning: Our woman of the holy death) is a cult image, female divine being, and folk saint in Mexican Neopaganism and folk Catholicism.

Her worshippers relate her with healing, security, and safe delivery to the afterlife simply because she's a personification of death. In spite of condemnation from Catholic Church leaders and, more just recently, evangelical movements, her following has grown substantially since the start of the 21st century.

Santa Muerte, who was initially portrayed as a male character, is now generally illustrated as a skeletal female figure dressed in a long cape and clutching several things, most typically a scythe and a world.

Let’s take a look at what she means or meant to people in Mexico, and what we can learn about it.

©2022 Kelly Mass (P)2022 Kelly Mass