What is Santa Muerte (the Holy Death)? Why are we afraid of her? Santa Muerte is the practice of a religion that originates in Mexico in which the dead are worshipped. This practice has spread to other parts of the world. It is another way of understanding faith and religion. Unknown to many and feared by others, many lies have been said about Santa Muerte and her cult. It is an ancient religion which has been passed down from parents to children.
This book aims to inform about Santa Muerte so that we lose our fear, we understand her, and we know her: the great secret and misunderstanding. We only cease fearing something when it is no longer unknown. Maga Beth with her vast experience in the esoteric world, in different religions and also in Santa Muerte, explains the cult in detail so that the reader gets to know it and demystifies all the dark and negative things that have been unfairly said about it; since every day Santa Muerte has more followers.
This work is a guide that can be used by anyone who wants to make a request, a ritual, or say a prayer, a novena prayer, for love, health, work, money, economy, family, protection, etc. As the reader will see, the ingredients recommended are simple and can be easily found in any part of the world; but, the author also provides a very simple and easy guide on how to make the ingredients that cannot be found yourself. Apart from the history and cult of Santa Muerte, this book also includes an extensive and specific compilation for every topic you may need: love, money, work, health, family, protection, etc. providing the reader with a lot of rituals, works, prayers, novena prayers, etc. for each topic.
This is another book by Maga Beth, unpublished in its sector, that will certainly leave no one indifferent.
Chapter 1 – History
The devotion and cult to La Santa Muerte (the Holy Death) is very ancient and her image has become very familiar in Mexico (where it originates) and in other countries. Many countries are debating the origin of this cult, from Mexico to Cuba, and also some African spiritualist temples (because in Africa there is a very similar, revered image called Oya). However, the truth is that nobody really knows where the belief comes from.
The Holy Death can be found on altars in the street, in shops (sometimes as merchandise, sometimes as a testimony of the trader’s faith), and in houses; along with images of other Catholic saints such as the Virgin of Guadalupe and others, which until recently were the only public manifestations of Mexican popular religiosity.
Birth and death are part of the human life cycle. We are not aware of our birth because we are babies, but the reality of adulthood makes the awareness of death a priority.
In the 1960s, the Holy Death became very popular after a villager saw her image drawn on the walls of his wooden hut at a place in Catemaco (Veracruz). He asked the priest of the village to verify the image and canonize it, but he refused. Then, the villagers decided to spread the apparition of the Holy Death from person to person, without having a place to venerate her.
In Mexico, the Aztec civilisation recognised the human life cycle which was represented by two deities: Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl, the Lord and the Lady of Mictlan, the place where common dead went after a long and difficult journey. The temple was located in the ceremonial centre of the ancient city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan. Its name was Tlalxico, which means “navel of the earth”.